And while I don't plan on shredding my credit cards any time soon, I've found it easier to ditch the morning coffee. Paying $5 for something that isn't all that good for me is an easy call to make!
This are some of the typical problems of those people who are depending on the use of their credit cards, sometimes over use of credits card can put them into more trouble. Thanks for posting this problems so they can able to realize what should they have to do in order to prevent further doing of this bad habits.
Travel writing used to be a cool job back in the days when airfares were prohibitively expensive and frequent flyer programs were nonexistent. The free travel perk in those days made up for the poor pay (btw, an industry survey says that average payments for writing newspaper and magazine articles have lagged behind inflation for the past 30 years). I once did some travel writing for an industry legend, and while I enjoyed working for him and writing the articles, it turned out to be more of a succes d'estime than a serious career option. Don't give up your day job. You'll need it to pay the bills on your mileage-earning credit/debit cards.
I don't have a tiny kitchen, but it is on the small side. I find myself running out of space for certain areas so will take your advice and put to good use.
Going to a bar with friends is great but the urge to overspend is extremely difficult thus I make it a point not to bring my credit card and just bring enough cash that I plan to spend for the night.
I loved this article Linsey! My peeve is when people tell me I'm throwing away my money because I have a cleaning lady every other week. I swear I would eat less before I gave her up! I don't treat myself to much...not a big shopper, I work the coupons at the grocery store, etc., and I love a bargain. Bottom line is I can afford my cleaning lady. I worked very hard to get my financial house in order. If I chose to pay a cleaning lady as opposed to buying a new outfit, it's really my business.
THANK YOU for writing such a common-sense article! It's been recommended on another site that people should cut back on expenses such as Netflix. Do people really think having a Netflix plan that costs $4.99/month will put them in the poor house? Come on! Having Netflix is a great way to keep up with tv shows we don't get on our cable plan (Dexter, etc.) and a great way to catch up on movies in general. Also, treating oneself to a $4 latte once in a while is a small price to pay for happiness.
Julie and Linsey,
Great points for all PF bloggers. Personal preference shouldn't be as big a part of the content strategy as it is at most PF blogs. Options should be the focus. But with that said, there are a lot of circumstances where sharing personal preference is a good thing. It can help the community understand where you're coming from as a writer so they can determine if your PF blog is the right fit for them. Afterall, each PF blog is not created equal, nor should we all pretend we are.
Take for example the PerkStreet Financial Blog, which I edit and operate. It's a corporate blog, but we want to make sure we're sharing a myriad of tips from different kinds of PF bloggers -- so we know we're reaching and taking care of the different types of customers we have. It's why so many different PF bloggers contribute to that content. They each represent different tacts to personal finance, any of which might be suitable for our readers. We're using personal preference to actually create a more widely enjoyable PF blog... in much the same way WiseBread does!
Moreover, we know that most PerkStreet customers are pro-debit (It's our core product.). So right now, we're co-sponsoring a project called ShredYourCreditCard.com that's aimed at helping people band togeter to dump their debt and inspire one another to spend smarter in the new year. (...Did this comment just come full circle? haha.)
With that project, shredding your credit card is the purpose and the thing that bonds the community. Is it right for everyone? No way! Is it right for the people who have already made the decision to move away from debt? We hope so!
Meanwhile, keep thinking outside of the box and calling all us PF geeks out like this. It keeps us on our toes and makes us more useful to our readers. Thanks much!
I had friends in the 1960s and early 1970s whose families had the things you mention—campers, boats, motorcycles, etc. But they were accumulated gradually by people who lived as I described—lived at home to save up some money, lived in a small apartment, saved some more money, didn't buy a house until the second kid was born, etc.
Upon reflection, I think the biggest difference may be student loans. In the 1950s, people were broke when they graduated from school. Now they graduate from school with $10,000 to $100,000 of debt. That produces a hole that simply can't be dug out of, no matter what lifestyle you choose.
Thanks so much for this! I always feel a little guilty after reading some PF blogs about NEVER using credit cards and cutting back on small, incidental purchases. While it may wreck havoc for some, I've got my emergency fund fully stocked, my debts paid off and my retirement on track. Thanks for realizing that it's truly not one size fits all when it comes to the rules of spending.
"But I think you're just unaware of how people lived in those days. It was true that a man with a good job could afford to support a family—but not in the manner that people would expect to live today. The kids didn't go to private school. Traveling overseas was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Nobody flew anywhere."
