ha, I don't think I've ever used his credit card. Unless it was something that we agreed to have him pay on his. I have mine in there, but I guess he wants to be able to sneakily buy me gifts. Or that's the reasoning I use.
Financial Thread
- Thread starter NATEizKING
- Start date
ha, I don't think I've ever used his credit card. Unless it was something that we agreed to have him pay on his. I have mine in there, but I guess he wants to be able to sneakily buy me gifts. Or that's the reasoning I use.
Another Mint.com user here. It's simple, but effective. Very intuitive & user friendly. It's nice to see everything compiled in one spot.
I also echo the Dave Ramsey advice. Listen to some of his podcasts and/or read a book or two. He's a straight shooter, which I really appreciate.
I also echo the Dave Ramsey advice. Listen to some of his podcasts and/or read a book or two. He's a straight shooter, which I really appreciate.
Just signed up for mint.com today and think it's great. Thanks for the tip.
I've got a ton of debt (school loans, business loan, just bought a building, etc) but really had no great plan of eliminating the debt. I've just been paying what I was supposed to pay and some extra in a few places.
Over the last 60 days I've developed a plan with the help of a financial advisor buddy and the Dave Ramsey stuff (along with developing a budget we can stick to).
It feels good and I'm excited to do it and mint.com will be a great tool.
I've got a ton of debt (school loans, business loan, just bought a building, etc) but really had no great plan of eliminating the debt. I've just been paying what I was supposed to pay and some extra in a few places.
Over the last 60 days I've developed a plan with the help of a financial advisor buddy and the Dave Ramsey stuff (along with developing a budget we can stick to).
It feels good and I'm excited to do it and mint.com will be a great tool.
if you're a graphs/Excel person, the trends section will suck you in and never set you free.
As a young pup, I decided to start early with investing. I'm debating whether I want to up my 401k contribution even though it's fairly high already.
The best way to curb your spending is pay with cash. Give yourself x amount of money for day to day expenses and things you buy in person. You will think twice about spending the cash.
I have never really understood this. When I went to buy my first house I had no credit, because I never had any debt, and paid my Credit Card every month. My credit was worse than someone who ranked up debt on TVs and chairs and whatever else. Yet in reality I was in better shape financially and very likely to pay my monthly bills.
I have some basic pieces of financial advice in addition to budgeting:
1. Your 401k contribution needs to be at minimum to the point the company match maxes out.
2. Whether you dump monthly savings into eliminating debt or into other retirement investing, if you do either consistently and aggressively you'll be in great shape.
3. If you invest on your own it is tough to nearly impossible to beat Vanguard index funds
4. Early retirement is MUCH closer to reality than most people think. The best way for most people to get there is through minimizing costs in an aggressive, yet sustainable way.
5. Most people, especially financial planners DRASTICALLY overestimate the amount needed for retirement. The Trinity study on stock ROI basically concludes that 4% after inflation is a very conservative expected return. In other words, if you save 25x your annual expenses, you could actually probably retire. Also, most people simply spend way more money than they need to get by.
6. Don't get caught up in comparing your house, trips, cars, etc. to other people. Most people are overleveraged and are very stressed about money.
7. Don't buy a depreciating asset on credit.
8. Learn to do hands-on things like home repair, car maintenance, etc. on your own. Not only does it save you a ton of $, you'll feel good about learning new skills.
Hats off to the youngsters on here starting jobs and already thinking about finances in such a serious way. I wish I had been smart enough to take it that seriously when I was in my early 20s.
1. Your 401k contribution needs to be at minimum to the point the company match maxes out.
2. Whether you dump monthly savings into eliminating debt or into other retirement investing, if you do either consistently and aggressively you'll be in great shape.
3. If you invest on your own it is tough to nearly impossible to beat Vanguard index funds
4. Early retirement is MUCH closer to reality than most people think. The best way for most people to get there is through minimizing costs in an aggressive, yet sustainable way.
5. Most people, especially financial planners DRASTICALLY overestimate the amount needed for retirement. The Trinity study on stock ROI basically concludes that 4% after inflation is a very conservative expected return. In other words, if you save 25x your annual expenses, you could actually probably retire. Also, most people simply spend way more money than they need to get by.
6. Don't get caught up in comparing your house, trips, cars, etc. to other people. Most people are overleveraged and are very stressed about money.
7. Don't buy a depreciating asset on credit.
8. Learn to do hands-on things like home repair, car maintenance, etc. on your own. Not only does it save you a ton of $, you'll feel good about learning new skills.
