What this story actually shows is how easy it is to overlook transaction costs. Setting aside the time he would have spent waiting for the bank to check his bona fides (not inconsiderable, and must be counted), before the bank would take physical delivery of a $250K piece of collateral, they would surely insist on his signing some sort of custody agreement--which he would need his lawyer to read and perhaps negotiate over (who would be responsible if anything happened to the Ferrari while he was away?). Right there, he's out several hundred dollars.
Found article to be very informative. Wish it had been around several years ago. My Mom had Alzheimer's and could walk around without a sound. Sometimes she would unlock the door and go walking to look at the flowers. Several times a neighbor would call Dad and wake him and tell him Mom was in their garden. We eventually had to put her in a home. This would have been so helpful. Anyone who is a caregiver should consider getting one for each door.
I get the feeling that the writers in Wise Bread must all be city dwellers, because only in a large city would you be forced to park at a meter. In most smaller cities there might be meters in the core areas of downtown, but very often there is free on-street parking only two or three blocks away (and many of us could use the exercise). And small cities have often found (sometimes too late) that parking meters have contributed to killing their downtown - given a choice to drive to the downtown department store where you have to feed the meter (AND pay a ticket if you are inadvertently delayed in getting back to your vehicle) and going to the big box store on the outskirts of town - well, that would be a no-brainer for most people that were not born and raised in a big city.
I actually lived in a city that killed their downtown by refusing to remove the meters. They still had a thriving downtown when I first lived there, with a Woolwort's, a Kresge store, and a JC Penney's all on the same block. Then Kresge decided to build a K-Mart about a mile down the road, and of course it had free parking. The anal retentive city council, despite the pleas of local residents, some downtown merchants, and at least one of their own council members, not only refused to remove the downtown meters, but actually ordered new ones. The result is that today the downtown area is like a ghost town (even if you look at it on Google Earth, you see lots of open spaces where stores used to be) while the outlying areas of the city are going strong - there is even a large strip mall at the city limits that includes a Wal-Mart.
Anyone who is opposed to urban sprawl ought to see parking meters as the devil's own invention. It's not just that people are too cheap to feed the meters (and I will gladly admit to being in that category myself), but it's also the uncertainty of how long you may be inside a business. Run into an extra long line inside a store, or see a friend and have a chat, and suddenly you may find yourself with an expensive parking ticket. Why invite that hassle, when you can drive a bit further and often find better prices, and a bigger selection of merchandise?
And as for Chicago double billing for the same time, why would that surprise you? (Insert obligatory Chicago corruption joke here). Chicago really is one of the more corrupt American cities, in my personal opinion. My dad was raised there and it affected him deeply, to the point that he was afraid to speak out about any injustice or to get on anyone's bad side. You couldn't possibly pay me enough to live in Chicago, or any of the nearby suburbs.
1. Keep preparing natural products like Hair-gel, hand sanitizer, laundry detergent.
2. Clean with baking soda and vinegar instead of nasty chemical detergents.
3. No more paper products.
4. Reuse containers and buy in bulk.
5. Start a compost.
6. Not buy any prepackaged foods.
7. Keep thinking of ideas (and put them into practice) that would be both economical and eco-friendly!
This is a pretty old joke actually, I've heard it styled originally as a blonde joke (punchline, not all blondes are dumb); old man and rolls royce; ferrari; woman who's outsmarting the men in the bank who looked down on her, etc etc.
I have nice, thick wavy dark hair. I do not have a "corporate" job. I used to get my hair cut every month or so, but I stopped a few years ago. I now have hair past my waist that I love and it looks nice. Once a year or so I might time the ends up a bit and I trim my own bangs.
First, I want to humbly apologize to all the readers of this topic. My intention is not to hawk any product or vendor. After re-reading my posts, I guess one can surmise that I was trying to push the UFF product. I am merely researching on this topic and wanted to really understand the mechanics of what makes the HELOC method work so well.
