The vast majority of things you see in late-night infomercials and online — except of course for legitimate job hunter sites — are scams. I’m talking about the business-in-a-box kind of stuff and everything else.
And I know you’ve seen the postings online that go something like, “My sister-in-law makes $50 an hour from home, and you can, too!”
These scammers are the worst of the worst. Don’t waste a second of your time on that garbage.
Monday, March 28, 2016
Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Don't argue with your dad
Dear Dave: My dad and I have been having arguments over real estate and money. My wife and I are 33, and we have a rental property. We were trying to decide whether or not to sell the rental in order to pay down on our home. My dad has been very vocal about what he thinks we should do, and it’s starting to cause problems in our relationship. The two homes are our only debt, and we make $110,000 a year. We owe $132,000 on our residence and $80,000 on the rental. We could sell the rental for around $160,000. What do you think we should do? — Ricky ( from San Diego, CA)
Dear Ricky: I wouldn’t sell the rental today, but it’s definitely a strong consideration in the future. You wouldn’t realize enough from its sale to pay off it and your home at this point, so work aggressively toward paying down the mortgage on your home. Then, when you get far enough down that the sale of the rental would pay it off, go for it if that’s what you both want. You’re doing really well financially for a couple your age in San Diego.
Now, let’s talk about something else for a moment. I would love for you to listen to your dad for advice, but I would not be arguing with him about what you are going to do with your money. You’re a man. I don’t know if you just used the incorrect word there for how the discussion went down, but if not, I wanted to correct that as a boundary issue in your family.
Keep up the good work, Ricky!
Dear Ricky: I wouldn’t sell the rental today, but it’s definitely a strong consideration in the future. You wouldn’t realize enough from its sale to pay off it and your home at this point, so work aggressively toward paying down the mortgage on your home. Then, when you get far enough down that the sale of the rental would pay it off, go for it if that’s what you both want. You’re doing really well financially for a couple your age in San Diego.
Now, let’s talk about something else for a moment. I would love for you to listen to your dad for advice, but I would not be arguing with him about what you are going to do with your money. You’re a man. I don’t know if you just used the incorrect word there for how the discussion went down, but if not, I wanted to correct that as a boundary issue in your family.
Keep up the good work, Ricky!
Monday, March 21, 2016
Continue with Baby Steps or celebrate on a luxury trip for wedding anniversary
Q. My wife and I are in Baby Step 2 of your plan, and we’ve got our 20th wedding anniversary coming up in a few months. We had always planned on taking a 10-day luxury trip to celebrate, but now that we’re trying to get out of debt it seems pretty unrealistic. Should we pause the Baby Steps and celebrate like we originally planned, or would it be better to concentrate on paying off debt?
A. If it were me, I’d want to pause and celebrate in a smaller way. Then, in a year or two when you’ve reached your goal of being debt-free, you could have a big double celebration – for your anniversary and for gaining control of your finances.
Think about it. Why isn’t the 21st, 22nd or 23rd anniversary just as big as the 20th? No reason really. It’s just an arbitrary milestone we human beings decided on and created. But you can “undecide” stuff like that anytime you want.
If you two, as a couple, are in agreement on that point, then it suddenly becomes easier to delay pleasure in order to win. And trust me, when you agree on things like that, the celebrations become even sweeter.
A. If it were me, I’d want to pause and celebrate in a smaller way. Then, in a year or two when you’ve reached your goal of being debt-free, you could have a big double celebration – for your anniversary and for gaining control of your finances.
Think about it. Why isn’t the 21st, 22nd or 23rd anniversary just as big as the 20th? No reason really. It’s just an arbitrary milestone we human beings decided on and created. But you can “undecide” stuff like that anytime you want.
If you two, as a couple, are in agreement on that point, then it suddenly becomes easier to delay pleasure in order to win. And trust me, when you agree on things like that, the celebrations become even sweeter.
