Money and life goals

[Teppanyaki]

I just spent some time getting my finances in a little better order. It's a pretty sobering thing to look at where one is financially and what the future is likely to hold. I'm very fortunate in that I have a good job (both in terms of salary and in terms of security). It's also rewarding much of the time.

My thoughts about money are largely shaped by a few books and some life experiences. After seeing some relatives invest money in stocks and have varying degrees of success, and after a stock I picked as a much younger man did extremely well and then (right after I almost sold it!) crashed in flames, I decided that I would read up on investing. Here's what shaped my thoughts the most -

Motley Fool's You Have More Than You Think You Have - the idea that no one is more interested in your money than you are. I think they used to be less "commercialized" and focused much more on how to guide your own investments in the past. This got me interested in the idea of index investing, which I generally follow to this day. I do skew things a bit towards small caps and value indexes. The humor makes for a very easy read.

Savant Capital's position paper on Evidence-Based Investing - available online. Talks about what the actual scientific evidence is (as best as can be determined) for what investments work well and what doesn't. The short version - index funds, skewed slightly towards value and small caps, with some international and REIT exposure.

The Simple Living Guide, and Your Money or Your Life - 2 great books that have helped me to focus on what is important, and realizing that money is not an end but a means to an end.

I certainly do not claim to be an expert, and I still need to get a few things going - get a 529 going (and figure out which 529!), play with my retirement deductions from my paycheck, and work more on spending mindfully. I certainly have spent a significant amount of money since I took up wetshaving, but I don't have many regrets about that.

I do wonder what the future holds - I'm decades away from retirement, and I assume that Social Security will be nonexistent and that I will never see a cent of that. I guess the best I, or anyone, can do is to save for the future - monetarily, but more importantly in terms of investing in relationships with family and friends, and being active in our communities and the country as a whole to help guide it. I'm pretty liberal in many respects, but I do believe in spending less than you make and investing towards the future. I haven't seen any mainstream politician take the terrible risk of standing up and saying that we need to spend less, and be quiet discriminating as to where our money goes (like paying down our absurd debt). I realize that we will all have very different ideas of how to go about spending less.

I also think that our banking system needs a heck of a lot more oversight, as I strongly believe that the financial industry does a terrible of policing itself. Not that any other human institution does it any better. I also think that any oversight boards should be completely separate, and not financially beholden in any way, to the people it's supposed to monitor.

I wonder what would happen if Consumer Reports ran consumer safety in this country.

As an aside, I do get annoyed with any financial institution that doesn't allow easy downloads into Quicken or something similar for easy tracking.

Random ramblings from a Sunday afternoon . . .

 

[econjoe]

The best financial advice I've received was from my dad when I started my first job, "Always pay yourself first by putting some part of your pay towards retirement."

 

[August West]

I just retired. Money isn't a concern at this point, but I think the concept is overrated. Perhaps I didn't plan well, but I am bored and feel I have much more to do and give. I am picking up more hours at my 'retirement' job just to stop from going crazy. There aren't enough hobbies in the world to fill the void in my humble opinion. I am healthy as an ox and will probably work in some capacity until I am enfeebled.

One advantage: More freedom to call the shots.

Saving is always prudent.

 

[ouch]

The best financial advice I ever heard was from a NY Times article in the 90's. It said the two most important things you can do are:
1- marry someone more thrifty than yourself
2- never tell your kids (or anyone else) how much you have

 

[Toothpick]

I pretty much spend every dime I earn. I try to save some every now and then but the little Donald Trump in my head will see something he wants and wipe out the account to buy it.
I earn my money by working for a living and I make myself happy by buying what I want. I've pretty much come to grips with the fact I'll be working until I die because I can't save. It's a problem I have and I admit it, but at least I'm happy happy happy!

yeah so needless to say...you don't want my advice

never tell your kids (or anyone else) how much you have

Sometimes my friends think I'm wealthy and sometimes they think I'm dirt poor. But at least they're thinking bout me

 

[MrBurns]

Don't have debt. That is all.

Pay down your mortgage like a sonovabitch, quit buying new cars or leasing every 3-5 years, quit buying the "new phone, tv, game, whatever" that comes out every month.
Make your lunch at home. Make your coffee/tea at home or at work. Quit making Starbucks filthy rich.
Be cheap, you work for your money, quit throwing it away.

Think about this long and hard: EVERYTHING YOU OWN WILL ONE DAY BE IN A GARBAGE DUMP.

 

[Senshi]

I'm not the best at saving money, especially on this salary. But when I was in America I had saved a decent chunk of change but used most of it to set myself up over here. I think it's good to have things that will last and aren't fashionable.

My fiancee and I will be moving back stateside ( I had hoped by next August but it might be a year from then) and her lack of English will put me in the position of being the primary breadwinner. Something I would like to invest in is real estate. My father is a handyman and would buy old decrepit houses, fix them up and rent them out. So every month a nice check would come his way. I'm pretty handy myself and will try to do this when I'm older to have supplemental income.