I could not find anything on the web that clearly shows how this method works without having to pay some one for information. The information in this blog did not seem very accurate in terms of how the HELOC method works...so that's why I decided to contribute my findings.
I was able to produce similar results to UFF's interest savings claims on a spreadsheet last night. Upon reaching that, I conclude my research.
Some final remarks for those who are interested:
1. HELOC method is the best approach to use to pay down your mortgage FAST! Hands down, it beats all other approaches. I'm talking you are saving a huge amount of money in interest cost as well as time!
Go have any of the product vendors do an analysis of your loan. You will be amazed at the savings and at how soon you can own your home free & clear!!
And the beauty of this approach is it doesn't affect your normal spending habits and it will give you access to your equity when you need it. That's why I strongly believe in this approach so much.
But it's NOT for everyone...only those who are good at managing their money!
2. This approach CAN be implemented with a simple spreadsheet. Software will NOT help you pay down your mortgage faster. You need to have positive cash flow to make it work.
Some software may make more aggressive recommendations than others in deciding how to best use the HELOC to accelerate the mortgage payoff.
Post #38 appears to be from someone who's very familiar with one of the software packages and I concur with his/her remarks. It will make implementing the HELOC method much simpler and more carefree. That may be worth the price for some people.
3. Are there more risks in the approach than others? Maybe. Refer to Julie's Post #31. It contains a link to a website that discusses about the risks of simple-interest loans.
But IMHO, the way the HELOC is used to pay down the mortgage limits that risk because of the size of the balance (we're talking $1000-$5000 balance here...see my example in Post #38).
Thanks again Julie, for creating this blog. I'm sure many people will find it useful in their research to understand the HELOC method.
HELP!!!!i have egg on my carpet as well as other things i cant get it too come up clean ive try over the counter carpet cleaning solutions as well as a steamer and a bit of elbow grease with no luck please does anyone have any suggestions.
We put CFL bulbs in every fixture, including our rental unit, and got a programmable thermostat. Next is a water filter, to keep from using so many plastic bottles.
I have to disagree with those people who say that all debt is bad debt. That is simply not true. Although this is a prudent frugal attitude that will most likely keep you out of financial trouble in life, it also won't make you millions either. (I use the word "millions" figuratively as well as literally).
Going into debt for luxuries is absolutely a bad idea. I agree completely. But borrowing money to make money can be a great thing if done properly.
All business people have to take a risk to make it. Like Philip said, just opening your doors is a risk. And yup - that espresso machine won't do you much good if you have to close your doors, but if you don't stick your neck out there an try to fulfill that dream of being a cafe owner / barista supreme, then you'll never know what could have been. And saving up the cash to open a restaurant in a reasonable time frame is almost impossible.
I'd also like to point out an interesting fact about millionaires.....most of them have been bankrupt at some point. They simply have the mind frame, business prowess, and just plain guts to hang it all out there. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. But those who lose their millions also statistically get it back within years. And they don't do it by saving every penny and never borrowing.
The concept of leveraging (borrowing to invest, be it in a business, equities, or a property) is not a new one. By doing so, you can make a down payment on a $100,000 item, and even though the bank owns most of it, you are reaping the benefits of a $100,000 item growing in value. Even if it makes only 2%, and you put $10,000 down, your actual return on investment is 20%. Not to mention the fact that the $100,000 might help you open the business of your dreams, or help you to get an extra sum of money each year in rental income, etc.
It's all about risk versus reward. We make these calculations every day. Do we want to risk the chances of being in a car accident for the reward of getting to work quickly and easily every day? Do we want to risk borrowing money for a business that might go belly-up for the reward of fulfilling a dream and achieving financial independence?
The answer is different for everybody. It's all a matter of personal comfort. But please don't make sweeping statements like "there is no such thing as good debt" because that might not be true for everybody.
If I use your spreadsheet and save fees to put into a reserve for emergencies, it's a start. There can be many unexpected changes to income and expenses. You could go thru that reserve in no time.
