Hey Vermonter, well put. This isn't a bad post or bad advice necessarily but a few things are off. Farmers really need our support, especially this year - don't scare potential customers away!
My best investment -- still fresh in my mind, anyway -- is buying a personal articles insurance policy. We decided to get it ($30/year) for our laptop computers -- including the new one we were planning to give my step-son for his 12th birthday. This policy would cover damages such as dropping the computer, or spilling liquid on it.
Not even a year later, he and a friend were wrestling and managed to kneel on the laptop, cracking its screen internally. All it took was a phone call to my insurance company, and they sent us a check to cover the cost of the laptop and the software installed.
My best investment in my career has been joining a tri-level (local, state, national) professional association. Through NALS, the Association of Legal Professionals, I have access to networking, certification, legal education, and fun. As with other associations, you get what you give. I invest my time, dues, and attention and I reap dividends of professional and personal relationships with my peers, access to legal education, and the opportunity to obtain a nationally recognized certification in my field.
My smartest investment was pots for container gardening (I live in a second-story apartment). They were sort of an expensive up-front cost for such a "cheap" hobby, but I love being able to feed myself and my husband with food I grew on our balcony. It tastes better, I know exactly how it was grown, and the cost of the pots diminishes over time with every year that I use them.
I never thought I would think like this, let alone say it outloud, but I have to say that purchasing a
used minivan and then paying it off early was a great investment. It is very useful whether I am
driving around a bunch of teenagers or taking donations to the salvation army.
I am hoping to get another 100,000 miles out of it.
The smartest investment I made was that of TIME! Once it's gone, you can't get it back. Did it cost me anything? Not monetarily, but it did cost me something. More time. You see, instead of focusing on me and my needs, I started focusing on others. I realized, through the help of others, that I am second. It is the best investment I ever made and it makes me feel great!
The best investment I have made so far would have to be taking a personal finance class with my husband. We will hit our 1 year anniversary on Oct 2 and I would have to say that the class we are taking is really allowing us to take hold of our finances and make a plan for our future! It is amazing how much of our money is "wasted" every month on things that we don't really need. We have been taking the class for about a month and have found that we can have his student loan paid off by the end of October - talk about an awesome anniversary gift!!
My rescued dogs were the best investments I could have ever made. When my boys were young, their dad left us. Shortly afterward, a beautiful Lab mix found his way to us and was just what we needed to comfort all 3 of us.
Fast forward 20 years, the boys are grown and our beautiful Lab is now watching over us. I remarried and adopted the sweetest Border collie mix. My husband recently passed away and if it was not for my pooch here to comfort me, I would have been more lost than I am. Therefore, any and all money spent on my dogs is worth every penney. They practically saved my life.
When my wife and I began on our road to financial independence 30 years ago, we used the envelope method in much the same way you describe it in your post, except we didn't do the back of the envelope tally. Using cash kept us in the real world. We didn't want to face an empty envelope before the month ended, so the envelope method caused use to ration our spending. We found that over time the budget becomes internalized and spending naturally conforms to the budget.
The envelope method is one reason we were able to retire at age 56.
As frugal as I tend to be, I've found that using mVelopes as my envelope/budgeting solution has been worth the small fee. It's easier to keep track of of funds, and the history is helpful
My smartest investment was in my education. My investment was more time than money because I had to keep a certain grade to keep my scholarship. My degree has lead me to many new opportunities, and even to my husband.
GETTING AN EDUCATION, CONSTANTLY LEARNING, KEEPING MY EDUCATION CURRENT AND STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS is the smartest investment I HAVE ever made. IN LIFE YOU HAVE TO CREATE YOUR OWN JOB.
The smartest investment I ever made was in purchasing two web domains for news reporting sites. I earned invaluable experience in web hosting, design, community management and content production and it has inspired me to pursue my Bachelor's degree in communications, which I am halfway to getting!
