I created a spreadsheet that will allow you to put in your own random additional payments to the amortization schedule. It's on my DIY Mortgage Acceleration post.
I didn't include escrow because it just goes in and out of the account, and will vary every year.
If you download the acceleration spreadsheet, you can enter your information. I would create a normal, non-accelerated schedule to test my calculations. Then you can add in your extra payments to the principal when you make them and see the results.
Like Rachel says, paying down debt stimulates people's personal economies. This could then allow them perhaps to use the money they're saving on that interest rate to buy things in the broad economy. Of course, this isn't quite the same. There is a reason it's "trickle" down economics, not "flood" down!
Our rebate is already accounted for in our kitchen renovation budget, so I guess we're in the "spend" camp. Sigh.
Great post. When I became a near-vegan vegetarian, my grocery bills plummeted. I stopped buying processed crap and starting living on $25/week for food, if that... And my meals are delicious, healthy, and nutritious. If I shopped the sales, I could probably get that number down to $20/week. I adore oatmeal, soba noodles (kind of pricey, actually), and ridiculous amounts of veggies and fruits. I feel better now that I ever have before and I'm loving it. Plus, this food obsession is what made me discover the world of blogging and got me to start my own food blog. It's fun. I like healthy, frugal eating.
It's real easy...whatever you spend NOW on forever stamps is money that no longer earns interest. Therefore, to buy or not becomes a matter of time and use. If you could have made more money in a year by not investing in the forever stamp, then you don't buy them. If, on the other hand, you use a lot of stamps and the price rises by .01 cents, then, how much have you saved vs how much would you have made in money market? At current rates of around 2.8% (annualized), if you use 100 stamps, the cost is 41 dollars. Ok, if the price goes up .01 cent, the cost would be 42 dollars...you saved 1 buck. If you don't buy the stamps, in a year, $41 at the rate above would yield $1.15 in interest. So, you lost .15 cents per 100 stamps annaully (keeping a price increase on an annual basis). It's the time value of money...the USPS gets your money and you can't use it anymore once they have it. The cost associated with that is called "opportunity cost." Truth is, none of this really matters unless you use 1,000's and 1,000's of stamps...and if that's the case, you already have a meter.
It's called "Wise" bread, not "Waste" bread! Most of us read PF blogs because we've wasted our bread in the past. Believe me, the economy has had more than enough stimulation from me! I'm using this baby to pay down some debt and stimulate my own economy!
Hunter-gatherers probably ate whenever they found food. Early agricultural people probably ate three meals a day--a big breakfast after the morning chores, a lunch that could be taken out to the field, and then a big dinner. Industrial people continued the agricultural tradition, because it worked well for running a factory, just like it worked well for running a farm.
You can eat a healthy diet on just about any schedule. If your culture gives you one that works for you, go with it. If you find something else that seems to work better, that's okay too.
In Okinawa people say, "Only eat until 80% full," which is probably great advice. I've seen a quote attributed to Ben Franklin with a similar message.
I think where most people go wrong with their diet, is the assumption that the purpose of eating is to feel full. With that in mind, the heavier the food they eat, the better. I have learned to eat much more lightly, and I still feel satisfied without filling up and getting weighted down. I no longer break the day into mealtimes, I eat whenever I feel like having a little something. And that's what I have... a little something. Never empty, never full. It's all about the balance.
One of my favorites is Wednesday deals on the internet site. Go to outlet and then to Wednesday deals. Check early in the morning cause the good deals go fast!
to do whatever they want with that money. Most people will probably spend it, but the reason we're in this mess is because of spending money we don't have. This just seems to reward bad spending behaviour with more money.
Ah, that wacky Paul with his spam post. It's just that sort of weird juxaposition that make Wise Bread so much fun to write for.
An earlier draft of my post had actually mentioned that eating whole fruits was better than drinking juice. But I thought it kind of distracted from my point that this isn't rocket science.
I've got a subscription to a newsletter that every month has lists of foods ordered according to how nutritious they are (by some metric or another). It's kind of interesting, but you could drive yourself crazy trying to take all that data into account. Trying so hard makes one all-too-prone, I fear, to lurch from the extreme of agonizing over the healthest possible diet to just giving up and going with a burger, fries, and a soda.
