Post your best financial tip
 

In this age when many people are overwhelmed by debt or insecure about our financial futures, I thought it would be helpful for the more experienced and successful in our group to share their financial wisdom. The idea here is to post a tangible, real world example of something that you did that helped your situation financially. You can post just one, or you can post as many as you can think of. Please try to explain a little of your reasoning behind why this particular example worked for you.

I'll get things started with a few of my own:

1. Buy your own house as early on as you possibly can. Renting is a losing game. If you are going to be in a place for more than a year, BUY! In most cases, real estate is a solid investment over the long-term. I bought my own house while I was 19 and still in college. Yes, my step-father cosigned a loan with me, but I made every payment myself. I sold that house 11 years later and walked away with $100K.

2. Invest in stocks for the long-term early on in life. Don't wait until you are 40 to start thinking about retirement. There are plenty of online calculators that will show you the benefits of compounding interest over the long-term. Putting away $10000 when you are 20 is better than putting in $100000 when you are 40.

I'll stop there for now. I hope other people with more widsom than me will stop by and lend their experience to this thread.

Don't fall into the credit card trap that so many of us have gotten into. I rarely use mine for anything, except ordering stuff off the web. But other than that, if I don't have it in cash, I don't buy it. If more people lived by this philosophy, Americans would be less in debt.

I agree with you on the buying the house early thing. Just dont' get in too far over your head so you can't make the payments. Also, with investing in stocks early, do it through your 401K plan at work. That's what I'm doing. I have onver 80% of mine in stocks right now. I'm only 28 so the trick will be just to hang on no matter what the market does.

I tore up my credit cards 5 years ago and I havent looked back since. Its much better to save up for what you think you want to buy....it takes away "impulse" buying and I have not regretting one single day

Keep the credit cards in your wallet...or, better yet...don't get one in the first place!

You hit on the two best areas and I'll add my 2 cents worth.

1. Buying a house is a great way to aquire wealth but a little thought has to be given to the location you are buying in. I made $400K on a house I held for 15 years in Seattle but I think the run up in prices has got to slow down there. Prices in some areas have been depressed for over a decade.
Also, try to buy the cheapest house in an expensive neighborhood.

2. Invest 10% of your salary or more in common stock funds. If your company has a 401K with matching funds, jump on it. Don't become a stock trader unless you really know your stuff. The guys on Wall Street are more than happy to sit down at the table with a rookie in the game. I watched some guys cash in during the dot com boom but saw many more lose almost everything during the inevitable bust. Better to just buy quality and hold.
Also, start an IRA account and put in the tax deductable amount every year. This saved my butt and allowed me to retire at age 52 when I got laid off. There are legal ways to get the IRA money without penalty if you set up a withdrawal plan under the IRS guidlines.

Build credit while you're young but be responsible about it. This means using your credit card on a limited basis but enough to pay it off on a monthly basis. If you do not build credit when you're young you'll have a hell of a time establishing credit later on in life when you want that new sports car or house.

Signature loans, for college and graduate school, can be utilized to pay off higher interest credit debt. I'm not endorsing this but it's helpful especially when interest rates are locked as low as 1.9%. Compare that to your regular credit card rate going anywhere from 11 to 18%.
Holla,
me

The above are all great - except always remember to keep one or two credit cards, to build your credit rating, and for the 'oh crap, no money to pay the rent' moments.

Here are two more:

1) Keep an emergency fund. This way you can avoid using the credit card for emergencies, or begging friends/relatives, or (God forbid!) one of those check-cashing places (tip 1 1/2: never ever use them, even if you have to go hungry! The 'interest' rate makes the worst credit card look good, and you can easily get 'stuck' needing them every single month).

2) Keep all your damn receipts. All of them. If you don't get a receipt, ask for one. If you can't get one, right it down. Use a personal finance program like quicken, etc. We've been doing this for the past year or two, and it really helps to see where all the money goes. I use gnucash, which is free - it is a double-entry system, meaning every dollar you spend from (for instance) your checking account goes toward a specific 'expense'. Balance your checkbook against your finance software so you know you haven't forgotten or lost anything.

3) After you've saved your receipts for a few months, fire up a spreadsheet program and work out a budget. Put in all your regular monthly bills (rent, cable, utilities, etc), and then add in estimates (using the previous months as a guide) for other expenses. Add them all up, and subtract from your monthly income. If the number is positive, that is your 'surplus', and should go into savings. If the number is negative, you are in deep crap, and you need to either cut out some expenses or start making more money.

I've been totally anal about the above for awhile, and it does take some time, but it is very much worth it. Every dollar I've spent is accounted for, so I can see where the waste is. The only concession I make is with cash - I always round cash purchases, and then 'adjust' the accounting program when needed - which usually isn't very much because the rounding averages out. When I check my bank account online, I balance it and make sure the 'cleared' amount is what my financial program thinks it should be. If it isn't, I find out why.

I agree with most of what the prior posters have said. I do believe that a well managed credit card is necessary in this day and age. Just use them responsibly. Pay them in the absolute shortest time that you can. Do not use them for long term or high dollar purchases.

My personal favorite way to save money is a CD ladder. Begin by putting $500 (or more) in a CD. Then create another one ass soon as possible. Make it a monthly goal. Add another $500 at each maturity. After 3 years you will have a nice chunk of change as the first one will be worth approximately $1700. Do the math using your institutions current rates. The nice thing is that you can make a call and have the money putinto your account in minutes in an emergency. It worked for me.


