Money

[DelawareJim]

It's sounds like you're doing the right things, but just getting tired of paying on debt, which I totally understand.

On your question about where to put savings, Bank Rate provides good info on savings rates, loans rates, and has articles on savings, investing, retirement savings, etc. It lets you search nationally or locally too. Last time I was on, I saw there was an article 5 questions when choosing a bank that may be helpful.

Chin up! We're here if you need to vent.

KBO (Keep Buggering On)
Jim

[Sandrilene]

Cool I'll check that site out. Yeah I'm tired of it. Been tired of it for a long time. Just been a hard couple of months my grandmother died and we had to come up with money to go from TN to Ontario and back and my husband had to miss a week of work for it and we had to replace all four tires on our car and some bracket like thing on the tire rod that holds the tire steady to the tire rod or something so it's just been really stressful and we are moving in with our old room mate to help him out so we have to come up with all this money to move too and I have to pack everything and figure out what we`re bringing with us and whats going in storage because he has his own furniture and stuff. Just not fun. I don;t regret going to the funeral so don`t get me wrong there. I just wish everything else didn`t happen lol.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

I'm not sure if anyone has covered this or if anyone eluded to this...

As far as something like a car is concerned, I'll go even further with this...

When I purchase a car I think about these factors:

1. What kind of car do I need?

Do I really need a sedan made by BMW or a Mercedes, that costs $50,000 - $100,000, for example.

Or...

Is it good enough to have a sedan made by other automobile makers that are very reliable (such as Toyota, Nissan, Mazda, etc.), that costs anywhere in the ballpark range of $16,000 or $25,000 (not including finance charges and what not).

To go further...

Do I need to move things? Do I need to transport several people? Do I need a trailer?

All these can influence what kinds of cars you choose.

2. How much are the replacement parts and how rare are they?

I speak from experience on this one.

I own a Daewoo Leganza which is a discontinued brand of car.

The cost of the car itself was roughly $19,000. At the time, nobody foresaw this brand going out.

When the cars were discontinued, parts became harder and harder to find.

Simple rule of supply and demand, the rarer it is, the more people are going to charge for the parts.

Sometimes, the parts cannot be found anymore.

3. Is it a new or used car?

Me and my family prefer to buy a brand spanking new car. There are no hassles from misuse from the previous owners.

4. Insurance coverage.

Sports cars/exotic cars are mad expensive. Need I say more?

Shop around for insurance companies.

Get sufficient coverage! Don't skimp!

I'm not sure if car registration fees differ from car to car, so you might want to check it out.

5. If you choose a car that may be unpopular to other people, but it's the one you need and can afford, screw what other people think and say! (IMAO, of course! )

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

On to the wants...

My is that people will always want more.

I found out the hard way, more is not always good. It's always in context of everything else.

When I'm dealing with something I want, I try to ask myself - "Is this what I really want?"

What I want has got to stand the test of time.

Here's what I can't afford to do:

Spend money on things I nominally want.

I gotta pick and choose, what I can go without or what I must have in the wants department.

Sometimes delaying things is a good strategy too.

I sometimes time things too. Again, this is in context.

For instance, if I were choosing between two species of orchids I want, I will ask myself - "If I had to choose one, which one will I have a harder time finding?"

If orchid A is much more limited in availability, than orchid B (an orchid that can be found at the drop of the hat), my priorities will shift to orchid A first. And whenever I have the opportunity to, I'll go back for orchid B.

Another thing to consider is:

"How much of the things I want can I really handle."

I learned this through the mistake my father constantly makes (even to this day).

When you buy things, in my opinion, it's unwise to not deal with upkeep.

My mother always taught me, take care of your things. Whether they're items you need or want, take care of them like they're gold.

A bit of info I learned from personal finance class is that everything is worth something no matter how big or how small. Whether the worth is sentimental, monetary, or will somehow get you somewhere, it's worth something.

I'm sure you're at an age where you would recognize this iconic video game if I mentioned it...

It's like in "The Legend of Zelda". You obtain an object at a certain time in the game, but you don't know what it's used for right away. You hang on to it (actually, the game doesn't give you a choice of discarding the item anyways ). As the game progresses, you'll start seeing certain points in time where you will need to use that "initially useless" item in order to progress.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Credit cards...

This is the downfall of many, many people (me included).

Try not to use it as much as possible.

Using it to build credit?

My advice...

Even when used in such a manner, choose carefully what you purchase and when, for the purposes of building credit.

Emergencies always pop up.

Check for deals.

Some cards have low APR's, no service charges, and no membership/annual fees.

Read the fine print.

Pay before the bill comes to you to avoid finance charges.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Penalty fees for whatever bills.

Avoid these like the plague.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

Oh...

And whenever possible use compact florescent lights.

Saves electricity and the money you use to pay for it.

[Sandrilene]

I believe in taking care of the things you have also. I got my very first CD player when I was 9 years old it lasted 9 years. My first cds to this day don't have a scratch on them. As for spending money I used my Christmas money to buy a decent vaccuumm that I wouldn`t have to replace every year that has a warranty for 5 and no filters or anything that need to be replaced and I spent a month shopping around waiting for it to come down to the price I wanted to pay for it (it was around 40% off). I just don't buy things typically. I know emergencies come up and life happens so at this point I just keep money in my account and wait for it when I can or use it towards debt. I saved for a year for my hubbys computer and it was his Christmas present I learned about all the components and compatibility and what he would need as far as memory and graphics and speed to really enjoy it and learned how to put it together myself.

I've actually found over the last year or so we are getting much better at not eating food out or fast food and simply coming home and making something ourselves. That and staying in helps a lot. I'm not too worried about cars right now. I don't even have one unless you count my husbands but I don't even drive it unless I have to. Eventually we'll need another one but til then... and he'll probably be stuck with public transportation or car pooling til I find something we're both happy with. I don't have any credit and his is bad since he is bad with money and I can;t fix what he didn't pay before he met me (well besides forcing him to pay it which I did). Another few years and that should be off his record though (thank God). People seem to look at his credit and think he is an idiot and try to screw him over more and I tell them to have a nice day and leave. Our car is used we bought it from the seller. that's the price range we can afford probably for the next 5 or so years unless things change drastically. I'm fine with that. I just wanted to know what to do with money once I actually get out of debt so it isn't always like this where we are struggling to float we aren't sinking but we sure are kicking hard right now.

And of course I use CFLs even use some LEDs too also installed efficient aerators on the taps and a low flow shower head too.

[King_of_orchid_growing:)]

My recommendations...

1. Take some basic introductory courses in business.

2. Take a personal finance course.

3. Learn how to properly invest. Our US dollar is in serious trouble, there's a possibility it may be overtaken by another world currency if it hasn't already (not exaggerating).

4. Keep up with current money matters, foreign and domestic.

5. Pray that luck is on your side.

[John D.]

I'll add one thing to what Jim said about saving any raises. I agree that it the right thing to do.
If you can put it into a 401k plan where the company matches part of it it's even better. Usually you can save up to 6% before tax dollars and with a 50% company match would be like giving yourself a 9% of your income savings account without seeing a penny difference in what you bring home.