Opening an IRA with Mutual Series mutual funds. This was before they were acquired by Franklin Templeton, so now I'm grandfathered in with them as no load.
the best investment i ever made was psychotherapy. when i began, i was in such a bad place mentally and emotionally that it severely impacted my relationships with my family (wasn't speaking to my mother), my then-boyfriend (who broke up with me), my friends (i had completely isolated myself), at work (i was asked to take a small "break"--thankfully they didn't fire me), and my schoolwork (i almost failed out of my BA program). after 5 challenging years of psychotherapy, i learned to recognize my emotional triggers, how to modify my behaviors/reactions, and have also improved my self-esteem. now at 28, my mom is one of my best friends, that then-boyfriend is now my husband, i have a great group of friends that i see regularly, and i found a new career path that makes me happy to get out of bed in the morning. i am thankful everyday that i made the investment then to improve my mental health.
Smartest investment I ever made was my husband.. We have been together for 20 years have 3 beautiful very bright children and while he was with the Army over in Iraq I cleaned up his credit score. We now after many hard years of him fighting wild land fires and military we are buying our own house, live in a small town with a couple horses and lovely fruit trees.
The best investment I've ever made has been my computer. From easily finding deals to save money, to being able to educate myself about a variety of topics, to finding connections with people (from all over the world) I might never have known, my computer has more than proved itself as a good investment.
The best investment I have made is in my education. I feel that regardless of the high price and financial burden it put me through for so many years, it is an achievement that I will carry with me forever!
anglesmr[at]gmail[dot]com
Why do you have to be a mom to have nothing to wear? Having children has nothing to do with the advice in this article. I stopped reading after the first paragraph. Yet another example of our ridiculously child-centric culture.
My best investment was my education. Even though I am not working in my field, I use the skills I learned on the job. This has been the case for every job I had.
Hey Vermonter, well put. This isn't a bad post or bad advice necessarily but a few things are off. Farmers really need our support, especially this year - don't scare potential customers away!
My best investment -- still fresh in my mind, anyway -- is buying a personal articles insurance policy. We decided to get it ($30/year) for our laptop computers -- including the new one we were planning to give my step-son for his 12th birthday. This policy would cover damages such as dropping the computer, or spilling liquid on it.
Not even a year later, he and a friend were wrestling and managed to kneel on the laptop, cracking its screen internally. All it took was a phone call to my insurance company, and they sent us a check to cover the cost of the laptop and the software installed.
Definitely worth it, in my opinion!
My best investment in my career has been joining a tri-level (local, state, national) professional association. Through NALS, the Association of Legal Professionals, I have access to networking, certification, legal education, and fun. As with other associations, you get what you give. I invest my time, dues, and attention and I reap dividends of professional and personal relationships with my peers, access to legal education, and the opportunity to obtain a nationally recognized certification in my field.
My Droid smart phone is by far my best investment. I can keep my work and home organized. And be connected on the go!
My smartest investment was pots for container gardening (I live in a second-story apartment). They were sort of an expensive up-front cost for such a "cheap" hobby, but I love being able to feed myself and my husband with food I grew on our balcony. It tastes better, I know exactly how it was grown, and the cost of the pots diminishes over time with every year that I use them.
I never thought I would think like this, let alone say it outloud, but I have to say that purchasing a
used minivan and then paying it off early was a great investment. It is very useful whether I am
driving around a bunch of teenagers or taking donations to the salvation army.
I am hoping to get another 100,000 miles out of it.
The smartest investment I made was that of TIME! Once it's gone, you can't get it back. Did it cost me anything? Not monetarily, but it did cost me something. More time. You see, instead of focusing on me and my needs, I started focusing on others. I realized, through the help of others, that I am second. It is the best investment I ever made and it makes me feel great!
The best investment I have made so far would have to be taking a personal finance class with my husband. We will hit our 1 year anniversary on Oct 2 and I would have to say that the class we are taking is really allowing us to take hold of our finances and make a plan for our future! It is amazing how much of our money is "wasted" every month on things that we don't really need. We have been taking the class for about a month and have found that we can have his student loan paid off by the end of October - talk about an awesome anniversary gift!!
