Re: tardus finacial ,pay det off in no time pstd
Zuki -
Dont take my 'naive' comment to heart, and indeed there are no dumb questions. Well, there ARE a few (they usually start with "is this right?")
Anything you hear on the radio, anyone with a book, anyone with a seminar, anyone with a talk show...anybody with a 'great idea to change your life, just send in $19.95' deal is taking your $19.95 and giving you nothing at all or nothing you cant get for free.
Anyone that wants to take .5%, 1%, 2% of your money to REALLY show you how to make money? If they showed you the really great way they've discovered, its to take 2% of someone elses money to tell them something they probably already know and just dont want to hear, or something they could learn themselves by reading a book from the library.
Anyone with a 'special scheme' that'll really juice up your investments or help you make money, is specially scheming to get some money from your pocket into theirs.
Want to get a jump start and a mortgage is your only debt? Pay an extra mortgage payment once a year, or see if the mortgage company you're with will let you make two half payments a month, or make an extra $100 or $200 a month 'principal only' payment. Most mortgage companies will let you do one or all of the above. With the 'extra payment a year' or extra principal payments, your loan principal is drawn down by that full amount directly, no interest sucked out of it. With two half payments a month, interest only accrues on the balance for the first 2 weeks before your first payment is applied, and 2 more weeks before the second payment.
There are calculators out the wazoo to show you the benefits of all three of those suggestions. For the most part they'll shave 5-12 years off of your mortgage.
Get your 401k going and maxed out to the level where you're getting a match from your company or contribute to your own IRA and take the tax break. Got more money left over? Fund a Roth. Got more money left over? Make whatever smart investments people here can steer you towards.
Keep enough savings between you and the road to make sure you can get another job if you get sick or lose your current job. Keep that cash in liquid CD's or in a money market account. Dont keep too much.
I think all of that should keep you plenty busy for a few years. Sorry if you took that 'naive' thing the wrong way, and sorry if we were too rough on you.
And quit listening to those radio commercials!