Free Money Finance

Book of the Week: The Millionaire Next Door

It's no secret that I love the book The Millionaire Next Door: The Surprising Secrets of America's Wealthy.

I love it so much that I have an entire category here at FMF dedicated to it with over 70 posts in that category!!!!

Some highlights:

• Rich People Know that Things Don't Satisfy
• How to Become Wealthy
• Best of Free Money Finance: Millionaire Next Door, Part 1

For a good overview of the book see The Best Personal Finance Books of All Time: The Millionaire Next Door. 

If you have not read it, do so. If you have, read it again. You'll probably find something new to help out your finances (FYI, I've probably read it as many as 10 times now and always get something from it.)

More Bad News on Retirement

Here's a post that asks if we have a retirement crisis. Why would anyone ask that? Here's why it asks that:

From this data, it looks like we’re officially in crisis mode. The near retirement households are going to be in serious trouble after they retired. The median retirement account balance for people 55-64 (who have retirement accounts) is $104,000. That might sound like a lot of money, but it could be gone in just a few years. What about those folks without retirement accounts? Their median balance is just $14,500. That’s up from $12,000 in the previous report, but it’s not even close to being enough for one year of retirement. If you have only $14,500 saved up at 65, then you are going to be in for a very long frugal retirement. Those households will be dependent on Social Security benefits and other public programs. One little emergency can screw up their finance and push them over the brink.

So what are these people, with little retirement savings, left to do? Why work longer, of course.

This from Bankrate:

70% of people say they want to work as long as possible, a new Bankrate Money Pulse survey finds. Also, early retirement is no longer the goal it once was. Just 13% of non-retired respondents said they hope to retire in their 50s, down from 27% when the question was asked in 2007.

This information mirrors closely what I said in The Vast Majority of Americans Will Struggle Financially All Their Lives. People either don't understand or won't apply the basics of personal finance to their lives. They ignore these things for 40 years, get to retirement, and realize they can't retire. Ugh!

That's why I continually share (some might call it harping) these facts on FMF. If I can help one person find and apply the basics and thus have the financial life they want (versus the one they get if they do nothing), it will be all worthwhile to me.

So, what are the basics?

• Start by knowing how much you need to retire (part of which should be setting a retirement budget)
• Then you can calculate how much you need to save per day to get to that number by the time you want to retire.
• You then develop a saving plan with a combination of earning more and spending less. 

Any thoughts or comments from FMF readers? How is your retirement planning going?

What's the Top Financial Stress in Your State?

Bankrate recently posted a chart of the top financial stresses by state.

Some interesting observations:

• The vast majority of states have "paying off my debt" as their #1 financial stress. No surprise here.
• The #2 stressor by number of states listing it at the top was "not having enough money to fund an emergency." Again, not a shocker based on what we've already discussed about how the average American handles his money.
• #3 was "not being able to retire." Uh, yeah. It could be because they have low net worths, don't you think?
• Apparently people in Idaho and Hawaii are the only ones really stressed about "paying for education". (Massachusetts and Vermont had this tied for their #1)
• Gotta love Delaware. "Wanting a nicer lifestyle" is tied for their #1 stressor.
• Rhode Island was the only state with "lack of a stable income" as their #1 stressor.
• Vermont was the only state with "paying my mortgage or rent" as their top issue.

Of the states I've lived in, six of them were concerned most about paying off debt. It makes sense that this is the #1 issue for states I've lived in since it's the top issue in about 40 of the states. I also had one state (my home state of Iowa) that's worried about retirement and one (Oklahoma) that's worried about having money for emergencies.

Not sure what this tells us other than most of us are worried about debt and that there are a ton of financial problems in America today.

So, what's the #1 financial stress in your state?

You Can Retire Early on an Average Income

After posting a series of bad news items like Americans have low net worths, way too much credit card debt, and are terrible at money management, here's finally some good news.

Here's a family who is bucking all the trends. They are sending 13 kids to college, are debt free, and plan to retire early. Good for them!!!

So you're thinking "they must make a pretty hefty salary, right?"

Nope. Here are the details:

Rob and Sam Fatzinger, lifelong residents of Bowie, Md., lead a single-income family in one of the country’s most expensive regions. Rob’s income never topped $50,000 until he was 40; he’s now 51 and earns just north of $100,000 as a software tester.

So how did they do it? They simply spend a lot less than they earn:

Frugalism is often about math, determination and thinking a bit differently. A few key principles: How much you save, as a percentage of your paycheck, will foretell when you’ll be able to build your own business or retire. Small financial changes can make a big impact. And it’s not really about your income; it’s about your savings.

Then they invested the difference between what they made and what they spent. And their investments grew:

And then there’s the “miracle” of compounding interest, the gift that keeps giving as your investment’s interest spawns its own interest, time and again.