Real estate is a great investment in MOST areas. I suggest taking a realty course before buying if you are not savvy.

Boo, I was thinking of making a post about CD ladders as well, but you beat me to it. I will add this point though. Depending on your age, CDs should not make up more than 10-20% of your investment total. The advantage of CD ladders is that you can eventually reach a point where all of your money is earning the maximum (5 year CD) yield but you still have money coming due periodically as you might need it.

For example:

Invest $1000 in 1 year CD = 2.1%
Invest $1000 in 2 year CD = 2.4%
Invest $1000 in 3 year CD = 3.2%
Invest $1000 in 4 year CD = 3.6%
Invest $1000 in 5 year CD = 4.25%

Then when your first CD matures, one year later, use that principal + interest to buy a new 5 year CD. Do this each year and you will always have some money coming out of a CD each year, but they will all be rolling around at the highest 5 year yield. Of course, you can use a smaller amount and start a CD every month or every 3 months, but your goal should remain to reach the highest available yield while preserving some liquidity.

ING Direct, an online bank I use and recommend to anyone, has a great feature where you can automatically set up a CD ladder. In addition, you can set it up so your money automatically rolls into the highest yielding CD available upon maturity. That is, they have taken the work out of it and your money does the best it can for you automatically.

Again, depending on age, I wouldn't sink all of my money into a CD or CD ladder as a main vehicle for investing. But they are fully guaranteed (up to $100000) and a nice way to have continued assurance of financial security with at least some interest income. This is a great way to grow your "emergency fund" without risk.

Thanks for all of the great tips everyone!

this is a simple one, when entering in your checkbook, round up to the nearest dollar. within a couple of months you will have a decent savings there.
ie power bill 23.72 note $ 24
dinner on the debit card 18.43 note $ 19
within a couple of months you will have a small chunk of change that you can roll into a savings account, that will eventually become something. remember to back out the total each month so your checkbook does equal your checking account.

Invest for retirement early
 

SOMEWHERE in this office, I have a really great chart concerning IRA'S and the time value of money. 3K invested per year from age 15 to age 18 (and then no more) = some outrageous number at age 65. 3K per year from 18 to 28 = something less, 3K per year from 28 to 65 = something less still. Really does not matter what the interest rate is, the lesson is the point. Wish I had learned that :rolleyes: . But, I am REALLY working on my kids about this.

buy low... sell high...

Great info braisler :thumbsup: .... As a supervisor in the AF, I had to council my people on money (usually in a bad light). This was a way for them to get started in a savings plan. I still use ut as a way to maintain a safety fund. I have also used it to gather funds or control funds for a special purchase. An example would be when I wanted to buy a camper. I used the money instead of taking out a loan and saved the normal associated finance costs.


While this may work for some people, I dislike it as rounding may put a person into a negative balance when funds are low. People tend to estimate thier balance when doing this and a bounced check can be expensive. Check books should be to the exact amount at all times (including ATM and debit actions). If you want to test my therory just walk into a bank and show the accounting people your "rounded off" checkbook when you have a disparity.

I also believe in using a tool of some sort to maintain all of your finances. Quicken is a favorite of mine. You should look at you long term finances monthly. Quicken allows you to see where your money is going. Set a date and stick to it. Are you making your goals? Are your goals realistic? Do you need to dump the car that is now a money pit? Those cigs get really expensive when you actually see the long term cost of them. Do you eat out too much?

/kind of straying from the topic

how does rounding UP put you in a negative balance?

As said earlier but it cant be stressed enough, throw away your credit cards.

CD's are certainly very safe but if you are young and can weather the ups and downs in the stock market and don't need the money for 10 years or so, mutual funds designed to follow the SP500 have historically given far greater returns.

First off, I appreciate all the tips, everyone!

I'm 20 years old and I've always been pretty good at saving money. So far, I have an ING Direct savings account, and I put a certain amount of my paycheck into it weekly. I'm planning to continue doing so indefinitely. I also am investing a certain amount into an advertising business that my mom's boyfriend is doing well in. I try not to eat out at restaurants and try not to spend money on impulse purchases.

But I have a few questions and need some further clarification on some of your tips.

• I don't have a credit card at the moment, but I'm thinking about getting one very soon so I can start building some good credit. I've read over the recently added credit rating thread in Tilted Finance and it finally occurred to me that I should probably get on that soon. What is a good card to get that has the greatest benefits and low/no yearly fees?
  
• What is a good company (on the internet or not) to start a mutual fund account or get started with stock trading? Any there any particular companies that are reputable and well-established? (i.e. TD Waterhouse?) What's the best course of action that I should take with a checking account of under $1,000?
  
• I'm going to a community college currently and planning to transfer to a four year university next fall. As far as student loans go, is there a really good information or loan agency website that has all the info I would need to make a good decision on who to get a loan from? Any other tips insofar as college loans from anyone here at the TFP is also appreciated.

I like the tip from robot_parade about saving all receipts. I'm going to start doing that tomorrow and keep all changes in cash flow in Quicken.

Eventually I might open up a CD at ING Direct too, but right now I don't have the money.

Thanks again, everyone! :thumbsup:

1) Educate yourself so that you can earn a better living. Once your are educated go back to school and learn some more. Do NOT lose the lust for knowledge or you will quickly become irrelevant.