If I add to my reserve by putting some of my discretionary income into it, I'm defeating the purpose of reducing my mortgage. I can't have the best of both worlds.
I can have the best of both worlds when I use the software. It does the work for me. It tracks my income and expenses and my HELOC balance. I have a built in reserve. It tells me what to do next. I can easily see the effect if I have a one time expense or income. It forces me to look more closely at my budget. I didn't do that before.
It's like taking a sophisticated spreadsheet and combining it with other spreadsheets and putting it all in one. It motivates me to do it and it saves me a lot of time. Is it worth the price? Sounds like a personal choice. Most people I know have anxiety about doing it on their own using spreadsheets, so they do nothing.
As a graphic designer, I know that my work contributes quite a bit of environmental damage, even though I already use CLFs in the studio, re-use shopping bags, and bind my used paper into notepads for reuse. For many things, paper is still the best medium for the message. So, I resolve to:
• When designing for print, design smaller sizes to use less paper
• Only print with recycled/post-consumer waste stock from now on
• Soy or vegetable-based inks whenever I can get it
• Flatly refuse free varnish/UV coating offers from the printer, since they make paper less recyclable
• Reuse before I recycle to get the most out of the materials I go through
• Get other designers onboard with printing green
I had a credit card canceled once, when the credit card company decided to quit issuing cards to people with Illinois mailing addresses. They sent me a letter six months or so in advance that said, basically, "You can go on using your card until it expires, but you're not getting another one, and be sure to change any automatic charges before the expiry date. You can go on paying the balance according to current terms." If I'd been insane, I could have drawn on the card up to the credit limit, right up to the day it expired, but charges after that would have been declined.
The most likely scenario for a HELOC would be just to tell you that you couldn't draw on the line of credit. (As you suggest, essentially dropping the maximum down to your current balance, and then tracking the balance down as you pay off the amount owing.) They could sell the debt, but they wouldn't need to--they could just switch to simply servicing the existing debt as if it were a plain old loan and not a line of credit.
I'm sure if you read the terms of the loan you'll find that they can change the terms anyway they want and that you still have to pay the money back. (If you don't borrow any new money, you can usually pay the money back under the old terms, but you still have to pay it back.) And I'm sure the terms allow them to stop lending you new money for any reason at all.
The parking meter users of Montreal discovered this interesting 'feature' a few years ago when similar meters were installed in the city. An interesting hack has been that people with time left on the meter would leave their time stamped receipt on the numbered placard informing the next user how much time is remaining. Another interesting way to use this to your road raged advantage is if someone steals the spot you are trying to pull into, you can note the slot number, calmly drive off, then add $.25 to their meter to reset the time. They may get a ticket, but you can feel vindicated for their thievery.
I am always surprised by people who state things to the effect that Americcans simply WONT change. Car culture, and car based communities are less than a century old! Everything predating world-war II was designed to be walkable. The poster who said "there's nothing but a convenience store anywhere around" fails to take into account the American entrepeneurial spirit--if the market is there, stores will move in. At first there will be big zoning battles, like the absurd fights people have to have in order to hang their laundry on a clothesline in many communities, but as the price of energy keeps increasing, the will to maintain high-consumption lifestyles will crumble. It would be better if it were a planned, well-thought-through process, with public support. THAT is what is unlikely with the American mindset! But it will happen.
Philip, thanks for your reply. I hadn't thought of that scenario, but it brings a question to mind. In my case, I have a $40,000 balance on a HELOC with a max of $75,000. If my lender wanted out of the HELOC business, what would happen? I'm guessing they'd have to sell the loan or something, but in that process, could they drop the total credit from $75,000 down to my balance? Obviously they won't walk away from $40K, but how would they get their money, yet not allow me to still use the HELOC in case of emergency? Thanks for your input - just want to be prepared, because, as you say, the time that money becomes unavailable is generally when you need it the most.
