Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover seems to be along the same lines as The Richest man in Babylon. It's all common sense knowledge that most of America has lost in this I want it now mentality.
Norman Oklahoma, post: 331160, member: 9981 wrote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Richest_Man_in_Babylon_(book)&apos ;">The Richest Man in Babylon
An old classic. Available as a free pdf these days, or for a nominal amount at your local B&N. If you haven't already it is worth the read.
I'll give that a read starting today since it's free online.
Considering it seems to be about saving, I can venture to guess the richest man in Babylon didn't have a wife...
Rich., post: 403484, member: 10450 wrote: I'll give that a read starting today since it's free online.
Considering it seems to be about saving, I can venture to guess the richest man in Babylon didn't have a wife...
King Solomon had 700 wives and 300 concubines and he seemed to do ok.
One of the easiest ways to screw yourself is to make a long term purchase for something that does not pay you back enough to make the payment for you. The interest you pay will eat you alive, no matter how reasonable that figure may seem at the time.
When I started borrowing serious amounts of money the rate was 18.5 percent. I knew people who were paying over 20 percent. Now, people would scream if they had to pay 8.5 percent.
My first home loan was at 10.95 percent. The alternative at the time for a conventional loan was 14.4 percent. Mine was a 30-year loan and fixed for the length of the term. After 8.5 years of payments I had reduced the principal by less than $500. But, I found the wherewithall to find a different lender who would loan me enough so I could pay off the original loan completely and drop the rate to about 9 percent, fixed for only three years. By the next rollover, the rate had fallen to a bit below 8 percent. I would have been far better off to have continued renting a home for those 8.5 years.
I made a purchase of some land about a dozen years ago amounting to roughly $80,000. Only about $55,000 was taken out in a loan. To pay off the small loan amount remaining and pay myself back for all of the loan payments and other expenses would take something like $115,000 today. However, that's not the true case. That land has paid me roughly $65,000 in income in that same period. I would need only $50,000 to break even and the value has risen to probably $150,000 today. That's a $100,000 net gain on a true $25,000 investment over 12 years.
It has, and does bother me when potential clients who have money are somewhat cheap when paying for a survey. I mentioned this to someone wiser than myself who responded that "there is a reason they have money". I think there are two ways to get money, one, by making a ton of money somehow, where spending habits aren't crucial to your well-being. The second way is to make a decent amount of money and be smart about it long term. Too many people, myself included at times, think they can afford something because they currently have the money on hand to do it. But when looking at things from a long-term perspective, accounting for retirement, uncertainties, etc. they really can't afford it.
roger_LS, post: 403521, member: 11550 wrote: It has, and does bother me when potential clients who have money are somewhat cheap when paying for a survey. I mentioned this to someone wiser than myself who responded that "there is a reason they have money". I think there are two ways to get money, one, by making a ton of money somehow, where spending habits aren't crucial to your well-being. The second way is to make a decent amount of money and be smart about it long term. Too many people, myself included at times, think they can afford something because they currently have the money on hand to do it. But when looking at things from a long-term perspective, accounting for retirement, uncertainties, etc. they really can't afford it.
Very well said.
I use mint for my personal finances, and I don't see why it could not work for a small business. I really like it.
roger_LS, post: 403521, member: 11550 wrote: The second way is to make a decent amount of money and be smart about it long term.
Back in the late '90s there was a best selling book named "The Millionaire Next Door". The basic premise of the book was that a majority of millionaires in America lived in modest houses in modest neighborhoods, drove modest cars, and generally lived modestly while a great many people with 6 and 7 figure incomes were living the high life paycheck to paycheck.
Most of the millionaires I know have more invested in their tractor or combine than they do in their house. A fully-loaded combine with header can run around $500,000 these days.
The basic concept I was taught and I see here is basically "live within your means".
I had a great uncle (passed about 1986) who left gobs of money to his great nephews and nieces. One would never, ever guessed the amount of money he had judging by his lifestyle. Died in the same house he grew up in. Drove a "basic" car. Used "things" until they were truly worn out.
John, post: 403663, member: 791 wrote: The basic concept I was taught and I see here is basically "live within your means".
I had a great uncle (passed about 1986) who left gobs of money to his great nephews and nieces. One would never, ever guessed the amount of money he had judging by his lifestyle. Died in the same house he grew up in. Drove a "basic" car. Used "things" until they were truly worn out.
