That is the right answer.
For your age and situation this is the best tool. Gaining control of your financial spending is a critical part throughout your life.
Financial Thread
- Thread starter NATEizKING
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That is the right answer.
For your age and situation this is the best tool. Gaining control of your financial spending is a critical part throughout your life.
Envelope System.
I know it sounds dumb and means I have quite a bit of cash in my place at once but it truly works. Seeing the cash go out everytime instead of just swiping a debit or credit card makes you really think twice about what your spending your money on. I suggest reading all of Dave Ramsey's books and follow his guidelines for a year and see how much better off you are. Its all about lifestyle changes
I know it sounds dumb and means I have quite a bit of cash in my place at once but it truly works. Seeing the cash go out everytime instead of just swiping a debit or credit card makes you really think twice about what your spending your money on. I suggest reading all of Dave Ramsey's books and follow his guidelines for a year and see how much better off you are. Its all about lifestyle changes
Anytime a place has offered 0% financing I have always been able to get a cash discount. Usually the person you deal with at first says they don't do that, so then you ask for the manager. The manager says they don't do that, then you explain to them the time value of money, go through the whole a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush deal, they make a few calls and then are ready to deal.
It's a hassle, but I always do it that way. Negotiate a price on payments, they think they have the sale, then negotiate a lower price on cash discount.
I am not good at setting a budget and keeping to it. I look at the end of the month to see where things are and adjust from there.
I would try to get out of consumer debt as fast as you can. We only have a house payment, and it is amazing the freedom that gives us to control our own money. As other have mentioned, look into Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover book or the Financial Peace Class. I think it's basic, sound advice that people can learn a lot from.
My wife and I are two different personalities when it comes to money. I was raised to be thrifty and growing up on a farm, developed a business sense. Was used to seeing money in chunks and taught to save, save, save. My wife was raised by folks that had a steady salary and lived paycheck to paycheck. After we were married, I soon realized the obvious. The best thing we ever did was to sit down together and decide what we wanted out of life and how we were going to get there. We have lived on a joint budget ever since. Our money is in joint accounts. We have found ways to do what works good and fills needs for both of us. Just saying that even though a budget may not be what you prefer personally, it can be a positive experience if conducted properly.
I did the engagement ring 0% for a year, figured I might as well put extra towards the 8.4% school loan, though I hate having to manage any added payments each month, so I doubt I would do it for anything in the future.
My son has zero percent on his car loan and I keep encouraging him to throw extra money into his retirement account, but he really wants to pay the car loan down, I suppose worried about job security.
I haven't read any of his books but I've been through his 7 step stuff and listen to a lot of podcasts for a couple months. I wasn't getting much out of those anymore but I still go back every couple weeks and read all the blog articles I'm interested in. That's actually the first place I went and how I molded most of my ways, other than I started retirement with employer match when I still have student loans. Also read a couple everything finance type books from the library. The envelope system might be a good idea for entertainment type things.
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Depends on what you consider "debt". That thought process was all fine and dandy 20-30 years ago, but in a world that is increasingly credit driven, you need to have some way to develop good credit or just any credit at all. Sometimes accumulating "debt", even if it's for something you can immediately pay for in full, is a necessary evil for your future in terms of home loans, car loans, etc.
There's a shred of merit in that theory. But it's no excuse to go out and buy a flat panel TV on your credit card. Or buy a more expensive car than you need. :smile:
Every morning I check my mint.com app (which is hooked up to every financial account I have) to see what transactions were posted, and like what one of the other posters said I'll log an entry in a spreadsheet on the first of every month listing out the state of assets/debts.
I don't really budget, but doing those two keeps me pretty well in tune with where the money is going
I don't really budget, but doing those two keeps me pretty well in tune with where the money is going
No doubt. Take caution when using credit to purchase a depreciating asset.