The hard part in eating a healthy, frugal diet is that the problems are so diffuse, especially for the poor: access to a good produce department, access to a kitchen, knowledge of what makes a good diet, knowledge of how to prepare foods, time and energy to do the preparation, advertising and artificial ingredients that can make bad food look and taste better than good food, etc.
I think our society's efforts to produce optimal nutrition (as opposed to merely really good nutrition) works against a lot of people having a healthy diet.
Vegetables should NOT always equal salad. Lettuces and some of the components of salad are very calorie and nutrient poor. Some are basically expensive water, given the dearth of fiber and nutrients.
Higher density veggies like green beans, squashes, etc give way more bang per buck than veggie like iceberg lettuce or field greens. I would much rather an Italian style insalate of green beans with dressing- or say-- cut up brussel sprouts marinated in italian vinarette than any lettuce salad- and it gives way more nutrients, fiber, etc.
I love blog posts, books and articles about a healthy vegetarian diet, and would very much like to eat just that. Unfortunately, I have some pretty intractable IBS that does not respond well to legumes in any nutritious quantity. Since I've been unemployed, I have greatly increased the legumes in my diet, replacing the poultry, fish, dairy and occasional meat--and the resulting symptoms aren't something for public discussion. Suffice to say it's not just a minor annoyance. Past attempts left me with a painful soy intolerance. Much as I would like to be vegetarian, my body won't let me. I can't be the only one; surely other people have this same issue, and continue to deal with either the symptoms that come with plants-only eating or the guilt that one gets from eating meat.
For the record, my normal diet is vegetables, fruits, whole-grain homemade bread, brown rice, whole-grain pasta, low-fat dairy, lean meat, poultry and fish, tea, coffee with milk and a daily piece of chocolate. As long as I limit the amount of yellow vegetables and very fibrous food, my IBS is under control and doesn't require medication--and I feel better when I don't have to medicate just to eat healthfully.
I, too, would just go ahead and pay it. The dollar amounts of the cash back versus the interest-free installments are both small enough that I don't think either one is significant compared to the hassle of having an on-going billing arrangement with people who have already shown that they can't get it right.
There is a big difference between the payment methods.
PayPal is really just a glorified western union service. PayPal simply takes your money out of your checking account holds it in a separate account on their system and then makes a transfer the funds for you to whomever you specify much like a bill pay service or wire. They send cash and do not have an ongoing credit relationship with anyone. PayPal is transaction based designed for a one time money transaction. This is why when they investigate they have a much harder time getting your money back than Visa. They have to first convince Target that there was an issue and then wait for Target to transfer funds back to PayPal so PayPal can give the money to you.
When you pay with any card that has a Visa/MC logo on it you have the protection and backing of Visa. The reason you get your money back immediately is because of Visa's agreement with the retailer. Basically Visa tells Target that this charge is invalid for what ever the reason and charges Target back for the lamps you purchased and the amount shows up on their settlement statement at the end of the month. Target either has the option of giving the the money back or contest it with Visa . If they decide to challenge it they have to prove to Visa that it was a valid purchase and if they do Visa will then just eat the charge to keep Target and more importantly to keep you happy.
Both Target and Visa look at it from the perspective of an operating loss. They would much rather give your $50 back to you than upset you and lose your business or more importantly your banks business if you are paying with a debit card that has a Visa logo.
If you are worried about using your checking account to pay for things online I'd recommend opening up a separate free checking account that has no minimum balance requirements and comes with debit card to pay for things online. That way you can monitor the account with your online banking and only transfer money into it when you purchase something online. You can sleep better knowing that you are not putting out your main checking account debit card on the internet, you have paid for things in cash rather than charging it and you have the safety and protection of Visa.
I'm not a vegetarian, but most of my meals are. As a result, I eat healthy and it's super cheap. It hasn't always been that way, though. I used to hate veggies, but that was mostly because of the way they were served, as rather bland sides to a big piece of meat. Where I grew up, people think that being a vegetarian is about eating salads and french fries. What I learned since then was that there are soooo many different ways to prepare vegetables with a ton of flavor.
