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Old 08-21-2018, 08:58 AM   #21
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Is Number 11 a typo or intentional: "Rile". I hope it was intentional!
Ha Ha great catch. It has been like that for many years. I may fix it, I may not.
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Old 08-21-2018, 09:02 AM   #22
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Originally Posted by VanWinkle View Post
Be fortunate enough to find a mate that feels the same way about saving and retirement. If one is pulling the cart with the brakes set, it doesn't go far. A great body is fine, but a great mind is much better!!!
+1

I believe it was Ben Franklin who wrote in praise of having a frugal wife.
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Old 08-21-2018, 09:04 AM   #23
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Originally Posted by VanWinkle View Post
Be fortunate enough to find a mate that feels the same way about saving and retirement. If one is pulling the cart with the brakes set, it doesn't go far. A great body is fine, but a great mind is much better!!!

+2

And keep them happy!
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Old 08-21-2018, 09:48 AM   #24
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Grasshopper, take the pebble from my hand

Start early, time will be your friend.

Start late, time will be your enemy.
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Old 08-21-2018, 09:54 AM   #25
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On the money making side..

- Pick a career you can excel in. Invest your time & effort in it. Learn to negotiate the best possible compensation.
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Old 08-21-2018, 10:00 AM   #26
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I wish I heeded #2(brown bagging lunch) much earlier in my career. I knew it was the prudent thing to do, but I was lazy. I only started brown bagging for health reasons, and then saw in a very concrete way how much money I was saving.

Beyond that, I'll add 2 suggestions. Notwithstanding credit card rebates, pay for restaurant meals and gifts with cash or debit card. And, spend less than you earn, a la:
https://vimeo.com/199334296
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Old 08-21-2018, 10:04 AM   #27
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I kind of backed into brown-bagging. Early on, I truly never had the money to spend on lunch from the employee cafeteria (no restaurants nearby). Eating from my brown bag during the day became a habit, as I used the 30 minute lunch break to go for a walk.

Mr. A. also never bought his lunch. Once, I did an envelope-back estimate of how much we'd each saved over a 30+ year career. This may sound hard to believe, but it was enough to make a serious difference in the kind of home we were able to afford!

Quote:
Originally Posted by mystang52 View Post
I wish I heeded #2(brown bagging lunch) much earlier in my career. I knew it was the prudent thing to do, but I was lazy. I only started brown bagging for health reasons, and then saw in a very concrete way how much money I was saving.

Beyond that, I'll add 2 suggestions. Notwithstanding credit card rebates, pay for restaurant meals and gifts with cash or debit card. And, spend less than you earn, a la:
https://vimeo.com/199334296
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Old 08-21-2018, 11:14 AM   #28
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On the money making side..

- Pick a career you can excel in. Invest your time & effort in it. Learn to negotiate the best possible compensation.
In my career, I found a way to be the "big fish in a small pond," making myself as indispensable as possible by doing certain tasks others in my area could not do. This gave met the leverage, not so much to negotiate better raises (that did happen early on) but to be able to work part-time for the last 7 years and work from home some of those years.
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Old 08-21-2018, 11:33 AM   #29
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I learned all I needed from Pops at a young age;

The important and loudest spoken was the statement "Son you can make a million a year but if you spend a million a year you ain't ever gonna have (S word for feces), so salt some away.

The rest was the step by step plan;

1) Save enough so that you don't have to buy appliances and car repairs with credit.

2) Save some more for a down payment on a house so you can build equity. Take advantage of tax benefits. The mortgage should be your only debt.

3) After you have recovered from buying the house, start buying stocks.

I've never made more than 80 grand a year while I was working but I retired a millionaire following his advice.
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Old 08-21-2018, 11:43 AM   #30
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RobbieB your father must have read Dickens.

Mr Micawber's famous, and oft-quoted, recipe for happiness: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and six pence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."
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Old 08-21-2018, 01:10 PM   #31
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Made brown bag lunches for DH, DS and DD for all their school years and DH for around 25 years till I started putting $5 a day for him to buy a lunch. I always took my lunch.

Live below your means, always pay yourself up to the free match from your employer.

Have a budget and stick to it.

Don't loan money to others, even family, unless you consider it a gift.
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Old 08-21-2018, 01:17 PM   #32
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Our Ah-ha moment was back in 1982 when we realized that we could live off of one income and save the entire salary of the higher paid spouse. Once we decided to do that, all else pales in comparison since with less money to spend, one figures it out pretty quickly.

And before you jump on me, expenses eventually included day care & college for two kids, braces, etc. But there were no BMWs nor Mercedes.
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Old 08-21-2018, 02:10 PM   #33
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Here you go

https://youtu.be/JdUKhgW1gOo
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Old 08-21-2018, 02:36 PM   #34
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Quote:
Originally Posted by VanWinkle View Post
Be fortunate enough to find a mate that feels the same way about saving and retirement. If one is pulling the cart with the brakes set, it doesn't go far. A great body is fine, but a great mind is much better!!!
+1

My pre-marriage "AHA" moment was when DW and I started dating in college. On one of our early dates, before becoming a "couple", I had planned to take her to some relatively expensive event that lots of our friends were going to. The day before the event, when I was to receive my campus job paycheck that I planned to use for it, some glitch had occurred and I would not be getting the check for several days. When I told future DW that I would not be able to take her, she could have gone with someone else (there was a line of guys asking her), asked me about coming up with the money by borrowing , etc. Instead she suggested no big deal, why don't we just get some food from the dining hall and go have picnic in a nearby park and hang out and hike.

