I firmly believe in the concept of an emergency fund and I believe everyone should have at least three months of gross (yes, gross, not net) income saved up.
However, the only thing I disagree with is the idea of keeping it in a low interest savings account for safety. I agree that doing something risky with the money is not a good idea, but at the very least, I think it should be invested in an bond index or just Treasury bonds. Basically, *something* that doesn't make you feel like you hid the money under a pillow.
My greenest trait is my hatred of snail mail. Whenever possible, I get EVERYTHING done by email and always try to opt out of paper mail. As far as I'm concerned, the widespread 'paperless' drive is one of the best things to ever happen.
When I find a way to opt out of those spam mail, then I'll be a happy man.
Hmm, it seems there's a stipulation that the account requires you to have direct deposit into the eligible account in order to get 2%. So the best way to probably set this up is to open a 'Cash Management' account, direct deposit into that, then you pretty much have to use that as your primary bank account.
The alternative, the Visa one, requires you to spend $15K first before you get 2%.
Honestly, the rewards is very attractive and it seems worth it. I'll have to look more into it, though.
where does one go when a medical condition prevents you from work...no insurance, needing surgery, no money no help, no hope!!
all MD s require some money, hospitals and emeergency rooms want to know how you will pay before they will see you, too young for medicare, takes two years to be declared disabled --all this in the fine state of texas.
I channel surf or mute the TV and turn on Pandora.
I also switch on the commercialbreak.com app.
The app notifies me on my iPhone when the show is back!!
I think this is a pretty good blueprint for people who don't know where to start! Something I'd add: save AS MUCH as you can, so you can get to financial independence as early as possible in life. Once you have that, you can choose any work you like, or choose not to work! By "AS MUCH", I mean I save about 50% of my income. I'm trying to find ways to save more, and put my money to work for me and my life of freedom.
Great article in terms of items to think about. If people of ANY age ratchet down consumption and see money in terms of freedom, they can becoming financially independent at a much earlier age. And then decide whether to retire, work, or do anything they want. I'm pretty aggressive in my savings rate--it's been almost 50% for a couple years now. I hope to retire by 50. It could have been earlier, but I made poor decisions in my 20s.
Good article! Never thought of it like this before but I use a vacation/trip as my alternative currency. I used to go to the pub and have a few beers on Thursdays. After all was said and done, it usually cost $25. Multiply that by a year and it's $1300. "That's a good trip!," I told myself so then stopped going. Any time I can find money that will offer me enough for a trip, a past "need" easily turns into a "want". Whether I actually use that money specifically for a trip or not, makes little difference in my mind. ...But rationally, spending a week on a beach in Mexico at an all-inclusive drinking as much beer as a I want easily outweighs the fun factor of going for those beers on Thursdays in my hometown.
You left out the awesome TFSAs in Canada which are tax free savings accounts, now $5500 a year per person can be moved - contributed to an account from which the earnings will never be taxable.
I didn't think I'd have a chance to brag about this anywhere. I should have guessed wise bread would have been the place. This year we had a sizable refund (and no its not because we don't take the correct deductions).
When we received our refund that money got split into 3 savings accounts (we don't have any debts other than mortgages). Most went into our emergency fund which is probably a bit over 12 months now, a nearly equal amount went to our car replacement account, and finally we got to add and extra $1,000 to our vacation account.
I still feel like I want to but something for the family, but after years of being very clear with needs and wants, the wants really do diminish. Its not that I can't splurge, we can and with more money and less guilt, I just don't have the desire for "things".
The author didn't do her research.
She completely missed Canada's TFSAs (which would be similar to the ROTH IRA), also lots of companies still have employer sponsored plans (though many have switched from defined benefits to defined contributions).
I also have found curriculum swaps to be invaluable for finding free items. All the moms in my homeschool group bring their curriculum to park and either give it away or sell it for cheap.
Agree! Have used the Kitchen Aid for many years. Unfortunately, have only had one problem, the bean reservoir tends to break at the neck by the top burr! Very satisfactory otherwise!
Since the cost of living is 16% higher in Canada than the US, I wonder how that compares with average salaries between the two nations. I'd also be curious to know what percentage of our relative incomes do we save voluntarily for retirement. Friends of mine recently moved to Equador so they could live comfortably off his social security.
Amazon has many used ("good" or "very good") copies of books for only a penny (.01 cent)!!! I recently purchase a handful of them from sellers such as Goodwill on amazon, although I paid 399 times the purchase price for the shipping! A good bargain, nonetheless. Thanks for the tips. I"ll check the publishers' damaged sections from now on!
Although I'm a tea drinker myself, I do like the gurgling noises and pleasant smell coffee machines kick up. These seem like an excellent bunch. The one in our office has an unusual design where the coffee drips off the plastic lid into the glass pot. I'm not sure I'd be happy about drinking from that, but I don't anyway so it's not up to me to comment!
A "best tea devices" article would be great! You can buy some really interesting tea immersion gadgets, like sharks fins. Pretty cool.
When my four year old daughter with the big personality informed me recently that her clothes aren't "rock star" enough, it was time for a trip to the thrift store. While we were there, she went like a laser to the shoe rack and found an almost-new pair of pink cowboy boots in her size. Her face was magical. And when she declared, "Now THESE are rock star!" the whole place could hear it. Best $5 I ever spent.
I firmly believe in the concept of an emergency fund and I believe everyone should have at least three months of gross (yes, gross, not net) income saved up.