2) Save early and save often. The original post was accurate by suggesting that the earlier you start the better off you will be. I bought my first share of stock using grass cutting money at a very early age. It was Procter and Gamble which is a local company for me. They - along with many other companies - offer direct investing options that are in most cases low cost (no brokerage commissions,etc) or in the case of say Pfizer no cost. The earlier you start the greater your returns will be over time. Time = compounding = making your money work for you. Do it now. Do not wait.

3. Do not fall into the trap of having too many credit cards with balances that you cannot pay off every month. If you don't have the cash for it then why are you buying that Coach purse? If you don't have the cash for it then why are you buying that Polo shirt with the funny little horse rider on it? Keep a single card for emergencies like a car repair or other calamity. Use it infrequently so the credit companies get to know you as a reliable consumer but don't for shit's sake carry a god damned balance on one of these things. It will crush your ability to participate in #2 above.

4. Good credit history will allow you to successfully borrow money to buy a house which is where you need to borrow money. You do not need to borrow money to buy the next Snoop Dog CD. Enough said said about credit cards.

Some good advice here.

Two other things to maybe consider:

1) Pay yourself first (I cannot stress how important this is). When saving, do not wait until the end of the month to put your spare cash into a savings scheme - you'll end up with nothing. Decide what you can afford and do it as soon as you get paid. That way you have your savings guaranteed and you'll know how much you have to last you the month.

2) "Take care of the cents and the dollars will take care of themselves." So, SO true. Look at how much you spend on little incidentals, things that you don't think will make any difference - that coffee at Starbucks every morning on the way to work, the chocolate bar or pack of gum as you do your shopping. I'm not saying never treat yourself, but don't fall into the trap of saying something "only" costs something to justify continued and extensive treating - it costs something, and that's that. At the end of the month, you may find yourself $100 better off for it.

I think I like this thread. A lot of good stuff.

My tip is to be super miserly. I picked this up from my parents and am glad I did. It seems that a lot of financially savvy people are quite miserly as well. On fn.com, they have a little section called millionaires in the making. Every month (I think), they will profile a different person who is doing well with their finances. Are these people making 6 figure salaries? Mostly not, they just know how to save and invest. They also are all very miserly despite how much money they have (buying used cars, using fluorescent light bulbs, buying nearly everything at Costco etc.).

http://fn.com/2005/02/01/pf/rp_tong/index.htm

Oh, and something that might help you be miserly (this might sound completely silly, but it works for me). Consider this: money depreciates in value roughy 3 percent a year because of inflation. Now, this might sound like a reason to spend you money today because it will be worth less tomorrow. But this is the thing: If you buy just about any good (except for maybe a house) it will depreciate in value much much much faster than 3 percent a year. think about that lap top computer, or designer pair of pants. You will never ever get that money back. A car is supposed to lose some 10% of its worth after you drive it off the lot. Money is more valuable than stuff so you would be best off saving it. I don't know if that logic will work for anyone else, but it does for me (and I'm crazy anyway :crazy: ).

My office pays me by automatically putting the money into my account... I asked payroll to put a small amount into my RRSP (register retirement savings plan... it's a Canadian thing)... directly.

Every pay, before I even see it, $200 goes directly into that account. The bonus is that no tax is taken off that $200.

I've got a nice little pile of money forming up in that account.

This brings up a good point and I am going to have to contradict the sentiments of some posters here. You shouldn't throw out, tear up, or otherwise destroy your credit cards. Credit cards aren't evil. You just need to get your use or abuse of those cards under control.

To answer your question: Check out www.bankrate.com for some useful information about what credit card is right for you. Since this is your first card, you might have trouble getting one, or at least one with good benefits. You might consider getting one through your bank or your university if you are at school. Use it for six months or so, paying off in full every month, then you should be more ready to qualify for a better card with incentives.

Check into ScottTrade and Ameritrade. Both have pretty low trading fees (Scott is $7, Ameritrade is $10.95 if memory serves). I also think that both have pretty low account minimums, something like $1000.

On your checking account, make sure that you are not paying a monthly fee for checking. If you are currently, ask them to remove it. You might be surprised that they sometimes will. If not, change banks. Check into credit unions where you work or go to school. They often offer no-fee checking accounts with an account balance of $25 or $50.

Take as little in loans as you possibly can. I knew a lot of people back in college who would max out their student loans and buy plasma TVs or new bikes. That money is not free. It will have to be paid back one way or another. You should be able to qualify for federally subsidized student loans. Talk with the financial aid office at the University you will be attending before you even get there. They'll be able to set you on the right path.

INGDirect offers no minimum CDs. So if you are saving that paycheck deduction money over the long-term, you might consider slipping into a CD at a higher rate right now. ING also offers mutual funds with low fees if you want to put some of your money in the market before you get a brokerage account.

The big thing here is that you are WAY ahead of the game. At 20 most of your contemporaries are worried more about where the money for the weekend's pizza and beer is going to come from. You should be praised for thinking ahead and planning for your future.

This is so true. Many wealthy people are actually very careful with their money and hunt down bargains ruthlessly. That is part of how they got to be so wealthy. In the media we all hear about the celebrities and sports-stars buying 1 million dollar rings or tricked out cars, but the truth is that most of the people who worked to amass their wealth are very careful and protective of that wealth.

I too had a very frugal family upbringing. The tools that my mother gave me have served me so well in putting me on the path toward financial independence. Part of having good finances is knowing how to save money on your expenses so you can save more for the future.

