Ah, summer. Warm weather, food on the grill, watermelon…and writer’s block. As happens every summer, the creative juices have taken a vacation — not just for me, but for other GRS writers as well. So, as also happens every summer, I’m solving the problem by coming directly to you, the readers.
Get Rich Slowly is only useful insofar as we cover subjects that matter to you. What financial topics would you like us to explore? Are there things we’re writing about too much lately? Certain corners of personal finance we’ve been ignoring? Now’s your chance to speak up.
Please submit your requests for future financial topics here at Get Rich Slowly. Tell us what you want us to write about.
In the meantime, here are some great financial stories from other places around the web:
What’s it like to quit your day job to blog full time? It’s exciting. And scary. In many ways, it’s like starting any other business: You work long hours for low pay with the hopes that you’ll hit the big time. Some people are fortunate and meet with success. Others find that full-time blogging isn’t what they hoped it would be. Over at PT Money, Phil recently shared his experience after blogging full time for a year. It’s an honest look at the ups and downs he’s faced while trying to make a go of it on his own.
Lately, I’ve had a few folks write to ask how to stay motivated to save after they’ve eliminated debt. Jason at Frugal Dad has been exploring this question at his site lately. First, he wrote that he’s debt-free and happy, but where does he go from here? A month later, he mused on how to save money and combat lifestyle creep. I went through this a bit after I got out of debt in 2007. Eventually I realized that one thing made a huge difference for me: Setting goals. Goals keep me focused and keep my spending on track.
On Valentine’s Day, Kathy Kristof shared a piece at Yahoo! Finance that I only found this morning. In five numbers you need to know about your honey, she argues that before you get serious with someone, you should find out their credit score, their risk quotient, their net worth, their savings rate, and how much money they have saved. (On a related note, Flexo at Consumerism Commentary just wrote this morning about the pros and cons of pre-nups.)
Finally, I’m still fascinated by Jacob’s work over at Early Retirement Extreme. Some folks find Jacob’s tone off-putting, but his content is thought-provoking, even when I don’t agree with it. While digging through his archives, I found his cash-flow diagrams for the poor, the middle class, and the investor class. Though I think these diagrams simplify things, they sent me on a twenty minute tangent to diagram my own financial situation. Fun.
GRS is committed to helping our readers save and achieve your financial goals.Savings interest rates may be low, but that’s all the more reason to shop for the best rate.Find the highest savings interest rate from Ally Bank, Capital One 360, Everbank, and more.
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I want to know:
How to buy stocks and mutual funds on the cheap
How to make more money when you own a business (obviously each business is different, but some general principles could make for a nice discussion.)
Some time ago, I would have liked to know:
How to battle bill collectors when the debts get out of hand (everyone says “pay off your debts”, but what if you’re way in over your head?)
How to live on cash (variations on a Ramsey theme)
A lot of people are barely making it these days and looking for ways to get out of the hole. Frugality tips and Thoreau aside, “increase your income” is a topic I like to read about.
For example, someone named Pamela the other day wanted to make more money, and I thought of a sandwich delivery service as an example of a home-based business. It would be fun to brainstorm collectively all the things such a business would require in order to work. Of course not all folks here are entrepreneurially bent, but for me it would be a nice puzzle to solve even if I’m never going to sell sandwiches (the maketing seems to be the real hurdle here–how do you get your foot in the door of those office buildings?).
Seems to me a lot of the advice on the moneymaking front is very superficial, e.g. people chime “start a blog”. But how? How do you grow an audience? How do you monetize it? I’m not asking JD to give up his trade secrets (or whatever), it’s just an example of how the advice could go a little deeper than trivialities. Another would be to develop and sell a product. How do you go about it? I like to watch “Shark Tank” on Hulu just because behind the ridiculous reality drama there are some real interesting business stories there.
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To further the brainstorming theme …..
You’ve said that the comments are part of what has made GRS great. Perhaps you can start a new Reader Stories type of thing where you formalize the brainstorming by having a small panel of writers and/or readers chime in on a topic. If you can get at least two people who have polar opposite financial philosophies, it would be interesting to see multiple sides of an issue debated and/or suggestions made.
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How about stories of people that have successfully started side businesses as a means to get out of debt faster?
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Yes, I would be interested in a series profiles on people with different side businesses, with info geared for people interested in getting into the business.
One example I can think of is a family friend who spent a couple thousand dollars on a computer plotted vinyl cutter and made a good business cutting signs and stickers for people. I always wondered more about how that worked and if it was really profitable.
I am sure there are lots of other niche side hustles out there that people would like to know more about that are more than just the usual walk dogs or mow lawns type of thing.
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So far, this is my favorite!!!!
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I agree that this is a topic of interest. I have some friends who have a small bird business– selling chickens (and other birds) for meat. By law they can only sell 1000 birds per year (or something like that– to avoid having to have a full-scale slaughtering facility). They pre-sell their entire yearly allotment at the beginning of the year. This is not a business that I’d personally be interested in doing myself, but it’s also something that there’s clearly a market for, and it’s something I NEVER would have thought of. Plus, I am fascinated by what other people are doing in the arena of entrepreneurship.