I know that fresh produce isn't always the cheapest food, but I have had enough of people who say that they can't afford to eat healthy while they continue to spend money on junk food that they feel entitled to.
Also, what's with it with all the talk of milk and juice? Some people talk like it is child abuse not to give a kid plenty of milk and juice to drink. There are plenty of other, much better sources of vitamins -- and they're much cheaper, too. I've never cared to drink milk, and I rarely drink juice. I don't think I'm any worse for it.
More of the same tired crud from the Kiyosaki school of real estate investment and finacial planning. Honestly, lets look at the similarities:
Distaste for education (e.g. school is bad and they don't know what they're talking about). Of course then he mentions he's got a law degree, but he's dyslexic and graduated 454 of 455 in his high school class, but somehow got into college and law school. What! I'll admit to going by memory on this, but if he could read and understand much of what he claimed he read and understood, school should not have been as much a problem for him as he claimed despite his disability. High Schools and teachers are always an easy target, but like anything else it is what you make of it.
DO, don't Think (Doers don't need to know all the ins and outs, they just do it rather than overanalyze things). Of course, buying real estate to rent it out, without checking out if the rent you'd have to charge to make a positive cash flow is even possible, doesn't seem to enter the picture. Just do it!
Insulting those who criticize (they are called RUBs in this book). Have to agree here, if you want to focus on money, the easiest way to take advantage of others is to classify them as less deserving than you.
Make it happen with other people's time, money, energy, expertise (and I'm sure he'll tell you how in his seminar for only a couple of thousand dollars). Of course, somehow you've got to hire and pay people with the right expertise to make your business work, and they have to be willing to do all the actual work while you're out spending quality time with your family. Yeah, lots of RUBs out there willing to do that.
Fake it 'til you make it. Attitude precedes ability. Looking good and hanging out where the wealthy spend their time makes you wealthy eventually. Or broke pretty quick, you decide.
Then throw in a couple of actual, tried and true parts about personal finances that can be found on most any blog or article just so you can have your followers point to the "advice" you provide. Also, provide contradicting sections of the text so you can always point to it and say you said that.
I was severly disappointed in this book. Same pump you up stuff I've seen a dozen times, then the focus on real estate and multilevel marketing. Sadly a waste of a good evening reading through it.
Hi,
I certainly agree with you. Your provided information is really very nice. Actually I have an information that can help you. Just try easystockalerts.com and see..you can customize what kind of news you receive from press releases, insider trades to stories that mention your stock in blogs...so just make money now and sign up for easystockalerts.com
You've hit upon an interesting issue in the U.S.: Poor people think that they need to eat heavily processed or quick-serve food to survive, but that's partly fed into by the fact that the working and surviving poor have lived for decades in urban neighborhoods that lack farmer's markets, bulk food in stores, real supermarkets, and reasonably priced fresh food.
Forget the time to prepare food (that's another issue for working poor who may work 16 to 20 hours a day including commuting time among 2 to 3 jobs 7 days a week). They can't get the food to prepare. That's been changing, as I've been reading over the last decade, as cities work to give incentives for supermarkets to locate in impoverished neighborhoods.
But the expectation of meat is a cultural imperative that often results in all kinds of problems, from overnutrition (too much of one kind of nutrition), to obesity, and violence. Jeremy Rifkin's Beyond Beef has extensive documentation of how a lack of ability to serve meat to men has resulted in domestic violence. It's not that bizarre in the chain of things.
I created a spreadsheet that will allow you to put in your own random additional payments to the amortization schedule. It's on my DIY Mortgage Acceleration post.
I didn't include escrow because it just goes in and out of the account, and will vary every year.
If you download the acceleration spreadsheet, you can enter your information. I would create a normal, non-accelerated schedule to test my calculations. Then you can add in your extra payments to the principal when you make them and see the results.
Like Rachel says, paying down debt stimulates people's personal economies. This could then allow them perhaps to use the money they're saving on that interest rate to buy things in the broad economy. Of course, this isn't quite the same. There is a reason it's "trickle" down economics, not "flood" down!