I had thought of starting a parallel thread to this one on the best tips on how to save money or be frugal. I think that this is an essential part of a sound financial plan. Most of us don't have much direct control each month over what we get paid. So it makes sense (and cents) to address the other side of the equation, how much you spend each month. Sure some expenses are fixed, but others are not. A good budget, as several others in this thread have suggested, can be very insightful in helping you reduce your expenses. Once you realize that you are spending $500 a year on your cell phone and $12 a week on Starbuck's, it is much easier to make adjustments and find more money to save.

If anyone has suggestions on tips for being frugal, feel free to add them here. Or start your own thread! I have a ton of tips on living well and living below your means. It is a lifestyle for me. I'll share some of them a bit later.

braisler, I think you're just the man for the new thread on living frugally. :) Great idea. And thanks for your info.

Hey guys, I was just watching the tube and saw a commercial for AIG Auto Insurance and supposedly how inexpensive it is. Do any of you have this or any other popular auto insurance that saves you money? Is this another thing people do to really save money? Kind of a dumb question, but I was just curious.

Or, would it be a better idea to get ahold of my current insurer and see what I can do to reduce my monthly payment?

People tend to be optimistic when they round up. I had several people working for me that got into a negative balance because they "believed" that they had put far more money away. When things got tight right before payday, they would write a check based on what they "thought" was in their account. All that rounding up adds up, but it takes time. Say they wrote a check for $20, and their account only had $19.50. Add in the bounced check fee and rounding does not save time or money. Knowing what you have to the penny is the key.

Only invest WHAT YOU CAN AFFORD to lose in stocks and shares. Stocks and shares can go down as well as up so it can be a risky game.

Another way of looking into how much to invest in stock and keep in savings is dependent on your age. e.g. I am 25 years old. That should represent the amount I money I have in tied cash savings i.e. 25% in cash savings. From that 100%-25%=75%, can be invested in the stock market.

The thinking behind this, is because I am young (its all relative), should I lose a large bulk of the 75% in stocks, I have time and potential earnings to recouperate my losses. As you get older, say nearing my retirement age, say 60. I should have approx. 60% in cash savings and 40% in Stocks.

Take this as an indicator. I have set it up so WHAT I CAN AFFORD is distributed 25% and 75%.

One more thing, max out the company match in your 401K. It's free money.

A few peolple here have said buy instead of rent, but buying isn't always cheap. I'm still in grad school, and I also want to stop renting and buy, but I plan on buying a multi-family. I live alone and only need 3 rooms, so if I bought a reasonable 3-family, I could make enough from the other two rentals to pay the mortgage and all utilities including my own. That's called living for free in my book. Well, granted I might have miscellaneous expenses here and there (and taxes), but that should be well less than me throwing away hundreds a month on rent. Not to mention the property is increasing in value as I go (or at least around here it quite obviously would)

Oh, and if you can't afford the down payment, you can get someone you TRUST - wife, parent, sibling, etc - and have them assign the building to you. How this works is that the other person agrees to buy the builind under the condition (and this has to be written into the contract) that he/she can assign it to someone else, and that someone else just happens to be you. What this basically means is that you're buying the contract from that person, HOWEVER, say the building is being "sold" to your mom for $150k. When she assigns it to you, she can sell it to you for more, say $170k. All the bank sees on the mortgage application is that you're buying from your mom for $170. The bank gives your mom the $, and she gives the extra back to you so you can make the down payment. If you want you can even hike the assignement price up a little more and get money for repairs, etc... Only thing is that if it goes too high, the bank won't give you a mortgage because the collateral (the building) is obviously not worth the amount that you're asking for.

That's my tip.

There are ways around large down payments.....

Especially since the market is still pretty hot. Most mortgage companies have zero or low down payment options. The catch is your credit has to be good enough to qualify. Shop around when you're ready. The ads for them are still all over the place. And be careful because most of the ads you'll hear on the radio and TV boast low interest rates but they make some pretty big assumptions like doing a 3/1 ARM, a monthly adjusting mortgage or paying interest only to get that low interest rate or low payment.

I have recommended them before, but I will mention it again. Check into ING Direct for their mortgage program. Extremely low closing costs (like no lender fees... at all, seriously) and very competitive rates. I think that they are only currently offering ARM mortgages, but they have a 3/1, 5/1, and 7/1. And, no, I don't work for them. I just have been very happy with thier financial services for me.

Oh, and I have been cross posting in a new thread on frugal living over in Tilted Living for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. Some of the stuff posted there, might apply here and vice versa.

All the tips are great, but here are a few that I will add:

1) open a Roth IRA and max out the money you can put in it each year (no tax on withdrawl of money during retirement).
2) if your company has a stock purchase program, join it.
3) Shop around for auto insurance and try and find the lowest rate.

Stop upgrading your life every time you get a raise, promotion, lump sum bonus, settlement, tax refund. Let one or two of them become savings. It's not like you'll miss out on some thing...

Try to stop buying things that become worthless too quickly or disposable. I don't upgrade my computer at every iteration anymore. I try to wait until several iterations pass and then I buy the lower end of the technology spectrum to save money, knowing that I'll be buying new again within 5 years instead of every 1-2.

Buy quality items. The cost of replacing items over and over because of wear and tear is ultimately wasting money.

Eveyrthing wears out. Save money already for it. If you have a car, it's going to need maintenance, so put a few dollars aside for it. You'll need new tires at some point in time...

More hobbies mean more money on accessories, magazines etc. Take note of the costs of hobbies before you start into them. Also, having the "best" clubs when just starting doesn't help you any more than a basic one when just starting out.