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I’d love to read more stories like this, as well.
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Update on your investing research/process?
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Yes – I’d love to hear how your investment research is progressing. As someone who is also trying to figure out how to allocate funds in my Roth IRA, your research and advice is always appreciated
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I too, love reading Jacob at Early Retirement Extreme. Not very many people I know want to be just like him, myself included, but almost of of us can learn something from his extreme ideas. If we could move just 20% closer to his way of thinking about money we would have an abundance.
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What to do when your 60+ year old parents are terrible with money and asking for loans. Especially while they help out your out of work siblings, when you are single and successful and frugal.
There’s a lot of room for family + money posts in the personal finance blog-o-sphere, but it’s usually parents wondering how much or if they should bail out their adult children, and occasionally a sibling or sibling-in-law loan comes about.
I’d like to hear your perspective on what we owe our parents for raising us/giving birth to us, if anything…and if it’s a good idea or not to make loans to them.
I know Suze Orman has said in a book that I read that you should not give or loan to siblings but you should for parents.
If you need details on my particular situation (which is rather different–I have a 3 year old brother who will end up with me if something should happen to them, and I’m 34, both parents over 60), shoot me an email, JD.
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I felt like this deserved more than a “Like”. I would love love love to hear more about the “social” aspects of personal finance. There are a lot of sticky situations like this that have no single good answer, but would be worth discussing.
I also think that the “low hanging fruit” of personal finance has been covered to death (frugality tips, traveling cheaply, growing your own food, how to open an IRA, etc.) More difficult topics like opening a self-directed IRA, site-unseen rental properties, cost-benefits of vacation homes, etc. would be the next step I would like to see PF blogs in general take.
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We have the same issue with DH mom and his good for nothing sister.
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My quick advice would be only loan them money if it wouldn’t put you in the same position. You don’t want to be asking your kids for money down the road, do you? Perhaps that could even be your explanation as to why you won’t loan them the money.
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I would suggest that you simply make up your mind what your policy is. If you want to allocate a certain amount in your budget for this purpose that is fine. But if the budget runs out or you simply decide that you decline to participate you need a script memorized that you simply repeat as needed. Suggestions would be “I’m sorry but I don’t have the cash right now. But I would be happy to go over your budget with you.” I am guessing they will never take you up on that offer. In other words you say no to the cash request but offer alternative assistance. Admittedly tough love.
As for the 3 year old consider what you can do for the child that will benefit him in the long run. You have an opportunity to teach him differently.
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Man, JD could just open that up for comment and spend all day smacking down mean posts.
Still it’s worth discussing, I think.
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If we’re giving a quick bit of advice …
I still love advice that someone else gave the last time I saw a question like this raised.
1) determine how much you’re willing to give without driving yourself crazy or hurting your own financial situation.
2) If your parents are still healthy enough to work and support themselves now (even if they’re choosing not to or whatever), then wait to give the most help for when they’re REALLY need. If you can see them at eighty, reduced to eating cat food to survive then maybe you should set yourself up to help more down the road when it’s really desperate.
3) If you know you’re going to help in some way, then set aside or start a savings account just for this help. It’s then clearly defined, finite and doesn’t (as much) make you feel like you’re taking money away from other things to help them.
Good luck!
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How about retirement planning….if your 26 right now. I have AT LEAST 40 years before I finally hang up my tie. How should I start planning now besides not accruing debt?
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Having recently paid off my debt (thanks to GRS!!), and keeping motivated with my savings goals, I really enjoy hearing about people who choose an alternative lifestyle… whether that be someone who lives in a unique home, or a unique job, whatever. It’s fun to consider the options!
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I’d be interested to learn about living trusts. When would it make sense to have one as opposed to just a traditional will?
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YES. Good one.
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I’d be interested in how to get one’s life partner on board with a frugal lifestyle. I firmly believe that it’s a passive vs. proactive attitude in general, but I’d like to hear how others have worked with this.
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In a sort of similar vein — how to meet people who are frugal-minded — what are some ways that someone who doesn’t have supportive partners, friends, mentors or role models around can stay on track with frugality and getting/staying out of debt.
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Have you checked Meetup or the Center for the new American dream for groups near you? Or a transition town group, or a Really Really Free Market group? I found the one in my neighborhood on Facebook but I bet they get advertised on Craigslist and Freecycle.
Back in the mid-90s a lot of churches & book clubs were running simple living discussion groups – I co-lead a book club that read 10 or 12 simple living & money management books & discussed them (we started with Your Money Or Your Life, and The Overspent American). You could start one!
And if you’re Christian there’s probably a Peace U session going on near you.
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I have checked Meet-Up and Craigslist pretty regularly, and there hasn’t been anything in my area.
I don’t think I’m the one to lead the group, but I’ll definitely keep checking. I’ve never heard of Peace U — I’m a regular churchgoer, Catholic, but I’ll look into that.
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Agreed! Strategies to get on the same page, and in the vein on your “Action not Words” post from last August, how to work with a partner when you are a doer and they are a talker. This is especially frustrating if you are on exactly the same page in conversation only.
