Over the past few years, my focus has changed from what I need to today to what I will need tomorrow. As part of the is refocusing, I have investing a lot of time in learning about financial investing. I have read several books now and subscribe to several financial blogs. This has helped tremendously. I have a reduced my debt considerably (no more CC debt), put a retirement plan together, and have a plan to put my children through college.
This investment in learning has greatly improved my future outlook.
The best investment I EVER made was 14 years of piano lessons including paying my way through college majoring in music. I have been able to both teach music in school and give private piano lessons for the past 10 years which has more than paid off both monetarily and otherwise. Nothing is more fulfilling than watching a child you are teaching thrive at your passion!
The smartest investment I ever made was a personal commitment to make my life better. Once I decided to make positive changes on a personal level, everything else fell into place. I met a wonderful man I eventually married, made a career change to the more rewarding field of non-profit, and realized that I couldn't help make the world a better place until I started with myself.
Yes. Easily. I do not text, and have a 15 dollar phone, with a plan sim. I would not miss it much, but I feel like I am SUPPOSED to have one so my teens can reach me. Once they are both in college- it's gone!
can't say i have made any good investments. i am barely surviving financially. my degree allows me to be exposed to every disease that comes around as well as the rude people who expose themselves to said disease. i have never started a business and don't even know what IT costs are so i may have them just running rampant.
i could easily and willingly survive without a cell phone. i keep my phone on at all times in case my elderly mother has a need otherwise it would be off. i am not an anti social person i just don't have that much to say. i work in the service industry and have plenty of contact with people so i don't have the need to "feel connected" at all times.
The smartest investment I have made has been my smart phone. With the amount I use it every day it has been well worth the cost and helped to improve my life dramatically.
Jessie, while I'm sure there were people who gambled on uncertain future incomes or outright lied on their mortgage applications, the rest of us did not take the decision to cut bait casually. There was a great amount of reflection and internal argument. We threw away thousands of dollars in mortgage payments as we looked at every alternative we could find. Nothing else made financial sense.
And don't think for a minute that we aren't getting dinged on this. Our credit rating is shot for several years to come. The dollar difference between the house's eventual sale price and what was owed on the mortgage may be taxed as income even though we won't see a nickel of it, leaving us with a very large tax bill with no mortgage-interest deduction to offset it.
It may be easy for you to characterize people like us as "deadbeats." I wonder if that's the term you would apply to those saving for their imminent retirement and finding themselves way short of their goals because the stock market took another severe beating. After all, the stock market is risky. It can go up and it can go down. Nevermind that most of us are not investing in speculative stocks and junk bonds.
We are not the reason the housing market is in the toilet. We were not responsible for the overbuilding, for the inflated prices supported by lenders which needed to maintain collateral for the garbage financial instruments they were peddling, for the shenanigans promoted by leading financial firms despite building on a rotten foundation. Blame us if it helps you sleep at night. We have made the best choice we could make for ourselves -- not pretty, but one which will not leave our finances drained for retirement or our other financial obligations. I hope you never find yourself in a similar situation.
The best investment I've ever made was a college degree in liberal arts. The flexibility it has given me has allowed me to change careers, make connections between what I have done and could do, to question and analyze aspects of my life and the ability to research for information in all aspects of my life. It also gave me strong writing and reading skills.
Becoming involved in the savings programs of every job I've held since my 1st. These investments which have been things like 401K's and pensions have really helped my future retirement. Also my property which I bought in 2000 for $40,000 and is now worth $250,000.
I bought a home owners policy just before Hurricane Fran in 1996. After seven trees down, including 2 on my home and 1 on my barn, and flooding that lasted a few days, I was very grateful to have paid that premium in full.
I completed a 30,000 MAT program two years ago. I could have gone to a cheaper school, but opted for this one for philosophical reasons. I recently got a job teaching at ama amazing school, and in the interview they told me they essentially only looked at people from my MAT program.