Our rebate is already accounted for in our kitchen renovation budget, so I guess we're in the "spend" camp. Sigh.
Hey Philip,
I'd love to know what newsletter you're referring to. I'm always wondering which veggies have what nutrients.
Great post. When I became a near-vegan vegetarian, my grocery bills plummeted. I stopped buying processed crap and starting living on $25/week for food, if that... And my meals are delicious, healthy, and nutritious. If I shopped the sales, I could probably get that number down to $20/week. I adore oatmeal, soba noodles (kind of pricey, actually), and ridiculous amounts of veggies and fruits. I feel better now that I ever have before and I'm loving it. Plus, this food obsession is what made me discover the world of blogging and got me to start my own food blog. It's fun. I like healthy, frugal eating.
It's real easy...whatever you spend NOW on forever stamps is money that no longer earns interest. Therefore, to buy or not becomes a matter of time and use. If you could have made more money in a year by not investing in the forever stamp, then you don't buy them. If, on the other hand, you use a lot of stamps and the price rises by .01 cents, then, how much have you saved vs how much would you have made in money market? At current rates of around 2.8% (annualized), if you use 100 stamps, the cost is 41 dollars. Ok, if the price goes up .01 cent, the cost would be 42 dollars...you saved 1 buck. If you don't buy the stamps, in a year, $41 at the rate above would yield $1.15 in interest. So, you lost .15 cents per 100 stamps annaully (keeping a price increase on an annual basis). It's the time value of money...the USPS gets your money and you can't use it anymore once they have it. The cost associated with that is called "opportunity cost." Truth is, none of this really matters unless you use 1,000's and 1,000's of stamps...and if that's the case, you already have a meter.
It's called "Wise" bread, not "Waste" bread! Most of us read PF blogs because we've wasted our bread in the past. Believe me, the economy has had more than enough stimulation from me! I'm using this baby to pay down some debt and stimulate my own economy!
I just reviewed the cost for my bicycle 'investment' on my blog.
http://bike-commuter-sc.blogspot.com/2008/04/happy-and-lucky.html
Hunter-gatherers probably ate whenever they found food. Early agricultural people probably ate three meals a day--a big breakfast after the morning chores, a lunch that could be taken out to the field, and then a big dinner. Industrial people continued the agricultural tradition, because it worked well for running a factory, just like it worked well for running a farm.
You can eat a healthy diet on just about any schedule. If your culture gives you one that works for you, go with it. If you find something else that seems to work better, that's okay too.
In Okinawa people say, "Only eat until 80% full," which is probably great advice. I've seen a quote attributed to Ben Franklin with a similar message.
I think where most people go wrong with their diet, is the assumption that the purpose of eating is to feel full. With that in mind, the heavier the food they eat, the better. I have learned to eat much more lightly, and I still feel satisfied without filling up and getting weighted down. I no longer break the day into mealtimes, I eat whenever I feel like having a little something. And that's what I have... a little something. Never empty, never full. It's all about the balance.
One of my favorites is Wednesday deals on the internet site. Go to outlet and then to Wednesday deals. Check early in the morning cause the good deals go fast!
I always keep an extra umbrella, a plastic raincoat with a hood and plastic bags with handles at the office. Then it's ready, if someone needs it.
to do whatever they want with that money. Most people will probably spend it, but the reason we're in this mess is because of spending money we don't have. This just seems to reward bad spending behaviour with more money.
"By all means, save it or pay down some debt."
Ugh. What bad advice. There's a reason it's called the "Economic Stimulus" Package. Savings & debt payoffs do nothing to spark the economy.
This money is to be spent. Best to just leave out that last paragraph :)
Ah, that wacky Paul with his spam post. It's just that sort of weird juxaposition that make Wise Bread so much fun to write for.
An earlier draft of my post had actually mentioned that eating whole fruits was better than drinking juice. But I thought it kind of distracted from my point that this isn't rocket science.
