I do rebate when it is offered on something I am already buying. The challenge for me is to collect all the information I need and send it out before the rebate expires.
Your math on the huge loss is wrong. You must subtract what you would pay in rent from what you paid in on mortgage, taxes, insurance, and maintenence. Also, take note rent usually raises every single year! Factor in moving expenses as the complex will go downhill and you need to move in that ten years to some place even more expensive. The owning is not such a loosing proposition. At the end of the day you are correct, a house is a home not an investment if you live in it but you do not need to twist numbers to prove this.
Will housing rebound, of course it will. To traditional growth levels, it is a cyclical event. Of course if the stock market crashes I expect that article from you about how stock is a horrible investment.
Good post, thank you. Our individual 'needs' are so important. For me I really need my personal space and I'll go crazy if I don't get time out from people and chaos.
I always send for rebates when I buy a product that has one. I check the forms right away and remove whatever (if possible at that time) is needed and attach the receipt to the form. For a long time I saved all my refund money separately from household money and eventually was able to buy a complete bedroom set for my son, a swing-set, and other various items that would have been hard to budget for. My husband even looks for the refund forms for items he picks up at the hardware store. Sometimes we will even pick up things we don't need but can get for free after rebate and then donate them to others who are in need. Never let free money or products go to waste!
Almost every AT&T phone came with a rebate when I went in a couple of weeks ago, so I did it more out of necessity than because I "rebate". They sort of scam people that way.
Also a couple of years ago I bought a portable DVD player that with the rebate would have been free... but I forgot :( (no black friday shopping for me again!)
Some do it for the thrill, not the frugality, and that is easy to get caught up in, so I am careful to do it only if it is something I really want or need.
I never purchase for a rebate. Once I'm in the store, I am not swayed buy a rebate offer. However, I will complete the forms and mess if a rebate is running when I do purchase. I do not count the money spent as less because of a pending rebate. Given the rebate industry I don't count on getting a rebate returned. Even if one arrives I'd probably think it was junk mail and toss it.
Over the years I have found my success by reducing purchases and focusing on money spent. I save more by spending less and infrequently than I could ever get from rebates.
I rarely coupon either. I focus grocery purchases on staples and in bulk. The coupon off a package of Oreos is irrelevant if I don't buy Oreos.
I always rebate! Why throw away money they're willing to give you? I only buy things I don't normally buy if they end up being free after coupons/rebates. We use the rebates as "found money" that automatically gets deposited into our child's college savings. Every penny counts.
I hate doing the rebate thing. I used to do a lot of them, but rarely do them now. They're a hassle, you still have to pay for a stamp and TIME! Last time I did a rebate I mis-understood the requirements for getting the rebate, so I had to re-send it and still haven't gotten it back. It's not worth it unless you're going to buy the product anyway. Just doing the rebate thing to try to get a deal on something you wouldn't ordinarily buy is a total waste.
I like large cost item rebates. I got my current cellphone for $20 after rebate. It allowed to get me a phone with lots of functions I actually use and not blow my budget. I've done rebates for smaller cost items but I tend to not have the desire as much so sometimes it all just sits on the desk and eventually it expires.
Great post. My partner lives by this very idea. His passion is sculpting and his day job is flexible enough to allow time for him to pursue it.
My dilemma, like the guest above, is identifying my passion(s)! I'm talented at a wide variety of things, but no one thing sticks out. Creative writing? Photography? Food blogging? Graphic design?
Any tips on finding your passion, or at least sifting through options?
One of my good friends is a great mother. She does more for her three kids than most people could conceive of. I would trust her with my own son, and that is saying something. But her husband works a lot of hours and after four years of being a stay-at-home mother, she was starting to get a little buggy, for lack of a better word. She was craving the interaction of adults in her life, far more than occasionally logging onto Facebook.
She decided that she wanted a job. But she did not want a job that required leaving a care giver to take care of her children. She would not compromise on that, yet she felt without the ability to spend time with adults, she was going to have problems. Her training after high school was beauty school. She was great at cutting hair, doing nails, using make-up, and things of that sort. In fact, two of her female friends had asked her be the person to apply their make-up when they married.
So her husband, being the good guy that he is, put his mind to it and came up with the answer for her. Because of his encouragement, she became an independent beauty consultant. This had several great benefits for her. Her training was in this field to start with, and it was something she was quite good at. Secondly, she got adult interaction with other women who had similar interests. Sometimes the women would come to her house, sometimes she would go to theirs. In many instances, she was able to even kill two birds with one stone. Many of the women also had children close to her childrens’ ages. So the business appointment also doubled as a play date for the children.