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I too, think it would be an interesting topic to write about how to get a partner on board with a frugal lifestyle. I’d like to add, however, that I take a bit of exception to the concept of Kathy Kristoff’s article about how you should be wary of a partner who doesn’t have the right financial stats. I think it should be more geared toward “potential” financial stats. I didn’t find the “right” guy until I was in my early 30s, so I wasn’t about to reject him as a life-partner candidate just because his savings rate was very poor. Although he was naturally frugal, he didn’t have much sense about money or savings because his parents had sort of brought him up in a culture of poverty (e.g.: it’s impossible to make or save any money, so it’s a waste of effort to try). However, I saw that he was open to change, and that I would have to take the reins financially, but that it was something we could work out. It was difficult, but he is completely on board with a new way of thinking about money, and we’ve come a long way in just a few years with our finances. So, in short, I think it is more about potential than about current-day stats.
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I really like all the suggestions on here already. How about a review of an energy audit and whether the changes suggested during the audit are worthwhile. What other costs may you incur and how to take advantage of credits.
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I would love an updated article about spending money while traveling overseas – i.e. using cash vs. credit cards/traveler’s checks. I’m thrilled to be going to Italy for the first time this September and would love some tips about the best methods to pay for things. For instance, is Capital One still the best credit card to use, or are there other cards that will not charge a foreign country transaction fee? I am not talking about going into debt, by the way. We are saving money to pay for this trip – just wondering about the best way to get the most benefit from our spending and accrue the least amount of fees. Thanks!
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Travelers checks are hardly used any more. Most travelers use ATMs these days or credit cards. I personally only carry a credit card overseas for emergencies and just use the ATM….withdrawing cash at the max amount each time. I am an independent budget traveler so 60 dollars US a day covered me in Italy for everything….stayed in hostels. The most important thing is for you to get a money belt that lies flat under your clothes for your extra money and cards, passport etc. Keep cash for the day in your front pockets. There are lots of very clever pick pockets in Italy, especially in Rome.
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Great, thank you for the tip!
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I’m in the process of transitioning from a desk job to being entirely freelance (halfway there!). Any tips on how to increase freelance work, get new clients, form a network, etc to get out of the office forever would be much appreciated!
I’ve been reading a lot of Ramit lately, who’s great, but I like JD’s style better
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How about a researched article on renting your house out for two weeks a year. can be done tax free. there is a family here in town who goes camping for two weeks around xmas and rents out their home near the beach (we live in Hawaii) This money then helps pay for a family vacation in the summer. I hear renting out for two weeks is also big in places like Augusta for golf tournaments or other big events.
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Interesting. I live in NYC, and many people do this (or apt swaps) for part of the summer.
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How about: how to stay motivated to keep working once you accumulate some assets. Not enough assets to retire, but enough to not work for several years.
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I’d like to see an article/discussion on the pros and cons of smartphones, much like the piece you did on e-books/e-readers back in December.
I’d also like to explore the topic of guilt and shame as it relates to personal finance. I think plenty of spending decisions are motivated by a desire to mitigate guilty feelings, just as some spending decisions are motivated by the desire to increase happiness.
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I would very much like information on online pharmacies and medical tourism. I pay a lot for health insurance that doesn’t do much and I think these are options that I can’t find more about.
Are there legitimate online pharmacies? Can you save money by using them?
Are there places where medical tourism is cheap and safe? If so, how does the process work?
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I’ve been hearing a lot lately about medical tourism here in Mexico. Many people come down to get dental work done and that sort of thing. It’s a lot cheaper and there are many great doctors. (My medical experiences here were always just as positive as they were when I was living in the US)
In Cancun where I live, there are several doctors and dentists who cater mostly to foreigners.
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What, nobody wants to see more about vegetable gardens and farmers’ markets? I’m shocked.
I’d like to see more interesting success stories, like the one reader a while back who built his own (paid for) house in the desert. Or people like J.D., who were able to quit jobs they didn’t like to make money in a way they enjoyed. I think those stories are fun.
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I would like another post from Tyler (seriously!)
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How to start establishing your finances when you move from somewhere else to the US and how not get taken advantage of by people during this time. This has happened to so many people I know and they are often too embarrassed to ask for help or discuss later.
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Similarly, an article about people who are clawing their way back from super low credit scores. I have friends whose credit was so bad they couldn’t even open a checking account at a bank and one had to buy a vehicle with their credit card (NOT a 0% card, more like 25-30% but couldn’t get a loan and needed the car). The costs of such bad credit in terms of inconvenience and unstable living, and also about perils of extremely low incomes.
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I’d love to know how people deal with seasonal costs within their budget. I find having a yearly budget/forecast for things like heating costs doesn’t give me the same satisfaction (ex. control) that a monthly budget’s bottom line does.
Has anyone tried adding and subtracting categories (or having shifting amounts) within their monthly budget for the various categories that cycle with the seasons?
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we just do budget billing of our utilities so they’re the same every month.
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Everything listed above this comment was a great idea. Aside from those, I would like to hear more of the personal stories of how people solved problems. The basics of personal finance are pretty simple, but its not always easy to put them into pract. That application of ideas is what I like reading about.