However, the only thing I disagree with is the idea of keeping it in a low interest savings account for safety. I agree that doing something risky with the money is not a good idea, but at the very least, I think it should be invested in an bond index or just Treasury bonds. Basically, *something* that doesn't make you feel like you hid the money under a pillow.
My greenest trait is my hatred of snail mail. Whenever possible, I get EVERYTHING done by email and always try to opt out of paper mail. As far as I'm concerned, the widespread 'paperless' drive is one of the best things to ever happen.
When I find a way to opt out of those spam mail, then I'll be a happy man.
Hmm, it seems there's a stipulation that the account requires you to have direct deposit into the eligible account in order to get 2%. So the best way to probably set this up is to open a 'Cash Management' account, direct deposit into that, then you pretty much have to use that as your primary bank account.
The alternative, the Visa one, requires you to spend $15K first before you get 2%.
Honestly, the rewards is very attractive and it seems worth it. I'll have to look more into it, though.
where does one go when a medical condition prevents you from work...no insurance, needing surgery, no money no help, no hope!!
all MD s require some money, hospitals and emeergency rooms want to know how you will pay before they will see you, too young for medicare, takes two years to be declared disabled --all this in the fine state of texas.
You are welcome!
You are welcome!
Thanks Tahnya!
Happy to include you!
I channel surf or mute the TV and turn on Pandora.
I also switch on the commercialbreak.com app.
The app notifies me on my iPhone when the show is back!!
I think this is a pretty good blueprint for people who don't know where to start! Something I'd add: save AS MUCH as you can, so you can get to financial independence as early as possible in life. Once you have that, you can choose any work you like, or choose not to work! By "AS MUCH", I mean I save about 50% of my income. I'm trying to find ways to save more, and put my money to work for me and my life of freedom.
Great article in terms of items to think about. If people of ANY age ratchet down consumption and see money in terms of freedom, they can becoming financially independent at a much earlier age. And then decide whether to retire, work, or do anything they want. I'm pretty aggressive in my savings rate--it's been almost 50% for a couple years now. I hope to retire by 50. It could have been earlier, but I made poor decisions in my 20s.
Good article! Never thought of it like this before but I use a vacation/trip as my alternative currency. I used to go to the pub and have a few beers on Thursdays. After all was said and done, it usually cost $25. Multiply that by a year and it's $1300. "That's a good trip!," I told myself so then stopped going. Any time I can find money that will offer me enough for a trip, a past "need" easily turns into a "want". Whether I actually use that money specifically for a trip or not, makes little difference in my mind. ...But rationally, spending a week on a beach in Mexico at an all-inclusive drinking as much beer as a I want easily outweighs the fun factor of going for those beers on Thursdays in my hometown.
You left out the awesome TFSAs in Canada which are tax free savings accounts, now $5500 a year per person can be moved - contributed to an account from which the earnings will never be taxable.
I didn't think I'd have a chance to brag about this anywhere. I should have guessed wise bread would have been the place. This year we had a sizable refund (and no its not because we don't take the correct deductions).
When we received our refund that money got split into 3 savings accounts (we don't have any debts other than mortgages). Most went into our emergency fund which is probably a bit over 12 months now, a nearly equal amount went to our car replacement account, and finally we got to add and extra $1,000 to our vacation account.
I still feel like I want to but something for the family, but after years of being very clear with needs and wants, the wants really do diminish. Its not that I can't splurge, we can and with more money and less guilt, I just don't have the desire for "things".
I have this FIA card and take my 2% as cash (sent as a check) once I hit 25000 points. It's not easy to set up, but it's doable.
The author didn't do her research.
She completely missed Canada's TFSAs (which would be similar to the ROTH IRA), also lots of companies still have employer sponsored plans (though many have switched from defined benefits to defined contributions).
I also have found curriculum swaps to be invaluable for finding free items. All the moms in my homeschool group bring their curriculum to park and either give it away or sell it for cheap.
Here's a site I use that's really helpful. booksprice.com It finds you the best price of a book on the Internet.
Great article! It seems easy enough to test out this week... I better start by cleaning out the pantry :)!
Agree! Have used the Kitchen Aid for many years. Unfortunately, have only had one problem, the bean reservoir tends to break at the neck by the top burr! Very satisfactory otherwise!
Since the cost of living is 16% higher in Canada than the US, I wonder how that compares with average salaries between the two nations. I'd also be curious to know what percentage of our relative incomes do we save voluntarily for retirement. Friends of mine recently moved to Equador so they could live comfortably off his social security.
Amazon has many used ("good" or "very good") copies of books for only a penny (.01 cent)!!! I recently purchase a handful of them from sellers such as Goodwill on amazon, although I paid 399 times the purchase price for the shipping! A good bargain, nonetheless. Thanks for the tips. I"ll check the publishers' damaged sections from now on!
Thanks for include us in the round up, honoured to be included!
Although I'm a tea drinker myself, I do like the gurgling noises and pleasant smell coffee machines kick up. These seem like an excellent bunch. The one in our office has an unusual design where the coffee drips off the plastic lid into the glass pot. I'm not sure I'd be happy about drinking from that, but I don't anyway so it's not up to me to comment!
A "best tea devices" article would be great! You can buy some really interesting tea immersion gadgets, like sharks fins. Pretty cool.
When my four year old daughter with the big personality informed me recently that her clothes aren't "rock star" enough, it was time for a trip to the thrift store. While we were there, she went like a laser to the shoe rack and found an almost-new pair of pink cowboy boots in her size. Her face was magical. And when she declared, "Now THESE are rock star!" the whole place could hear it. Best $5 I ever spent.