I knew an old pipeline welder that lived his entire life (other than on the road) on top of a cap rock in Fluvanna, TX. He lived in the house he was born in (b. 1919) until it literally fell down. Only then did he buy a mobile home...a used one. He bragged he still used the ground cable that came with his 1961 Lincoln Welder. He died in 2000. His last car was a 1979 Lincoln he bought new when he returned home from the Alaska Pipeline Project.
He heated with wood until he moved into his trailer house. He wouldn't buy a thing unless you had a gun to his head. He looked (and smelled) like a homeless dude without the shopping cart. When he passed away he left 300 acres with minerals and six or seven producing wells to his son...plus a couple of million bucks in a trust.
I remember he had an overnight bag he travelled with and use to throw his "pocket change" in it. The last time I saw him was around '98 or '99 and that bag was still full of the silver coins and silver certificates he had collected travelling around and living in hotels. A coin collector would have gone nuts.
Some people just live the way they want and definitely not the way others think they should.
I have a nephew who is headed the same direction as that pipeline welder. Apparently some things he just won't buy, even with a gun to his head. Things he has the money for and could certainly use.
John, post: 403666, member: 791 wrote: I have a nephew who is headed the same direction as that pipeline welder. Apparently some things he just won't buy, even with a gun to his head. Things he has the money for and could certainly use.
The old man I was talking about wouldn't even buy his own medicine. He had a niece that lived "fairly" close (Post, TX) and use to take him to the doctor and grocery shopping once a week or so. She paid out of pocket for his groceries and Rx. He literally never had any cash on him.
After his demise I heard his son wanted to reimburse his cousin for her efforts and she declined. I guess bull-headedness is either genetic or in the Texas water. 😉
Many of my predecessors (relatives) on both sides have spent wisely (frugal, but not to the point it hurts). None of my family (that I know of) ever lived in Texas... so I'm going for genetic. And it seems to have the ability to culminate into one person somewhere down the line.
Brad Ott, post: 330480, member: 197 wrote: Is there some sort of cheap bookkeeping service that I should be running my money through, that will do a better job of saving my money for me than I have done?
My YTD numbers compared to the last couple years tell me that I should have much more money saved than I do.
I know that my self discipline (lack thereof) and budgets (I have not used a budget) have failed me so far.
It sounds like you are your own worst enemy. As I said in an earlier thread, you must decide whether you are going to be a businessman or a surveyor. You WILL choose one. The other WILL suffer to varying degrees because of it.
However, some things to consider. If you're paying debt down, it makes profits look higher. As someone with TWO business degrees, I have, about once a quarter, my accountant come over and take a few hours and review the books. We get a game plan for the year and if I need new equipment, how BEST to get there. If I want more money saved, where should I stick it, and how much. Looking at it like this, with my accountant causes me to FORCE myself to make that time, where I wouldn't normally do it.
To say my taxes are convoluted is probably an understatement. It is imperative that I look at the business and personal, not in a vacuum, but as part of a whole. Because I make these refinements throughout the year, we find net profit in the bank, and refunds from the government come tax time.
I would recommend that you begin something similar. Maybe initially you need to do it once a month. It also sounds like you NEED someone to tell you what to do in this regard.
Remember surveyors are notorious for being terrible businessmen.
Kris Morgan, post: 403682, member: 29 wrote: It sounds like you are your own worst enemy. As I said in an earlier thread, you must decide whether you are going to be a businessman or a surveyor. You WILL choose one. The other WILL suffer to varying degrees because of it.
However, some things to consider. If you're paying debt down, it makes profits look higher. As someone with TWO business degrees, I have, about once a quarter, my accountant come over and take a few hours and review the books. We get a game plan for the year and if I need new equipment, how BEST to get there. If I want more money saved, where should I stick it, and how much. Looking at it like this, with my accountant causes me to FORCE myself to make that time, where I wouldn't normally do it.
To say my taxes are convoluted is probably an understatement. It is imperative that I look at the business and personal, not in a vacuum, but as part of a whole. Because I make these refinements throughout the year, we find net profit in the bank, and refunds from the government come tax time.
I would recommend that you begin something similar. Maybe initially you need to do it once a month. It also sounds like you NEED someone to tell you what to do in this regard.
Remember surveyors are notorious for being terrible businessmen.
Dude. Yes.
I don't have any tricks other than a 'second' mortgage payment in the middle of month that automatically gets taken out of my checking and deposited to a savings account at another credit union. When I check the balance on my checking to see if I can splurge it gives me the impression I'm nearly broke. Forces me to save considerably more than a purely voluntary contribution. Worked well so far! (:
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Today's cash saving trick.
Pay cash for the used tractor that can be resold tomorrow for double what we paid for it.