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I’m kindof tired of the gardening, cycling, and traveling topics. I would like to know more about investing. I’m young (25) but i’m nervous about investments that are uninsured. I want to put my savings to work but I hate the thought of losing money.
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Had to do more than just like this – I agree completely!
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I would agree with everything Lindsay wrote. Fewer polarizing lifestyle articles more investment and big purchase advice. That said I do still like hearing about an individual’s story, like today’s debt story or the reader story about the house in the desert.
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I liked the desert house story too (I think you are talking about the one that won the GRS video contest?). My husband and I have a dream about building a Quonset home/workshop, but, as we are paying a mortgage on a 100+ year-old traditional home right now, that isn’t going to happen in the near future!).
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Retirement in a foreign country with a lower cost of living: How does someone get established there and learn about all of the laws and customs? What is the likelihood of experiencing regret? How can we prepare for and adjust to any lifestyle changes in terms of lack of conveniences that we take for granted, such as internet access and personal transportation and air conditioning? What is the balance of feeling guilty for living so well compared to possibly some of the locals, versus the notion that you’re helping to provide jobs and injecting money into their local economy? How can you take steps to avoid becoming the victim of a crime there? How do you split your assets between local accounts/currency and that of your home country? Once eligible for retirement benefits, would there be any implications or obstacles to receiving them in a foreign country or dealing with exchange rates constantly?
Mortgages: How can we take steps to ensure that a particular lender will NEVER sell the mortgage so that it will definitely remain the servicer too instead of having the loan sold multiple times and ending up who-knows-where (and you have no control over it)? Is there a list of mortgage companies who meet this criterion? Right now I know one of the pitfalls of having no control over who owns your mortgage is the inability to utilize most of the special government-sponsored refinancing/modification programs being offered right now when your loan isn’t on the books of either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. Has anyone else experienced problems due to having no control of who owns their mortgage? (I’m *not* referring to all of the recording issues with MERS and whatnot.)
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Interesting idea about the foreign-country retirement. I always see those people on House Hunters moving to Costa Rica, and I wonder how it really works.
To your second point about mortgages, my first reaction is “Why do you care?” Whoever buys the loan will be more than happy to accept your payments. I also ask, because I know this idea is really grating to so many people, including my wife, but they can’t really articulate why. The idea just seems to offend people, like you’re not a responsible customer to them, you’re just a bond.
To more practically answer your question, if you take your mortgage through most credit unions, they’ll generally hold the loan, I believe. That’s where ours is.
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I just wanted to comment on this. When we boght our house (and when we re-fi’d 6 month later) we had the same concerns. Ask the bank! They were both happy to share with us what their plans were and how they usually handle them. In fact, there was a spot on the paperwork that says if they plan to sell the loan and/or servicing rights. I don’t think it’s a guarantee, but it made me feel better. Our current mortgage holder told us that they sell the loan, but maintain all the servicing right (so payments and any questions/problem go directly to them).
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I can’t speak to your mortgage question, but there are tons of personal blogs out there from Americans who have retired to foreign countries. In certain destinations, you can also find very helpful online forums for expats.
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The only way I can think of to guarantee your mortgage doesn’t change servicers is to get “creative financing”. The weirder mortgages aren’t desirable on the secondary market. Try odd terms like 5 year, or 40 year, get private financing (think double digit interest rates), etc. Or, 100% down programs *never* get sold
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Hi! So I know you travel, and I just got back from Quebec, and as I was standing in line to change CD$ into US$, my only thought was: what would JD do? Do you have any advice for exchanging money and getting the best rates? Is the airport the best place?
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The airport usually has the worst FX rates. If you can, I would wait and exchange the money at a bank.
Or, if you know somebody that travels between the US and Canada often, then you can do an exchange with them. I travel to Europe often and when somebody I know is going on a trip I am more than happy to exchange my current stash of Euros for their USD at a better rate than either of us could receive at a bank or anywhere else. Oanda is a good site for current exchange rates.
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I’ve traveled a lot, and we try to never exchange money, per se. We either get cash from the ATM machine, or use credit cards (w/o foreign transaction fees). Near the end of the trip, we try to make sure we’ve used almost all of our cash before leaving the country (don’t forget about exit fees, though). My understanding is that the bank will give you quite a good exchange rate via the ATM and will sometimes even time the withdrawal for the best rates. (We use a bank without ATM withdrawal fees that also reimburses us for other banks’ fees). If you’re feeling REALLY frugal while traveling abroad, you can take your ATM card around to different machines and check your bank balance (free). Then withdraw your money at the ATM that gives you the highest balance, because they are using the most favorable exchange rate.
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My biggest frustration at the moment is dealing with conflicting advice in different realms of my life. For one, my doctor has put me on Atkins and I personally believe strongly that it is helping restore my health, but eating a diet with a lot of meat flies in the face of a lot of frugality advice. So I just have to make it up as I go.
I also really like reading about people’s real experiences putting plans into action. And I like reading about people who were avowed spendthrifts who managed to turn things around. It’s one thing to be born thrifty (I swear I know some folks who are), but I want to hear about indiscriminate consumers who change their ways. You know, like J.D.!