Good tips username and Cynthetiq. I will add that Roth IRAs are particularly useful for our younger members or anyone who concludes that they will have more money after retirement than they are earning now. That is, the trade-off with contributing to a Roth IRA is that you have to use after-tax dollars. If you are 50 years old, currently in the 38% tax bracket, and expect to draw a lower amount out of your IRA after retirement than you currently earn, then you are better off staying with a traditional IRA. I particularly like the tip on choosing your hobbies with an eye to frugality. Another tip in this vein is to join a club for your particular interest or hobby. Not only will you get to meet a great group of people with similar interests, these clubs often offer discounts at local vendors and hold swap meets where members exchange used merchandise at substantially lower prices or even for free. If you are just getting started in skiing, does it make sense pay $500 for a set of skis, boots, and poles?

{edit} Content moved to Living Well Frugal Living thread as I thought it fit better there {edit}

This tip might not work for everybody, but I find that it helps me become motivated financially.

Find a website, or forum that is frequently updated, or has a lot of activity going on. For example the Cnn Money website, or even the finance section of Tfproject.org. I say this because I'm a regular member on other car forums, and when I frequently read about the new parts that are coming out for my car and their performance improvements I tend to get an urge to buy it. And by being around people who's main concern is not really saving, but rather spending money, you tend to become part of them by simply reading and being around them because you start to want to buy it, too.

So by becoming a regular on a site that revolvs about saving money( this thread ), or reading about financial related issues, it can put you into a mindset where your thinkin more about saving money, rather than saving up for your next part to go on the car.

I found that while only staying on "hobby" sites, I tend to ignore my financial status and rather worry about how I will save up enough to pay for that part, rather than "do I really need this part?". By visiting this site, or rather this thread, I actually realized that wasting all my extra income for the month I could be investing it in something that brings me much more in return in the future which I could then spend on many more parts for my car and not have to live my month "paycheck to paycheck". It kinda relates to how you become like the friends you hang out with saying.

I dont know of too many sites, or forums like it but Cnn Money is always a good place to read about money related issues. If anyone is a member of another forum that relates to finance/business in general, please PM me the site or post the link.

Finance related sites
 

Yes, I agree with BlaqK20. What I read and participate in has a lot of influence in how I spend my energies. I try to focus on positive things for me like financial news, fitness information and tips, and science related information. This is not to say that you can't have hobbies or other interests, but you shouldn't let it occupy all of your time or consume all of your money. Having fun in life is all about living well, but I would rather live well in my later years than have that new LCD TV right now.

Since a few financial or money sites were requested I will post the ones that I use the most frequently.

www.zacks.com offers free and pay based analysis of stocks. I haven't used the pay based analysis, but I will run a search there on a stock I am considering.

MSN Moneycentral has good financial tips, a stock screener, and some other tools. Their content is usually pretty fresh and everyone can find something useful there. I don't frequent their message boards as they are full of stock hype and flame wars.

Get the most for your money on BankRate.com. They offer guidance on the best rates for CDs, credit cards, consumer loans, etc. They also have some good guidance on what the economy is doing generally.

That should give enough for some quick browsing. Spend your time looking around financial and investing sites, and I am confident your drive to invest will increase.

Student Loan interest is not tax deductable but Home Mortgage interest is. So Roll your student loans into a mortgage refi and take advantage of the law.

if you're a youngster, live with mom & dad as long as you can! :D then have a job and save, save, save!

-Don't invest in single stocks. ( enron or mci anyone?) Invest in growth stock mutual funds.

Dont buy a home on a ARM... the only way the rates are going now is up. On the same note, if you cannot put 20% down, keep renting as you really aren't ready to buy a house.

Never borrow against your home. Why would you risk your HOME against some credit card debt that you bought pizza with?


If you decide to invest, find someone locally, yes- not on the internet, that will sit down with you and teach you. Make them show you why it is good to invest in that genre of investing.


If you really wanna be wealthy, why not act like it? Check out this book:
The Millionaire Next Door

You'll find neat things like:
Most millionaires don't have, and have not had in many years, car payments.
Most millionaires do not spend more than the average person for things like clothing or shoes.
Most millionaires do not invest in single stocks, they diversify in mutual funds.

GReat thread, I love this topic.

I have an ING Orange Savings account with a few grand in it. I also have a couple of grand sitting around in liquid form plus a couple of grand in checking.

Should I roll it into a CD ladder, mutual funds, go to P&G and buy some shares or keep it in savings as "Emergency Fund"?

I am a Junior in college (Full-time, no job) with no CC debt, FICO score of 777, a small student loan (Stafford), no car, no cell phone, no car insurance, so I'm pretty free.

I would love to buy property or invest money in something but I live in southern California where the only thing I could afford is half a phone booth with an outrageous ARM.

So assuming I have 3-5 grand to "play" with, I really don't want it to just sitting around (like in the ING commercial) but rather "working" for me.

Ideas?

get a credit use it and pay it off in full each month.

Well, it really depends on the type of risk that you are willing to take. If you decide to take some risk, decide how much of that money could could afford to potentially lose.

However, I would make sure that you have a minimum of 6 months living expenses saved up in an emergency fund - keeping those funds liquid for anything that may come up.

Any additional funds, however, you should invest in something - be it a CD ladder for low risk/low yield, or stocks for a higher risk but more potential.

