Bigger isn't always better! I'm divorced, no kids, and it's just me and my little dog. Therefore, I don't need nor do I want a large home. My little 1200 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 2 bath home in a quaint, picturesque, low crime waterside town in a very good school district, is perfect for me. I had the option of purchasing a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home for less money in the next town over, but the school district has been ranked very low, the crime rate is very high, and there are not enough police officers to protect its citizens due to budget cuts. As a result, if you call the police, it may take a while for them to show up...if they show up at all. In my town, if the police are needed, their response time is excellent. My home was a short sale, so I was able to purchase it in good condition for an excellent price a few years ago. Presently, my home, due to the location (as well as the homes in this town in general), is worth more than the larger homes in the the town next door with the high crime. Another plus side to buying a short sale is that my mortgage is now cheaper than rent.
DOG TOYS and dog treats NEVER buy at the dollar store... The toys are really not safe for dogs -- they are made with cheap materials and they(Chinese suppliers) don't care if it's harmful to your pet.
That said I love dollar stores but since Dollarama took out their craft section and turned into a $1-$3 store, I hardly ever go.
do you earn this money online or providing face to face services in your area? i would like to do something similar myself, but want to know where to start.
Totally agree. If a person can afford a $10 million house and lives in a $500,000 house, that's definitely frugal. It takes a certain wisdom to stop wasting time judging other people about their spending habits and to redirect energy to correcting one's own financial course.
Perhaps it's optimism that keeps most Americans overspending. Maybe most people think that a miracle will happen and that financial security will come to them in some unknown manner. But the celebrity frenzy that makes people want to LIVE like a millionaire instead of actually BEING a millionaire doesn't leave much room for wisdom.
Getting debt-free and continuing to save for even more freedom: Now that's wisdom.
as a government employee i was forced to take early social security to make up for the 400dollar a month decrease in my regular pension. what was supposed to be a 3 tier plan was not as advertised. there is a big difference in being eligible for social security and actually drawing it. i would have waited until later if i had not been penalized for turning 62. oh , i forgot to mention i've had 16 great years of retirement., since age 49 so catch up on 5 or 6 hundred a month for the next 15 to 20 years. not happening if you retire at 70.
Actually I feel that if you wait to get married (for the first time) until you are in your 30s+ and are financially stable you should NOT be having bridal showers and expecting lavish wedding gifts. The point of that was for young couples just starting out who dont have anything. If you already have everything you need, you should not be expecting more.
I am a single, very financially stable female (in my early 40s). I've never really cared much about getting married but if I ever do decide to do it, I would prefer to just elope. I have always felt that big weddings full of glitz and glamour etc were more for show and a bit immature. I would feel a little silly doing all of that at my age plus, to me, marriage is about making a commitment between two people who love each other, not about some big party.
This topic is far from simple. There are many factors that play a roll in this decision as you noted:
"For some, the loss of $600 each month for the duration of their retirement would be difficult to absorb. For others, it would be less of an issue. And for others still, there might be health-related concerns or other extenuating circumstances that make early distribution a reasonable choice."
I personally am a proponent of collecting social security at the earliest age possible. Let me explain.
Let us examine the case of someone who wants to collect social security at 62. We understand collecting social security at the age of 62 you will only collect 70% of what you would collect at 67. While the individual as you put it "would be giving up $600" each month when compared to the amount available to collect at 67 I believe there is still a financial benefit.
Primarily I feel this is the case as during that 5 year period you are collecting money you would have otherwise not had. A quick calculation shows by collecting $1400 a month at 62 they will have collected $1400 x 12 months x 5 years = $84,000 by age 67. This is $84,000 more than you had before.
I don't see why any individual should give up $84,000 to earn an extra $600 a month 5 years later. This can be expanded further to showing $84,000 is equivalent to what would be 140 month of collecting $600. Using this calculation you won't see an overall financial benefit until you reach the age of 79.
I totally agree with you. Your retirement fund is a protection. You should really consider this as money you do not have. Dipping into this fund early can cause you to experience a major financial set back. Before even considering touching your retirement funds, make sure you explore all other options until they are completely exhausted. Look into various loans someone, somewhere will loan you money no matter what. The interest rate and terms may not be ideal, but it is an option.
