Money Tips Network

J.D. Roth emailed this morning to tell me that Mr. Money Mustache is visiting Portland later this week, and they’re hosting a blog meetup on Thursday, along with Tyler Tervooren of Riskology. If you’re in the Portland area, come meet the three mustachioed men. J.D. posted the details and directions on his site JDRoth.com today. This sounds like a fun event and I wish I could attend. Enjoy!

This article is by staff writer William Cowie.

A while ago, my wife and I did what we do from time to time — ask if there’s another cost-saving opportunity we’ve overlooked. I don’t know about you, but the quest for fiscal prudence is generally at its highest in our household after some indulgent purchase. “Hey, look! We can compensate for this luxo-foobie by slashing costs here!” (Are we the only people who do this?)

The indulgence in question was an iPhone. My trooper wife had been braving modern civilization with a dumb phone. (Someone from the ’80s would have called a slim, foldable phone which sends text messages anything but dumb, but that’s a different subject.) It worked fine and was cheap, but, well, even it began to show signs of age. Cell phones not being fine wine, I decided to surprise her with an iPhone, to heck with the cost. She did not resist.

Naked With Cash is an ongoing series at Consumerism Commentary in which readers share their households’ finances with other readers. These participants benefit from the accountability that comes from tracking their finances publicly and the feedback of the four expert Certified Financial Planners (CFPs).

For more information, read this introduction.

This post is by staff writer Honey Smith.

Well, the last couple of months have been a pretty wild ride in The Honeycomb. We moved out of our old place and concluded our experience with Cash for Keys, we bought a house and moved, and I am experimenting with a new student loan payoff strategy. Let’s explore each of these big changes a bit further, shall we?

Big change 1: The culmination of “Cash for Keys”

After I posted about foreclosure from the tenant’s perspective, the law firm representing the bank served us with papers for an eviction hearing in superior court. The kicker? The hearing and eviction date were set 2 weeks before the move-out date we’d agreed upon in writing with the same law firm!

Remember the interesting conversation we had about dividend investing?

I discussed my plan to retire without spending any of the capital I've accumulated (I want a retirement where I can simply live off the earnings of my assets without decreasing the principal). I mentioned that dividend investing, along with real estate, could be a possible way to reach my goal.

I have a long term goal of publishing a novel. I’ve always enjoyed writing fiction, but I’ll often write short stories or novellas and find myself really dissatisfied with them, so I’ll toss them aside. I’ve written a few novel-length pieces too and felt the same way – I was just never happy with them.

Still, I hold onto that long-term goal. I want to achieve it. I’m willing to commit a lot of time to it. I just can’t quite make it happen.

The big reason is that the goal seems too big, too distant. I feel like my current writing is so far away from what I would need to make this work that it’s just… insurmountable.

I actually have a few giant goals like this that seem insurmountable. They feel so big and so far off in the distance that, on a given day, I really don’t feel like I can reach them.

When I spend too much time focusing on how huge those goals are, I don’t even try.

This reader story comes from Tina Sullivan. Some reader stories contain general advice; others are examples of how a GRS reader achieved financial success or failure. These stories feature folks with all levels of financial maturity and income. Want to submit your own reader story? Here’s how.

Growing up with “financially conservative” parents, I was taught to follow a budget, to save for emergencies, and to live within my means. As a teenager, I was required to get a job which mostly went to my savings account for future expenses like paying for a car and tuition.  Although I was frustrated many times because I couldn’t even afford needs, the tradeoff was worth it since I was able to pay for college without taking out any student loans and paid cash for a used car (thanks to rent-free living with my parents).

Each week, I highlight ten things each week that inspired me to greater financial, personal, and professional success. Hopefully, they will inspire you as well.

1. Thomas Fuller on the differences between people

“The real difference between men is energy. A strong will, a settled purpose, an invincible determination, can accomplish almost anything; and in this lies the distinction between great men and little men.” — Thomas Fuller

If you set a goal and really work for it, you’re already far ahead of the curve.

2. Andrew Solomon on the worst times of our lives

Often, those low moments help define who we are.

3. Buddha on truth

“There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth. Not going all the way and not starting.” – Buddha

If an emergency arrived in your life, could you come up with $2,000 in cash to cover that emergency?

Believe it or not, if you’re an American, it’s a coin flip as to whether or not you could pull this off. According to this study from the National Bureau of Economic Research, “approximately one quarter of Americans report that they would certainly not be able to come up with such funds, and an additional 19% would do so by relying at least in part on pawning or selling possessions or taking payday loans.”

At some point in our lives, almost all of us are going to face some sort of financial shock that’s going to require us to come up with $2,000 (or more) very quickly. Half of us are going to be unable to do that, which puts that group in an extremely precarious position.

Could you do it? Are you in the “safer” half of that question? Or are you in the more dangerous half?