Are You Good With Money?

That's me, I am that article.

Including never making more than 5 figures when I was working and becoming a millionaire not withstanding.

Yeah, good stuff and easy too.
 
Based on the article my money management skills are truly awesome.

In any case I am very comfortably retired. And, can not even remotely be accused of being Texan.:cool:
 
Great basic info that sums it up nicely. It's not all that complicated.
I always thought I was good with money since I tend to hang onto it.
 
"3) Maybe Invest It. I say maybe, because investing isn’t for everyone. Most people are bad investors. Most people are better off with cash in a bank account or CD."


Hopefully few are stupid enough to take this advice.
 
Simple, not easy as I often say. I used to tell my employees (who made well above average wages) time and time again, you have to live below your means if you ever want to reach financial independence and retire - whether you make $40K/yr or $400K/yr. But I was usually met with 'we don't want to learn about investing, just tell us what stocks to buy that'll make us rich' or 'yeah, easy for you to say since you make more than we do.' They never could grasp it's not how much you make as much as how much you keep...
 
OldShooter said:
"3) Maybe Invest It. I say maybe, because investing isn’t for everyone. Most people are bad investors. Most people are better off with cash in a bank account or CD."


Hopefully few are stupid enough to take this advice.
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I've known and still know plenty people for whom this is excellent advice. If you avoid fire, you won"t get burned.

One of my brothers is very comfortably retired in spite of never making a high salary, and he has always looked for and bought the best CDs he could finds, and kept it up.

Ha
 
REWahoo said:
Good to see me and my fellow Texans are number one! :facepalm:
Click to expand...

The chart showing the average credit score getting progressively higher as one goes north is very interesting.

Some time ago, I read that people in colder climates tend to be more independent and self-reliant. Perhaps that trait, which is driven by the required survival skills due to the environment, also drives them to borrow money less.
 
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haha said:
I've known and still know plenty people for whom this is excellent advice. If you avoid fire, you won"t get burned.

One of my brothers is very comfortably retired in spite of never making a high salary, and he has always looked for and bought the best CDs he could finds, and kept it up.

Ha
Click to expand...

I agree. Even with a less than optimal plan you can exceed about 95% of the general population.
 
Great simple article, easy to read.

This jumped out at me.

"People lament the tragic state of financial literacy in this country. It is indeed tragic. But imagine for a second that President XXXX would put aside a billion dollars for financial education. Basic financial literacy, balancing a checkbook, paying taxes, that kind of stuff."

Back in the 70s when I was in HS these subjects were taught for a whole semester. We even went through the 1040 forms and simulated our own businesses for a few weeks. Public High School, not some business course for braniac teenagers. I can't imagine anyone not knowing how to do this.

Is this not curriculum today? I know Charles J Givens always said Americans were financially illiterate, but was he exaggerating? Or not?

_B
 
The funny thing about being good with money is that it doesn’t necessarily mean being smart. I know plenty of dumb people who are great with money. I know certifiable geniuses who always seem to be broke. I do think there is a correlation with intelligence, but I think it is rather weak. Maybe even negative at the upper reaches of IQ.
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This is a remarkable observation. I don't know if it's generally true, but I do know a person who takes pride in his IQ, yet has lived on a shoestring all his life and has been deeply in debt for decades. Relatives have bailed him out repeatedly but he gets right back in trouble again. He belongs to several elite societies where an astronomical IQ is the only criterion for membership. He also likes to brag about what a smart businessman he is, a "highly respected expert in his field." He has had his own one-man business for 40 years but has run it more like a hobby than a business. It's worth far less today than it was 20 years ago, and is mortgaged to the hilt.
 
Beldar said:
Back in the 70s when I was in HS these subjects were taught for a whole semester. We even went through the 1040 forms and simulated our own businesses for a few weeks. Public High School, not some business course for braniac teenagers. I can't imagine anyone not knowing how to do this.
Click to expand...

Without question the two most useful classes I had in high school were typing and a class in personal finance. The one in personal finance was one that I actually enjoyed to the extent that I'd read ahead of the material to be covered. Then in class if I nodded off the teacher would be a bit frustrated when she directed a question at me and I knew the answer. But it was an optional class and not required. I just took it because I knew it would be of practical use later, unlike most classes, which I considered as useful as "underwater basketweaving".
 
Didn't read the article but I know I am great with money. Made a ton, gave away a ton , and still have a ton. Money just seems to come my way. Seems second nature to me but I know for most people it is not.
 
OldShooter said:
"3) Maybe Invest It. I say maybe, because investing isn’t for everyone. Most people are bad investors. Most people are better off with cash in a bank account or CD."

Hopefully few are stupid enough to take this advice.
Click to expand...

While this may not be the best investment advice, putting money in a CD will do a lot more for your retirement than blowing it on beer or speedboats or vacations in Vegas.


NW-Bound said:
The chart showing the average credit score getting progressively higher as one goes north is very interesting.

Some time ago, I read that people in colder climates tend to be more independent and self-reliant. Perhaps that trait, which is driven by the required survival skills due to the environment, also drives them to borrow money less.
Click to expand...

I agree... Surviving harsh long winters and retiring comfortably both require the mindset of foregoing comforts today to ensure later success.
 
haha said:
This is a bit different from the heavily plowed furrows that we may see all day every day.

Ha
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I don't know that it's really all that different from many other similar articles I've read - except perhaps for the map showing variations in average credit scores from state to state. This is not meant to criticize, as the info is good basic advice, that many would do well to follow. For us folk here, it's fun to read, and it confirms that we are all good with money.

I agree with his general thoughts on how there isn't necessarily a correlation between intelligence and financial sense - or between financial sense and anything else, really.

Thanks for posting this. I have a good friend who I dearly wish would follow the advice in this article. I doubt that she'll ever take it fully on board, but I have at least been able to coax her away from the edge of financial disaster.
 
Major Tom said:
I agree with his general thoughts on how there isn't necessarily a correlation between intelligence and financial sense - or between financial sense and anything else, really.
Click to expand...

That was one of the frustrating things with my ex. She was otherwise very intelligent but simply could not deal with handling money. When she wanted to take out a loan to go on a trip it was over. I saw no future (at least not a good one) going down that road.
 
:) Credit score poll on this forum? Sheesh. Normal distribution probably will be centered between 770 and 800.
 
I would suspect the typical member here doesn't really care about their score since it's plenty high enough for their needs.
 
I have never known what my credit score was so high enough I guess.
 
Well i still think credit scores are a scam but I guess they reasonably represent most aspects of the good with money traits (except they don't account for assets in any way).

In my 20's i shared a bachelor pad with my best friend growing up. He was always bouncing checks and I learned that his policy was that if he wrote two checks on the same balance it was the recipients responsibility to beat the other guy to the bank. This helped me avoid having his share of the rent bounce.
 
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