It was a very refreshing change of pace for her, and she truly began to thrive. She didn’t have to leave her children in someone else’s care, and yet she was earning more income for the family and doing something she absolutely loved. She also got to make her own hours. Most importantly, she was getting the adult interaction she needed for her own sanity.
She has now been an independent>independent beauty consultant for two years. She told me she lives in the best of all possible worlds, and I have rarely known someone so contented with their life. Its amazing how sometimes one simple little change can help a person go from some having fundamental dissatisfaction with their life, to thinking their life is one they would never trade.
I do apply for rebates, but I don't purchase items just because they offer rebates. However, I may purchase sooner than I would otherwise - or may choose one brand or model over another, if the rebate is FROM A REPUTABLE COMPANY and results in a significant savings over the non-rebated item.
I hate rebates! I have spent too much time on the phone with rebate companies tracking down rebates to ever get excited about a rebate again. Yup, I know the drill - read all the fine print and make copies of everything, but I've still had trouble.
To "overbuy" - To buy more than you can comfortably afford. Financial planners suggest spending no more than 35% of take home pay on housing. Most people are way over that. No data to back that up- just opinion.
I'm a bit of a rebate skeptic. I've done four rebates this year. Three went fine. The fourth I received but the check was returned to me. Two months later I'm still waiting to get the money. At least my bank refunded the $10 charge for having a check returned.
I fill out the forms and send them in as soon as I get home or have the clerk do it at the store ... really, I have ask clerks for a quick hand and if they are not busy, it all works out.
You just have to have a system to verify you get your check. I have been after one company since June and finally got the check...I counted it and I had sent 25 emails. But each email was just a 2 liner, "has their been any progress on my check?"
I don't rebate -- if I see a rebate listed, I just ignore it. I just don't trust it to work, and honestly, I lack the patience to follow through with the "fine print."
They're a gimmick. A joke. No, I don't use them.
I do rebate when it is offered on something I am already buying. The challenge for me is to collect all the information I need and send it out before the rebate expires.
Your math on the huge loss is wrong. You must subtract what you would pay in rent from what you paid in on mortgage, taxes, insurance, and maintenence. Also, take note rent usually raises every single year! Factor in moving expenses as the complex will go downhill and you need to move in that ten years to some place even more expensive. The owning is not such a loosing proposition. At the end of the day you are correct, a house is a home not an investment if you live in it but you do not need to twist numbers to prove this.
Will housing rebound, of course it will. To traditional growth levels, it is a cyclical event. Of course if the stock market crashes I expect that article from you about how stock is a horrible investment.
I haven't heard that taking vitamin C in preventing flu is a "myth". I take strong doses every year during winter.
Good post, thank you. Our individual 'needs' are so important. For me I really need my personal space and I'll go crazy if I don't get time out from people and chaos.
I always send for rebates when I buy a product that has one. I check the forms right away and remove whatever (if possible at that time) is needed and attach the receipt to the form. For a long time I saved all my refund money separately from household money and eventually was able to buy a complete bedroom set for my son, a swing-set, and other various items that would have been hard to budget for. My husband even looks for the refund forms for items he picks up at the hardware store. Sometimes we will even pick up things we don't need but can get for free after rebate and then donate them to others who are in need. Never let free money or products go to waste!
Almost every AT&T phone came with a rebate when I went in a couple of weeks ago, so I did it more out of necessity than because I "rebate". They sort of scam people that way.
Also a couple of years ago I bought a portable DVD player that with the rebate would have been free... but I forgot :( (no black friday shopping for me again!)
Some do it for the thrill, not the frugality, and that is easy to get caught up in, so I am careful to do it only if it is something I really want or need.
I have always had success with rebates. It has saved me a lot of money over the years. They take some work, but I definitely think they are worth it.
I never purchase for a rebate. Once I'm in the store, I am not swayed buy a rebate offer. However, I will complete the forms and mess if a rebate is running when I do purchase. I do not count the money spent as less because of a pending rebate. Given the rebate industry I don't count on getting a rebate returned. Even if one arrives I'd probably think it was junk mail and toss it.
Over the years I have found my success by reducing purchases and focusing on money spent. I save more by spending less and infrequently than I could ever get from rebates.
I rarely coupon either. I focus grocery purchases on staples and in bulk. The coupon off a package of Oreos is irrelevant if I don't buy Oreos.