And by paying off debt, they have been able to save even more:

Since the mortgage was paid off in 2012, Rob and Sam have turbo-charged their savings rate, now investing about $3,000 a month.

It really comes down to the basics of good money management:

• Spend less than you earn (the more the better) to create a gap of savings
• Invest that savings and have it grow
• Watch your net worth climb

So if these people can do it with...

• An average income most of their lives
• 13 kids and all the associated expenses
• Living in an expensive area of the country

...don't you think most Americans could as well?

Of course they could -- if they just had the discipline these people have.

Star Money Articles for Week of September 19

Welcome to this week's edition of Star Money Articles.

Here's a post where the writer says he has every dollar he ever made. That's pretty impressive since he's made over $400k per year for 10 years.

The next one is a philosophical post that asks "What is enough?" 

And if that question isn't enough, how about this one: "Can getting up early make you wealthy?" 

Finally, my book of the week is Living Forward: A Proven Plan to Stop Drifting and Get the Life You Want. If you're looking for a great life planning book, this is it! You should consider checking it out now in preparation for those New Year's resolutions. :)

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

Save a Ton by Having Your Wedding on a Thursday

Here's an interesting follow up to my recent post on how expensive weddings can be. 

Money magazine has a piece on how some couples are saving a ton by having their weddings on Thursdays. 

Yep, going off of prime time is always a saver no matter what you do and it's no different with weddings.

Most people don't want to get married on Thursday, right? Of course not! This means Thursdays are bargain-days!!!

From the article:

Joe, a dentist outside the New York City area, said the couple saved at least 20% on photography and around 40% on flowers just by changing their wedding date.

"We had a lot more purchasing power," he said. "Everyone would come down [in price] when they heard the word Thursday."

Booking a venue for a Thursday is 17% cheaper on average than hosting a Saturday night affair, according to Tina Hoang-To, CEO and co-founder of Wedding Spot, a wedding venue marketplace.

Many wedding professionals are more likely to negotiate their rates because there is less competition for their services [on Thursdays].

For instance, catering and reception venue Anthony's Pier 9 in New York, where the Brownes got married, reduces its minimum head count and price per head by $20 for non-weekend weddings.

A few other thoughts:

• They said that some people couldn't attend because it was not on a weekend, so this could be a game-changer if it's a person important to the wedding (like a close relative).
• They noted that many people had to leave early because they had to work the next day. Not that bad IMO.
• Because you book on a Thursday, you also don't have to book a year out as Thursdays aren't that popular...yet.
• I liked the suggestion that a Thursday wedding also allows couples to take a long weekend if they are skipping the honeymoon (or postponing it) or will vacation close to home.

Overall, this sounds like a GREAT idea to save a bundle. Then again, I'm a guy so I could get married in a Taco Bell at breakfast.

What do the rest of you think? Worth the savings or not?

Why People Quit Their Jobs

Money Magazine lists the main reasons people quit their jobs as follows (with the percentage of people who gave this reason):

• Because they didn’t have room to grow (45%)
• Poor leadership (41%)
• Wanting better work culture (36%)
• Wanting more challenging work (36%)
• Wanted better pay (34%)
• Wanted better recognition at work (32%)

I've left jobs for all of these reasons throughout the course of my career but "poor leadership" is probably the reason I moved on most. No matter how great the company is, the people are, the mission is, and all the rest, if the leadership stinks then work life is a disaster.

I'm not sure leaving for better pay was ever the main reason I moved companies, but it was always part of the equation. I never wanted to go backwards and did want to gain a good amount with every move, something I was able to do most of the time.

How about you? Have you ever left a job for any of the reasons noted above?

Interviews are Back!

Back in the day, I used to run several reader interview posts that were very popular here at Free Money Finance.

Well, it's my pleasure to announce they are back!!

The series are:

• Reader Profiles -- These were interviews with readers of all sorts, asking about their current finances, plans for the future, and their best financial advice. Reader Profile: KP was the most recent one completed.
• Millionaire Interviews -- As you might imagine, these were interviews with people who had at least $1 million in net worth. We asked how they became millionaires, what their future goals were, details on current efforts, and the like. I completed 22 of them with the last one here. I also wrote a summary of what we learned from the interviews and it can be found at What We've Learned from Millionaires. 
• Six Figure Interviews -- These were interviews with people who made at least $100,000 a year and I did 16 of them. The last one was appropriately named Six Figure Interviews 16. 
• Retiree Interviews -- This wasn't much of a series -- only two were completed -- but I would like to interview more retirees about how they retired, when, what they are doing in retirement, etc. The last one I did was Retiree Interviews 2.

I'm now accepting new contributions for all of these.

In addition, if you completed one in the past and would like to do an update, you can do that as well (I already have a couple of these in the hopper).

To be featured in one of these, simply send me an email saying which you'd like to be featured in and I'll get back to you with some instructions.

