5 Signs That You're Living Beyond Your Means

[movingex]

I found this to be an interesting read.

here

[rockin-photos]

What if your photo gear purchases are more than 28% of your income?

[PhotosbyHollyWood]

hahahh well EVERYTHING on that list states that I am living beyond my means...

I think that is 80% of america

[brad]

A few years ago, that list was us (except the first one.. we managed to maintain our credit score)... but with some hard work we've managed to get things under control.

The two biggest things that helped us:

1. Paying cash for everything.. if don't have it, we try not to buy it. With a few exceptions (weak moments) and car purchases, we've done well. We also implemented something we refer to as "The $10 Rule" ... if it costs more than $10, we have to have made a special trip to get the item. That forces us to give ourselves time to think about it .. and whether or not we really need it.

2. Avoiding situations that tempt you to spend money. We figured out that even with the $10 Rule, our weekly visits to the mall just to kill time were costing us a small fortune.. $10 here, $10 there.. adds up quickly.



Oh heavens.. I sound like my dad... I kid him still today that I used to number his lectures because they were so repetitious... Lecture #1 was the power of compound interest (savings) and Lecture #2 was the evils of credit cards. I guess its true, we all eventually turn into our parents.

[JohnT]

I have a close friend who has gotten into a situation where his mortgage payment is costing almost all of his monthly salary—to the point that he cannot pay some other obligations. Yet, he refuses to sell the house and downsize. He thinks his house is an asset, but I've explained to him that, in his current financial condition, his house is actually a liability. The hole keeps getting deeper, and he keeps hoping he will find a better paying job, which probably isn't going to happen given the state of the economy and job market.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by brad

2. Avoiding situations that tempt you to spend money. We figured out that even with the $10 Rule, our weekly visits to the mall just to kill time were costing us a small fortune.. $10 here, $10 there.. adds up quickly.

This is why I stay away from Arlington Camera and other camera stores. Except there, it isn't $10 here and there, it's more like $100 here and there. Oh, the humanity...

[AndrewCCM]

Thank goodness my photo biz is my extra spending money.. I was happy to see that none of those 5 applied to me. I just hope it always remains that way (I pray about it often)... Darn stock market is killing me right now though.

[ka5txl]

Originally Posted by JohnT

I have a close friend who has gotten into a situation where his mortgage payment is costing almost all of his monthly salary—to the point that he cannot pay some other obligations. Yet, he refuses to sell the house and downsize. He thinks his house is an asset, but I've explained to him that, in his current financial condition, his house is actually a liability. The hole keeps getting deeper, and he keeps hoping he will find a better paying job, which probably isn't going to happen given the state of the economy and job market.

Have your friend listen to 570am from 1pm to 4pm maybe Dave Ramsey can give him a wake up call about the house.

[Atfulldraw]

Good read.

It's a quick trip down in to that hole, but a long climb out of it.

[Atfulldraw]

Good read.

It's a quick trip down in to that hole, but a long climb out of it.

[HeatherLou]

I'm very thankful that we made some wise moves with some money that we inherited 3 years ago. Instead of blowing it on a trip or something like that, we bought and paid for our house, paid off both our cars, and we NEVER had credit cards. Credit cards are EVIL!! Jeff and I have a 50$ rule, if it costs more than 50$, we ask each other. The only exception is the photo equipment, but at this point in my business, its all about upgrading my stuff, or getting something I need. I just make sure I don't use my other job, or money from his job. Its actually amazing how you can adjust your life according to how much money you make. When we moved to Brownwood, I took a 15k a year pay cut. The trade off was we got a nice house, and since we are not working all the time to make that *big money* we get to do more fun stuff together.

[Truckman]

Originally Posted by rockin-photos

What if your photo gear purchases are more than 28% of your income?

How did you get it down to that number?......Ben

[PhotosbyHollyWood]

Originally Posted by ka5txl

Have your friend listen to 570am from 1pm to 4pm maybe Dave Ramsey can give him a wake up call about the house.

we have 2 of his books

and I listen to him when I can... he has some great points I think we are in our situation because I have been a stay at home wife and mom... and we actually SAVED money ding that so now that we are BOTH working again... I think we will QUICKLY moved out of the RED zone... we don't have CC so that is a blessing... someone above mentioned if you don't have the money you dont need it... that is how I look a things for the CC I got my self into trouble right out of high school... and got that all cleared up things are falling off my Credit report and I only have 5 things on there... that are reporting bad,,. that is a lot but that is better than what it was last year!!!

We bought a house and ended up selling one year later as we got in over our heads.. and this house was my dream house!!! big, open floor plan, room for the family, lots of natural light and windows to keep the electric bill down... but we realized that we were headed for a disaster... so we sold it for what we owed best decision we MADE... yeah it was heart breaking when we sign the papers and handed over the keys... now we rent... we will stay here till Dec... and then get serious about buying again! if the time is right and all of other obligations are squared away and we have at least 3 months mortgage saved up.. in case some thing happens...

[AndrewCCM]

Personally, I use credit cards for nearly everything. I get lots of free airline tickets this way...I get protection on my purchases and extended warranties on some. Easier to do web transactions for those that don't take Paypal, etc...

But the key is: Pay them off completely every month.

I agree that if that if one cannot do that, it's probably better to either not have one or only keep one for emergencies... Never know when you might be stuck in a bad situation that doesn't take checks and/or insurance and you're short on cash.

[JohnT]

Originally Posted by ka5txl

Have your friend listen to 570am from 1pm to 4pm maybe Dave Ramsey can give him a wake up call about the house.

He knows who DR is and, in fact, I told him that I've heard Dave give this advice to people a couple of times. My friend just keeps hanging on. I'll recommend the program to him anyway. Thanks.