Stop what you are doing and read the following statement three times.
Don’t trust anyone who is giving you advice on a decision that he/she wouldn’t make.
It’s so obvious isn’t it, but many of us (myself included) fall into this trap on a regular basis. At the store, we let the salesperson convince us that buying is the right decision. Routinely, we let our financial planner tell us which investments to make, and every day, we allow advertising to strengthen our desire to spend.
Next time the opportunity presents itself, ask the simple question – Would she have made the same choices given the situation?
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This is Michelle here and a big hello from San Francisco! I’m happy to say that after weeks of anticipation, Aaron and I managed to leave work and home behind for five wonderful days in California. Aaron’s eleven year vacation dry spell is officially broken, and we are both much more seasoned at travel planning as a result of this experience (thanks so much to everyone for the much appreciated tips and suggestions along the way!).
Our vacation started with two days in San Francisco. We tried to plan as much as we could before leaving our home base of Chicago, but there was still plenty to learn about budget travel in the City by the Bay. For instance:
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Sometimes, there’s no one to blame but yourself.
For whatever reason, my doctor visit a few days ago really struck a chord and got my blood boiling. I caught a cold and I went to see a doctor to make sure it’s just regular coughing and nothing more serious. The $25 co-pay seemed unnecessary but for the peace of mind, it was a good idea (especially when your wife is pregnant and insisted that you go).
When I got there, yada-yada-yada, the doctor said I’ll be fine, yada-yada-yada, and I came out with coughing medicine and a generic version of Claritin D. Only that the bill wasn’t $25, it added up to be $42. Worst of all, I didn’t even know how much it was until the medicine was already prepared and the cashier asked for a signature.
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In my last post I described how Aaron and I came to the decision to spend our first vacation in San Francisco and Napa Valley. Once the destination was settled, we were able to focus on the financial choices that we could make before leaving.
Let me share a few tips with you on how to save money on traveling.
We are keeping this trip relatively simple. For us that means that we haven’t lined up any big entertainments (shows, spa appointments, thrill sports, etc.), so our main preparations are just travel basics: how to get from Chicago to California, where to stay when we’re there, and how to get around between our two destination cities.
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Even high income earners are eligible to make a Roth IRA conversion starting in 2010. To sweeten the deal even more, those who elect to make the transfer can spread out the taxes owed in years 2010 and 2011. But how does the roth IRA conversion work? What are the consequences?
Consider This Before Making the Conversion
Before you start to converting a your IRA to Roth, you must make sure that such a conversion is advantageous. It sounds obvious, but it’s easier said than done.
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If you want to be happy in retirement, having a million dollar nest egg hardly gets you there.
All over, financial planners advise us to have a certain figure in mind when it comes to retirement. “Based on your current salary, you need $1.2 million by 65”, they might say. But yet, as history has shown, aiming for a numerical dollar amount by a certain age is like driving your car across a railroad track and hoping that you won’t get hit. Even if you reach your goal of $1.2 million by the age of 63, it could drop to $900,000 by 65, but jump back up to $1 million by the age of 66. If you are really trying to follow the advice of having $1.2 million, isn’t that a recipe for a heart attack?
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