I hope to begin to really pay down our mortgage, the only debt we have left. I also would like start saving towards starting my own business.
We have a new baby coming in March that will require some reallocation of funds. I plan on using a planner - would be great (and frugal) to win a free one!
I didn't comment two sentences so I am amending my previous comment. My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is mashed potatoes. I like them with butter, not with gravy. I recently bought a "ricer" and am going to try to use that this holiday. Wish me luck!
Hi Meg,
My 2012 financial goal is to finally pay off my 4 family members who have loaned me money for the past 6 years. So far I have paid off my home equity loan. My family is more patient, plus I am paying them interest each year, so it really is a loan. Two of them will definitely get the balance back they year, and two other ones will get back at least 50% of their principle, if not more or all of it. I'm working several jobs and am very reponsible with money. Frugal is an understatement. I think I could really use that free book, and I'd pass it along to my grown children so there would be a lot of people who will benefit from this gift. Please pick me. I need all the help I can get.
Dave Henry
These are great saving tips! They are great idea and I will surely try them. At first, I know, its really hard to save up some cash, but when I started putting some savings in the bank and I was never tempted to withdraw it unless it was necessary. :)
Reality bites. LOL. =) Your article makes lots of sense. A lot of people don't accept the reality that they spend more than what they earn. They should have a reality check once in a while so that they won't drown in debt. =) just my two cents.
I will be camping from Wednesday until Sunday to escape the craziness that goes along with Black Friday sales. What I personally have found in the past, is that these sales only make sense if you are going to buy a particular electronic item (that is probably unneeded in the first place) and are willing to endure the agony of waiting, fighting and rudeness that goes along with time-limited sales, it may make sense. But other than that, why put yourself through the pain? Rarely have I witnessed the sale prices being low enough to warrent the trouble. So, I will be sitting at my campsite, drinking a glass of wine, watching my children play tag-football and being thankful that I learned the lessons of Black Friday years ago. Happy Thanksgiving, all!
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is my Aunts sweet potato casserole. Its sooo good! I usually put a lot of the casserole on my dinner plate, then I have more for dessert. JUst thinking about it has me excited for thanksgiving!
No, I will not be shopping on Black Friday!! It is insane out there!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that people quickly forget the spirit of the Christmas holiday. When everyone is hungry for the hottest deals they forget to be kind to the people around them. Not everyone of course but it only takes one rude comment from someone to make me want to go home.
I agree with what Xin Lu says. When real real estate investors see a negative $500 per month cash flow on a $60K investment they do the logical thing: sit and and wait. I made an investment of $25K in March 2011 into a 3BR Townhome. When rented, I net $280 positive cash flow per month. That is more than 1% ROI monthly on what I invested. I manage my properties myself, but out of that $280 still comes repairs and vacancies. So, I hope to clear about $100/month in the first year or two.
5% assumption for appreciation is really optimistic and not just "barely keeping up with inflation." If you look over time, housing goes up at the same rate of inflation. Because it is still a little overvalued, even in 2011, I assume that over the next 10 years we will maybe have an average of 2% appreciation per year, and I don't assume I will be able to sell(or 1031 exchange) at a reasonable profit for 10 years. This forces me to find deals that pay me now. And the truth is, we can demand this in today's market. If San Diego today, I can find many properties that cash flow with only 10% down. There are certainly areas that still don't cash flow with 30% down. I avoid these areas, they haven't finished normalizing to the trend line yet.
There are FOUR pilars to making money in real estate. Know them well: Cash Flow, Appreciation, Depreciation/Tax Advantages, and Equity Build. Know them well! Good luck everyone!
Tweeted about my no black friday shopping! http://twitter.com/#!/thejennypincher/status/139347678252376064
I hope to begin to really pay down our mortgage, the only debt we have left. I also would like start saving towards starting my own business.
We have a new baby coming in March that will require some reallocation of funds. I plan on using a planner - would be great (and frugal) to win a free one!
Thanks!
I have never been shopping on Black Friday and I never will! I absolutely hate crowds so shopping on Black Friday would pretty much be my worst nightmare! I wrote about it last year: http://thejennypincher.com/i-dont-do-black-friday-the-top-5-reasons-i-av...
I wish those who are brave enough to shop that day the best of luck!
I plan to save more for a down payment on a house!
