Money

How To Determine If You Can Really Afford That Car

October 11, 2021 Leave a Comment

I keep seeing encountering people who are struggling with their budget but have some ridiculous car payment. Let’s have a little discussion for people who are looking to buy a car. Here’s some advice I’ll give. Your mileage may vary (oh yes I went there). This advice is in USD but works anywhere.

Don’t get stuck holding the bag on a car that depreciates faster than you pay it off. I’ve done the math at a bunch of different interest rates, and the bottom line is that 48 months is the magic number for loan terms. At 4 years or below, you’re typically safe. Maybe you can push the boundary at super low interest rates, but there are other reasons not to finance for too long, including risk of financing a used vehicle for longer than expected reliable service life.

The Importance Of Paying Yourself First

August 30, 2021 Leave a Comment

One of the oldest rules of personal finance is the simple admonition to pay yourself first. All the money books tell you to do it. All the personal finance blogs say it, too. Even your parents have given you the same advice.

But it’s hard. That money could be used someplace else. You could pay the phone bill, could pay down debt, could buy a new DVD player. You’ve tried once or twice in the past, but it’s so easy to forget. You don’t keep a budget, so when payday rolls around, the money just finds its way elsewhere.

And besides: What does “pay yourself first” even mean?

Keeping Up With The Joneses

August 20, 2021 Leave a Comment

How To Stop Eating Out And Save Money

June 29, 2021 Leave a Comment

Holy shit at the money people spend on food!

And I was the exact same way when I landed my first job out of college. You know what I’m talking about–biscuit and Starbucks on the way to work, lunch out with coworkers and pizza and beer at the local tavern for dinner! Every night! All week! Professional money spender! And more beers and dinners on the weekends! Woohoo!

Wait. Where did all my money go? And how the hell did I gain 40 pounds in six months? If you’re nodding your head you’ve fallen into the brand-new-job-big-salary-eat-out-because-I-can trap. And you have to stop it. It’s killing your bank account, it’s killing your financial freedom and it’s killing you. (Literally–I was on the edge of type 2 diabetes and had hyperglycemia during routine physicals.)

Never Give Out Personal or Financial Information On a Call You Did Not Initiate

May 6, 2021 Leave a Comment

It happens often, and it seems like common sense. But, how often have you been called by your loan company, or your phone company, or your insurance company, or internet company, and that call has started with something like:

“Hello, this is Sandra from Comcast calling about your account. Before going any further, for your security, please verify the last four digits of your social security number.”

Top 8 Attitudes For People Who Plan To Stay Poor

April 30, 2021 Leave a Comment

(photo: Chronomarchie)

1. “The wealthy are just lucky.”

So they keep waiting to get lucky. And somehow never do. Sure the wealthy got some lucky breaks. But they also learned to recognize them and what to do when they popped up. Because lucky breaks, like the morning dew, evaporate fast.

The Daily Man-Up: Never look at monthly payments. Negotiate on the final price.

February 3, 2021 Leave a Comment

(photo: @helloquence)

This happens everywhere I go. Car dealership, “So what do you want your monthly payment to be?” Insurance agent, “Great so your down payment is $XX and your quarterly payments are $XX” etc..

Um, I want to know what the final out the door price would be?

“Well tell me what you can afford and I’ll see if we can make this work for you. So how much are you looking to pay a month?”

The Daily Man-Up: Lifestyle Creep

December 30, 2020 Leave a Comment

Lifestyle creep or “Lifestyle Inflation” occurs when your standard of living improves with your income rising. And what you might have seen as luxuries in the past are now becoming necessities in your life.

So as you start to generate more income, you actually slowly start spending more without really noticing.

The Daily Man-Up

December 22, 2020 Leave a Comment

Start Saving for Retirement Now, Not Later

“I spent my 20s recklessly, but your 30s should be when you make a big financial push. Retirement planning is not something to put off. Understanding boring things like insurance, 401ks & mortgages is important since its all on your shoulders now. Educate yourself.” (Kash, 41)

The most common piece of advice — so common that almost every single email said at least something about it — was to start getting your financial house in order and to start saving for retirement… today.

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The Daily Man-Up

February 18, 2020 Leave a Comment

Quick background. I got my first credit card by accident. I thought I was filling out a “loyalty card” at Cabelas. Ended up being a line of credit. I was 23.

4 short years later and married with a baby girl, I find myself with $16,000 in credit card debt. I actually saved my very last dollar and have it taped to my steering column in my truck. And when I say last dollar I truly mean it. We had negative balance in the bank and overtaxed all our cards.

Less than two years later, we now have $16,000 in savings and no credit card debt. (We finance one of our cars)

Credit card debt is crippling. My dad calls it the ULTIMATE SLAVEMASTER. It forces you into depression almost by default and controls every aspect of your life.

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