As far the student loan is concerned - weigh any tax advantages it may offer vs. the amount of interest you are paying. Even though it may be a low interest rate, it will likely be more advantageous to pay it off before investing, as you would have to earn X% higher on your investments just to break even.

Buy a home, first and foremost. Minimize your taxable income; i.e. defer as much income through an employer (401K) and open your own IRA; look into life insurance while you're young, consider annuities as an income stream, and most of all---diversify.

Hey NoSoup, long time to see!

Good to see you! Anyways, thanks for the tips. As for my student loans, I don't start paying interest until 6 months after I graduate. Not sure what happens if I go to grad school. Maybe still deferred.

I am concerned with if there's anything I can do in the interim.

I guess keep the six month reserve in the ING account which essentially eats up most if not all the "surplus". Whatever is left can be tossed in to a CD ladder and/ior murual fund or individual stock like P&G, Lever or Coke (gotta start somewhere) and hold forever.

People have said a lot of bad things about credit cards, but they actually offer two big benifits:

1. They let you borrow money without paying interest. Yes, the interest rates are obscene, but you don't start paying them until the grace period is over. If you pay of your cards every month its like a free month long loan.

2. If you're smart, you'll get one that gives cashback, usually in the neighborhood of 2%. Not much, but it ads up, especially if you pay for everything with your credit card. Given all the thought given on this and other forums to squeezing a few extra percent out of investments, getting 2% back on everything you spend is a pretty big deal.

3. It helps build credit, which will save you a lot of money in future interest payments when you buy a house.

Now of course, all of these benifits are nothing compared to the obscene interest you'll pay if you don't pay your card off every month, so if youknow you can't handle the plastic, stick to cash. But if you are responsible enough to use a credit card and still live within your means, the smartest financial advice is to pay for everything with your card.

Iccky, well stated, but clarification of MONTH is in order... read the fine print.. it's not 30 days which is what you and I consider a month. For some cards it's around 20+ days and and for some the interest starts at the moment of purchase.

READ THE FINE PRINT!!!! ASK CUSTOMER SERVICE REPS THOUGHTFUL QUESTIONS!!!!

Very true. I guess an addendum to that would be, credit card companies will try to screw you at every turn, so be very careful

Spend less than you make.
Pay cash whenever possible.
Never buy a totally brand new car.
And always have an Emergency fund saved for that rainy day or a real emergency.

I would also endorse Millionaire Next Door as well as "The Richest man in Babylon" By George Clayson

The millionaire next door has some very good insights to the common traits and disciplines of mostly, self made millionaires....." The Richest Man in Babylon" gave me my first inkling of the difference between what makes one rich or poor. It encompasses so many of the general principles of wealth in an easy read.

Pay yourself a percentage of your income every check no matter what, this money goes into a savings account. Once you have enough put into CDs, money market accounts, mutual funds. Once you have enough invest in real estate, for the long haul, no short term garbage.

Realize that get rich quick schemes rarely, if ever, work.

Build credit while you're young but be responsible about it. This means using your credit card on a limited basis but enough to pay it off on a monthly basis. If you do not build credit when you're young you'll have a hell of a time establishing credit later on in life when you want that new sports car or house.

Lots of great advice, especially about buying quality. Something that has helped me, toy-freak that I am:

Anytime you want to buy something 'signifigant' (e.g., not groceries), think about it for a month. You'll often find that you didn't want the thing as much in the first place, and not end up spending that $100 or $200. Use that month to hunt down bargains as well; waiting a month or two can mean getting that hot item for half of what you would have paid for it.

Bump on the advice to buy quality, and take care of what you buy. Save up for it, and buy something that will last a long time, even better if it's on sale, doubly good if it's a repairable item or has a lifetime guarantee. I got $1000 of good cutlery (Vier Sterne, complete set) for about $350, and I will never need to purchase knives again, because I take very good care them, and because they all have lifetime guarantees. My parents, on the other hand, have about $500 worth of cheap, lousy cutlery. All of it is dull, which is dangerous to the user, and none of it is really usable. They spent more than I did, but have gotten less out of it, because they were too focused on buying 'bargain basement' goods, rather than getting high-quality goods to last a lifetime.

Last but not least, use real cash for your weekly 'spending cash'. It's nothing to buy a $5.00 latte at Starbucks on your Visa card, but actually forking over the money gives it a very real feeling. This little tip has saved me a lot of money over the years, and has the added benefit of small change -- throw it in an opaque jar or box, and every few months, you'll have an extra $20 to $100 in change which you can throw back in your bank account.

Never ever pay the min. balance on your credit cards!!! Pay in Full!!

Smart investors manage risk, not-so-smart investors manage rewards. Patience is key when you manage risk; the rewards will come. When people manage rewards, the risk will hit them hard.

I'm surprised that no one brought this up earlier. If you can't out pace inflation, then your missing out. I recommend an investment that pays more than 3%. If your CD only pays 2%, then your money is shrinking in buying power 1% each year.

One thing about that 20% down. If you want to buy a $150,000 house you need $30,000. Who has 30 grand sitting around? I didn't. You have to take into account that homes are apreciating every day. Even when the bubble bursts, homes will still appreciate. The major markets like Seattle, LA, New York are going to be hit the hardest when the bubble bursts. Small towns aren't going to be hit as hard. But, if you save and save and save that 30K and it takes you 5 years to do it, in that 5 years that same house has appreciated to say, $170,000. You have 30K in had but you now need $34,000. In other words, if you don't outsave the average rate of appreciation, you've never save that 20 percent. There are 80/20 loans that you can do to get into a home and avoid the PMI payments. You'll still get to deduct interest and property tax. If you already have 20% great. Use it. But if you don't there are ways to get into a home versus throwing money away on rent while youre trying to save 20% over a number of years.

