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And this month I did it. Now I am planning to game the system by using the card for groceries and gas, paying it off every month when the bill comes in, and taking the cash rewards from the bank.
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The idea is to get a credit card with benefits you can use. We, fer instance, use AMEX. The Delta Airlines AMEX to be exact. Why is that? Because the Mrs. flies around the country on business half the year. Because points add up to miles. Because we enjoy traveling so much. Of course, basic fiscal discipline is always in play (never charge up more than you can afford to pay off when the bill comes) but it has really helped out, allowing us to travel a bit more easily and reasonably.
Remember too, to read the fine print before applying for (or accepting) a new card. Too many people get bitten in the ass by the bullshit fees, conditions, and penalties but if you do your homework (as with anything) you should be able to use their bullshit to your advantage.
And, since I'm giving out a little financial advice (something which I am loath to do because I am no damn expert and I only know what works for me), I got a little for the younger folks who might stop by here to listen to the old farts once in a while.
Don't have kids.
Well, at least, wait until you're married (or together, cohabitating) a few years. There is nothing etched in stone somewhere that says you gotta spit out a kid a year after you're together. Take a few years to get to know each other, learn how to work together (learn if you can before fucking up some kid with a divorce) and become a team, oriented to the same general goals (financially, spiritually, with a congruous set of aspirations). And this rule is paramount: If you're having relationship problems already, a kid ain't gonna fix it and the kid will pay the biggest price down the road.
Build up trust in each other and make sure you can trust each other. Then, when that's reasonably certain, figure out which of you is the best with money and let them run it. The Mrs. (see "Discipline") is that person here. I couldn't tell you how much my paycheck was over the past 10 years, nor could I tell you my yearly salary. If I write one check a year it's a lot. I have no idea what I'm worth. The Mrs. has the answers and that's fine with me; I'm not living out of a box under a bridge somewhere.
Save.
If it's a dollar a week. Use forced savings through your employer (though avoid a 401K made up completely of your employer's stock) or get direct deposit for your check and have your bank make an automatic transfer to your savings account, even if it's just a dollar a week.
Don't look over the fence.
"Keeping up with the Joneses" is horseshit. Shy away from "impulse buys" or frivolous shit (and by that I mean, for example, how much does a Starbucks Super Fatso Latte cost every day compared to buying a pound of good coffee and making your own?). Just because your neighbor has "X" doesn't mean you should too. A lot of folks I know got in trouble by getting competitive with their friends when it comes to "stuff" (if you've watched TV for an hour recently, you'll realize we're conditioned to it). Make a list of "Needs" and "Wants" and stick to it ("Needs" = bills, gas for the car, clothes for the kids; "Wants" = anything else that doesn't keep you fed, clothed, employed, and warm). When money's tight, stick to the "Needs" list. The "Wants" only come when you can afford them without sacrificing the "Needs". Do not use credit for "Wants" if you can help it.
Invest, if you can.
I realize, in this day and age, for a lot of people even putting a sawbuck aside every week is a big ask. But this comes back to gaming the system again. This is what's there, we might hate it, but if you want to get anywhere in it, bitching about how bad it is ain't gonna work. When you have some money saved, see if you can take a portion (never put all your eggs in one basket) of it and invest it in something long term and safe. Our rule was to invest in things we use and it's helped out too. Carnival Corp, fer instance, where we get anywhere from $150 - $750 in shipboard credit (each) on every cruise, just because we own more than a hundred shares. So far, the credits have more than paid for the stock (plus I earn dividends on the stock in good times, which we reinvest to buy more). And don't let personal feelings get involved. Just because, for example, Goldmine Sachs are rotten, scumbag motherfuckers doesn't mean you can't invest in them. In this shitbag system, they always come up smelling like a rose. Why not take advantage of that and make some scratch for yourself?
And I just remembered, rereading this: Don't forget about your investments. Check on them quarterly to see what's doing what. I know financial statements are eye-glazing, believe me, but you have to see if shit you got is making money. If the value of something (this is very general because of many factors) doesn't improve in a year, you're not making anything. Might as well take the cash and put it in a savings account where it'll at least earn a percent or two. Always remember, this is cold shit. Do not let personal feelings get involved (i.e. don't feel bad because you love X Products - you use their stuff - and you can't bear to part with it even though it hasn't done shit since you bought it). Money that's not making anything is just an interest free loan on your part to some shitbag corporation. They're fucking you enough.
Discipline.
Maybe, thanks to the military, my German and British heritage, and being married to a woman who comes from a long line of accountants, I got a leg up on others in the discipline category, but discipline can be learned and must be applied. Also a long-term view (this is why I emphasize "congruous goals" in a relationship) of where you want to be in 5 years, 10 years, or 20 years. If your partner doesn't want the same things you do for the future, it'll be that much harder to save for it.
Well, that's it. I might put something up in another couple years but these I think, are important. And, when I get the inevitable "but F-man, you're pretty well off and it's easy to give advice from that point of view" (one of the reasons I shy away from giving financial advice), I'll just answer with this: 23 years ago, I was homeless. A little over 15 years ago, the Mrs. and I were counting change in order to buy a soda to share. I never won the lottery, never had a rich relative die and leave me flush. Nobody ever gave us anything (except for this house when my mother died and that's cost me $150K so far) but with discipline, a lot of talking, planning, and sacrifice we've gotten to a comfortable place and we have a nice nest egg set aside for our retirement.
Like I said, I know there are a lot of different situations and I'm not saying to follow my advice to the letter or at all. Just something to think about that worked for me.
Addendum: A very important thing I almost forgot. You are not in touch enough with the markets to "day-trade" (or whatever it is they call it now). Short-term, high-risk investments, trying to make money on small, daily fluctuations in the markets is a sure recipe for disaster for the average person. Find a good financial guy who'll sit down and listen to you, ask you about your plans for the future, and try to design a realistic plan for you to meet your goals. This could be difficult and it is paramount you do your research. Take years to find the right person if that's required. These are decisions that will affect your long-term solvency and a crook, or an idiot, will dash your dreams in a New York Minute. Just look at the news nowadays and you can very well assume that if you're not on Social Security now, you're never going to be. Plan ahead. Ain't nobody, especially in these times, looking out for you but you.
And one more and then I'll shut up: Gold? No. The rise in gold prices is a bubble created by Friends of Beck. If you got in and bought a load when they first started, when the price was about $400/ounce, sell it now and retire in Liechtenstein. Buying high (gold is at record prices) and expecting the market to go higher is the same way people lost their shirts in the Dot.Com bubble, and the Housing Bubble, etc (I was around for the Hunt Bros. silver scam about 30 years ago and remember how that went). No gold, period.
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