The biggest home in my town is currently in the process of being built. It is set on 3-4 acres of one of the best pieces of property in the town, with a beautiful view of a river and of Canada. As you can see by the picture, this home will be quite spectacular when it is finally complete. The only issue with this home, is that it has been under construction for about 4 years, which means that the owners have probably invested over three million dollars into the property without actually being able to live in it. As I have watched this home get constructed, I was always…
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Life Before Budget vs. Dave Ramsey
Over the past 20-25 years, Dave Ramsey has always stood as a powerful voice against debt. Using his radio show and consistent teachings, he has helped millions of people gain control of their money and stay out of debt. To me, he is a financial hero because of all the people that he has helped. Even this humble blogger and my family have traveled down to the Dave Ramsey Show studios in Nashville, Tennessee to scream, "I'M DEBT FREE," after we paid off all of our consumer debt. We certainly are fans of Dave Ramsey. One of the things that I love the most about Dave Ramsey is that he…
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The Stock Market is Tanking … Now What?
One of the toughest things in life is to do something that goes against our intuitions. After all, our intuitions help guide us through many important decisions that we make every single day. However, sometimes, our intuitions can be wrong. One of the times that our intuitions are often wrong is when we are investing in the stock market. We may think that we should sell all of our stocks right before the stock market goes on a five-year rally. Or, we may know that a stock is going to double in value, right before the company files for bankruptcy. Again, our intuitions are often completely wrong when it comes to…
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The Answer is Not Found in a Store
Every Thanksgiving, my family used to drive to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins. On the way home from their house, we would always see a long line of people waiting at Best Buy to try to get the best deal on some Christmas presents. These shoppers would typically be in tents or sleeping bags, spending the night at the store in order to be the first there when it opened on Black Friday. Many would give up part of their Thanksgiving and most of the next day to spend it doing Black Friday shopping (and waiting). Of course, there was a good reason that people were waiting in line.…
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So … What’s Up With the Name of This Website?
Life Before Budget …. As a few people have told me, the name of this website can be a little bit confusing and it can be interpreted in many different ways. Does Life Before Budget mean that we shouldn’t worry about money? We shouldn’t worry about money because we are so focused on living our life that money just doesn’t matter. YOLO!!! You only live once, so you should: go on an African safari buy a new SUV finance a new fishing boat After all, you only live once and you should worry about what you do with your life instead of how you spend your money. Maybe, Life Before…
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The 4% Rule and Investing for Retirement
Many retirement planners like to use the 4% rule when trying to determine the amount of your portfolio that you can safely withdraw in retirement. The main concept of this rule is that you can withdraw 4% of the money that is in your portfolio when you retire, every single year of your retirement. For instance, if you have $1 million invested when you retire, then you can safely withdraw 4% of this amount, or $40,000 per year. Not only can you withdraw it every year, but you can also increase the amount withdrawn for inflation, and your portfolio will continue to grow. Of course, the 4% rule is not actually…
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Improve Your Marriage NOW by Talking About Money
Before we start talking about this topic, please realize that I’m just a guy trying to figure out how to talk to his wife about money. I am not an “expert” in this area. As a matter of fact, I often feel like a beginner when trying to talk to my wife about our finances. I may stumble through the conversation, often saying the wrong thing. Or I may think that I understand my wife’s point of view, but find out later that I didn’t. Again, I’m hardly perfect when talking to my wife about money. Many people may also struggle when talking to their spouse about money. Perhaps this…
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Index Funds Can Save You Over $200,000!
It’s a pretty outrageous claim that I made in the title of this post. Index funds can save you (and me) over $200,000 throughout the course of our lives …. Hmmm … that certainly doesn’t sound true. But, just in case it is, let’s explore the statement. Since I started writing this on Black Friday (the ultimate shopping day here in the United States), this could actually be the biggest Black Friday savings ever! Before we dive into saving money with an index fund, it helps to know what it actually is. Basically, an index fund is a collection of stocks put together to make up a mutual fund. This…