Hats off to the youngsters on here starting jobs and already thinking about finances in such a serious way. I wish I had been smart enough to take it that seriously when I was in my early 20s.
Invest in the 401k up to the point at which you earn the full company match. Then open up a Roth IRA (I'll put in a plug for Vanguard here) and max that out. Once you've done that, go back to the 401k.
I know many people feel this way but I just don't think its practical. If you are smart about it, debt doesn't have to be this evil thing. Especially at 0% or very low interest rates.
And a car isn't an asset for most people, it's a necessity.
Personally, while I don't think debt is evil exactly I think it is a major cause for problems our society faces. People are told the same thing you are saying, debt is ok if it's low interest and you can use it to afford nice things. That may be true, but it is also neglecting two important factors: risk and liquidity. The more debts you have, the more trouble you will be in if you ever lose your job. The more monthly payments you have, the less net income you make each month so you can't afford to do anything because all your money goes toward your payments. Then, you feel like you have to take out even more debt since you have so little coming in on a monthly basis you can't save up.
People get themselves into debt up to their eyeballs and they rationalize by saying it's 0% interest or it's low interest, or this is a good investment. Then, they feel much poorer than they really are because they can't afford anything beyond their monthly debt payments. It's the way society would have us believe we need to live, every message in every advertisement says to go ahead and take out loans. I'm not saying you personally do this, but there are millions of Americans who do and it's really sad to me. I don't think anyone should ever be told to take out debt without a very strong need. Debt should be a last resort during tough times or a calculated business move, not a way to afford consumer goods.
Some people earn money then spend it. Others spend money before they earn it, which means borrowing from their future or taking something that does not belong to them (bankruptcy). Most economists will suggest earning first then spending during a deflationary period. (spending dollars after they become worth more) Conversely the opposite approach during an inflationary period. (spending dollars before they become worth less) Our society allows for both approaches. Banks have made a living out of helping people perform these endeavors. Being nondiscriminatory they collect fees for both methods. I liken them to a tax on society.
I agree completely. The key to debt is knowing you have an income stream to pay it off with. But if you're disciplined, debt can be a tool.
And as for cars, the debt absolutists will tell you never to take on debt, even for a car. Well I'm an excellent saver and I'm years away from being able to pay cash for a respectable car.
Good financial management is all about knowing what your weaknesses are and building habits or structures that minimize them.
I am not a debt absolutist, but debt on a car is just not smart and means you are buying too much car. Car purchases are the financial crux of the middle class. You want as low a % of your world tied up in cars as possible. Right now, the value of my wife and my cars (no kids) are 8% of our annual income.
I have friends that bought $35,000 trucks and make about $35,000 then wonder how we could afford to buy a home when they can't. They have a whole year's salary going backwards in value, on loan, while I drive "junky" cars that equal 8% of my salary going backwards in value.
I completely agree with you. However, the level of consumer savvy regarding debt and the time value of money is shockingly low.
I sold car loans in a prior life. Most consumers were concerned only with the monthly payment. Can I make the payment? Nothing about term or rate. The total cost of the loan and then a depreciating asset at the end. Ugly use of funds.
I have had one car loan in my life. Paid it off early and will only pay cash for my ride going forward
8% is impressive. I'm guessing mine are around 40% but they were both bought outright without a loan. Keep in mind though that when I go to replace these vehicles I won't be starting from zero.
So if I buy a 35k used car, keep it for 5 years, trade it on another 35k car and get 25k for my trade in, I lost 10k by driving that car for 5 years. So 2k/year. To me it's a lot more important to look at overall car ownership costs. This is why I almost always buy used. I try to forget the time I bought a brand new truck and hated it.
Last edited:
We both were blessed with pretty good jobs coming out of college, and both decided to keep driving our "college cars" so we could buy our home. In the next year or 2 that number will change a lot as she is looking at buying a used smaller SUV (Equinox, Terrain, Edge) that will probably cost about $20,000. We will run that car into the ground then buy another. I know our trade-in value is low this way, but IMO it is the cheapest way to own a car. I could be wrong though and trading more often might be better in some situations.
No, you're right. Running it into the ground is almost always better financially. I just don't have that kind of discipline when it comes to cars. I tell myself things like "I decided to not have kids so I'm going to always have a nice car". What I should be saying is "You're wasting money fool".
Simply having debt on a car doesn't (necessarily) mean you have too much car. For many people a $20-25K purchase without taking on any debt isn't practical. What is practical is buying a reasonably priced, reliable car and ensuring that your car loan is for 2-3 years, not 5-6.