I didn't comment two sentences so I am amending my previous comment. My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is mashed potatoes. I like them with butter, not with gravy. I recently bought a "ricer" and am going to try to use that this holiday. Wish me luck!
Hi Meg,
My 2012 financial goal is to finally pay off my 4 family members who have loaned me money for the past 6 years. So far I have paid off my home equity loan. My family is more patient, plus I am paying them interest each year, so it really is a loan. Two of them will definitely get the balance back they year, and two other ones will get back at least 50% of their principle, if not more or all of it. I'm working several jobs and am very reponsible with money. Frugal is an understatement. I think I could really use that free book, and I'd pass it along to my grown children so there would be a lot of people who will benefit from this gift. Please pick me. I need all the help I can get.
Dave Henry
These are great saving tips! They are great idea and I will surely try them. At first, I know, its really hard to save up some cash, but when I started putting some savings in the bank and I was never tempted to withdraw it unless it was necessary. :)
My financial goal is to pay off credit card debt over the next 12 months and save some cash for emergency.
I am trying to cut my debt in half in 2012!!!
Reality bites. LOL. =) Your article makes lots of sense. A lot of people don't accept the reality that they spend more than what they earn. They should have a reality check once in a while so that they won't drown in debt. =) just my two cents.
I want to get out of debt by the end of 2012.
I have even made turkey sloppy joes. YUM! Use your regular sloppy joe recipe but sub turkey instead of ground beef. My family loves it!
I hope to hit a specific number in my savings account in the next 5 months, then work solely to pay off my mortgage before I'm 30!
I will be camping from Wednesday until Sunday to escape the craziness that goes along with Black Friday sales. What I personally have found in the past, is that these sales only make sense if you are going to buy a particular electronic item (that is probably unneeded in the first place) and are willing to endure the agony of waiting, fighting and rudeness that goes along with time-limited sales, it may make sense. But other than that, why put yourself through the pain? Rarely have I witnessed the sale prices being low enough to warrent the trouble. So, I will be sitting at my campsite, drinking a glass of wine, watching my children play tag-football and being thankful that I learned the lessons of Black Friday years ago. Happy Thanksgiving, all!
My favorite Thanksgiving comfort food is my Aunts sweet potato casserole. Its sooo good! I usually put a lot of the casserole on my dinner plate, then I have more for dessert. JUst thinking about it has me excited for thanksgiving!
My biggest financial goal for 2012 is to pay off half of my CC debt.
no shopping on black friday...shopping small on sat.
Planning to use my experiential life learning/financial trining to help mentor others as part of my "pay it forward" for 2012.
I'm going to go for a walk.
I neen to build a king bed because my 3 tear old has canser and hase to sleep with us. So I was looking I cold do myself.
I'm definitely not shopping on Black Friday; I prefer to avoid crowds.
KILLIANS IRISH RED or GTFO !
No, I will not be shopping on Black Friday!! It is insane out there!!!!!!!!!!!! I think that people quickly forget the spirit of the Christmas holiday. When everyone is hungry for the hottest deals they forget to be kind to the people around them. Not everyone of course but it only takes one rude comment from someone to make me want to go home.
Amanda
I agree with what Xin Lu says. When real real estate investors see a negative $500 per month cash flow on a $60K investment they do the logical thing: sit and and wait. I made an investment of $25K in March 2011 into a 3BR Townhome. When rented, I net $280 positive cash flow per month. That is more than 1% ROI monthly on what I invested. I manage my properties myself, but out of that $280 still comes repairs and vacancies. So, I hope to clear about $100/month in the first year or two.
5% assumption for appreciation is really optimistic and not just "barely keeping up with inflation." If you look over time, housing goes up at the same rate of inflation. Because it is still a little overvalued, even in 2011, I assume that over the next 10 years we will maybe have an average of 2% appreciation per year, and I don't assume I will be able to sell(or 1031 exchange) at a reasonable profit for 10 years. This forces me to find deals that pay me now. And the truth is, we can demand this in today's market. If San Diego today, I can find many properties that cash flow with only 10% down. There are certainly areas that still don't cash flow with 30% down. I avoid these areas, they haven't finished normalizing to the trend line yet.
There are FOUR pilars to making money in real estate. Know them well: Cash Flow, Appreciation, Depreciation/Tax Advantages, and Equity Build. Know them well! Good luck everyone!
tweeted https://twitter.com/#!/oshkoshbgosh123/status/139199800770965504