Hey, I love this thread and appreciate reading all the advice. I do a good bit of what you all do and am always looking for other ways to NOT spend money. For a long time (years) I have strived to NOT pay for what little entertainment I have the spare time to indulge in. For me, that's using my library to the ultimate. If there's a first-run movie I'd like to see or some book I want to read, I immediately visit my local library online catalog and reserve it if possible. It may take awhile but this has worked for me (turns out the library has multiple copies of the popular stuff) and guess what, most of the time the movie or book I just HAD to watch or read wasn't all that great anyway and it was free, no loss. For that matter, any movie you haven't seen is new to you, right? I've had no cable TV for years and seldom watch regular TV (helps to work second shift, which I love). I've learned to cook well for myself so seldom even want the fast food anymore. I keep a glass water bottle with me and take it every time I go out the door. I make pots of coffee or tea at home and fill a thermos, stays hot all day and tastes fine, and I'll sometimes haul that around if I'll be away from home for hours. (Hit the thrifts and buy the containers, buy carry-alls, backpack things and keep a few in your car, very cheap for nice ones and very handy). I work from home now but used to make extra and always had a better-looking lunch than everybody I worked with. I've cut my own hair for years, it ain't all that hard to do. When my car quits, I have no plans to buy another and am actually looking forward to it. I think it's so important to cultivate a different attitude and way of looking at your daily life and home, how you can SLOW DOWN and enjoy it more, how you can become more of a homebody and get to know your neighborhood better. I say concentrate on buying a home you can afford when you're very young and go from there and make it your palace, make it within walking/bus stop distance and forego car payments and charging things. I had my first home when I was 23, wasn't much but it was mine. I've never regretted it.
If you use my spreadsheet, you can track your results and speed things along without paying fees, which can be put applied toward the principal or placed in an emergency fund. If you want to pay variable amounts each month, then you can adjust the principal amount paid. Or, if you are promoting a program, you can keep posting that you need to pay for a tool rather than download one for free.
Tri,
Results are results. It's math, you can't acheive different results using different software if the math is correct. All of them use projections since things will change along the way. So, it's your financial position that counts. If you bought 5 programs, the results for you should be the same at the end for all of them.
Perhaps the projected results will vary from one to another. Should you be leary of the one showing you the highest savings that also happens to have the highest price tag? My advice, if you buy one, get the one with the promo code talked about above, since it sounds less expensive.
Do it yourself if you like. Put all your discretionary income into your mortgage each month. Everyone already knows this will rapidly reduce your interest, but how many people do it? Not many. Remember though if you do, you won't have anywhere to go in the event of an emergency. The program and the software are tools. We can all write our checks in the register and write out our own tax returns, but I'd gladly pay (but not too much) for a piece of software to help me. Is $3500 too much for you when there are comparable programs out there for less?
Using water purifier/filter like PUR or Brita can save a lot more money than buying bottle water every month/week.
Also, bring ink cartridges, plastic bags and batteries to stores like (IKEA, Best Buy, Target, local grocery stores, etc...) for recycle (each store offer different program, just ask.)
Finally, some cities around the country do offer FREE CFLs! just ask your local city council, for example, the city that I live in offer 2 free CFLs per household, all you have to do is ask. (CFLs can save a lot of money, I was shocked by how much lower my electric bill was when I changed all the light bulbs to CFLs.)
to save even more electricity, don't use the central heater...it's okay to wear sweater at home, or, just buy those smaller heater.
If any one reading this owes mortgages for more than one property, you owe it to yourself to call UFF for a free analysis. You'd be amazed at what they can do for your situation.
What this story actually shows is how easy it is to overlook transaction costs. Setting aside the time he would have spent waiting for the bank to check his bona fides (not inconsiderable, and must be counted), before the bank would take physical delivery of a $250K piece of collateral, they would surely insist on his signing some sort of custody agreement--which he would need his lawyer to read and perhaps negotiate over (who would be responsible if anything happened to the Ferrari while he was away?). Right there, he's out several hundred dollars.