I use an Excel spreadsheet and sign up for email reminders from companies (linked to my Google calendar) to make sure I pay online and on time. I also try to stay on top of my credit card statement and cross-check that with my spreadsheet every few days.
I really have to disagree on the journalism degree note. I graduated from a state school about four years ago with a journalism degree (a school with low tuition costs), I had a number of well-paying internships, and I have gone on to work in corporate communications where the technical reporting/writing skills I learned in college (and the clips I got) are highly valued.
Sure, working in newspapers or new media may not pay a lot. But you learn actual marketable skills from that degree. So just go to a college that you can afford, get good work experience and clips, and find a writing job that pays you a worthwhile salary (whether that's the news, marketing, technical writing, or whatever.) No one thinks they're going to get rich by working in news; that is absolutely not why we do it.
You can get a set of larger green Ball jars, if it fits the decor, or a short set of crystal cut jelly jars for a little elegance, too. If you don't want the hassle of the 2 part lid, just glue them together before you use them.
I received one of these prepaid cards from GreenDot. I never applied for the card it just showed up in the mail. I tried to call them and was not able to get a hold of a person to find out if this was a solicitation or fraud.
Bottom line, they need to stop sending these things out. Nowhere on the card does it say that this is a solicitation. It's sent out as if I had actually ordered the prepaid card. I wasted an hour figuring this thing out...
You are not giving her credit for realizing the value of a bird in the hand. A waiting strategy means she loses real money now for every month she delays. Your statement "the loss of $600 each month for the duration of their retirement would be difficult to absorb" is not phrased accurately. If she starts at 62, she is not "losing $600" each month. She is gaining the full amount now of her "reduced" check. The "losing" starts happening way in the future. So you have to compare the value of what she gets from age 62 to whatever date you decide to choose as the future start date against the full amounts collected thereafter, up to the time she dies. It becomes a present value calculation that also must include an expectation of a date of demise. So it would seem to me that if your goal is to maximize your expected benefit, you must first determine the date you expect to die. And then you also have to look at that against your cash flow now from other sources to see if you can hold out. (On a more cynical note, I'm suspicious that the government is creating a seeming incentive to wait. Why would they offer that? It must be because your waiting is better for them! So if it is better for the government, it can't also be better for the people since this is zero sum? Just a thought.)
My birthday is 12/31 so everybody celebrates my birthday every year. And I always get the day off like it's a holiday or something. I always see banners celebrating my new year too. Its nice that Almost everyone throws a party for me.
This agent cannot cut his commission if there is another offer on the table. There are laws to prevent any unfair advantage or bias, especially in multiple offer situations. Of course the seller wants to pay less commission, which gives your offer more leverage. When there are multiple offers, real estate brokers cannot, by law, reduce their commission - all offers must be given equal footing so that price and conditions are the factors at play.
Very interesting! I might try your method, cause now, I have like 5-6 pairs of jeans and wear only 2-3 of them. And others just collecting dust in the closet!
I love referral programs because of their win-win situation for both me and my friends! I think that very good Paperhelp.org Referral program is not indicated here, but it is worth your attention!
I have a huge collection of my childhood photographs. I have preserved them in albums and covered with air proof polythene glass sheets. I’ll never ever let my kids or husband touch the photo without the cover on. You must never touch a photograph with bare hands. The oil and dirt on your hand tends to stick on to the photos texture. I have moved some of my oldest collectibles to my public storage facility at St Catherines.
Check out the mint trends tab - you can see month by month comparisons of spending and download the data into excel if you want to do more complex analytics.
Mint is my go-to for tracking finances. I love the interface both on the computer and the app. I review and categorize purchases as part of my daily routine and love seeing how I make progress towards my saving goals. I also use the 'budgets' feature for monthly budgeting and love how it is color codes to show if you are on or off track.