I grew up in Western Canada, my parents were penniless and uneducated when they immigrated here. They could not speak or read any English. My father eventually became a mechanic. It was easy for them to buy a house when they got here, even before his apprenticeship. I went to private school, and we traveled by air or train to go on various trips several times per year.
Our Family went all over the US, Canada, to Mexico, Hawaii, Europe, and Asia. We had several vehicles, and every other year purchased brand new ones, cars, trucks, campers, and motorcycles. We had boats too. My mothers kitchen had all kinds of gadgets. I raced motorcycles, and we always went camping, boating, skiing, snowmobiling and otherwise having a blast was an every weekend event.
The first small house was easily paid of in a few years, then it was sold and we moved into a bigger house on a larger piece of property. All this on a mechanics salary. Other people we knew, so long as they had a single breadwinner with a steady income was able to live the same as we did. Some of them owned planes.
Today the cost of new vehicles and real estate is incredibly high compared to peoples salaries here. Food, clothing, the internet, and electronic gadgets are very inexpensive though. When I was with my ex-wife, I worked two jobs plus overtime, and she worked and in the same city our parents prospered in it was impossible for us to buy a house with only our own resources.
Many hard working educated people with good salaries have given up on buying property in Canada. They choose instead to rent, and save and invest. When I grew up some of our neighbours that purchased houses were uneducated immigrants that drove taxis or worked as factory labourers, or construction labourers. Today most of the people that purchase homes have inheritances or they immigrate here already with much cash on hand. Taxi drivers sure are not buying homes here anymore, and most of the factories have gone overseas. Living accommodations continue to shrink in size and become more and more expensive.
Many of the old timers I talk to tell me that the house they bought back in the 50's and 60's the mortgage was a reasonable percentage of their wage. Today they point out that if they had the same job, it would cost them much more than double their entire wage to make the mortgage. They could not get into the market today.
I also see that back then, around 40% of the jobs were in manufacturing, today it is below 9%. those jobs have gone overseas. Today many people have to take on low paying service and retail industry employment because the factories are gone. The high paying jobs I used to do no longer exist. There are other new opportunities thanks to inexpensive computers, smart phones, and the internet. This makes investing and setting up certain businesses easier than that used to be.
Back then a single income was all that was necessary to be able to live well. Today people seem to work longer hours and so does the wife, and just to be able to make the mortgage and living expenses. Meanwhile, the kids generally are plopped in front of their computers and video games getting flabby and being neglected.
Whenever I travel to the US, I am amazed at how inexpensive the real estate is, and how expensive medical overage is. To buy new vehicles and other consumer goods is also far cheaper. In Canada, medical coverage is pretty much free. I know the US and Canada have different economic situations. I don't think it was as meagre an existence in the US as you describe back then.
Great article! I think you hit the nail on the head - the only one I would add is "find a job with a shorter commute, or telecommute". I hate that one because my husband travels 85 miles round trip each day for work. He is in Public Safety so telecommuting is not an option, and he already works 4 10 hour days. We do all we can to maximize his car's fuel efficiency, but gas is not an insignificant part of our monthly budget. And in this economy, with most of the surrounding cities enforcing a hiring freeze, or even laying off public safety workers, another job isn't an option. Besides, then he would lose all of the benefits he has built up over the years, such as a "normal", family friendly work schedule. And with Arizona still one of the leading states for foreclosure rates, moving closer to his work isn't an option right now.
There were plenty of big cities in the 1950s, and some of them have gotten a lot smaller since then. (Detroit being only the most obvious example.)
But I think you're just unaware of how people lived in those days. It was true that a man with a good job could afford to support a family—but not in the manner that people would expect to live today. The kids didn't go to private school. Traveling overseas was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Nobody flew anywhere.
Most particularly, people weren't so often forced to downsize because they'd never upsized in the first place. In those days, instead of getting their own place at the first opportunity, and then having to move back home when the economy turned down, people lived at home even after they got jobs so they could save up enough money to get married. Starting their married life with a little capital, they were in a much better position to weather economic downturns.
Thanks for the tip, Greg! I'll definitely check that one out, too. I often buy Wii games that I lose interest in after the first play. Glyde sounds perfect for me.
I feel you on the small kitchen, I rented a place long ago which had nothing but a corner to call a kitchen. Thankfully nowadays there are all sorts of appliances that combine various functions into one. I have a multi function microwave which besides microwaving also toasts, bakes, broils, rotisseries, and talks (okay so talking is not so helpful and kind of annoying but there is an option to shut her up if you want). It has been a great space saver and I find myself using it more often than the oven.