Found article to be very informative. Wish it had been around several years ago. My Mom had Alzheimer's and could walk around without a sound. Sometimes she would unlock the door and go walking to look at the flowers. Several times a neighbor would call Dad and wake him and tell him Mom was in their garden. We eventually had to put her in a home. This would have been so helpful. Anyone who is a caregiver should consider getting one for each door.
Geneva
I get the feeling that the writers in Wise Bread must all be city dwellers, because only in a large city would you be forced to park at a meter. In most smaller cities there might be meters in the core areas of downtown, but very often there is free on-street parking only two or three blocks away (and many of us could use the exercise). And small cities have often found (sometimes too late) that parking meters have contributed to killing their downtown - given a choice to drive to the downtown department store where you have to feed the meter (AND pay a ticket if you are inadvertently delayed in getting back to your vehicle) and going to the big box store on the outskirts of town - well, that would be a no-brainer for most people that were not born and raised in a big city.
I actually lived in a city that killed their downtown by refusing to remove the meters. They still had a thriving downtown when I first lived there, with a Woolwort's, a Kresge store, and a JC Penney's all on the same block. Then Kresge decided to build a K-Mart about a mile down the road, and of course it had free parking. The anal retentive city council, despite the pleas of local residents, some downtown merchants, and at least one of their own council members, not only refused to remove the downtown meters, but actually ordered new ones. The result is that today the downtown area is like a ghost town (even if you look at it on Google Earth, you see lots of open spaces where stores used to be) while the outlying areas of the city are going strong - there is even a large strip mall at the city limits that includes a Wal-Mart.
Anyone who is opposed to urban sprawl ought to see parking meters as the devil's own invention. It's not just that people are too cheap to feed the meters (and I will gladly admit to being in that category myself), but it's also the uncertainty of how long you may be inside a business. Run into an extra long line inside a store, or see a friend and have a chat, and suddenly you may find yourself with an expensive parking ticket. Why invite that hassle, when you can drive a bit further and often find better prices, and a bigger selection of merchandise?
And as for Chicago double billing for the same time, why would that surprise you? (Insert obligatory Chicago corruption joke here). Chicago really is one of the more corrupt American cities, in my personal opinion. My dad was raised there and it affected him deeply, to the point that he was afraid to speak out about any injustice or to get on anyone's bad side. You couldn't possibly pay me enough to live in Chicago, or any of the nearby suburbs.
1. Keep preparing natural products like Hair-gel, hand sanitizer, laundry detergent.
2. Clean with baking soda and vinegar instead of nasty chemical detergents.
3. No more paper products.
4. Reuse containers and buy in bulk.
5. Start a compost.
6. Not buy any prepackaged foods.
7. Keep thinking of ideas (and put them into practice) that would be both economical and eco-friendly!
This is a pretty old joke actually, I've heard it styled originally as a blonde joke (punchline, not all blondes are dumb); old man and rolls royce; ferrari; woman who's outsmarting the men in the bank who looked down on her, etc etc.
Here's a snopes link to the blonde joke version. http://www.snopes.com/humor/question/requests2.asp
In New Brunswick I saw and even used these. It makes sense.
I have nice, thick wavy dark hair. I do not have a "corporate" job. I used to get my hair cut every month or so, but I stopped a few years ago. I now have hair past my waist that I love and it looks nice. Once a year or so I might time the ends up a bit and I trim my own bangs.
First, I want to humbly apologize to all the readers of this topic. My intention is not to hawk any product or vendor. After re-reading my posts, I guess one can surmise that I was trying to push the UFF product. I am merely researching on this topic and wanted to really understand the mechanics of what makes the HELOC method work so well.
I could not find anything on the web that clearly shows how this method works without having to pay some one for information. The information in this blog did not seem very accurate in terms of how the HELOC method works...so that's why I decided to contribute my findings.