I've got a subscription to a newsletter that every month has lists of foods ordered according to how nutritious they are (by some metric or another). It's kind of interesting, but you could drive yourself crazy trying to take all that data into account. Trying so hard makes one all-too-prone, I fear, to lurch from the extreme of agonizing over the healthest possible diet to just giving up and going with a burger, fries, and a soda.
The hard part in eating a healthy, frugal diet is that the problems are so diffuse, especially for the poor: access to a good produce department, access to a kitchen, knowledge of what makes a good diet, knowledge of how to prepare foods, time and energy to do the preparation, advertising and artificial ingredients that can make bad food look and taste better than good food, etc.
I think our society's efforts to produce optimal nutrition (as opposed to merely really good nutrition) works against a lot of people having a healthy diet.
I wanted to throw my 2 cents in--
Vegetables should NOT always equal salad. Lettuces and some of the components of salad are very calorie and nutrient poor. Some are basically expensive water, given the dearth of fiber and nutrients.
Higher density veggies like green beans, squashes, etc give way more bang per buck than veggie like iceberg lettuce or field greens. I would much rather an Italian style insalate of green beans with dressing- or say-- cut up brussel sprouts marinated in italian vinarette than any lettuce salad- and it gives way more nutrients, fiber, etc.
I love blog posts, books and articles about a healthy vegetarian diet, and would very much like to eat just that. Unfortunately, I have some pretty intractable IBS that does not respond well to legumes in any nutritious quantity. Since I've been unemployed, I have greatly increased the legumes in my diet, replacing the poultry, fish, dairy and occasional meat--and the resulting symptoms aren't something for public discussion. Suffice to say it's not just a minor annoyance. Past attempts left me with a painful soy intolerance. Much as I would like to be vegetarian, my body won't let me. I can't be the only one; surely other people have this same issue, and continue to deal with either the symptoms that come with plants-only eating or the guilt that one gets from eating meat.
For the record, my normal diet is vegetables, fruits, whole-grain homemade bread, brown rice, whole-grain pasta, low-fat dairy, lean meat, poultry and fish, tea, coffee with milk and a daily piece of chocolate. As long as I limit the amount of yellow vegetables and very fibrous food, my IBS is under control and doesn't require medication--and I feel better when I don't have to medicate just to eat healthfully.
I, too, would just go ahead and pay it. The dollar amounts of the cash back versus the interest-free installments are both small enough that I don't think either one is significant compared to the hassle of having an on-going billing arrangement with people who have already shown that they can't get it right.
Just a quick note about charge backs and PayPal..
There is a big difference between the payment methods.
PayPal is really just a glorified western union service. PayPal simply takes your money out of your checking account holds it in a separate account on their system and then makes a transfer the funds for you to whomever you specify much like a bill pay service or wire. They send cash and do not have an ongoing credit relationship with anyone. PayPal is transaction based designed for a one time money transaction. This is why when they investigate they have a much harder time getting your money back than Visa. They have to first convince Target that there was an issue and then wait for Target to transfer funds back to PayPal so PayPal can give the money to you.
When you pay with any card that has a Visa/MC logo on it you have the protection and backing of Visa. The reason you get your money back immediately is because of Visa's agreement with the retailer. Basically Visa tells Target that this charge is invalid for what ever the reason and charges Target back for the lamps you purchased and the amount shows up on their settlement statement at the end of the month. Target either has the option of giving the the money back or contest it with Visa . If they decide to challenge it they have to prove to Visa that it was a valid purchase and if they do Visa will then just eat the charge to keep Target and more importantly to keep you happy.
Both Target and Visa look at it from the perspective of an operating loss. They would much rather give your $50 back to you than upset you and lose your business or more importantly your banks business if you are paying with a debit card that has a Visa logo.
If you are worried about using your checking account to pay for things online I'd recommend opening up a separate free checking account that has no minimum balance requirements and comes with debit card to pay for things online. That way you can monitor the account with your online banking and only transfer money into it when you purchase something online. You can sleep better knowing that you are not putting out your main checking account debit card on the internet, you have paid for things in cash rather than charging it and you have the safety and protection of Visa.
My 2 copper on the subject.
