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I’ve spent a lot of time lately thinking about what I want my life to look like going forward, and what I can do to restructure. I’m in the process of reconfiguring my finances, as well as putting together a good life for my son and me.
One of the things that occurred to me is that I’d like to have a little more time. This is a common feeling of course. Most of us wish we had more time for the things that really matter to us. As I sat down and thought about this concept, I realized that there are some things I can do to get a little more time in my life. Most of those things cost money, but I think it’s probably worth the cost.
You Can’t Accumulate More Time
Time is valuable because there is no getting it back once it’s gone. I can’t just create more time the way I can earn more money. I can almost always do something different with my finances. I can invest more, raise the rates I charge for freelancing or take on a little extra work. There is usually some money available for me to earn. If all else fails, I can always sell some of my stuff or donate blood plasma.
And let’s not forget the savings side of things. There’s always some way I can spend less. If I want to, I can always keep more in my pocket.
Time is different. It’s completely irrelevant how efficiently you spend your time. Once time passes, it’s gone. In that sense, time is far more valuable so I want more of it even if I have to pay for it. The return on my investment is high — as long as I use my time in ways that benefit me for the long run. [ continue reading… ]
The rule of thumb for retirement states that a comfortable retirement requires you to replace 80% of your yearly income. But a retirement study from Morningstar found that a typical American retiree’s income replacement rate in retirement ranges from a little under 54% to over 87%. For those who fall into the lower end of the replacement range, are they going to be stuck eating ketchup sandwiches in retirement?
Not necessarily. While aiming to be able to replace 80% of your salary in retirement is an excellent goal, and one that you should certainly be working towards, you don’t need to worry about running out of money if you fall somewhat short of the mark. Here’s why: [ continue reading… ]
When I was a pre-teen in the early 90s, I used to roam the mall with a pack of girlfriends once a week.
I quickly discovered that the fun I had spending money on new scrunchies, slap bracelets, and Lisa Frank notebooks seemed to diminish as my money supply got lower. Whatever pair of earrings or soft pretzel I bought with the last of my money never seemed worth the price.
According to a this study, there was a reason for my dissatisfaction: a phenomenon called the bottom-dollar effect.
Basically, when we spend the last of our resources on a product, we end up feeling much less satisfied with it. Here’s a breakdown of the bottom-dollar effect and how you can harness it to make better spending decisions: [ continue reading… ]
Engaged couples have so many things to talk about while planning their weddings: seating arrangements, their honeymoon destination, future kids… and money.
Money may not be the most romantic topic on the pre-wedding agenda, but it’s probably the most important. According to a 2012 study of over 4,500 married couples, fights about money are the biggest predictor of divorce — above fights about in-laws, kids, household chores, and sex.
Clearly, couples who get on the same financial page before the wedding are in a better position to enjoy years of married bliss. If you have not yet had the following conversations with your sweetheart, make sure you do before you say “I do.” [ continue reading… ]
I’ve always wanted to install solar panels to generate our electricity needs. It just never made sense for us because we’ve been talking on and off about moving for the past few years. Still, the fact that you can pay a one-time fee to avoid paying the monthly electricity bill forever kept me interested.
After we moved last year, we decided to shop around for solar panels. The salesperson made us think that we can recoup our costs in three to five years or less, but those numbers are filled with assumptions that just weren’t true in our case. I read a bunch of expert advice (opinion) online before I decided to pull the trigger too, but all I did at the end was compare my monthly utility bill to the cost of the proposed system. At my current assumption, it would take at least ten years for what I will have to pay to equal the cost of the system that they proposed. And that’s including the federal tax credit that we are supposed to get too.
Add in the fact that the money I pay now can probably earn a decent return, and the economics of the system doesn’t seem that attractive anymore.
You probably think that we decided not to install solar panels at this point, but we moved forward with the project. A month into having the system up and running, and I’m happy to report that we have absolutely no regrets either. Here are a few reasons why: [ continue reading… ]
During a recent family outing for dinner (thanks to a free birthday coupon), a man approached us asking for some spare change so he can get something to eat for the night.
I told him I didn’t have any change on me, but I would buy him a meal at Rubio’s since that’s where we were going. Surprisingly, the man told me he would rather eat at Panda Express and went on his way.
How ironic for someone to be in need and hungry, yet be so picky. Even though I laughed at that situation, I can’t help but realize that many of us, especially myself, are in the same mindset when it comes to our finances. [ continue reading… ]
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