I was able to produce similar results to UFF's interest savings claims on a spreadsheet last night. Upon reaching that, I conclude my research.
Some final remarks for those who are interested:
1. HELOC method is the best approach to use to pay down your mortgage FAST! Hands down, it beats all other approaches. I'm talking you are saving a huge amount of money in interest cost as well as time!
Go have any of the product vendors do an analysis of your loan. You will be amazed at the savings and at how soon you can own your home free & clear!!
And the beauty of this approach is it doesn't affect your normal spending habits and it will give you access to your equity when you need it. That's why I strongly believe in this approach so much.
But it's NOT for everyone...only those who are good at managing their money!
2. This approach CAN be implemented with a simple spreadsheet. Software will NOT help you pay down your mortgage faster. You need to have positive cash flow to make it work.
Some software may make more aggressive recommendations than others in deciding how to best use the HELOC to accelerate the mortgage payoff.
Post #38 appears to be from someone who's very familiar with one of the software packages and I concur with his/her remarks. It will make implementing the HELOC method much simpler and more carefree. That may be worth the price for some people.
3. Are there more risks in the approach than others? Maybe. Refer to Julie's Post #31. It contains a link to a website that discusses about the risks of simple-interest loans.
But IMHO, the way the HELOC is used to pay down the mortgage limits that risk because of the size of the balance (we're talking $1000-$5000 balance here...see my example in Post #38).
Thanks again Julie, for creating this blog. I'm sure many people will find it useful in their research to understand the HELOC method.
HELP!!!!i have egg on my carpet as well as other things i cant get it too come up clean ive try over the counter carpet cleaning solutions as well as a steamer and a bit of elbow grease with no luck please does anyone have any suggestions.
We put CFL bulbs in every fixture, including our rental unit, and got a programmable thermostat. Next is a water filter, to keep from using so many plastic bottles.
That was hilariously genius.
Though I'd never buy an expensive car like that, the thought behind the story is what matters :)
Philip, your article is bang-on.
I have to disagree with those people who say that all debt is bad debt. That is simply not true. Although this is a prudent frugal attitude that will most likely keep you out of financial trouble in life, it also won't make you millions either. (I use the word "millions" figuratively as well as literally).
Going into debt for luxuries is absolutely a bad idea. I agree completely. But borrowing money to make money can be a great thing if done properly.
All business people have to take a risk to make it. Like Philip said, just opening your doors is a risk. And yup - that espresso machine won't do you much good if you have to close your doors, but if you don't stick your neck out there an try to fulfill that dream of being a cafe owner / barista supreme, then you'll never know what could have been. And saving up the cash to open a restaurant in a reasonable time frame is almost impossible.
I'd also like to point out an interesting fact about millionaires.....most of them have been bankrupt at some point. They simply have the mind frame, business prowess, and just plain guts to hang it all out there. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn't. But those who lose their millions also statistically get it back within years. And they don't do it by saving every penny and never borrowing.
The concept of leveraging (borrowing to invest, be it in a business, equities, or a property) is not a new one. By doing so, you can make a down payment on a $100,000 item, and even though the bank owns most of it, you are reaping the benefits of a $100,000 item growing in value. Even if it makes only 2%, and you put $10,000 down, your actual return on investment is 20%. Not to mention the fact that the $100,000 might help you open the business of your dreams, or help you to get an extra sum of money each year in rental income, etc.
It's all about risk versus reward. We make these calculations every day. Do we want to risk the chances of being in a car accident for the reward of getting to work quickly and easily every day? Do we want to risk borrowing money for a business that might go belly-up for the reward of fulfilling a dream and achieving financial independence?
The answer is different for everybody. It's all a matter of personal comfort. But please don't make sweeping statements like "there is no such thing as good debt" because that might not be true for everybody.
quote: the city loses "countless thousands of dollars" due to people "piggybacking at the meter."