Good analysis and I like the fact that you haven't fallen into the trap of advising people to avoid credit cards altogether. The truth is if used wisely you can earn money for doing nothing. I earn 1% cashback every time I use it and at the end of the year I get some get cash rewards! Fantastic, get paid to shop!!! Lol. :)
Bigger isn't always better! I'm divorced, no kids, and it's just me and my little dog. Therefore, I don't need nor do I want a large home. My little 1200 sq. ft., 2 bedroom, 2 bath home in a quaint, picturesque, low crime waterside town in a very good school district, is perfect for me. I had the option of purchasing a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home for less money in the next town over, but the school district has been ranked very low, the crime rate is very high, and there are not enough police officers to protect its citizens due to budget cuts. As a result, if you call the police, it may take a while for them to show up...if they show up at all. In my town, if the police are needed, their response time is excellent. My home was a short sale, so I was able to purchase it in good condition for an excellent price a few years ago. Presently, my home, due to the location (as well as the homes in this town in general), is worth more than the larger homes in the the town next door with the high crime. Another plus side to buying a short sale is that my mortgage is now cheaper than rent.
DOG TOYS and dog treats NEVER buy at the dollar store... The toys are really not safe for dogs -- they are made with cheap materials and they(Chinese suppliers) don't care if it's harmful to your pet.
That said I love dollar stores but since Dollarama took out their craft section and turned into a $1-$3 store, I hardly ever go.
do you earn this money online or providing face to face services in your area? i would like to do something similar myself, but want to know where to start.
Totally agree. If a person can afford a $10 million house and lives in a $500,000 house, that's definitely frugal. It takes a certain wisdom to stop wasting time judging other people about their spending habits and to redirect energy to correcting one's own financial course.
Perhaps it's optimism that keeps most Americans overspending. Maybe most people think that a miracle will happen and that financial security will come to them in some unknown manner. But the celebrity frenzy that makes people want to LIVE like a millionaire instead of actually BEING a millionaire doesn't leave much room for wisdom.
Getting debt-free and continuing to save for even more freedom: Now that's wisdom.
as a government employee i was forced to take early social security to make up for the 400dollar a month decrease in my regular pension. what was supposed to be a 3 tier plan was not as advertised. there is a big difference in being eligible for social security and actually drawing it. i would have waited until later if i had not been penalized for turning 62. oh , i forgot to mention i've had 16 great years of retirement., since age 49 so catch up on 5 or 6 hundred a month for the next 15 to 20 years. not happening if you retire at 70.
Actually I feel that if you wait to get married (for the first time) until you are in your 30s+ and are financially stable you should NOT be having bridal showers and expecting lavish wedding gifts. The point of that was for young couples just starting out who dont have anything. If you already have everything you need, you should not be expecting more.
I am a single, very financially stable female (in my early 40s). I've never really cared much about getting married but if I ever do decide to do it, I would prefer to just elope. I have always felt that big weddings full of glitz and glamour etc were more for show and a bit immature. I would feel a little silly doing all of that at my age plus, to me, marriage is about making a commitment between two people who love each other, not about some big party.
This topic is far from simple. There are many factors that play a roll in this decision as you noted:
"For some, the loss of $600 each month for the duration of their retirement would be difficult to absorb. For others, it would be less of an issue. And for others still, there might be health-related concerns or other extenuating circumstances that make early distribution a reasonable choice."
I personally am a proponent of collecting social security at the earliest age possible. Let me explain.
Let us examine the case of someone who wants to collect social security at 62. We understand collecting social security at the age of 62 you will only collect 70% of what you would collect at 67. While the individual as you put it "would be giving up $600" each month when compared to the amount available to collect at 67 I believe there is still a financial benefit.
Primarily I feel this is the case as during that 5 year period you are collecting money you would have otherwise not had. A quick calculation shows by collecting $1400 a month at 62 they will have collected $1400 x 12 months x 5 years = $84,000 by age 67. This is $84,000 more than you had before.
I don't see why any individual should give up $84,000 to earn an extra $600 a month 5 years later. This can be expanded further to showing $84,000 is equivalent to what would be 140 month of collecting $600. Using this calculation you won't see an overall financial benefit until you reach the age of 79.
I totally agree with you. Your retirement fund is a protection. You should really consider this as money you do not have. Dipping into this fund early can cause you to experience a major financial set back. Before even considering touching your retirement funds, make sure you explore all other options until they are completely exhausted. Look into various loans someone, somewhere will loan you money no matter what. The interest rate and terms may not be ideal, but it is an option.
I use an Excel spreadsheet and sign up for email reminders from companies (linked to my Google calendar) to make sure I pay online and on time. I also try to stay on top of my credit card statement and cross-check that with my spreadsheet every few days.