Should be lots of fun!

Star Money Articles for Week of September 12

Welcome to this week's edition of Star Money Articles.

Let's begin with 13 Things You Need to Reach Your Money Goals. The twist? It's not money. :)

Here's a funny take on internet trolls.

How about this as a promise: How to Beat 80% of Investors With 1% of the Effort. Short answer: index funds. 

Wondering if you're financially stable? Here are 31 signs that will help you know. 

I'm kind of on a hate-debt roll these days so How to Save Thousands of Dollars on Your Mortgage fits nicely into a bunch of other stuff I'm reading.

Finally, my book of the week is How Much Money Do I Need to Retire? (60 Minute Financial Solutions Book 5). It's probably the best book on retirement I've ever read. And while I'm already retired, I'm still learning from it!

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

30 Ways to Earn Extra Cash

Kiplinger lists 30 ways to earn extra cash.

Some of these are completely weak in my opinion (election officer? search for unclaimed property?), but there are ones I would consider including:

• Coach a youth sports team -- I wouldn't do this for pay (I've done it for free for my son's team), but I would consider going back to being a soccer referee. My son and I gave it up when we moved (having to re-certify in a new state), but I'm pretty sure I could get back in quickly and make $2-$3k per year with games here and there.
• Teach -- I would love to teach at the college level one day -- either in person or online.
• Walk dogs -- You can actually make pretty good money pet sitting. My daughter used to do it when we lived in Michigan and you wouldn't believe what people will pay for someone to check their animals. Plus they get someone to keep an eye on the place, collect the mail, etc.
• Get freelance editorial work -- Many years ago I had a freelance writing business that helped us pay off our mortgage. It was a lot of work for the pay received, but I could go back to doing that if I really needed the money.
• Rent out your home -- We live in a town people visit to vacation. As such, there's always need for places to stay. I have two friends who make small fortunes renting out their houses for a week here and a week there (mostly in the summer). I could do the same.
• Be a blogger -- Uh, I already am. :)

How about you? Do you see any on the list you like? Or perhaps you have other ideas for making money. What are they?

The Big Financial Advantages of a 15-Year Mortgage

Here's an interesting piece from Money magazine that reminds us of the advantages of a 15-year mortgage over a 30-year mortgage -- namely, the cost.

They list four reasons a 15-year mortgage is better but the main reason is point #1 -- it saves a TON of money!

Key quote:

Taking out a 15-year mortgage dramatically cuts your home-loan repayment time. The faster you repay the loan, the less in interest you need to pay. This can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the (shorter) life of your loan. A 15-year mortgage also usually offers better interest rates than other loan products.

Exactly how much money?

I went to Google, typed in "mortgage calculator" and they had an easy on-page calculator that covered the basics.

I then searched for current mortgage interest rates and got to Bankrate's list of mortgage rates. 

So let's assume:

• $300k home
• 20% down, so the buyer is borrowing $240k
• Two loan options: 15-year fixed (2.87% interest) and 30-year fixed (3.56% interest)

The results:

• 15-year mortgage has a monthly payment of $1,642 with total cost of $295,638
• 30-year mortgage has a monthly payment of $1,086 with total cost of $390,874

In other words, you'd save $100k by using a 15-year mortgage versus a 30-year one.

But someone might object that they can't afford the house they want with a $1,642 per month payment.

That's correct -- they can't afford it. They should instead be looking at something they can afford.

There's a tried and true method for buying a house and paying off the mortgage in 10 years. One way to implement this is to get a house you can afford with a 15-year mortgage, put in extra payments, and have it done in a decade.

You'll save yourself $100k which you can then invest over the next 15 years (versus the 30-year mortgage people). This $6,667 per year invested at 8% is equal to $181k! So by choosing a 15-year mortgage over a 30-year mortgage, you're saving yourself/earning almost $200k!

Furthermore, if you let that $181k ride for the next 15 years at 8% it's worth $574k when you retire (if you're wondering, this assumes you buy the house at 25, pay it off at 40, save/invest the $181k by 55, and keep it invested until age 70).

So it seems to me that the 15-year mortgage is a clear winner. Thoughts?

Weekend Money Traps

Here's a list of weekend money traps from Money Magazine:

1. The Movie Theater
2. The Car Lot
3. The Mall
4. Restaurants
5. Open Houses
6. The Furniture Store
7. Big Ticket Events
8. The Weekend Road Trip

Here's how my family does on these:

1. Nope, don't do the theater on the weekends. We go on Tuesdays when the movies are $5.75 versus $10. That's if we go at all (we're pretty picky on which movies we "have" to see in theaters. We NEVER get popcorn or soda either.).

2. I don't shop for cars. I have dealers submit bids through email, each bidding lower until all fall out but one. Then I pick the car up whenever I want. I try to avoid weekends at the car lot because it gets too crowded.