How do they know what they are losing?
If I use your spreadsheet and save fees to put into a reserve for emergencies, it's a start. There can be many unexpected changes to income and expenses. You could go thru that reserve in no time.
If I add to my reserve by putting some of my discretionary income into it, I'm defeating the purpose of reducing my mortgage. I can't have the best of both worlds.
I can have the best of both worlds when I use the software. It does the work for me. It tracks my income and expenses and my HELOC balance. I have a built in reserve. It tells me what to do next. I can easily see the effect if I have a one time expense or income. It forces me to look more closely at my budget. I didn't do that before.
It's like taking a sophisticated spreadsheet and combining it with other spreadsheets and putting it all in one. It motivates me to do it and it saves me a lot of time. Is it worth the price? Sounds like a personal choice. Most people I know have anxiety about doing it on their own using spreadsheets, so they do nothing.
As a graphic designer, I know that my work contributes quite a bit of environmental damage, even though I already use CLFs in the studio, re-use shopping bags, and bind my used paper into notepads for reuse. For many things, paper is still the best medium for the message. So, I resolve to:
• When designing for print, design smaller sizes to use less paper
• Only print with recycled/post-consumer waste stock from now on
• Soy or vegetable-based inks whenever I can get it
• Flatly refuse free varnish/UV coating offers from the printer, since they make paper less recyclable
• Reuse before I recycle to get the most out of the materials I go through
• Get other designers onboard with printing green
I had a credit card canceled once, when the credit card company decided to quit issuing cards to people with Illinois mailing addresses. They sent me a letter six months or so in advance that said, basically, "You can go on using your card until it expires, but you're not getting another one, and be sure to change any automatic charges before the expiry date. You can go on paying the balance according to current terms." If I'd been insane, I could have drawn on the card up to the credit limit, right up to the day it expired, but charges after that would have been declined.
The most likely scenario for a HELOC would be just to tell you that you couldn't draw on the line of credit. (As you suggest, essentially dropping the maximum down to your current balance, and then tracking the balance down as you pay off the amount owing.) They could sell the debt, but they wouldn't need to--they could just switch to simply servicing the existing debt as if it were a plain old loan and not a line of credit.
I'm sure if you read the terms of the loan you'll find that they can change the terms anyway they want and that you still have to pay the money back. (If you don't borrow any new money, you can usually pay the money back under the old terms, but you still have to pay it back.) And I'm sure the terms allow them to stop lending you new money for any reason at all.
The parking meter users of Montreal discovered this interesting 'feature' a few years ago when similar meters were installed in the city. An interesting hack has been that people with time left on the meter would leave their time stamped receipt on the numbered placard informing the next user how much time is remaining. Another interesting way to use this to your road raged advantage is if someone steals the spot you are trying to pull into, you can note the slot number, calmly drive off, then add $.25 to their meter to reset the time. They may get a ticket, but you can feel vindicated for their thievery.
I am always surprised by people who state things to the effect that Americcans simply WONT change. Car culture, and car based communities are less than a century old! Everything predating world-war II was designed to be walkable. The poster who said "there's nothing but a convenience store anywhere around" fails to take into account the American entrepeneurial spirit--if the market is there, stores will move in. At first there will be big zoning battles, like the absurd fights people have to have in order to hang their laundry on a clothesline in many communities, but as the price of energy keeps increasing, the will to maintain high-consumption lifestyles will crumble. It would be better if it were a planned, well-thought-through process, with public support. THAT is what is unlikely with the American mindset! But it will happen.
Philip, thanks for your reply. I hadn't thought of that scenario, but it brings a question to mind. In my case, I have a $40,000 balance on a HELOC with a max of $75,000. If my lender wanted out of the HELOC business, what would happen? I'm guessing they'd have to sell the loan or something, but in that process, could they drop the total credit from $75,000 down to my balance? Obviously they won't walk away from $40K, but how would they get their money, yet not allow me to still use the HELOC in case of emergency? Thanks for your input - just want to be prepared, because, as you say, the time that money becomes unavailable is generally when you need it the most.