I really have to disagree on the journalism degree note. I graduated from a state school about four years ago with a journalism degree (a school with low tuition costs), I had a number of well-paying internships, and I have gone on to work in corporate communications where the technical reporting/writing skills I learned in college (and the clips I got) are highly valued.
Sure, working in newspapers or new media may not pay a lot. But you learn actual marketable skills from that degree. So just go to a college that you can afford, get good work experience and clips, and find a writing job that pays you a worthwhile salary (whether that's the news, marketing, technical writing, or whatever.) No one thinks they're going to get rich by working in news; that is absolutely not why we do it.
You can get a set of larger green Ball jars, if it fits the decor, or a short set of crystal cut jelly jars for a little elegance, too. If you don't want the hassle of the 2 part lid, just glue them together before you use them.
I received one of these prepaid cards from GreenDot. I never applied for the card it just showed up in the mail. I tried to call them and was not able to get a hold of a person to find out if this was a solicitation or fraud.
Bottom line, they need to stop sending these things out. Nowhere on the card does it say that this is a solicitation. It's sent out as if I had actually ordered the prepaid card. I wasted an hour figuring this thing out...
You are not giving her credit for realizing the value of a bird in the hand. A waiting strategy means she loses real money now for every month she delays. Your statement "the loss of $600 each month for the duration of their retirement would be difficult to absorb" is not phrased accurately. If she starts at 62, she is not "losing $600" each month. She is gaining the full amount now of her "reduced" check. The "losing" starts happening way in the future. So you have to compare the value of what she gets from age 62 to whatever date you decide to choose as the future start date against the full amounts collected thereafter, up to the time she dies. It becomes a present value calculation that also must include an expectation of a date of demise. So it would seem to me that if your goal is to maximize your expected benefit, you must first determine the date you expect to die. And then you also have to look at that against your cash flow now from other sources to see if you can hold out. (On a more cynical note, I'm suspicious that the government is creating a seeming incentive to wait. Why would they offer that? It must be because your waiting is better for them! So if it is better for the government, it can't also be better for the people since this is zero sum? Just a thought.)
Good advice, Daniel. I wouldn't want to chance it.
My birthday is 12/31 so everybody celebrates my birthday every year. And I always get the day off like it's a holiday or something. I always see banners celebrating my new year too. Its nice that Almost everyone throws a party for me.
This agent cannot cut his commission if there is another offer on the table. There are laws to prevent any unfair advantage or bias, especially in multiple offer situations. Of course the seller wants to pay less commission, which gives your offer more leverage. When there are multiple offers, real estate brokers cannot, by law, reduce their commission - all offers must be given equal footing so that price and conditions are the factors at play.
Very interesting! I might try your method, cause now, I have like 5-6 pairs of jeans and wear only 2-3 of them. And others just collecting dust in the closet!
I love referral programs because of their win-win situation for both me and my friends! I think that very good Paperhelp.org Referral program is not indicated here, but it is worth your attention!
Quicken....
I have a huge collection of my childhood photographs. I have preserved them in albums and covered with air proof polythene glass sheets. I’ll never ever let my kids or husband touch the photo without the cover on. You must never touch a photograph with bare hands. The oil and dirt on your hand tends to stick on to the photos texture. I have moved some of my oldest collectibles to my public storage facility at St Catherines.
Check out the mint trends tab - you can see month by month comparisons of spending and download the data into excel if you want to do more complex analytics.
Mint is my go-to for tracking finances. I love the interface both on the computer and the app. I review and categorize purchases as part of my daily routine and love seeing how I make progress towards my saving goals. I also use the 'budgets' feature for monthly budgeting and love how it is color codes to show if you are on or off track.
Good analysis and I like the fact that you haven't fallen into the trap of advising people to avoid credit cards altogether. The truth is if used wisely you can earn money for doing nothing. I earn 1% cashback every time I use it and at the end of the year I get some get cash rewards! Fantastic, get paid to shop!!! Lol. :)
I am from E. Pa too. Live in FL. now and am the only one who makes real mashed potatoes , that I know of. Hate those instant!!!!!!
I use pen/paper/journal. I don't keep track using the computer at all.