I budget aggressively. It was the only thing that allowed me to keep my home during the Great Recession. It was ugly, folks
I'm not a budgeting person...don't have the patience. Fortunately my wife is thrifty, so she keeps us on track. I am interested in investing and someday living a comfortable retirement so I focus my energy there and that helps curb some unnecessary spending. In other words, leverage what you're most interested in.
I highly suggest you find an online retirement tool that projects what you need to save for retirement and will track how close you are to being on track. My 401k provider offers one as part of my online 401k account information, so see if that might be the case for you too. If not, there are numerous one available free online. This will help motivate you from getting too caught up in just today and instead, focusing on generating the retirement savings you'll need to assure yourself a comfortable retirement at an age you want to retire. Maybe you'd like to retire early? Only gonna happen if you're planning for it now.
I highly suggest you find an online retirement tool that projects what you need to save for retirement and will track how close you are to being on track. My 401k provider offers one as part of my online 401k account information, so see if that might be the case for you too. If not, there are numerous one available free online. This will help motivate you from getting too caught up in just today and instead, focusing on generating the retirement savings you'll need to assure yourself a comfortable retirement at an age you want to retire. Maybe you'd like to retire early? Only gonna happen if you're planning for it now.
I also suggest picking up and reading a Dave Ramsey book (or take his course...Financial Peace University....they are usually offered in churches everywhere). Just google it for your city.
was very useful when I saw my rent check come through $60 higher than it should have been. Could see that on my bank site too, but having my credit cards, 401k, and any loans, plus checks/debit card transactions all in one place works very nicely for me.
Does the mint.com app separate your purchases for you if you pay with credit card, or do you have to go in and enter transactions yourself?
Not really because this usually leads to spending more then you would otherwise spend. It snowballs.
To me this is like trying to explain away a turnover somehow as a "good turnover" because it gave your offense a chance to rest.
A mortgage might be good debt...assuming your real estate appreciates. Depreciating assets, not so much.
If you put your credit card on there, yes, it will show that you went to Starbucks, Target, and the grocery store all the same day. If you just put your bank account, it will just show that you paid $300 to Discover when you paid your bill.
Dh won't let me put his credit card on, so his stuff basically comes through a month delayed. For mine, I can see what I spent pretty much within 12 hours of the transaction. You can recategorize things if you need to or split a transaction/create new categories.
A lot of people considering budgeting a chore but I think it's liberating, because once you meet your obligations and goals you can rest easy knowing you're on track, and do what you want with the rest. There is no worrying about money, there is no fighting with your spouse about money (which is supposedly the single biggest cause of stress in marriages). Every expense you have is accounted for before the bill even comes. There's no wondering about whether you can afford anything or whether this vacation or that purchase will wreck your finances.
So for those reasons I'm kind of a personal finance geek and motivation isn't a problem. I'm constantly tinkering with our situation, trying to eek out a few more dollars here to apply it to that goal over there. But in terms of my budget, I look at the entire picture any time there's a life change, annual benefits elections, or a major change to some area of my budget (like adding a cell phone line, for example). So on average it gets a look a few times each year.
So for those reasons I'm kind of a personal finance geek and motivation isn't a problem. I'm constantly tinkering with our situation, trying to eek out a few more dollars here to apply it to that goal over there. But in terms of my budget, I look at the entire picture any time there's a life change, annual benefits elections, or a major change to some area of my budget (like adding a cell phone line, for example). So on average it gets a look a few times each year.
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First of all it helps that I'm really cheap, and my wife doesn't have expensive taste. I've always considered myself to be financially savvy; I pay off my credit card in full every month. I hate having debt, and since we do have student loan debt, I am very aggressive about paying that off (I pay around $2000 a month towards this even though the minimum monthly payment is far less). That being said, it helps that I don't have kids; if I did then that would change a bit.
I guess the simplest advice is, if you don't have the money for it at the moment, then you don't need it (unless it's an emergency like medical bills or an urgent car repair for example)
I guess the simplest advice is, if you don't have the money for it at the moment, then you don't need it (unless it's an emergency like medical bills or an urgent car repair for example)