I'm not a vegetarian, but most of my meals are. As a result, I eat healthy and it's super cheap. It hasn't always been that way, though. I used to hate veggies, but that was mostly because of the way they were served, as rather bland sides to a big piece of meat. Where I grew up, people think that being a vegetarian is about eating salads and french fries. What I learned since then was that there are soooo many different ways to prepare vegetables with a ton of flavor.
I know that fresh produce isn't always the cheapest food, but I have had enough of people who say that they can't afford to eat healthy while they continue to spend money on junk food that they feel entitled to.
Also, what's with it with all the talk of milk and juice? Some people talk like it is child abuse not to give a kid plenty of milk and juice to drink. There are plenty of other, much better sources of vitamins -- and they're much cheaper, too. I've never cared to drink milk, and I rarely drink juice. I don't think I'm any worse for it.
More of the same tired crud from the Kiyosaki school of real estate investment and finacial planning. Honestly, lets look at the similarities:
Distaste for education (e.g. school is bad and they don't know what they're talking about). Of course then he mentions he's got a law degree, but he's dyslexic and graduated 454 of 455 in his high school class, but somehow got into college and law school. What! I'll admit to going by memory on this, but if he could read and understand much of what he claimed he read and understood, school should not have been as much a problem for him as he claimed despite his disability. High Schools and teachers are always an easy target, but like anything else it is what you make of it.
DO, don't Think (Doers don't need to know all the ins and outs, they just do it rather than overanalyze things). Of course, buying real estate to rent it out, without checking out if the rent you'd have to charge to make a positive cash flow is even possible, doesn't seem to enter the picture. Just do it!
Insulting those who criticize (they are called RUBs in this book). Have to agree here, if you want to focus on money, the easiest way to take advantage of others is to classify them as less deserving than you.
Make it happen with other people's time, money, energy, expertise (and I'm sure he'll tell you how in his seminar for only a couple of thousand dollars). Of course, somehow you've got to hire and pay people with the right expertise to make your business work, and they have to be willing to do all the actual work while you're out spending quality time with your family. Yeah, lots of RUBs out there willing to do that.
Fake it 'til you make it. Attitude precedes ability. Looking good and hanging out where the wealthy spend their time makes you wealthy eventually. Or broke pretty quick, you decide.
Then throw in a couple of actual, tried and true parts about personal finances that can be found on most any blog or article just so you can have your followers point to the "advice" you provide. Also, provide contradicting sections of the text so you can always point to it and say you said that.
I was severly disappointed in this book. Same pump you up stuff I've seen a dozen times, then the focus on real estate and multilevel marketing. Sadly a waste of a good evening reading through it.
Hi,
I certainly agree with you. Your provided information is really very nice. Actually I have an information that can help you. Just try easystockalerts.com and see..you can customize what kind of news you receive from press releases, insider trades to stories that mention your stock in blogs...so just make money now and sign up for easystockalerts.com
It's better - and cheaper - to eat fruits instead of drinking fruit juice. You get more nutrients and fiber.
I enjoy reading your blog, but I found it ironic to read such a high handed post on healthy eating so soon after a post extolling the virtues of spam.
"...but if you were planning to spend it on appliances, furniture, or anything else that Sears stocks, you get a lot more bang for you buck."
Provided that Sears' prices aren't 10% higher to begin with.
You've hit upon an interesting issue in the U.S.: Poor people think that they need to eat heavily processed or quick-serve food to survive, but that's partly fed into by the fact that the working and surviving poor have lived for decades in urban neighborhoods that lack farmer's markets, bulk food in stores, real supermarkets, and reasonably priced fresh food.
Forget the time to prepare food (that's another issue for working poor who may work 16 to 20 hours a day including commuting time among 2 to 3 jobs 7 days a week). They can't get the food to prepare. That's been changing, as I've been reading over the last decade, as cities work to give incentives for supermarkets to locate in impoverished neighborhoods.
But the expectation of meat is a cultural imperative that often results in all kinds of problems, from overnutrition (too much of one kind of nutrition), to obesity, and violence. Jeremy Rifkin's Beyond Beef has extensive documentation of how a lack of ability to serve meat to men has resulted in domestic violence. It's not that bizarre in the chain of things.