Monday, March 14, 2016
Have some fun once in a while as long as you dont go overboard with spending
DEAR DAVE: My wife received $100 from her parents for her birthday. When I asked what she planned to do with it, she said she was going to add it to her spending money. I think she should put it toward us paying off debt, but I bit my tongue and didn’t say anything. We’re in pretty good shape financially, so should I mention it or just let it go? — Charles
DEAR CHARLES: I’m sure you’re a smart man, so you’ll understand when I tell you — for the sake of your marriage and mental health — to let this one go. Seriously, is $100 going to move the needle that much? It’s her birthday, and it was a gift designed to let her do something nice for herself. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with her spending a little bit on herself on her special day.
If she had asked me about this, I would have told her it was fine. If she had asked me about putting it toward debt, I would have said that’s fine, too. It’s not a big deal for someone to have a little fun once in a while. But it’s a bad plan for you to try to get at her gift. Just let it go, and do your part to make sure she knows that you love her and that she has a great birthday!
DEAR CHARLES: I’m sure you’re a smart man, so you’ll understand when I tell you — for the sake of your marriage and mental health — to let this one go. Seriously, is $100 going to move the needle that much? It’s her birthday, and it was a gift designed to let her do something nice for herself. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with her spending a little bit on herself on her special day.
If she had asked me about this, I would have told her it was fine. If she had asked me about putting it toward debt, I would have said that’s fine, too. It’s not a big deal for someone to have a little fun once in a while. But it’s a bad plan for you to try to get at her gift. Just let it go, and do your part to make sure she knows that you love her and that she has a great birthday!
Monday, March 7, 2016
Dont buy life insurance for parents unless absolutely needed
Q. My boyfriend is wondering if he should buy life insurance for his mom and dad. They’re both in their 70s, and they’re no longer married to each other. His mom is disabled and remarried, and she doesn’t have any life insurance coverage. The only coverage his dad may have would be through his employer. He’s afraid he would have to pay funeral expenses if one of them died, and he’s not in good enough shape financially to do that right now. What’s your advice?
A. If the only insurance his dad may have is furnished through his employer, then yeah, when he stops working he probably won’t have life insurance anymore. It would be fine if he wanted to buy them each a small policy, but it’s going to be very expensive at their age. He would have to get them to sign off on it, and they’d also have to be healthy enough to have a policy issued.
This isn’t a good long-term plan, however. As a long-term plan, I’d tell your boyfriend that he needs to build up his own wealth. If he had $15,000 to $20,000 in savings, that’s more than enough to bury two people. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but we’re talking about the economics involved in this kind of situation. You can have a nice funeral for as little as $5,000.
The other thing I’d do if I were him is I’d have a discussion with mom as to whether or not the stepfather has the funds to handle this sort of thing. When it comes right down to it that would be his responsibility, not the son’s. Then he should have a similar discussion with his dad. If his dad’s got insurance through work, and the stepdad is ready to pay for his mom’s burial, then I wouldn’t buy insurance on them. They’re covered for the immediate future.
So I wouldn’t do it unless they absolutely don’t have this sort of thing covered. Even then I’d prefer you just cover it with cash, because all we’re talking about is just enough to cover burial costs. Nothing needs to be elaborate.
A. If the only insurance his dad may have is furnished through his employer, then yeah, when he stops working he probably won’t have life insurance anymore. It would be fine if he wanted to buy them each a small policy, but it’s going to be very expensive at their age. He would have to get them to sign off on it, and they’d also have to be healthy enough to have a policy issued.
This isn’t a good long-term plan, however. As a long-term plan, I’d tell your boyfriend that he needs to build up his own wealth. If he had $15,000 to $20,000 in savings, that’s more than enough to bury two people. I don’t mean to sound insensitive, but we’re talking about the economics involved in this kind of situation. You can have a nice funeral for as little as $5,000.
The other thing I’d do if I were him is I’d have a discussion with mom as to whether or not the stepfather has the funds to handle this sort of thing. When it comes right down to it that would be his responsibility, not the son’s. Then he should have a similar discussion with his dad. If his dad’s got insurance through work, and the stepdad is ready to pay for his mom’s burial, then I wouldn’t buy insurance on them. They’re covered for the immediate future.
So I wouldn’t do it unless they absolutely don’t have this sort of thing covered. Even then I’d prefer you just cover it with cash, because all we’re talking about is just enough to cover burial costs. Nothing needs to be elaborate.
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