It takes an incredible amount of care to make decisions that affect you — decisions only you can make. Whether big or small, when you’re reaching for big financial goals, every decision matters.
I learned this lesson the hard way, and early. In that way I feel fortunate, because I learned this lesson back when I didn’t have much at all.
Here’s something I’ve learned over the past fifteen years: One way to practice financial prudence while living the good life is to buy quality products, products that are a pleasure to use, products that will last a lifetime (or at least a decade).
If I am poor and don’t have money, it doesn’t help anyone else; it only serves to make me feel less guilty about my privilege.
Basically, it boils down to this: despite having a good education and a respectable job, you feel like you are a fraud, a fake, an impostor. On the outside, you might look calm, cool and collected, but if others only knew what a hot mess you really were!
When people discuss debt, it’s usually referenced as some sort of personal failing. Like, why can’t you pay off your debt? It’s easy. Make money, pay off your debt. Duh.
Even though I was making a decent salary for the first time in my life I decided to keep living like a broke student for as long as possible.
Fortunately, I only dealt with one terrible boss. It was an awful time in my life, but it made me stronger, smarter, and willing to take risks. I learned to go big or go home, and that taking risks is always better than being complacent and miserable.
I don’t have the greatest self-control in the world. It’s a problem. But, it’s something I know about myself, so I can do something about it.
We can set our investment targets, assess our risk, and make our plans. We can hope nothing goes wrong. But we’ll all face at least one day when the market, or life, moves against us.
When you sit down and look at the numbers, it can be shocking to see just how much homeownership costs you over the years.
I’m not begrudging anyone their beverage of choice, but am suggesting we could all be more mindful when deciding what to drink.
Having a paid off mortgage could make things much less stressful if you’re in full on crisis mode. You might even think of paying of your mortgage as part of your emergency action plan.
I prefer the hybrid method of the debt bonfire, because I want to utilize every available method and take advantage of the best aspects of each one. If you find yourself making exceptions to the debt snowball or debt avalanche method, maybe it’s time to admit that you should be creating your own plan too!
If you have appreciated assets in taxable accounts you should consider tax gain harvesting.