Evolving Personal Finance » choices
When to Pass Up a Company Retirement Match
I know this is practically heresy around the personal finance community, but I don’t think everyone should contribute to his 401(k) or equivalent, even when a company retirement match is available. I didn’t think that I held that opinion until I advised a coaching client to pass up his unlimited 100% company 401(k) match. I am supposed to advise my coaching clients according to the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps, perhaps with some reasonable modifications. Starting Baby … Read entire article »
Filed under: budgeting, choices, investing, retirement, savings
The Thinking Person’s Guide to Dave Ramsey: Reasonable Baby Step Modifications
As we discussed in the two prior posts in this series, Dave Ramsey’s (DR’s) program for getting out of debt and building wealth works very well for some people but may be inappropriate for those who don’t agree with all of the underlying principles. The next two posts are intended for people are curious about following the Baby Steps loosely but who want to know what some reasonable modifications may be. In this post, we … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, debt, emergency fund, giving, goals, psychology, savings
The Thinking Person’s Guide to Dave Ramsey: Overview
There is no question that Dave Ramsey’s (DR’s) financial coaching has helped millions of people improve their finances through paying off debt and saving for emergencies and their futures. However, DR’s program is quite unconventional and it can be difficult to reconcile his advice with that of financial advisors, coaches, and authors. Now that I have been through Financial Peace University, read The Total Money Makeover, and listened to The Dave Ramsey Show for a couple … Read entire article »
Aspiring to Make Money from Our Closet Has Wasted Emotional Energy
There’s nothing like moving to show you how much crap you really own and make you want to become a minimalist! Just working in our closet, I filled 2 giant trash bags, 1 suitcase, and 2 carry-ons with clothes that we rarely or never wear. And I’m not even done with that category of clothing. I’m like, ashamed to even be typing that, even though I’ve already confessed to you that we have too much … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, psychology
How We Watch All the TV We Want for Free (Including Sports)
Three years ago, Kyle and I took a look at our budget and our newly formed targeted savings goals and realized that our cable package was holding us back. We had much more pressing applications for the extra $80 per month we were paying to have access to those channels. The issue was that we – especially Kyle – love television. I know that’s not a popular thing to say, but we do! We were … Read entire article »
How to Cancel Your Cable When You’re Addicted to a Show
I have observed two kinds of cable subscribers. Some cable subscribers love TV and watch many channels many hours of the day and feel they are getting great value out of their packages. Other cable subscribers hate their high bills and don’t think that they are getting a good value on the programming they consume, but they refuse to cut the cord because they are addicted to one or more individual shows. It may be … Read entire article »
Inexpensive House, Expensive Car
I’ve been taking frequent walks around our townhouse complex recently and I’ve noticed that there are a lot of pretty nice cars parked in the lots – sports cars, muscle cars, and some luxury brands. Two people just across the parking lot from us own an Audi and a sporty convertible. Beyond just the expensive models, many cars look close to brand new. Another thing I’ve noticed on my walks throughout this year are townhouses up … Read entire article »
Just Make a Decision
I was very proud of Kyle and me for making such a quick decision on where to move. (Our application was accepted and we sent in our security deposit so it’s a done deal – we got the place!) We are notorious for being slow decision-makers, particularly Kyle. Often that works to our advantage – with new purchases we generally research and wait for quite a while, which means we avoid making impulse purchases basically … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices
PF Choices: Damned If You Do and Damned If You Don’t
It seems that there are many choices you can make about your personal finances that will get you excoriated – or at least criticized – by one group or another espousing particular strategies. If you decide on strategy A you’ll get criticized by group B and if you decide on strategy B you’ll get criticized by group A! Sure, people may be nice about it and say “to each his own” but you know they … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices
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Will You Ever Reduce Your Retirement Contribution Rate?
November 4th, 2013 | 23 Comments
When I think about the retirement savings trajectory of a typical American, I imagine that his rate of saving for retirement increases basically monotonically throughout his life. In his 20s and 30s he doesn’t save anything; in his 40s he wises up and starts putting money away; in his 50s he panics and saves as much as he can given the lifestyle he’s become accustomed to; by the time he’s about to retire he’s putting … Read entire article »
Filed under: choices, retirement, savings