"Well, the cows at Horizon may have access to pasture but it’s a known industry fact that milk cows don’t spend their days grazing on green grass."
I love how you assume that all farms work this way. I truly do wonder if you have been to a Horizon dairy farm, let alone ANY dairy farm. I grew up just outside of Lancaster Co., Pa., a large farming community. My brother-in-law grew up on a dairy farm 5 minutes from my parent's house. I often drove by their farm at any given time of the day and saw the cows out to pasture. I know, for a fact, that they milked the cows only 2-3 times a day. Apparently, my brother-in-law's family missed out on this "known industry fact." And their farm isn't even organic.
Unfortunately, the fact that you have misled your readers in this way leads me to believe that the rest of your article may also have faulty information in it.
glyde.com is a great place to sell media, video games especially. It gives a much better return then Gamestop, mostly because you get money and not store credit.
Oh! I forgot the mention the gym memberships. I've actually written on how to set up a cheap gym at home, but my preference is to actually join a gym. We live so far away from everything that many of my tips for saving money come from necessity, as we are very rural. I think it's important (like you said) that we as personal finance writers are careful to give tips but not make broad assumptions. Thanks, Julie, for making not feel like a freak for never having had a manicure. ;)
A snow storm is hitting MA tonight, and this makes me wish for a snow day tomorrow so I can stay home and finally clean out my tiny kitchen. Lots of stuff I don't need, and just a few things I need to add. Which also reminds me, some friends offered to give me some used utensils, kitchen tools, etc that I would have bought otherwise.
The credit card thing is a pet peeve of mine also for many reasons beginning with the built-in consumer protection and avoidance of certain fees. Others include CSA (community-supported agriculture) groups as always the best way to save money on food and gym memberships are always not worth it. Sometimes readers may think that a personal finance writer is advocating one way or the other but is simply sharing experiences to allow others to make a more informed decision and providing guidance on instilling financial discipline.
Oddly, we are starting to see the latte as a way of enjoying a minor indulgence in order to avoid major ones.
I really liked this article...
And while I don't plan on shredding my credit cards any time soon, I've found it easier to ditch the morning coffee. Paying $5 for something that isn't all that good for me is an easy call to make!
This are some of the typical problems of those people who are depending on the use of their credit cards, sometimes over use of credits card can put them into more trouble. Thanks for posting this problems so they can able to realize what should they have to do in order to prevent further doing of this bad habits.
Travel writing used to be a cool job back in the days when airfares were prohibitively expensive and frequent flyer programs were nonexistent. The free travel perk in those days made up for the poor pay (btw, an industry survey says that average payments for writing newspaper and magazine articles have lagged behind inflation for the past 30 years). I once did some travel writing for an industry legend, and while I enjoyed working for him and writing the articles, it turned out to be more of a succes d'estime than a serious career option. Don't give up your day job. You'll need it to pay the bills on your mileage-earning credit/debit cards.
I must say this is a very creative list, some ideas that never crossed my mind! Great work!
I don't have a tiny kitchen, but it is on the small side. I find myself running out of space for certain areas so will take your advice and put to good use.
Dwight Anthony
Financially Elite Blog dot Com
Going to a bar with friends is great but the urge to overspend is extremely difficult thus I make it a point not to bring my credit card and just bring enough cash that I plan to spend for the night.
There's some on Hulu.
I loved this article Linsey! My peeve is when people tell me I'm throwing away my money because I have a cleaning lady every other week. I swear I would eat less before I gave her up! I don't treat myself to much...not a big shopper, I work the coupons at the grocery store, etc., and I love a bargain. Bottom line is I can afford my cleaning lady. I worked very hard to get my financial house in order. If I chose to pay a cleaning lady as opposed to buying a new outfit, it's really my business.
THANK YOU for writing such a common-sense article! It's been recommended on another site that people should cut back on expenses such as Netflix. Do people really think having a Netflix plan that costs $4.99/month will put them in the poor house? Come on! Having Netflix is a great way to keep up with tv shows we don't get on our cable plan (Dexter, etc.) and a great way to catch up on movies in general. Also, treating oneself to a $4 latte once in a while is a small price to pay for happiness.
Julie and Linsey,
Great points for all PF bloggers. Personal preference shouldn't be as big a part of the content strategy as it is at most PF blogs. Options should be the focus. But with that said, there are a lot of circumstances where sharing personal preference is a good thing. It can help the community understand where you're coming from as a writer so they can determine if your PF blog is the right fit for them. Afterall, each PF blog is not created equal, nor should we all pretend we are.