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My understanding of Aktins is that it is high protein, not necessarily high meat. You should look into other, cheaper non-meat sources of protein. This includes: eggs, beans, legumes, tofu, quinoa.
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Conflicting advice drives me crazy. If I care about my health I should be eating organic food cooked from scratch – but if I want to get out of debt I should eat the cheapest food possible – but if I want to be environmentally-friendly I should buy locally/sustainably-grown food – but if I want to survive parenthood I should buy (some) convenience food – but if I care about personal impact I should buy fair-trade food from ethical companies – but AAAAACCCCCKKKKKK!!! I wind up cowering in the shopping cart sucking my thumb, when all I wanted was to choose a box of cereal.
And don’t even get me started on all the contradictory parenting advice I’ve read as a new mother. Oy vey!
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Two topics I’d like more on:
Graduate student life, especially when older or married. How to juggle finances when you can’t change jobs and you (sometimes) can’t do a side business.
And also I’d like more on the behind-the-scenes of self-employment or side jobs. Stuff like paying taxes, juggling unexpected amounts of extra money per month, opening a Simple-IRA and so forth.
Thanks!
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I would like to see a post on where you need to be financially to start a family.
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I agree. I hate it when people say things like “if you wait until you are financially sound to have kids, you will wait too long” or “you will never be where you want to be financially before you have kids” or “kids bring so much joy to my life I don’t care if I’m in debt or on welfare, because money doesn’t make me happy.” **barf!!!!** I don’t really believe in living off the system. Is it really so unattainable to have a mortgage paid off and no debt before you have kids?! I hope not, because that is my goal!!
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What to do with a large windfall or inheritance. Especially when it doesn’t need to be used for debts.
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Here are my suggestions after thoroughly & personally-thanking J.D. & his staff for providing a most superior online experience for those of us highly interest in the personal finance field:
*How does it feel for J.D. to be in the 4th stage of personal finance? What has he gleaned thus far, and what can he and others improve on?
*A follow up on Donna Freedman’s (one of my personal favorite staff writers) overall financial journey. Last time she discussed it on here, her daughter was preparing for marriage and I believe she had just finished school. It was a beautiful & highly-inspirational piece.
*What has Adam Baker been up to? I honestly miss his pieces & thought he could share some recent updates aside from on his website.
* How to deal with financially-dependent parents; you could have a guest poster share some personal experience, tips & knowledge as with the baby-boomers retiring as of this year, many shall enter the realm of the “sandwich generation”: Having to care emotionally, physically & especially financially for children, ourselves & our parents.
*Any relevant guest post from Gail Vaz -Oxlade, as she is the female Canadian equivalent (in my opinion) in talent, devotion & skill as J.D. with a no-nonsense attitude.
*Conscious Living: How it can thoroughly benefit society in both financial & environmental means, but it also has its’ many limitations to be explored.
*The environmental-friendly financial choices which truly AREN’T worthwhile. I.E. Certain grocers who claim to sell organic when they don’t, yet they mark-up their items etc.
*”To Drink Or Not To Drink?: The Water Bottle Debate” The validity, usage, and environmental/ financial implications of water bottle consumption.
*”If I Should Die Today…” J.D.’s most crucial personal/ philosophical & financial lessons of his life thus far, as he approaches the average Roth end lifespan. (But we loyal readers KNOW our J.D. isn’t going anywhere soon beyond traveling
* J.D.’s views on international travel after having experienced it thus far. (While this has been touched on lightly in previous posts, it has never been combined into one post.)
* “Frugality Gone Awry”: One of the staff members or guest posters can discuss frugal tips they have personally experienced that were better not tried.
* “Challenging Conventional Financial Goals” A guest-post follow-up to Monday’s post from The Financial Philosopher Kent Thune in which he discusses why society must challenge retirement, car ownership, home ownership etc. as not each one of these is generally necessary or fit for each & every individual. Life is very much “to each his own” — but how far have we truly come to accepting that mentality in regards to these norms?
*”The Necessity Of And Correlation Between Self-Esteem & Frugality”: Why improved self-esteem is necessary in order to be frugal in breaking financial taboos, and how by doing so actually strengthens your self-esteem, sense of worth & mental well-being.
I could likely go on but I feel I have given J.D. & others enough proverbial “food for thought”
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I would love to see the “Frugality Gone Awry” that Adrian suggested!
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Saving up a large amount of money (say $100,000) to build an apartment on our home vs paying off mortgage.
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I’d like to hear from people who have curbed their spending appetite, EVEN IF THEY CAN AFFORD IT. Bills are paid, no debt, retirement fully funded, etc. Can you go from shopping at Nordstrom to shopping at Goodwill willingly? How did the change come about?
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For me, it was that my values changed in a fundamental way. I became older (egads, am I really 56 already?) and somehow realized that clothes, goods, the house, was just “stuff”…if I lost it all in a fire, it could be replaced…if I died, it was just “stuff”…who really cares where it came from? Clothes, once washed in my soap, then smelled “right” to me, so who cares where they came from? What matters more to me is that I enjoy my fun adventures/experiences with those I love and enjoy life as much as possible. I believe that when you change your thoughts and perceptions about something, your life changes as well. I think, if you believe that it really doesn’t matter what store your “stuff” comes from, you will happily see bargains at yard sales, thrift stores, and gifts from friends
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I’d like to hear about the pros and cons (and maybe some personal stories) about using microcredit services like Kiva and Zopa. Some information about these services sometimes comes up in readers’ comments, but I don’t think there’s been a post dedicated specifically to this topic.
