Ahhh grasshopper, long way to go. Wax on wax off, you keep doing that until we say stop! ?
Absolutely.
Gotta long way to go. Luckily for me I listen to most of you old farts. Nothing like skipping the middle man and learning from others' mistakes.
Wow - tons of great advice on this thread! Thanks @AzScorpion for getting it going. I don't have a ton to add that has not already been said.... and I admit I have not read all 7 pages carefully, so I may be repeating a few things here:
When my wife and I were young and just married, we heard about Dave Ramsey and his Envelope System for managing day-to-day expenses etc. We followed his plan to snowball our debt payments, and managed to get completely debt free within a pretty short time (something like 2-3 years, as I recall). If you are currently in debt, and struggling to figure out how to pay for stuff, I do recommend looking at his stuff.
However, once you are out of debt, it's time to take the Ramsey training wheels off and go find yourself a financial planner... and I don't mean someone who tries to sell you a whole life insurance policy or other investment products. Look for a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and get set up with them.
A good CFP will develop a short and long-term plan for your financial life that is goal-based. i.e., they'll sit down with you and ask what your goals are: Do you want to be able to travel? Do you want to give to charitable entities? Do you have any hobbies you want to be able to pursue? What sort of lifestyle do you want when you retire? Do you have kids you want to help through college, etc? Based on your answers, they'll develop a plan that WILL get you there.
Yes, CFPs charge you money for their services - but I'd MUCH rather pay someone to provide this service than to get someone who earns a commission on financial products they sell me. My CFP is always looking out for my financial interests, not his own - because he does not earn commissions on the stuff he's set up for us.
In my opinion, it does not matter what vocation you are in, or how large your paycheck is - building wealth comes down to being able to have the foresight to make a long-term plan, and then stick to that plan (adjusting as needed along the way).
One last thing: the older I get, the more I value experiences over "stuff". When I was younger, I placed a higher value on buying stuff... but I now realize that to me, stuff is more or less meaningless. I'd much rather have meaningful experiences with members of my family.
Over the next 2 months, I'm going on a cruise with my wife, hiking the backcountry in Idaho with my son and other extended family, and hiking the grand canyon with my wife and a bunch of extended family. I'm also currently in the planning stages of a trip to Costa Rica for a week early next year with all my siblings and their spouses - all of these experiences will cost money, and after they are finished all I'll have to show for all that money are some photos and memories... which are worth WAY more to me than having a fancy new TV, larger house, or other toys... and my CFP knows all this, and our financial plan with him is designed specifically to make these sorts of things possible.
Anyhow - thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Been to a Ramsey seminar and like most of his stuff.Wow - tons of great advice on this thread! Thanks @AzScorpion for getting it going. I don't have a ton to add that has not already been said.... and I admit I have not read all 7 pages carefully, so I may be repeating a few things here:
When my wife and I were young and just married, we heard about Dave Ramsey and his Envelope System for managing day-to-day expenses etc. We followed his plan to snowball our debt payments, and managed to get completely debt free within a pretty short time (something like 2-3 years, as I recall). If you are currently in debt, and struggling to figure out how to pay for stuff, I do recommend looking at his stuff.
However, once you are out of debt, it's time to take the Ramsey training wheels off and go find yourself a financial planner... and I don't mean someone who tries to sell you a whole life insurance policy or other investment products. Look for a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and get set up with them.
A good CFP will develop a short and long-term plan for your financial life that is goal-based. i.e., they'll sit down with you and ask what your goals are: Do you want to be able to travel? Do you want to give to charitable entities? Do you have any hobbies you want to be able to pursue? What sort of lifestyle do you want when you retire? Do you have kids you want to help through college, etc? Based on your answers, they'll develop a plan that WILL get you there.
Yes, CFPs charge you money for their services - but I'd MUCH rather pay someone to provide this service than to get someone who earns a commission on financial products they sell me. My CFP is always looking out for my financial interests, not his own - because he does not earn commissions on the stuff he's set up for us.
In my opinion, it does not matter what vocation you are in, or how large your paycheck is - building wealth comes down to being able to have the foresight to make a long-term plan, and then stick to that plan (adjusting as needed along the way).
One last thing: the older I get, the more I value experiences over "stuff". When I was younger, I placed a higher value on buying stuff... but I now realize that to me, stuff is more or less meaningless. I'd much rather have meaningful experiences with members of my family.
Over the next 2 months, I'm going on a cruise with my wife, hiking the backcountry in Idaho with my son and other extended family, and hiking the grand canyon with my wife and a bunch of extended family. I'm also currently in the planning stages of a trip to Costa Rica for a week early next year with all my siblings and their spouses - all of these experiences will cost money, and after they are finished all I'll have to show for all that money are some photos and memories... which are worth WAY more to me than having a fancy new TV, larger house, or other toys... and my CFP knows all this, and our financial plan with him is designed specifically to make these sorts of things possible.
Anyhow - thanks for coming to my TED talk.
So glad I never got a damper.
Damper come at end of training! You keep lesson going. Will tell whenSo glad I never got a damper.
I just finished Biff's, I mean Dave's, truck. Which one next.
Congratulations that's great to hear you landed a great job!! At times life can really bring you down but I always feel that if you keep pushing forward you'll be rewarded in the end.
Dave,
Sounds like you might be headed for a burnout...
Congratulations!
but those are the ones who've been manipulating the markets for some time.
Thanks for adding the chart Joe. It really helps show how rates have climbed over the past year. It also shows how much you can make if you have some extra money to put into one or a higher interest money market account.Just wanted to add a visual to Dave's comments about CD rates. We use Ally as our primary bank. Here's the 12-month CD rates they've offered over the past year.