My smartest investment is google stock. I love the stock market, we I am doing well. Thanks!!
My rescued dogs were the best investments I could have ever made. When my boys were young, their dad left us. Shortly afterward, a beautiful Lab mix found his way to us and was just what we needed to comfort all 3 of us.
Fast forward 20 years, the boys are grown and our beautiful Lab is now watching over us. I remarried and adopted the sweetest Border collie mix. My husband recently passed away and if it was not for my pooch here to comfort me, I would have been more lost than I am. Therefore, any and all money spent on my dogs is worth every penney. They practically saved my life.
When my wife and I began on our road to financial independence 30 years ago, we used the envelope method in much the same way you describe it in your post, except we didn't do the back of the envelope tally. Using cash kept us in the real world. We didn't want to face an empty envelope before the month ended, so the envelope method caused use to ration our spending. We found that over time the budget becomes internalized and spending naturally conforms to the budget.
The envelope method is one reason we were able to retire at age 56.
As frugal as I tend to be, I've found that using mVelopes as my envelope/budgeting solution has been worth the small fee. It's easier to keep track of of funds, and the history is helpful
buying my red nose pittbull.he is a burglar deterant/alarm system,lonliness repelant,spider and bug killer,and child protectant all rolled into one.
My smartest investment was in my education. My investment was more time than money because I had to keep a certain grade to keep my scholarship. My degree has lead me to many new opportunities, and even to my husband.
The smartest investment that I have made,is when I bought my first computer. It open up a whole new world to me.
GETTING AN EDUCATION, CONSTANTLY LEARNING, KEEPING MY EDUCATION CURRENT AND STARTING MY OWN BUSINESS is the smartest investment I HAVE ever made. IN LIFE YOU HAVE TO CREATE YOUR OWN JOB.
The smartest investment I ever made was in purchasing two web domains for news reporting sites. I earned invaluable experience in web hosting, design, community management and content production and it has inspired me to pursue my Bachelor's degree in communications, which I am halfway to getting!
Opening an IRA with Mutual Series mutual funds. This was before they were acquired by Franklin Templeton, so now I'm grandfathered in with them as no load.
the best investment i ever made was psychotherapy. when i began, i was in such a bad place mentally and emotionally that it severely impacted my relationships with my family (wasn't speaking to my mother), my then-boyfriend (who broke up with me), my friends (i had completely isolated myself), at work (i was asked to take a small "break"--thankfully they didn't fire me), and my schoolwork (i almost failed out of my BA program). after 5 challenging years of psychotherapy, i learned to recognize my emotional triggers, how to modify my behaviors/reactions, and have also improved my self-esteem. now at 28, my mom is one of my best friends, that then-boyfriend is now my husband, i have a great group of friends that i see regularly, and i found a new career path that makes me happy to get out of bed in the morning. i am thankful everyday that i made the investment then to improve my mental health.
Smartest investment I ever made was my husband.. We have been together for 20 years have 3 beautiful very bright children and while he was with the Army over in Iraq I cleaned up his credit score. We now after many hard years of him fighting wild land fires and military we are buying our own house, live in a small town with a couple horses and lovely fruit trees.
The best investment I've ever made has been my computer. From easily finding deals to save money, to being able to educate myself about a variety of topics, to finding connections with people (from all over the world) I might never have known, my computer has more than proved itself as a good investment.
It was my first home computer. This gave me access to unlimited information on the internet and also the ability to handle business paperwork at home.
The best investment I have made is in my education. I feel that regardless of the high price and financial burden it put me through for so many years, it is an achievement that I will carry with me forever!
anglesmr[at]gmail[dot]com
Why do you have to be a mom to have nothing to wear? Having children has nothing to do with the advice in this article. I stopped reading after the first paragraph. Yet another example of our ridiculously child-centric culture.
My best investment was my education. Even though I am not working in my field, I use the skills I learned on the job. This has been the case for every job I had.