2011 New Year's Resolutions

[KSUViolet06]

It seems like most financial peeps that folks are listening to/buying books about are saying things that are pretty common sense.

Ex: If you have $x/month coming in, you can't afford to spend $y. Have a savings account that is $x times 12 months. Don't get a credit card for $z if you only have $x coming in per month.

That's pretty standard/simple stuff.

[BraveMaroon]

I work just across the street from Dave Ramsey's studio/Financial Peace Plaza. Right next door to the Cracker Barrel.

I don't doubt his methods are credible, but I will tell you - the people who work there will tell you it's a miserable environment. We've had friends apply there who said that there isn't enough money in the world to take a job with Dave.

Apparently, on your last interview, you bring your spouse with you and the two of you disclose all your finances and budget. And ok - I get it - you want your employees drinking the Kool-Aid, but to me, that's creepy.

On the other hand being from ATL, I also know a handful of people who have worked with Clark Howard who'll tell you he's so tight he squeaks, but couldn't be a nicer guy.

[PiKA2001]

Originally Posted by KSUViolet06

It seems like most financial peeps that folks are listening to/buying books about are saying things that are pretty common sense.

Ex: If you have $x/month coming in, you can't afford to spend $y. Have a savings account that is $x times 12 months. Don't get a credit card for $z if you only have $x coming in per month.

That's pretty standard/simple stuff.

It is common sense, but most people just ignore it. Ramsey says gaining financial health and getting out of debt is 80% habit and only 20% knowledge.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by amanda6035

What Suze Orman are YOU listening to? She worships credit cards, and she believes in math....pay off the highest interest first. Dave says pay the smallest balance first for a quick win, a quick victory, to gain momentum.

I haven't listened to her in a while but in the past, she said to pay off the smallest first, then apply the payments you were making to that card to the next smallest until it is paid off, then apply all of that to the next lowest balance, etc. I do know that she changed her philosophy a little bit and was saying that cash reserves were more important during the major credit crunch in 2008/09. I don't agree that she worships credit cards, but she does say that getting your FICO score in good shape is important and I do agree with that. You get better rates on mortgages and car loans if you have a really high FICO. That's hard to deny.

Originally Posted by PiKA2001

It is common sense, but most people just ignore it. Ramsey says gaining financial health and getting out of debt is 80% habit and only 20% knowledge.

I think the real key is to develop a plan built on common sense, market it well, and sell it to lots of people and using their money to pay off your own bills

I really can't imagine having as much credit card debt as I hear people say they paid off (outside of a mortgage and car loan anyway). There are definitely things I could give up if things were dire, like cable, netflix and unlimited data/text packages on cell phones. I could also quit grad school because I have definitely been paying tuition in lieu of paying off credit cards. In fact, all the tuition I paid last year is about equal to my total debt. However, that's going to have a big payoff in the end (hopefully sooner rather than later!). I consider the tuition an investment into my future financial security.

Cutting out stuff like eating out, getting nails done, vacations, movies, and buying just about anything for myself was done as soon I got divorced. When I travel now, it's very cheaply, somewhere I can stay for free (my dad's, friends' houses/houseboats, etc.). I also do things like use gift cards people gave me for Christmas to buy my kids' presents. It means more to me to give them a good Christmas than to have gifts of my own. That's a mom thing though.

ETA: Our Friday paycheck info will be posted some time this evening and I am obsessively checking the site to see how much lower the paycheck will be this year so I can work on the 2011 budget. This is making me nuts.