Also, more pictures of kittens and bunnies. Maybe scattered throughout a stellar post about microcredit services.
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I’d like more articles for the 40+ or even 50+ crowd.
Reader stories on how much they saved for retirement and how it played out.
Working in retirement.
Do people really use the 4% withdrawal rule and how did they feel about it?
How to balance enjoying life now vs.saving enough for retirement.
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Advantages and transaction differences when paying cash for a property instead of taking out a mortgage (i.e. how much saved on closing costs due to no lender fees, how much smoother and quicker the transaction went, if more work is involved with making sure your own bank sends the wire on closing day, if it’s emotionally harder to move forward with that big lump in your throat from letting go of so much money all in one shot, specifically how much more can be negotiated off of the purchase price with an all-cash transaction versus mortgage and if there are any reasons why that’s true besides no risk of a loan not being approved/funded at the last minute, comparison of overall mortgage interest saved versus time spent building the complete nest egg in advance).
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I too have always found this topic highly-fascinating, as although our grandparents and their forefathers likely never encountered the concept of a “mortgage” this has now become the accepted societal norm as “buying a house” has now become a guise for “mortgaging a property.”
As a side note; I have also noticed that many European & ethnic families which immigrate to North America, in particular, have a keen sense of avoiding mortgages through more rental-and-then-cash real-estate purchases — even through financial donations at weddings and dowries. Perhaps these concepts can also be touched upon alongside the main topic of mortgage-free home ownership.
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I’d like to know what the twentysomethings are doing for housing. The housing bubble has generally been OK for people who bought before the bubble but what are young families today doing for housing? House prices are coming down but they are still over inflated compared to salaries. So what how are people handling this?
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I don’t know about other 20somethings, but I feel like a kid in a candy store when it comes to housing! I have *always* wanted to own a home (I used to spend hours looking thru HomeSeekers in elementary school!) and I watched housing prices go up and up and up, always outpacing what I could afford for my whole life – until the last two years. My career is now starting to progress (I am 28), but housing prices continue to drop. It is awesome!
We bought our starter house in 2008, and it was where the smallest house we could get and the max we could borrow just barely met. Then, two years later, a fantastic 3 acre property in our dream neighborhood came up for sale at the same price. We weren’t ready to move, and we didn’t have a down payment. But I watched the price of that property drop from $165k, to $145k, to $135k. When it hit $125k I told my husband “we HAVE to make this work, it is a STEAL, and it could be our forever home.” We offered, they accepted, and we were able to scrape together the 3.5% down payment FHA required. Our first place has tanked in value, but there are so many displaced homeowners looking for decent rentals that it was rented in less than a week with positive cash flow to a great renter.
Just awesome!
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Sounds like you could write a great Reader Story Des!
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2.5 years ago I bought a home (with my husband) for 69K. Sometimes I regret it, since I believe it has decreased in value. Also, I wish that I had purchased a more “forever home”–maybe a bit larger, bigger bedrooms, maybe 2 baths instead of one– but at the time I thought it was a good deal because the payment was cheaper than the rent for the apt. we were living in! I love it, but at the same time I hate feeling tied down!
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You guys at GRS do a great job! I am struggling with my love for animals and wanting to get a pet, vs saving more. Saving money seems to always win logically, but emotionally, a rabbit/dog could do wonders for my family of two.
I would want to see a breakdown of other people’s pro cons list of getting a pet vs saving more.
I would also like to see analysis of how the debt ceiling would effect investors. I am in my 20s and trying to look for a good time to start an IRA, but it seems so risky right now.
Any tips/advice would be great!!
Keep up the good work
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If you choose to get a rabbit, please be sure to do lots of research (if you haven’t already) about their lifestyle needs. Rabbit.org is a great starting point. They are a pretty low-cost pet (aside from the insane vet bills) and if you like shopping in bulk that’s why Oxbow invented their 50-pound hay box. But they are not simply a vegetarian cat.
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Thank you so much for your concern! Yes, I have done extensive research, cost analysis, and an appointment with a rabbit adoption agency. But I am still on the fence … Thanks!
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Investing in stocks is only going to get more volatile (risky). Investing is bonds is increasingly subject to defaults. Cash has a similar problem. Do consider that if you’re investing, you’re in the same boat politically and financially as other investors. In particular your interests are aligned with the wealthy. In the US they have more clout than those who work and live paycheck to paycheck, so simply having money is a good thing. You could always just stock your IRA with cash. Stocks are currently overvalued and interest rates are quite low, so you wouldn’t be missing out much.
