Should landlord refund deposit or not

Dear Dave: I own a one-bedroom condo that I'm using as a rental property. The current tenant's old agreement is up soon, but she signed a new lease less than a month ago and gave me a deposit, plus the first month's rent. Just the other day, she called and wants to back out of the agreement. She said she discovered after she signed that her ex is having serious health problems, and she needs to move to help take care of their kids. What do you think I should do? —Flavia



Dear Flavia: I own a bunch of rental properties, so I know for a fact that as a landlord you run into all kinds of situations. Some are more genuine than others. I would want some proof as to what's going on, but on the surface it sounds like she's got a valid reason for wanting to cancel the agreement.

Basically, she's asking for your understanding and mercy. If it were me, and what she's said turned out to be true, I'd try to lease the place to someone else as quickly as possible, and I'd refund her the deposit plus any money it doesn't cost you in the process. In other words, if it took two weeks to find another tenant, then I'd give back the deposit and two week's rent. Of course, if she's in really bad shape — and you're on solid enough financial ground to withstand the blow — you could let her out of the agreement completely and move on to finding another tenant.

You don't want to profit from someone who's genuinely struggling. But you have to look out for yourself and, if possible, try to break even. 

Regardless, I wouldn't take advantage of anyone who's truly going through hard times. That's just not right.


Via - http://www.postbulletin.com/business/dave-ramsey-keep-the-lifestyle-simple/article_72dcdd8f-0b48-5886-b66d-39a9a6c70062.html

Increased job income is not permanent

Dear Dave: I recently got a new job that will increase my income by $20,000 per year. I've got $65,000 in debt, and I'm trying to pay it off, so I know I need to adjust my budget. Do you have any suggestions for a situation like this? —Mitchell


Dear Mitchell: Congratulations on your increased income. The first thing I'd tell you is not to get used to any permanent luxuries while you're paying off debt. Go out and celebrate with a really nice dinner or something like that after you get your first paycheck. But don't go nuts or pick up any big, new stuff. The more you put toward debt, the faster it goes away.

I've been doing this financial thing for a lot of years, and the one thing I've found that gets people out of debt is passion. I want you to be so passionate about getting out of debt that you don't even consider doing anything else until it's all gone. Your thought process needs to be, "Wow, I got a new job making more money. I can get out of debt even quicker!"

Again, I'm okay with you adjusting a bit that first month and having a little fun to celebrate your good fortune. But after that, I want you to turn around and attack the debt with even more intensity than before. Way to go, Mitchell!



Article originally published on http://www.postbulletin.com/business/dave-ramsey-keep-the-lifestyle-simple/article_72dcdd8f-0b48-5886-b66d-39a9a6c70062.html

Dave Ramsey on buying deals

Dave Ramsey advice to people is to not waste money buying something you may not really need or use fully.

"Hey, remember that time we bought a laser hair-removal deal for 78 percent off from that start-up place all the way across town and used it for the full amount and within the specified time limit? Neither do we."

Payoff debt vs Invest in Roth IRA

Dear Dave,
I went to medical school, and now I have $70,000 in debt. I just started a three-year residency making about $50,000 a year, while my wife makes $40,000. The student loans represent our only debt. Do you think we should be paying this off or investing in a Roth IRA?
-David



Dear David,

If I were in your shoes, I’d work on paying down the student loans. That means you may never be in a Roth, but there are other things you can invest in and grow wealth.

I realize this may not seem right mathematically, but I don’t always make financial decisions based exclusively on math. Many times I do things based on changing money behaviors—stuff like paying off debts from smallest to largest because it actually works. Personal finance is 80% behavior, and only 20% head knowledge. So sometimes you have to go with what actually works best overall, in spite of what the technical math shows.

In your case, I think it’s going to be very valuable to have no student loans by the time you complete your residency. With three years to go, and living on a $90,000 a year income, you can do it. Then, when you come through the other side as a full-fledge doctor, you’ll have the great income and be sitting there debt-free. Not a bad place to be, right?

I understand the Roth seems like a pretty good idea right now, but my advice is to stick with becoming debt-free as quickly as possible. Once that’s done, you and your wife will be able to invest, save, and build wealth like crazy!

-Dave

How to end credit card offers

DEAR DAVE: How can I get credit card companies to stop sending us preapproved offers?

My wife continues to sign up for these, and now we have $40,000 in credit card debt. If you want to quit receiving credit card offers in the mail, one way to slow them down is to opt out of marketing offers on your credit bureau reports. 
If you want to quit receiving credit card offers in the mail, one way to slow them down is to opt out of marketing offers on your credit bureau reports. 
— Dan

DEAR DAN: Chances are you'll never get credit card companies to stop sending stuff, but there a few things you can do that might help slow things down. Access your credit bureau report, and opt out of marketing offers. You can also freeze your credit report, and send direct requests to the credit card companies to take you off their mailing lists.

I've been telling people not to use credit cards for 20 years and, believe it or not, even I get offers in the mail. The more mailing lists you get on, the more your mailbox will fill up with junk mail.

If you have magazine subscriptions and things like that, your contact information is circulating all over the place.

The next thing I'm going to say may sound cruel, but I really don't mean it that way. You don't have a junk mail problem, Dan. You have a relationship problem. You two are not on the same page about money. Either she doesn't feel like you two have enough money, and she's resorting to credit cards for this reason, or she does this because she's a spoiled brat who thinks she should always have what she wants when she wants it.


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