1. ARM's are not bad at all, and actually they make much more sense for younger buyers. The average person is not in their first house for more than five years, so getting a five year ARM at a lower rate makes much mroe sense.

2. Make more money. I work in a commission basse industry and I think the easiest way to creat wealth is to work in sales or own your own business.

3. Save AT LEAST 15% into a 401(k) if available. Invest in a variety of Large/Small Growth and Value funds. Also, don't sy away from international funds. Have at least 3-6 months income in a liqiuid account.

That's true, IF you know for an absolute fact that you will be out of the house within 5 years. If you're not 100% sure of that, then I wouldn't bother with an ARM. The rates are going nowhere but up from here on out.

You and I are in agreement though about owing a business. I'm in the process of starting up a consulting firm out of my home right now. Hard work, but worth it.

I'm probably too young to post here. My mom bought into an RESP for me when I was 12 and has saved enough to pay about 2 years tuition. I'm not sure if this is available in the US but it's been great for me. If you can get it and have kids or plan on having kids it'll save you a lot in the future. I know that's what I'll be asking for at my baby shower (it's in 2012, everyone's invited).

They are called 529 Plans in the States.
The best ones are run by the states, though some brokerage houses also have them.
State run 529(b) plans often lock in the price of tuition at the year you start the plan.

These plans are cool. We recommend them to families were there is a 100% chance the children are going to a good school. Like if the family is from a long line of doctors or engineers or lawyers, the 529 is perfect.

Don't forget to visit Annual Credit Report to check your credit history. You can get a free report from each of the three major agencies once per year. The report doesn't include a credit score but you can at least see if all the information is correct.

Don't lease your car. One of the biggest temptations right out of school is to get all the car you can. It is non-disciplined and the cost of the money is too high. Instead, buy a car that is a couple of years old and if you do it right you have equity right away. I bought my 740iL at the auction for a third of what my friends paid for their Acuras, not that they know!

Don't underestimate the value of liquidity. You should have at least $5,000 sitting in a plain savings account before you start looking at CD's and funds. At 5% your only making $250 dollars in a year and that is a small price to pay the day you really need it for something.

and my advice for the ladies: "jewels, not jewlery!"

I have heard that if you pay twice the minimum payment on your credit card each month, it takes about three years (or so) to pay off instead of thirty (or however long if you pay the minimum). I have no finacial savvy whatsoever, but I stick to this rule. Currently I'm paying $100 a month on a credit card where the min payment is $20. I was pretty stupid in my younger years with my credit card, and now I buy NOTHING on it, but only pay it off. The only card I buy things on is my Victorias' Secret card, and that always carries a low balance and gets paid down every month.

Credit cards are not inheriently evil. The mindset of the person holding the credit card is what holds the potential to lead to finacial demise. So, BE FREAKIN SMART ABOUT YOUR STUPID CREDIT CARDS!!!! Oh, and I suggest getting all that debt transferred to a card that has the lowest possible interest rate- I switched from Bank of America to Wachovia and it saved me six points of interest. I hate BoA!!!

Here's one way to do that:

Whenever I use a credit card (which I do for many things, so I can get the reward points and maintain a good credit score) enter it into your checkbook and deduct it from your balance AS IF IT WERE AN ATM TRANSACTION. When the bill comes, you will have the cash to pay it.

It takes some discipline to do this (and not spend out from under yourself). The result is, you have credit cards, they are paid off each month, and by paying them off as soon as the statement comes in (well before the due date) you will improve your credit score substantially.

If you can't afford to pay cash, do without or find a better way to fund it. Challenge spending: You need a place to live, maybe a car, food, light/heat, etc. You do not need an Armani suit. You do not need a stereo receiver. IF you can buy them, good for you, but don't fucking finance them at 18% interest.

The only things worth paying over time for are those things that increase in value, like houses. Cars depreciate. Stereos depeciate. Clothes depreciate.

If you have a car, you probably have a car payment, but if you get RELIGIOUS about maintenance, you will eventually have a paid off car that will be in good mechanical condition and you can bank the car payment until you have enough bread to buy the next one, or make a huge downpayment on it. A new engine might cost $4,000. A new tranny might cost $2,500. A new car costs $20,000+. Do the math.

I have a paid off car in great condition with 127k miles. I can reasonably expect to put another 70k miles on it. Maybe more. By banking the $400/month car payment, I now have enough cash to buy a new engine and a new tranny, if and when I ever need them. I doubt I will buy a new car. I might have the seats reupholstered, and the convertible top needs work, but I have the CASH to pay for it.

I also make checkbook reservations every payday with other fixed expenses. Car insurance comes every 6 months, and I get paid twice a month, so each payday I deduct 1/12 of the car insurance bill from my checking account balance. Also, 1/2 of each house payment, 1/2 of the approximate utility bills, etc.

Basically, I am reserving cash to pay fixed expenses. Anything I have left over, I put some in savings and/or I buy something I want (concert tickets, etc.)

You'll be suprised at how easy it is to simply reserve the cash and how much your stress level goes down when the bills come in.

I have only been doing it a short time, but I definitely now know that forex trading is brilliant. On a conservative estimate, you can make an ROI of 40% monthly, which is unheard of anywhere else, and if you go with the company I am with, you can also build a residual income that will keep you going even if you do nothing at all after a while.

