@Shop-et-al wrote:
I disagree with the word curse that someone posted above which states that some people are too stupid to figure out their financial lives without outside assistance. In fact, everyone is born without specific financial knowledge and everyone needs some amount of modeling or money lessons as they go through life! I presume that the poster did not intend to include every person through history in their designation of stupidity.
@Flash wrote:
Sandy, that is great but is not mutually exclusive to building savings/assets for your kids' education, your retirement and for emergencies. Sure folks like Ramsey and Ormand and others make money by lecturing and writing books, but that doesn't mean they are wrong. They rather are emphasizing what you should be able to figure out with common sense. The fact is that only a decade ago many families were hurt badly because they had little or no reserves when the recession hit. We should have learned but even today the estimates are that 40% of Americans don't have enough cash reserves to cover a $400 auto repair and many more don't have health insurance so an accident or illness could send them into bankruptcy. If these folks can persuade their readers/listeners to look at their finances seriously and find ways to save for their futures, I won't resent that they got rich any more than I resent a farmer or fisherman making a living. Somehow Americans seem as reluctant to look at their financial health as they are to plan for their own demise by having a will drawn up.
@JASFLALMT wrote:
Nope. "All You Need is Love" according to the Beatles.
@Flash wrote:
Over the last 50 years the stock market has returned a little more than 10% per year on average--this is if you stayed invested through all the upturns and downturns in quality stocks. In the past if you knew nothing of the markets you were encouraged to purchase mutual funds that had a manager handling the investment of your funds, for which a fee was charged usually up front to buy the fund and then a smaller fee annually. These days you can purchase "index funds" (also called ETF) which are buying into a portfolio of stocks that mirrors the index. So you can buy the 'DOW' as stock DIA, the 'Nasdaq' as QQQ and the 'S&P 500' as SPY. Many of the discount brokerage houses are allowing you to purchase these ETFs with no transaction fees. This makes it feasible to make systematic small deposits to a brokerage account and even buy these index funds one share at a time.
@Sandy Shopper wrote:
Agreed. We have great health and life insurance, and we both fund our 401ks. We live simply, and don't have any expensive habits. I have a relative who, along with her spouse, lives in an area with a lower cost of living than ours. They don't understand how we managed to buy a house on acreage, have two cars, money for the kids' sports and music lessons, money socked away for a rainy day, and can take a modest vacation every year. Short answer, we don't smoke or drink, and we don't eat at restaurants unless it's reimbursed (with a few exceptions for birthdays, etc.) People like Ramsey can say what they want, but contentment is the richest feeling there is.
The principles are largely universal; the methods are more specific and tailored to your own situation.@Irene_L.A. wrote:
When anyone does what Ramsey says, and makes money, please share the experience....his money comes from the books he writes and you buy.
@Irene_L.A. wrote:
I received a nice voucher from my lousy flight on Southwestern by writing and complaining, does that count in the drive to become a millionaire?
They're really good about responding to both complaints and praises. Eastern Airlines (RIP) excelled at this as well. I try to balance my complaints and praises; the praises probably mean more because people are more likely to vocalize complaints.@Irene_L.A. wrote:
I wrote about it on another thread, it is a 75.00 voucher for another flight due to the late flights and hassle I had to go through. I wrote and complained and was answered immediately with an apology, explanation and voucher held in my account for a year for travel.
@Irene_L.A. wrote:
Word to the wise.....set you goals so they can be reached. Millionaire sounds so far out there, I have trouble connecting to that word. I'll be happy if I live these last years in comfort, not to worry about money and keep going in good health...with the upswing in prices on a daily basis living in L.A., becoming a millionaire is last on my bucket list.
@Shop-et-al wrote:
You might be a SMART goals expert if...
your handle is Irene
you live in LA
you remind people to set your goals so they can be reached
What.
@Irene_L.A. wrote:
Word to the wise.....set your goals so they can be reached. Millionaire sounds so far out there, I have trouble connecting to that word. I'll be happy if I live these last years in comfort, not to worry about money and keep going in good health...with the upswing in prices on a daily basis living in L.A., becoming a millionaire is last on my bucket list
.