3. My days of cruising the mall are way over. I think I left that behind in the 90's. Unless you count the outlet mall. Then that can be an issue as I love me some Nike at outlet prices.

4. Restaurants can be an issue for us as we often like to go out and eat after church. But we try and keep a reasonable handle on this.

5. I do love looking at real estate, but I do not like to go to open houses simply for the sake of seeing a place for fun. And I'm not in the market to buy, so this is not a temptation for me. We do go to the Parade of Homes each year with tickets a real estate agent friend gets us for free.

6. I'd rather have my eyes poked out with hot irons than go furniture shopping.

7. I'm past the days where big events got me excited. Now all I see is the huge expense accompanied by an even larger hassle (getting in and getting out).

8. We do take road trips but generally plan them in advance and work to balance savings and fun.

So, their list wasn't really an issue for me.

Are there any on here that trip you up?

Star Money Articles for Week of September 5

Welcome to this week's edition of Star Money Articles.

Here's a great piece for those of you who want to sell your house and save yourself the cost of realtor's fees. This post details how one man saved over $14k by selling his home himself.

Want to make your financial life easier? Here are 10 personal finance apps that will do just that.

Investor Junkie compares target date funds and robo-advisors. Interesting read for me as I didn't even know what robo-advisors were.

And to round out the interesting reads, here are five personal finance lessons from Donald Trump. Don't worry, it's not politically biased one way or the other.

Finally, my book of the week is The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business. It's an interesting concept -- that you can read yourself into an MBA. Even as an experienced business person, the book had some great insights about all aspects of business.

Have a GREAT weekend!!!

Things to Never Keep in Your Wallet

Here's a post from Bankrate that lists things you should never keep in your wallet. 

They include:

1. Social Security Card
2. Birth Certificate or passport
3. Extra credit cards
4. PINs and passwords
5. Checks

Uh, I'm not sure who carries these things around with them anyway -- certainly not #1, #2, and #4.

Here's what I currently carry in my wallet:

• Cash -- anywhere from $50 to $100 (I'm the one expected to have cash in our family, though we seldom use it)
• Credit cards -- my three go-to cards
• Driver's license
• Costco membership card -- I technically don't have to carry this as I have the Costco credit card, but while Chase Freedom is offering 5% cash back on Costco purchases, I'm using it
• Fitness club membership card

That's it. Nice and neat in a wallet/money clip combo a bit bigger than a credit card.

So, what's in your wallet?

How Much Notice Should You Give Your Employer?

Here's a piece from Kiplinger where a reader shares the story of a co-worker who left without much notice. The piece then gets to the heart of the issue: how much notice should be given to an employer when an employee resigns?

A summary of their answer:

[The worker who left] owed all of you (probably not legally, but ethically) at least two weeks’ notice, and ideally more. In most cases, a new employer will understand, and even respect, a new hire’s desire to do right by her current colleagues. And a more thoughtful resignation might have improved her odds of getting a good reference from your boss if she ever needed one.

Here's my take on this one:

• I think two weeks' notice is standard and what everyone should try to give. It's still too short for the employer, but it is standard and a generally accepted principle. If you want a good reference for later on (or at least to leave on good terms -- and you DO want this), you should give two weeks.
• That said, employers don't often give employees two weeks' notice/severance when they let them go, so why should employees do this?
• At my last job we had a guy that left with three days' notice. Ugh. It put us in a bad spot but his new employer wanted him asap. And what could we really do about it? He did offer to work nights and weekends (for free!) to make up for the lurch he was leaving us in.

I'm sure many of you have thoughts on this issue, so let me have it. How much notice do you think an employer should receive when an employee resigns?

Star Money Articles for Week of August 29

Welcome to this week's edition of Star Money Articles.

We'll begin with the never-ending debate: which is better, earning more or spending less? I'll let you decide.

Here's a debt-killing story I love on how a couple paid off their $320k mortgage in six years! Pretty awesome, right???!!!

Next is a GREAT guide on how to set financial goals. It's awesome to see a young couple this mature and focused on improving their finances in a systematic way. We all can learn something from them.

Third is a good piece on that old retirement killer, inflation! The nice thing is that it includes five tips to help beat (or at least control) inflation in retirement.

Here's a cerebral post titled Invert. Always Invert! Example: Question 1: How do we become financially independent? Inverted Question 1: How do we remain financially dependent (on our job or on someone)? Not sure I get it 100% but I like the concept! ;)

Then there's a post on how to get a high yield on your investments. It gives a few options worth considering if you want to earn more on your money.

Finally, my book of the week is Private Notes of a Headhunter: Proven Job Search and Interviewing Techniques for College Students and Recent Grads. I'm teaching my son how to find a job (write a resume, interview, and the like) and this has been a great start to our joint studies.

Have a GREAT weekend!!!