We probably save more money (relative to income) than anyone here on GRS (I challenge you
) and we still have a dog. In terms of what you can save on housing and transportation by making a few strategic choices, a pet is practically free. I’d say there are significant differences between a dog and a rabbit. A dog entails more responsibility. It may quite likely keep you at home, e.g. wave goodbye to travel (hey, it “saves” money) after realizing that putting the dog in the kennel risks a subsequent trip to the vet because it picked up the flue or whatever. Also, you’ll be far more limited in where you can live if you rent. With rabbits, you could technically eat them eventually (depending on how farmer-like/close to nature you feel) and save money on food.
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Oh and the debt ceiling is likely to be much-ado about nothing. It’s not like they haven’t raised it many times before. It usually just doesn’t get this much mainstream media exposure. If they do decide not to raise it, the government will technically be in default (as they have been before in 1979) and they might get downgraded (they’re on a downgrade watch). The will cost some yield (the US government will pay more in interest rate) and existing bonds will be priced lower. This is good if you buy bonds AFTER this decision has been made and bad if you buy before. In reality, the likelihood is pretty close to being priced into the market already.
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I budget about $100 per month per pet for food, grooming (we have high-maintenance dogs), vet bills, and flea treatments.
Leaving the responsibility part aside, I would think of it like any other discretionary $100 (+) a month bill – not unlike cable. Some people keep their cable while paying off debt and saving, some don’t. It depends on how much enjoyment you get out of it.
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Get the pet CWebb! You sound like a very responsible owner and it will make your life spent at home so much nicer. As ERE points out, a dog helps cut down on your travel expenses (if you tend to do a lot of that now) because it is not always easy to bring your pet and it is so expensive to board or have a sitter. As far as regular costs per year, check out these comparisons: http://www.aspca.org/adoption/pet-care-costs.aspx
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PLEASE, more invsetment information. I want to know more about Growth vs Value stocks, EFT’s, REIT’s, Dividents etc. I think a lot of us are ready for more information beyond, “IRA’s are good”, “Index funds are the best because they cost the least” etc. I know there is a place for all of this in your portfolio, so I want to know more about my options.
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I would be interested in reading about finding the balance between saving for the future and enjoying life now.
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I’d like more articles about the cost of children, especially reader stories. Everything out there seems to either be either: “It’ll cost a quarter of a million dollars” or “Just practising living off of one income for 9 months and quit your job when the baby comes” or “all you needs is Freecycle/cloth diapers/breastfeeding, kids don’t cost any money at all.”
I’d like to hear a more realistic estimation of what others have found it actually “costs” to have children.
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Our first child is due in two months and I coincidentally started keeping a log of purchases in Quicken right around the same time my wife got pregnant, so I could probably write this article.
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No offense, but Tyler – you’ve made it pretty clear that you plan to have your wife stay at home to raise the kids and she’s okay with that (which is great for you guys!). I am realizing that the single largest expense associated with having children is the combination of my loss of salary and paying for good childcare. I have cut back my hours as far as I can without completely abandoning a very productive career that I spend a lot of time building pre child and that I hope to continue with once she is school aged. Thankfully my career is lucrative enough to make paying for a part time nanny reasonable and my employer is receptive to a temporary part time solution.
*Interesting related topics would be reader’s stories from people who have restarted the same career after a long absence.*
I mean we talk A LOT here about increasing one’s income as a means to financial freedom, well was I supposed to marry someone who just had a ‘job’ instead of a career, someone who is not my financial equal in terms of earning and saving, so it wouldn’t matter when one of us had to take off 6 years? I like to think that we’ll be better off financially having two highly compensated professional incomes, but keeping them through this time comes with comprises and a price tag.
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Well, I have a pretty good idea (took good notes) of what we spend/spent for daycare, diapers, etc. but I often wonder how our experience compares to others. My son is 4 and we are currently “trying” for #2.
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I would absolutely love to read an article about that!
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I agree that financial information on child raising sometimes seems to be frustratingly tilted one direction or the other. That said, how much you spend can really depend on the child and situation. It’s hard to plan for some of these unknowns. Example: my good friends spent a small fortune on formula for their (very healthy and rapidly growing) baby, while my husband and I spent a small fortune on medical co-pays for our (exclusively breastfed but very sick prone) baby. While we both planned for and love love love our children, we’ve all bemoaned how much we’ve had to pay in these particular areas. Could we have avoided these costs? Um, not really. Sometimes breast feeding doesn’t work out. And I did everything I could think of to keep my baby from getting constantly sick! But many, many other parents can and do avoid high costs in both these areas. Good for them! I’ve avoided some high cost areas, too, thank goodness.
When I was pregnant I hoped reading others’ stories on raising children would help me create a magic plan for raising mine on less money. I have gotten tons of great tips, but still no magic formula or master plan. But having a child has made me realize how little control I actually have over certain aspects of my life no matter how much I plan.
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I’d like to read about ideas to generate passive income. I have a good job and am saving for retirement using all the usual tax-advantaged vehicles. However, I’m using some ERE principles to bring the date where I’m financially free nearer. The problem I think I’ll run into is the minimum age requirements on things like a 401k. What’s the use of having a million dollars in one if you can’t get at it?
What I could use is some thoughts on how to ‘fund the gap’ between the age when I become financially free and the age at which I can get at my IRA and 401k.