I don't like stocks because it's very risky and can be unfair IMO. Kind of like going to a casino and playing blackjack with a 52+ card deck.

 

[surrealtrip]

I'm not the best at saving money, especially on this salary. But when I was in America I had saved a decent chunk of change but used most of it to set myself up over here. I think it's good to have things that will last and aren't fashionable.

My fiancee and I will be moving back stateside ( I had hoped by next August but it might be a year from then) and her lack of English will put me in the position of being the primary breadwinner. Something I would like to invest in is real estate. My father is a handyman and would buy old decrepit houses, fix them up and rent them out. So every month a nice check would come his way. I'm pretty handy myself and will try to do this when I'm older to have supplemental income.

I don't like stocks because it's very risky and can be unfair IMO. Kind of like going to a casino and playing blackjack with a 52+ card deck.

Every investment has it's risk and rewards. As a financial planner, every client I meet goes through a fairly rigorous process that helps both them and myself decide on suitable opportunities under the investment market. Whether it's in bank notes, stock, real estate trusts or commodities, each one has it's own risks. Stay in-tune and aware of the real estate and the rental market and you will do well. And also have a sizable liquid asset

 

[Vlamgat]

Solzhenitsyn used to say: "it's not about earning a lot, it's about not spending a lot".

 

[rm71]

Don't have debt. That is all.

Pay down your mortgage like a sonovabitch, quit buying new cars or leasing every 3-5 years, quit buying the "new phone, tv, game, whatever" that comes out every month.
Make your lunch at home. Make your coffee/tea at home or at work. Quit making Starbucks filthy rich.
Be cheap, you work for your money, quit throwing it away.

Think about this long and hard: EVERYTHING YOU OWN WILL ONE DAY BE IN A GARBAGE DUMP.

Good advice right there.

 

[shaveitoff]

Think about this long and hard: EVERYTHING YOU OWN WILL ONE DAY BE IN A GARBAGE DUMP.

This is a wise statement. Everyone should consider it before making any purchase. It should help you cut back on spending.

 

[Vlamgat]

Eheh, reminds me of a joke. A rich fellow had died and a guy asked: "how much did he leave"? Another guy said: "he left it all".

 

[MrBurns]

This is a wise statement. Everyone should consider it before making any purchase. It should help you cut back on spending.

Go to a thrift store, Salvation Army or other, look around at what is there: every single item was bought buy someone who thought "I want this".

We do need things, it is inevitable, but filling your house with crap is insane.

 

[ChrisInAZ]

Part of the reason I got into shaving with a DE was the cost of cartridges. I've got a pretty low income, married, and have three kids. I'd love to save for the future, kids college, hell even a house, but right now we are struggling just to make the low monthly bills we have. Another good source is Dave Ramsey. I'm not a die hard fan, and he has definitely become more egotistical over the years, but the basis of his message is solid

 

[ouch]

Don't have debt. That is all.

Pay down your mortgage like a sonovabitch, quit buying new cars or leasing every 3-5 years, quit buying the "new phone, tv, game, whatever" that comes out every month.
Make your lunch at home. Make your coffee/tea at home or at work. Quit making Starbucks filthy rich.
Be cheap, you work for your money, quit throwing it away.

Think about this long and hard: EVERYTHING YOU OWN WILL ONE DAY BE IN A GARBAGE DUMP.

Great. Now I have to go and move some bodies.

 

[ChrisInAZ]

Wow, just read my last post and I sound like a freakin' baby. Sorry about that everyone.

 

[ouch]

Wow, just read my last post and I sound like a freakin' baby. Sorry about that everyone.

I didn't see it that way. It takes a long time to amass any appreciable amount of wealth. Sadly, it's harder than ever to save, as prices of the most commonplace items have skyrocketed. Best advice: start young and start immediately. It's not going to happen overnight, but you'll get there.

 

[jrp316]

A word about investing that my company's CFO once told me: he said that making your first million in investing is the most difficult part. After you make your first million, it becomes very easy to make big money.

As money and cash flow goes, I've always believed that one should obviously keep enough around to pay the bills and sock some back for savings/retirement, but try not to deprive oneself of something they want. For me, I collect and modify Swiss Army knives. I buy them and sell quite a few, but I have a pretty good keeper collection too. They're cheap enough to collect, much cheaper than a visit to the shrink

 

[SilentTuba]

Unfortunately for myself (and many other folks my age), the cost of getting the education which has allowed me to begin my career has made saving for the future extremely difficult, if not impossible. My wife and I both make decent salaries, but our student loans, combined with living in one of the most expensive parts of the country make it difficult.

 

[realdog4]

Unfortunately for myself (and many other folks my age), the cost of getting the education which has allowed me to begin my career has made saving for the future extremely difficult, if not impossible. My wife and I both make decent salaries, but our student loans, combined with living in one of the most expensive parts of the country make it difficult.

I completely understand. It is overwhelming how much debt you can accumulate, especially if you go to some type of graduate program. I think one of the biggest mistakes I have made, at least in terms of education, is going to a private college and graduate school. If I could do it over again, I would go to a state school without any hesitations.