Last month, my local Target had an overstock of EA Sports Active 2 games and was selling them for $10. I purchased ten of them and put them on Half.com. So far I have sold 4 for $25.00 and made a nice profit to pay down my debt.
The best ever investment I have ever made is in the time I have spent, nuturing, mothering and training my children. They are now grown, educated, well adjusted and gainfully employed citizens. Contributing to the worth of the World.
Especially for shoes worn to a job interview or to the office, spending time on a little spit and polish will go a long way! Lack of attention to detail in one's appearance can send messages to others that you have a lack of attention to detail in your work ethic. Not the message you want to be sending to your future boss!
Exactly! I live in Oregon and while not land-locked, we have some amazing U-Pick farms that offer up the very best of our local crops. I also live in a very rural setting where 'supermarket-style' Farmers Markets don't exist. Your advice may be best directed at those in the city. I used to live in Seattle where the finest Farmers Market lives, the advice should be more like a cautionary tale, not set in stone.
The smartest investment I've made so far has been my law school education. Although I sometimes regret all the student loans, I love what I do and wouldn't change a thing.
Easier to answer this for my photography business than my personal life. Smartest investment was probably upgrading my camera to full frame before I had any bookings. I had the cash, sure, but no promise of photography revenue whatsoever. That camera made my photos so much better, made me feel like a professional, and opened so many doors for me. It was also nice to invest in myself and my goals.
THE BEST INVESTMENT I EVER MADE WAS IN GIVING MY CHILDREN A GOOD START IN LIFE BY GIVING THEM RULES TO LIVE BY AND LOTS OF LOVE. NOW, THEY ARE PRODUCTIVE LOVING PEOPLE AND I DON'T HAVE TO SPEND MY TIME WORRYING ABOUT HOW THEY WILL MAKE IT IN LIFE!
Over the past few years, my focus has changed from what I need to today to what I will need tomorrow. As part of the is refocusing, I have investing a lot of time in learning about financial investing. I have read several books now and subscribe to several financial blogs. This has helped tremendously. I have a reduced my debt considerably (no more CC debt), put a retirement plan together, and have a plan to put my children through college.
This investment in learning has greatly improved my future outlook.
Easily my best investment is our house. WE were so lucky to find an affordable 1883 Eastlake Victorian. We're set.
The best investment I EVER made was 14 years of piano lessons including paying my way through college majoring in music. I have been able to both teach music in school and give private piano lessons for the past 10 years which has more than paid off both monetarily and otherwise. Nothing is more fulfilling than watching a child you are teaching thrive at your passion!
The smartest investment I ever made was a personal commitment to make my life better. Once I decided to make positive changes on a personal level, everything else fell into place. I met a wonderful man I eventually married, made a career change to the more rewarding field of non-profit, and realized that I couldn't help make the world a better place until I started with myself.
I COULD live with out my cell phone, but never would I want to. We do not have a home phone
Yes. Easily. I do not text, and have a 15 dollar phone, with a plan sim. I would not miss it much, but I feel like I am SUPPOSED to have one so my teens can reach me. Once they are both in college- it's gone!
I like your facebook page!
can't say i have made any good investments. i am barely surviving financially. my degree allows me to be exposed to every disease that comes around as well as the rude people who expose themselves to said disease. i have never started a business and don't even know what IT costs are so i may have them just running rampant.
No. I work at the company (named for a fruit) and need it to survive :)
i could easily and willingly survive without a cell phone. i keep my phone on at all times in case my elderly mother has a need otherwise it would be off. i am not an anti social person i just don't have that much to say. i work in the service industry and have plenty of contact with people so i don't have the need to "feel connected" at all times.
The smartest investment I have made has been my smart phone. With the amount I use it every day it has been well worth the cost and helped to improve my life dramatically.
Jessie, while I'm sure there were people who gambled on uncertain future incomes or outright lied on their mortgage applications, the rest of us did not take the decision to cut bait casually. There was a great amount of reflection and internal argument. We threw away thousands of dollars in mortgage payments as we looked at every alternative we could find. Nothing else made financial sense.