Building Blocks to Financial Success
 

So here's the next tip.

Financial Planning must be done in THIS order (especially for Canadians):
1) Insurance
2) Tax Planning
3) Investing
4) Estate Planning

Insurance
If you have dependents, then GET INSURANCE. It's by far the cheapest fastest way to ensure the financial stability and protection of your family should the worst happen. Critical Illness insurance can also play a vital role to secure your income if you are the sole breadwinner for your family.

Now if you don't have anyone depending on you for anything, then what do you need insurance for? Other than Car, and rental/house insurance - that's about all you need to protect yourself.

Tax Planning
Next is Tax Planning. Did you know that 47% of your income is spent on taxes? (For Canadians). That means from Jan to May, none of the money you've made from work is yours. Get a capable financial plan set to save money on taxes. Start a business, get some RRSPs (Canadian thing again), there are tons of ways to save money. PM me if you want to get into the nitty gritty about getting every tax penny back because that gets rather complicated. My last tax return was about $8000.

Investing
Once you've saved enough money on Taxes, all of a sudden there's extra money at the end of the paycheque that wasn't there before. Now you'll have to resist all urges to go out and buy that nice flat screen HDTV from Best Buy or Futureshop (same thing) and take this money and start making it work for YOU.

As far as investments go, there are too many to mention so do your research and get the ball rolling. I'm starting a Canadian based investment site: http://wcstrategies.ca that does research into potential investment opportunities. When your savings get significant enough - it's time to find a financial planner to decide the strategy you want to take. Wether it's a major bank, your local investment group company, or even yourself - it's your future and your retirement, so it's worth the time to look into.

Estate Planning
Last, but not least. When you finally follow all of the other steps, it's time to start planning your will - this is the final step in the Financial building block program. Protect your assets so that your children, and your children's children will benefit from all of the hard work you've just done getting this far. Yes, there's such a thing as "death" tax. On a lighter note, it just happens to be the same form to get married here in Canada. (half of the form is for a marriage license, the other is a death certificate... who says the government paper pushers don't have a sense of humour eh?)

Don't believe me? - Check out this link - direct to the Government Website:
http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca/forms/vsa430m_fill.pdf

I run free Financial workshops in the Greater Vancouver area for those of you who want to hear this spiel in person, just PM me. This information came from David Singh, the creator of Fortune Financial.

If you're not in BC, Canada - then I suggest looking into purchasing Rich Dad, Poor Dad from Amazon: Amazon - Search for Rich Dad Poor Dad Robert Kiyosaki does a great job of making the world of a finance a much friendlier and easier goal to attain. On second thought, read this book wherever the heck you are.

Those that are investing in the stock market, here's a few things I've learned, a series of "Don't":

1. Don't try to catch a falling knife. If a stock is falling, no matter how good the company is, don't buy it hoping you've caught it at the bottom. Stay away from what you THINK is the bottom, because often it isn't.

2. Don't be afraid to admit you made a mistake in a purchase. If a stock is not behaving properly, sell it.

3. Along with # 2, don't be afraid that the day after you sell, a stock will rocket up and you'll have missed it. You have to make the best call you can at the time. To help you do that, set a predetermined limit how much of a loss you'll be willing to take in a stock, and when you hit it, sell it. Don't watch it and hope it turns around the next week. Just pull the trigger and move on.

4. Don't get industry laggards in your portfolio. Buy the best company in a particular sector. Quality stocks cost more money, but there's a reason to buy quality.

5. Don't be someone that buys a stock and then holds it forever. Again tied to number 2 above, you may have picked one at the right time for awhile, but it's time is over. If you bought Microsoft 10 years ago, you had a good winner for the first 5 years and one that has been flat for the last 5. Why keep it? Take that money and use your noodle to find the next Microsoft for the next 5 years--you did it once! Look at each of your holdings and decide "if I didn't have this now, would I buy it?" If the answer is "no" then you should sell it and find something else.

6. Don't try to be the smartest guy or gal in the market--you aren't. You don't know anything that the folks on Wall Street don't know. You can't time a buy and sell to take advantage of a situation any better than those that do it for a living do. Let the trend be your friend, and don't fight it.

7. Don't borrow money to invest in stocks--in other words, no margin accounts. Those can force you to make decisions you wouldn't ordinarily make, and besides that, paying interest on the money that you use to buy a stock can eat up whatever profit you were expecting.

8. Don't think you can violate these rules consistently and win. Now and then, you can act contra to them and do OK, but on whole, you'll lose if you do.

These pretty much go for Foreign Exchange trading as well :)

A lot of this was said already, but I think it is great idea. Own if you can and do not rent. The tax savings you get from the interest on the mortgage is amazing! Credit cards / student loans if you can pay them off with the mortgage do (unless there is a great rate). For instance my wife student loans are 1.75%, she can keep that forever as far as I care.

You should hopefully get 3% in a savings account, use ING, or emigrant-direct (which is 3.25%). But the best investment I have ever made was real estate. If done right I would recommend investing there.

I like everything else you said but the above. Fear and greed are two parts of the same coin that paralizes most investors. Waren Buffet the The Oracle of Omaha buys and holds for life and is the best and wealthiest investor to date. In trying to emulate what works, I'm going to follow his method. As far as I can tell buying and selling just costs me extra overhead of costs which I have to account for in profitable increases and take an additional penalty when the stock is already deflated in value.