My son really wants to buy a house here, but it will really stress our financial situation if we help him with the down payment.
– A mom talking to her friend at the grocery store.
For many parents, helping their children financially is of the utmost importance. They will often try to please the young ones even if it means delaying their retirement plans. 529 plans before 401ks, going to Gap kids before the Gap, and paying for a high school graduation trip before the high school reunion.
Kids first right?
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Reading can really open your eyes. In some cases, it can even make you jump off your chair and yell NO WAY.
An article in the recent Money magazine really caught my attention.
…by 58 (when the couple wants to retire), [they] will have $1.7 million…That should get them most of the way, but there are still things they can do to ensure that they can maintain their lifestyle…
If $1.7 million isn’t enough, shouldn’t we be worried that we will never be able to retire? Wait, there’s more…
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Return on Investment (ROI) is a concept that entrepreneurs and marketers know all too well. If you can spend a dollar to get more than a dollar in return, you should keep spending.
Awesome, but why do I care? I struggle with 40 paid hours a week and another 20 of what I called “I have to” hours of unpaid work. How does spending money help me?
Like you, ROI has always been something I care little about. Now that I started making investments to improve my business though, I see the true value of investing for the individual too. It may not be as direct and measurable as an advertising campaign, but investing in oneself is actually more beneficial than any investments a business owner can make.
Let me elaborate by giving you some suggestions.
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Supply and demand is an economic principle that we know all too well. When demand goes up, prices tend to follow. When supply is high, expect discounts.
Thanks to supply and demand, we might be moving to a bigger apartment. Let me explain…
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When tax time comes around, it’s often difficult to determine whether you should opt for the standard deduction or for an itemized deduction. What is a seemingly tiny distinction could actually be the difference between thousands of dollars in tax savings. It’s important to make a quick scan of your fiscal year to figure out whether you should take one or the other.
So, where should you look?
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Warning: Only read this if you are in “goofing off” mode. You may also want to ignore this post (along with your FICO score of course) if you just got yelled at by your boss.
Everyone ignores their FICO scores anyway so why don’t you as well? Here are the reasons why I believe you should stop checking those reports and just relax, watch some TV and let the others do all the hard work.
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