Take for example the PerkStreet Financial Blog, which I edit and operate. It's a corporate blog, but we want to make sure we're sharing a myriad of tips from different kinds of PF bloggers -- so we know we're reaching and taking care of the different types of customers we have. It's why so many different PF bloggers contribute to that content. They each represent different tacts to personal finance, any of which might be suitable for our readers. We're using personal preference to actually create a more widely enjoyable PF blog... in much the same way WiseBread does!
Moreover, we know that most PerkStreet customers are pro-debit (It's our core product.). So right now, we're co-sponsoring a project called ShredYourCreditCard.com that's aimed at helping people band togeter to dump their debt and inspire one another to spend smarter in the new year. (...Did this comment just come full circle? haha.)
With that project, shredding your credit card is the purpose and the thing that bonds the community. Is it right for everyone? No way! Is it right for the people who have already made the decision to move away from debt? We hope so!
Meanwhile, keep thinking outside of the box and calling all us PF geeks out like this. It keeps us on our toes and makes us more useful to our readers. Thanks much!
-Kyle
Kyle Psaty
PerkStreet Financial
I had friends in the 1960s and early 1970s whose families had the things you mention—campers, boats, motorcycles, etc. But they were accumulated gradually by people who lived as I described—lived at home to save up some money, lived in a small apartment, saved some more money, didn't buy a house until the second kid was born, etc.
Upon reflection, I think the biggest difference may be student loans. In the 1950s, people were broke when they graduated from school. Now they graduate from school with $10,000 to $100,000 of debt. That produces a hole that simply can't be dug out of, no matter what lifestyle you choose.
I've talked about that issue before:
http://www.wisebread.com/wage-slave-debt-slave
Thanks for the mention!
I'm off to check out some of the other interesting articles in your tips!
Thanks so much for this! I always feel a little guilty after reading some PF blogs about NEVER using credit cards and cutting back on small, incidental purchases. While it may wreck havoc for some, I've got my emergency fund fully stocked, my debts paid off and my retirement on track. Thanks for realizing that it's truly not one size fits all when it comes to the rules of spending.
"But I think you're just unaware of how people lived in those days. It was true that a man with a good job could afford to support a family—but not in the manner that people would expect to live today. The kids didn't go to private school. Traveling overseas was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Nobody flew anywhere."
I grew up in Western Canada, my parents were penniless and uneducated when they immigrated here. They could not speak or read any English. My father eventually became a mechanic. It was easy for them to buy a house when they got here, even before his apprenticeship. I went to private school, and we traveled by air or train to go on various trips several times per year.
Our Family went all over the US, Canada, to Mexico, Hawaii, Europe, and Asia. We had several vehicles, and every other year purchased brand new ones, cars, trucks, campers, and motorcycles. We had boats too. My mothers kitchen had all kinds of gadgets. I raced motorcycles, and we always went camping, boating, skiing, snowmobiling and otherwise having a blast was an every weekend event.
The first small house was easily paid of in a few years, then it was sold and we moved into a bigger house on a larger piece of property. All this on a mechanics salary. Other people we knew, so long as they had a single breadwinner with a steady income was able to live the same as we did. Some of them owned planes.
Today the cost of new vehicles and real estate is incredibly high compared to peoples salaries here. Food, clothing, the internet, and electronic gadgets are very inexpensive though. When I was with my ex-wife, I worked two jobs plus overtime, and she worked and in the same city our parents prospered in it was impossible for us to buy a house with only our own resources.
Many hard working educated people with good salaries have given up on buying property in Canada. They choose instead to rent, and save and invest. When I grew up some of our neighbours that purchased houses were uneducated immigrants that drove taxis or worked as factory labourers, or construction labourers. Today most of the people that purchase homes have inheritances or they immigrate here already with much cash on hand. Taxi drivers sure are not buying homes here anymore, and most of the factories have gone overseas. Living accommodations continue to shrink in size and become more and more expensive.
Many of the old timers I talk to tell me that the house they bought back in the 50's and 60's the mortgage was a reasonable percentage of their wage. Today they point out that if they had the same job, it would cost them much more than double their entire wage to make the mortgage. They could not get into the market today.
I also see that back then, around 40% of the jobs were in manufacturing, today it is below 9%. those jobs have gone overseas. Today many people have to take on low paying service and retail industry employment because the factories are gone. The high paying jobs I used to do no longer exist. There are other new opportunities thanks to inexpensive computers, smart phones, and the internet. This makes investing and setting up certain businesses easier than that used to be.