And don't think for a minute that we aren't getting dinged on this. Our credit rating is shot for several years to come. The dollar difference between the house's eventual sale price and what was owed on the mortgage may be taxed as income even though we won't see a nickel of it, leaving us with a very large tax bill with no mortgage-interest deduction to offset it.
It may be easy for you to characterize people like us as "deadbeats." I wonder if that's the term you would apply to those saving for their imminent retirement and finding themselves way short of their goals because the stock market took another severe beating. After all, the stock market is risky. It can go up and it can go down. Nevermind that most of us are not investing in speculative stocks and junk bonds.
We are not the reason the housing market is in the toilet. We were not responsible for the overbuilding, for the inflated prices supported by lenders which needed to maintain collateral for the garbage financial instruments they were peddling, for the shenanigans promoted by leading financial firms despite building on a rotten foundation. Blame us if it helps you sleep at night. We have made the best choice we could make for ourselves -- not pretty, but one which will not leave our finances drained for retirement or our other financial obligations. I hope you never find yourself in a similar situation.
The best investment I've ever made was a college degree in liberal arts. The flexibility it has given me has allowed me to change careers, make connections between what I have done and could do, to question and analyze aspects of my life and the ability to research for information in all aspects of my life. It also gave me strong writing and reading skills.
Becoming involved in the savings programs of every job I've held since my 1st. These investments which have been things like 401K's and pensions have really helped my future retirement. Also my property which I bought in 2000 for $40,000 and is now worth $250,000.
I bought a home owners policy just before Hurricane Fran in 1996. After seven trees down, including 2 on my home and 1 on my barn, and flooding that lasted a few days, I was very grateful to have paid that premium in full.
Buying my sisters car. And buying some Apple Computer stock.
I completed a 30,000 MAT program two years ago. I could have gone to a cheaper school, but opted for this one for philosophical reasons. I recently got a job teaching at ama amazing school, and in the interview they told me they essentially only looked at people from my MAT program.
Last month, my local Target had an overstock of EA Sports Active 2 games and was selling them for $10. I purchased ten of them and put them on Half.com. So far I have sold 4 for $25.00 and made a nice profit to pay down my debt.
The best ever investment I have ever made is in the time I have spent, nuturing, mothering and training my children. They are now grown, educated, well adjusted and gainfully employed citizens. Contributing to the worth of the World.
Especially for shoes worn to a job interview or to the office, spending time on a little spit and polish will go a long way! Lack of attention to detail in one's appearance can send messages to others that you have a lack of attention to detail in your work ethic. Not the message you want to be sending to your future boss!
Exactly! I live in Oregon and while not land-locked, we have some amazing U-Pick farms that offer up the very best of our local crops. I also live in a very rural setting where 'supermarket-style' Farmers Markets don't exist. Your advice may be best directed at those in the city. I used to live in Seattle where the finest Farmers Market lives, the advice should be more like a cautionary tale, not set in stone.
The best investment i ever made was in myself. Going to college and paying my own way through took a long time but was well worth the investment.
The smartest investment I've made so far has been my law school education. Although I sometimes regret all the student loans, I love what I do and wouldn't change a thing.
Easier to answer this for my photography business than my personal life. Smartest investment was probably upgrading my camera to full frame before I had any bookings. I had the cash, sure, but no promise of photography revenue whatsoever. That camera made my photos so much better, made me feel like a professional, and opened so many doors for me. It was also nice to invest in myself and my goals.
THE BEST INVESTMENT I EVER MADE WAS IN GIVING MY CHILDREN A GOOD START IN LIFE BY GIVING THEM RULES TO LIVE BY AND LOTS OF LOVE. NOW, THEY ARE PRODUCTIVE LOVING PEOPLE AND I DON'T HAVE TO SPEND MY TIME WORRYING ABOUT HOW THEY WILL MAKE IT IN LIFE!