I always rebate! Why throw away money they're willing to give you? I only buy things I don't normally buy if they end up being free after coupons/rebates. We use the rebates as "found money" that automatically gets deposited into our child's college savings. Every penny counts.
I hate doing the rebate thing. I used to do a lot of them, but rarely do them now. They're a hassle, you still have to pay for a stamp and TIME! Last time I did a rebate I mis-understood the requirements for getting the rebate, so I had to re-send it and still haven't gotten it back. It's not worth it unless you're going to buy the product anyway. Just doing the rebate thing to try to get a deal on something you wouldn't ordinarily buy is a total waste.
I like large cost item rebates. I got my current cellphone for $20 after rebate. It allowed to get me a phone with lots of functions I actually use and not blow my budget. I've done rebates for smaller cost items but I tend to not have the desire as much so sometimes it all just sits on the desk and eventually it expires.
Great post. My partner lives by this very idea. His passion is sculpting and his day job is flexible enough to allow time for him to pursue it.
My dilemma, like the guest above, is identifying my passion(s)! I'm talented at a wide variety of things, but no one thing sticks out. Creative writing? Photography? Food blogging? Graphic design?
Any tips on finding your passion, or at least sifting through options?
One of my good friends is a great mother. She does more for her three kids than most people could conceive of. I would trust her with my own son, and that is saying something. But her husband works a lot of hours and after four years of being a stay-at-home mother, she was starting to get a little buggy, for lack of a better word. She was craving the interaction of adults in her life, far more than occasionally logging onto Facebook.
She decided that she wanted a job. But she did not want a job that required leaving a care giver to take care of her children. She would not compromise on that, yet she felt without the ability to spend time with adults, she was going to have problems. Her training after high school was beauty school. She was great at cutting hair, doing nails, using make-up, and things of that sort. In fact, two of her female friends had asked her be the person to apply their make-up when they married.
So her husband, being the good guy that he is, put his mind to it and came up with the answer for her. Because of his encouragement, she became an independent beauty consultant. This had several great benefits for her. Her training was in this field to start with, and it was something she was quite good at. Secondly, she got adult interaction with other women who had similar interests. Sometimes the women would come to her house, sometimes she would go to theirs. In many instances, she was able to even kill two birds with one stone. Many of the women also had children close to her childrens’ ages. So the business appointment also doubled as a play date for the children.
It was a very refreshing change of pace for her, and she truly began to thrive. She didn’t have to leave her children in someone else’s care, and yet she was earning more income for the family and doing something she absolutely loved. She also got to make her own hours. Most importantly, she was getting the adult interaction she needed for her own sanity.
She has now been an independent>independent beauty consultant for two years. She told me she lives in the best of all possible worlds, and I have rarely known someone so contented with their life. Its amazing how sometimes one simple little change can help a person go from some having fundamental dissatisfaction with their life, to thinking their life is one they would never trade.
I love Skype I actually use it more than my phone! I desperately need a blackberry though.
It depends on how much the rebate is for
I do apply for rebates, but I don't purchase items just because they offer rebates. However, I may purchase sooner than I would otherwise - or may choose one brand or model over another, if the rebate is FROM A REPUTABLE COMPANY and results in a significant savings over the non-rebated item.
I hate rebates! I have spent too much time on the phone with rebate companies tracking down rebates to ever get excited about a rebate again. Yup, I know the drill - read all the fine print and make copies of everything, but I've still had trouble.
As a result, rebates do not entice me at all.
To "overbuy" - To buy more than you can comfortably afford. Financial planners suggest spending no more than 35% of take home pay on housing. Most people are way over that. No data to back that up- just opinion.
I'm a bit of a rebate skeptic. I've done four rebates this year. Three went fine. The fourth I received but the check was returned to me. Two months later I'm still waiting to get the money. At least my bank refunded the $10 charge for having a check returned.
I will buy rebate over none if product I want or considered trying.
I fill out the forms and send them in as soon as I get home or have the clerk do it at the store ... really, I have ask clerks for a quick hand and if they are not busy, it all works out.
You just have to have a system to verify you get your check. I have been after one company since June and finally got the check...I counted it and I had sent 25 emails. But each email was just a 2 liner, "has their been any progress on my check?"
Connie
I don't rebate -- if I see a rebate listed, I just ignore it. I just don't trust it to work, and honestly, I lack the patience to follow through with the "fine print."