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Google “SEPP”. That may help you…
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Google Rule 72(t). You can get at your IRA/401k at any age with a few conditions.
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How about an article about ways to make money online that aren’t blogging. It’s hard to weed through all the scams out there and the average person needs help! Maybe other readers can chime in on what has worked for them and is legit.
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what online broker to use for stock/fund buying.
and less gardening…
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Hey JD, I’d like to hear something about family businesses – how do you negotiate compensation when HR is your mom? When do you have to think, well, even if the place folds without me I really need to get another job? What kind of plan should a family have for if the business fails, and at what point do you know to either pull the plug or hire outsiders and expand?
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Hi GRS!
I love the stuff you put up, but to answer Frugal Dad’s question “I am debt free and happy, where do I go from here” I suggest you check out my blog: http://www.cpaandrew.com
I started it specifically for people that “graduate” from blogs focused on saving money to get out of debt. I haven’t posted much of the personal stuff on there yet, but I will make it a point to get some up soon so you all can take a look!
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I’d love to see an article about the tax ramifications of room renting. There have been a few articles about renting rooms in your house, but not a whole lot of explanation about the taxes involved with it. The IRS page, when I looked, is a bit confusing regarding the rental issue. I’d love to see how people budget for the taxes on this passive income and how they deal with dividing up the house and whatnot.
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Hi Ash,
As far as tax reporting goes, renting a room is similar to renting out an entire house or an apartment.
You typically report rental income and expenses on Schedule E. Rental income includes all cash payments that you receive for rent, as well as nonrefundable security deposits. Costs that go entirely to renting out the room–such as the cost of putting an ad in the paper–are 100% deductible. For other costs, such as utilities and depreciation, divide the square footage of the room by the square footage of the house and multiply this by the total expense to get the deductible amount.
A couple of important things to keep in mind is that there are some special rules when renting to relatives. Also, if you deduct depreciation, you may face tax consequences when you sell the house. Read Publication 527 (www.irs.gov/publications/p527/index.html) and Tax Topic 414 for more information (www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc414.html)
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Or home offices and home businesses regarding taxes.
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Hi Fetu,
Publication 527 will provide you with a lot of useful information about home office deduction. If the home office is within your house, it must be entirely for business use–you cannot use it for personal use. If the home office is a separate structure that is not attached to your house, the rules are a little more lenient. If you are ever audited and your home office deduction is examined, the revenue agent will probably need to come to your house and look at your home office.
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A strategy on how to find a home in the US when you are overseas and are unable to take time away from work to travel back to the US.
How to find a trusted realtor in a particular state and where to look online for homes. Have tried zillow.com and forsalebyowner.com
What to be aware/beware of.
We are shopping for our first/retirement home after being overseas for over 30 years. We’d like to buy within the next year and hopefully pay off all/most of the mortgage before retirement.
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I’d like to see more articles from those who are already retired – either the early ones or more traditional 60+ years old. How your budget may or may not have changed, do you feel you saved enough, are the things you’re doing with your time money positive/negative/neutral? Do you plan to work again part-time or full; either for money or for interest? What are your income streams? Do you feel more tied down to your area since moving can be so expensive and stressful, or more free to move if the spirit takes you?
I’d also like to see articles from/geared towards getting out of debt/saving/investing for people who are disabled or caring for disabled relatives. Depending on disability level, do you work, how does your disability affect your finances/ability to work, what are the extra costs (specialized equipment, service dog, etc), etc.
What about advice for parents whose special needs children will need care after they’re gone. Funding and setting up trust funds, costs associated with camps/schools/group homes.
The ins and outs of trust funds. Why you would set one up, the best ways to go about it, who should and should NOT be designated as the manager of the fund, etc. My parents are hoping to have *some* money leftover for my siblings and I. One of us does not manager money well at all. At all. So my parents have talked about setting up trust funds (for us all, just to be fair, lol), to help ensure the money lasts longer.
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I really like the idea of hearing more from current retirees.
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I like the idea of an article from a retiree.
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I’d like to see more about how to generate passive income beyond stock dividends, rental real estate, and bond interest payments. Any other ideas out there? JD, I know you’re starting to get your investment portfolio together. Perhaps this is a topic for an ask the reader article?
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I would like to know what credit card companies do with our data. Specifically, in respect to our purchasing habits, stores, etc – How do they analyze this and make decisions on their customers and their spending habits?
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I’d be interested in a discussion of how couples with joint finances and individual ‘fun money’ allowances have handled it when one spouse’s hobbies/interests are much more expensive than the others. I am interested in things like sewing, baking, and reading library books, so $25 a month is more than enough to keep me happily occupied. On the other hand, just $25 is a starvation ration for my techno-geek husband to try to make LED light projects (with lots of little pieces of hardware and tools to purchase), expand his beloved music collection (which he listens to daily), design iPhone apps (necessitating a developer’s license and some new coding software), and save up to replace his 5-year-old laptop. He’s resisted the idea of getting a larger allowance than me (which I would be fine with), but if we keep the amounts equal we can’t afford to give BOTH of us large enough allowances to make him happy. Right now I try to save my extra funds to occasionally buy something for him, but I’m curious if anyone else has found a better solution to this problem.
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