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Money

Never Give Out Personal or Financial Information On a Call You Did Not Initiate

never give out personal information on phone call

It happens often, and it seems like common sense. But, how often have you been called by your loan company, or your phone company, or your insurance company, or internet company, and that call has started with something like:

“Hello, this is Sandra from Comcast calling about your account. Before going any further, for your security, please verify the last four digits of your social security number.”

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The Importance Of Paying Yourself First

pay yourself first

One of the oldest rules of personal finance is the simple admonition to pay yourself first. All the money books tell you to do it. All the personal finance blogs say it, too. Even your parents have given you the same advice.

But it’s hard. That money could be used someplace else. You could pay the phone bill, could pay down debt, could buy a new DVD player. You’ve tried once or twice in the past, but it’s so easy to forget. You don’t keep a budget, so when payday rolls around, the money just finds its way elsewhere.

And besides: What does “pay yourself first” even mean?

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How To Stop Eating Out And Save Money

how to stop eating out

Holy shit at the money people spend on food!

And I was the exact same way when I landed my first job out of college. You know what I’m talking about–biscuit and Starbucks on the way to work, lunch out with coworkers and pizza and beer at the local tavern for dinner! Every night! All week! Professional money spender! And more beers and dinners on the weekends! Woohoo!

Wait. Where did all my money go? And how the hell did I gain 40 pounds in six months? If you’re nodding your head you’ve fallen into the brand-new-job-big-salary-eat-out-because-I-can trap. And you have to stop it. It’s killing your bank account, it’s killing your financial freedom and it’s killing you. (Literally–I was on the edge of type 2 diabetes and had hyperglycemia during routine physicals.)

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Wealth Is What You Don’t See

Money has many ironies. Here’s an important one:

Wealth is what you don’t see

My time as a valet was in the mid-200os in Los Angeles, when material appearance took precedence over everything but oxygen.

If you see a Ferrari driving around, you might intuitively assume the owner of the car is rich- even if you’re not paying much attention to them. But as I got to know some of these people I realized that wasn’t always the case.

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The Financial Trappings of ‘Lifestyle Creep’

Whether you’re aware of it or not, at some point in life, you may fall victim to a phenomenon known as lifestyle creep. It’s a common financial trap that can catch you off guard without your knowledge.

Typically, this tends to occur as you progress in your professional career and your income increases. However, it’s important to note that not everyone experiences lifestyle creep, so it’s essential not to make sweeping generalizations assuming everyone has encountered this trap.

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Keeping Up With The Joneses

Keeping Up With The Joneses

Photo by E Mens

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of seeing your neighbor drive up in their beautiful new car or hearing about their fabulous planned vacation.

It can make you forget about every other plan or goal you’ve made for yourself. Keeping up with the Joneses can eat away at your financial dreams.

“Keeping up with the Joneses” means to try to own all the same things as people you know in order to seem as good as them.

But when you’re making purchases that have no value beyond impressing others, you’re shortchanging your future.

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How To Determine If You Can Really Afford That Car

I keep seeing encountering people who are struggling with their budget but have some ridiculous car payment. Let’s have a little discussion for people who are looking to buy a car. Here’s some advice I’ll give. Your mileage may vary (oh yes I went there). This advice is in USD but works anywhere.

Don’t get stuck holding the bag on a car that depreciates faster than you pay it off. I’ve done the math at a bunch of different interest rates, and the bottom line is that 48 months is the magic number for loan terms. At 4 years or below, you’re typically safe. Maybe you can push the boundary at super low interest rates, but there are other reasons not to finance for too long, including risk of financing a used vehicle for longer than expected reliable service life.

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