Back then a single income was all that was necessary to be able to live well. Today people seem to work longer hours and so does the wife, and just to be able to make the mortgage and living expenses. Meanwhile, the kids generally are plopped in front of their computers and video games getting flabby and being neglected.
Whenever I travel to the US, I am amazed at how inexpensive the real estate is, and how expensive medical overage is. To buy new vehicles and other consumer goods is also far cheaper. In Canada, medical coverage is pretty much free. I know the US and Canada have different economic situations. I don't think it was as meagre an existence in the US as you describe back then.
Another great example of one-size-fits-all not being the case. Unique people.. unique needs. Thanks for sharing your experience, Mandy!
Great article! I think you hit the nail on the head - the only one I would add is "find a job with a shorter commute, or telecommute". I hate that one because my husband travels 85 miles round trip each day for work. He is in Public Safety so telecommuting is not an option, and he already works 4 10 hour days. We do all we can to maximize his car's fuel efficiency, but gas is not an insignificant part of our monthly budget. And in this economy, with most of the surrounding cities enforcing a hiring freeze, or even laying off public safety workers, another job isn't an option. Besides, then he would lose all of the benefits he has built up over the years, such as a "normal", family friendly work schedule. And with Arizona still one of the leading states for foreclosure rates, moving closer to his work isn't an option right now.
There were plenty of big cities in the 1950s, and some of them have gotten a lot smaller since then. (Detroit being only the most obvious example.)
But I think you're just unaware of how people lived in those days. It was true that a man with a good job could afford to support a family—but not in the manner that people would expect to live today. The kids didn't go to private school. Traveling overseas was a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Nobody flew anywhere.
Most particularly, people weren't so often forced to downsize because they'd never upsized in the first place. In those days, instead of getting their own place at the first opportunity, and then having to move back home when the economy turned down, people lived at home even after they got jobs so they could save up enough money to get married. Starting their married life with a little capital, they were in a much better position to weather economic downturns.
Thanks for the tip, Greg! I'll definitely check that one out, too. I often buy Wii games that I lose interest in after the first play. Glyde sounds perfect for me.
I feel you on the small kitchen, I rented a place long ago which had nothing but a corner to call a kitchen. Thankfully nowadays there are all sorts of appliances that combine various functions into one. I have a multi function microwave which besides microwaving also toasts, bakes, broils, rotisseries, and talks (okay so talking is not so helpful and kind of annoying but there is an option to shut her up if you want). It has been a great space saver and I find myself using it more often than the oven.
My favorite use, as a chip bag holder or to close a bag of sugar or coffee or anything else that's open!
"Well, the cows at Horizon may have access to pasture but it’s a known industry fact that milk cows don’t spend their days grazing on green grass."
I love how you assume that all farms work this way. I truly do wonder if you have been to a Horizon dairy farm, let alone ANY dairy farm. I grew up just outside of Lancaster Co., Pa., a large farming community. My brother-in-law grew up on a dairy farm 5 minutes from my parent's house. I often drove by their farm at any given time of the day and saw the cows out to pasture. I know, for a fact, that they milked the cows only 2-3 times a day. Apparently, my brother-in-law's family missed out on this "known industry fact." And their farm isn't even organic.
Unfortunately, the fact that you have misled your readers in this way leads me to believe that the rest of your article may also have faulty information in it.
glyde.com is a great place to sell media, video games especially. It gives a much better return then Gamestop, mostly because you get money and not store credit.
Oh! I forgot the mention the gym memberships. I've actually written on how to set up a cheap gym at home, but my preference is to actually join a gym. We live so far away from everything that many of my tips for saving money come from necessity, as we are very rural. I think it's important (like you said) that we as personal finance writers are careful to give tips but not make broad assumptions. Thanks, Julie, for making not feel like a freak for never having had a manicure. ;)
A snow storm is hitting MA tonight, and this makes me wish for a snow day tomorrow so I can stay home and finally clean out my tiny kitchen. Lots of stuff I don't need, and just a few things I need to add. Which also reminds me, some friends offered to give me some used utensils, kitchen tools, etc that I would have bought otherwise.
The credit card thing is a pet peeve of mine also for many reasons beginning with the built-in consumer protection and avoidance of certain fees. Others include CSA (community-supported agriculture) groups as always the best way to save money on food and gym memberships are always not worth it. Sometimes readers may think that a personal finance writer is advocating one way or the other but is simply sharing experiences to allow others to make a more informed decision and providing guidance on instilling financial discipline.
Oddly, we are starting to see the latte as a way of enjoying a minor indulgence in order to avoid major ones.
I've never had a manicure either.