It got thru my thick head that (a) her priority was to spend time with me and not necessarily go to this event, and (b) she did not think spending money was required to have a good time. And the rest is history...
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Old 08-21-2018, 03:24 PM   #35
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I have to disagree with the comment on putting Starbucks out of business. I understand your intent on reducing frivolous spending, but don’t pick on just Starbucks. They provide a ton of jobs and pay a lot of taxes supporting communities and the federal government. They pay for free education for their employees and also have good health benefits and contributions to 401k plans, along with restricted stock grants. As a stockholder, I’ve done very well with their stock over the years. My DS and DDIL are both employed with Starbucks and my son had his Bachelors paid for by them with DDIL soon to graduate.
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Old 08-21-2018, 03:40 PM   #36
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My #12: Maintain balance in everything. Work/life balance, spending/saving. Living a life of frugality and never enjoying what experiences money can help buy can lead to an unfulfilled life. My one regret over the past 30 years is that I only took five liveaboard dive trips. Should have taken at least one every other year!
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Old 08-21-2018, 03:55 PM   #37
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Wow...
36 replies in less than 12 hours...

I keep this on my desktop as a reminder.
.................................................. ...............................................

STUFF WE DON'T SPEND MONEY ON

Life Insurance
New Clothing
Haircuts
Hair styling
Pedicures/manicures
Beauty products
Movies
Concerts
Sporting events
Restaurants (more than $8 meal)
Books
Music
"New" Computers (since 2002)... all refurb or reclaim
Software... (Twice in lifetime.. total $30) all other "free"
Car maintenance labor... all DIY except 3 times for major repairs
Brand vs. Generic foods
Premium meat or fish
Financial Advisor
Lawyer
Chiro/Massage/Tan etc.
Tatoos...
New Home Decor.. (all resale)
Cars.. since 1998...
Car Wash and wax... since 1989
Premium TV channels
New Bikes or Exercise equipment
Sporting goods
Cruises (so far)
Group trips
Flying (Airlines)
Lodging (more than 3 star)
Premium Gasoline
Tools (already have more than I'll ever use, including welders etc.)
Housekeeper
Carpet Cleaning
Window/Gutter/Furnace etc. Cleaning... all DIY
Premium booze/wine...
Jewelry
Organic foods
Brand sodas
Painting, remodeling
Weapons
Subscriptions (AARP only)
Gambling
Banking or Credit Card Fees
Appliance or Electonics insurance
Eye Glasses... except for $1readers (since 2000... maybe eye test this year.)
Pets... (except bird feed)
Healthcare maintenance... exercise equipment, pool, advisor etc... (all included in our senior community membership. (no fees)
Pest control... DIY
Only "fee for" is Activities Association (FL).. $6/year

.... for starters...
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Old 08-21-2018, 04:11 PM   #38
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Posts: 12,596
You subscribe to *AARP*?

They should probably be subscribing to you...

Quote:
Originally Posted by imoldernu View Post
Wow...
36 replies in less than 12 hours...

I keep this on my desktop as a reminder.
.................................................. ...............................................

STUFF WE DON'T SPEND MONEY ON

Life Insurance
New Clothing
Haircuts
Hair styling
Pedicures/manicures
Beauty products
Movies
Concerts
Sporting events
Restaurants (more than $8 meal)
Books
Music
"New" Computers (since 2002)... all refurb or reclaim
Software... (Twice in lifetime.. total $30) all other "free"
Car maintenance labor... all DIY except 3 times for major repairs
Brand vs. Generic foods
Premium meat or fish
Financial Advisor
Lawyer
Chiro/Massage/Tan etc.
Tatoos...
New Home Decor.. (all resale)
Cars.. since 1998...
Car Wash and wax... since 1989
Premium TV channels
New Bikes or Exercise equipment
Sporting goods
Cruises (so far)
Group trips
Flying (Airlines)
Lodging (more than 3 star)
Premium Gasoline
Tools (already have more than I'll ever use, including welders etc.)
Housekeeper
Carpet Cleaning
Window/Gutter/Furnace etc. Cleaning... all DIY
Premium booze/wine...
Jewelry
Organic foods
Brand sodas
Painting, remodeling
Weapons
Subscriptions (AARP only)
Gambling
Banking or Credit Card Fees
Appliance or Electonics insurance
Eye Glasses... except for $1readers (since 2000... maybe eye test this year.)
Pets... (except bird feed)
Healthcare maintenance... exercise equipment, pool, advisor etc... (all included in our senior community membership. (no fees)
Pest control... DIY
Only "fee for" is Activities Association (FL).. $6/year

.... for starters...
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'There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.’ Christopher Morley.
Even a blind clock finds an acorn twice a day.
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Old 08-21-2018, 05:39 PM   #39
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Quote:
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I kind of backed into brown-bagging.
I did too, when my soon-to-be-ex-wife moved out of the house in 1983 and left me hanging on by my financial fingernails. I quickly figured out that I simply could not afford to buy lunches and bringing food from home was the only alternative. I did make one of my wiser investments: $15 for an Igloo lunchbox cooler. Rough calculations indicate that I've saved ~$15,000 in lunch expenses, not a bad ROI!
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Old 08-21-2018, 05:44 PM   #40
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Freedom56 View Post
12. Marry a very rich woman/guy and skip steps 1-11.
My aunt always said that it is just as easy to love a rich girl as a poor girl.

Why didn't I take her advice?
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