Hey, I love this thread and appreciate reading all the advice. I do a good bit of what you all do and am always looking for other ways to NOT spend money. For a long time (years) I have strived to NOT pay for what little entertainment I have the spare time to indulge in. For me, that's using my library to the ultimate. If there's a first-run movie I'd like to see or some book I want to read, I immediately visit my local library online catalog and reserve it if possible. It may take awhile but this has worked for me (turns out the library has multiple copies of the popular stuff) and guess what, most of the time the movie or book I just HAD to watch or read wasn't all that great anyway and it was free, no loss. For that matter, any movie you haven't seen is new to you, right? I've had no cable TV for years and seldom watch regular TV (helps to work second shift, which I love). I've learned to cook well for myself so seldom even want the fast food anymore. I keep a glass water bottle with me and take it every time I go out the door. I make pots of coffee or tea at home and fill a thermos, stays hot all day and tastes fine, and I'll sometimes haul that around if I'll be away from home for hours. (Hit the thrifts and buy the containers, buy carry-alls, backpack things and keep a few in your car, very cheap for nice ones and very handy). I work from home now but used to make extra and always had a better-looking lunch than everybody I worked with. I've cut my own hair for years, it ain't all that hard to do. When my car quits, I have no plans to buy another and am actually looking forward to it. I think it's so important to cultivate a different attitude and way of looking at your daily life and home, how you can SLOW DOWN and enjoy it more, how you can become more of a homebody and get to know your neighborhood better. I say concentrate on buying a home you can afford when you're very young and go from there and make it your palace, make it within walking/bus stop distance and forego car payments and charging things. I had my first home when I was 23, wasn't much but it was mine. I've never regretted it.
I really do believe that within my lifetime, there will be a time when gasoline/fossil fuel burning cars will become obsolete from a dearth of fuel.
And I think thats about when those who pooh-poohed for so long will actually "get it."
If you use my spreadsheet, you can track your results and speed things along without paying fees, which can be put applied toward the principal or placed in an emergency fund. If you want to pay variable amounts each month, then you can adjust the principal amount paid. Or, if you are promoting a program, you can keep posting that you need to pay for a tool rather than download one for free.
Tri,
Results are results. It's math, you can't acheive different results using different software if the math is correct. All of them use projections since things will change along the way. So, it's your financial position that counts. If you bought 5 programs, the results for you should be the same at the end for all of them.
Perhaps the projected results will vary from one to another. Should you be leary of the one showing you the highest savings that also happens to have the highest price tag? My advice, if you buy one, get the one with the promo code talked about above, since it sounds less expensive.
Do it yourself if you like. Put all your discretionary income into your mortgage each month. Everyone already knows this will rapidly reduce your interest, but how many people do it? Not many. Remember though if you do, you won't have anywhere to go in the event of an emergency. The program and the software are tools. We can all write our checks in the register and write out our own tax returns, but I'd gladly pay (but not too much) for a piece of software to help me. Is $3500 too much for you when there are comparable programs out there for less?
Using water purifier/filter like PUR or Brita can save a lot more money than buying bottle water every month/week.
Also, bring ink cartridges, plastic bags and batteries to stores like (IKEA, Best Buy, Target, local grocery stores, etc...) for recycle (each store offer different program, just ask.)
Finally, some cities around the country do offer FREE CFLs! just ask your local city council, for example, the city that I live in offer 2 free CFLs per household, all you have to do is ask. (CFLs can save a lot of money, I was shocked by how much lower my electric bill was when I changed all the light bulbs to CFLs.)
to save even more electricity, don't use the central heater...it's okay to wear sweater at home, or, just buy those smaller heater.
If any one reading this owes mortgages for more than one property, you owe it to yourself to call UFF for a free analysis. You'd be amazed at what they can do for your situation.