Wondering what the pros and cons of tiny houses are? Thinking about living small? Tiny homes are becoming more and more popular each year. Plus, there are so many different options for tiny homes. You could live in an RV, boat, van, treehouse, build a small home, and more. After several years of living in […]
The post Pros And Cons Of Tiny Houses (Is It Right For You?) appeared first on Making Sense Of Cents.
Hotels with overwater bungalows can be pricey but are a destination in and of themselves. These spots offer the opportunity to book bungalows with points.
Big payments on credit card debts, student loans and mortgages eat away at how much you can save or invest. A sense of obligation or even guilt can dissuade people from opening an investment account and funding their retirement portfolios before these debts are paid off. That could be a costly mistake.Lots of people make a mistake when they pay off debt before investing. Here’s when to tackle your debt first, and when to invest before digging out of debt.
The post Pay off debt or invest: Which is smarter? appeared first on Money Under 30.
Big payments on credit card debts, student loans and mortgages eat away at how much you can save or invest. A sense of obligation or even guilt can dissuade people from opening an investment account and funding their retirement portfolios before these debts are paid off. That could be a costly mistake.Lots of people make a mistake when they pay off debt before investing. Here’s when to tackle your debt first, and when to invest before digging out of debt.
The post Pay off debt or invest: Which is smarter? appeared first on Money Under 30.
There are so many items in your household that are similar to one another. Whether pillows, doors, windows, or blankets, they are all used the…
The post Whatâs the Difference? first appeared on Century 21®.
Why candlesticks will remain a home decor essential in 2023 and beyond AZ Big Media
Note: This is a substantial re-write of an article I first published more than twelve years ago. (Yikes, I’m old!) I’ve opted to keep some of the older comments if they had good suggestions.
Earlier this week, I wrote about my quest for quality pajamas. I recently paid $80 to purchase a pair from Filson, a company I trust for well-made goods. It’s my hope that these will be the last pair of pajamas that I ever purchase. My goal was to “buy it for life”.
This experience reminded me of two other companies that I love for their top-notch stuff.
Here’s something I’ve learned over the past fifteen years: One way to practice financial prudence while living the good life is to buy quality products, products that are a pleasure to use, products that will last a lifetime (or at least a decade).
Today, let’s talk a little about choosing quality over price. Let’s talk about the “buy it for life” philosophy.
The first challenge is to figure out how to find the good stuff. When you’re ready to make a purchase, how can you know which items are quality and which are run of the mill?
Sometimes you’ll know which company offers a high-quality version of whatever it is you need to buy, either from personal experience or from paying attention to friends and family. Or, if you don’t know off the top of your head, you know whom to ask for more information. If I wanted to buy audio gear, for instance, I’d ask my brother. He’s an audiophile and could steer me in the right direction.
Most of the time, however, you’ll have to do some research.
While there are many ways to get ahead in life, few are as beneficial as earning more money. By increasing your income over time, you can boost your cash savings rate, save more money for retirement, and even afford a splurge once in a while. And if having more money makes you feel more secure, […]
The post 13 Best Online Survey and Research Sites To Make Money in 2023 appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.
Today’s article is from Chad Carson, who writes about real estate investing (and other money matters) at Coach Carson. I’ve always been intrigued by real estate investing but overwhelmed by how much info available. I asked Chad if he’d be willing to write an article that would help me (and other GRS readers) understand the basics of real estate investing. This is the result.
I got started in real estate investing right after college. Because a young adult can basically sleep in a car if he has to (my 1998 Toyota Camry with cloth seats was comfortable), I had little to lose by launching a business. Unfortunately, as a Biology major, I also knew very little about business or real estate. But I did know how to hustle and to learn. That helped.
Slowly, I learned to find good deals and to resell them for a small markup of profit (a.k.a. wholesaling). I also learned to buy, fix, and flip houses for a bigger profit (a.k.a. retailing). After a few years, my business partner and I began keeping some rental properties because we knew that was the path to generating regular, passive income.
While my early business might sound like an exciting HGTV house-flipping show, it’s not for everyone. I experienced radical ups and downs of cash flow, and there were many unpredictable outcomes. I learned a lot being a full-time investor, but there are actually easier ways to get started.
Most investors I know started with a full-time job. They became valuable at their job, earned good money, lived frugally, and started boosting their saving rate. With their extra savings, they began buying rental properties on the side.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t begin as a real estate entrepreneur like I did — you’ll know if you’re called to make that leap — but if you currently have a non-real estate job and you’re saving money, you’re already going down the easiest path.
The next step is to learn how to invest that money profitably and safely. I personally think real estate investing is one of the best ways to do that. I’ll show you why that’s the case in the next section.
I’ve yet to find a better way to describe the benefits of real estate than this. All you need to remember is the acronym I.D.E.A.L:
These IDEAL benefits are core reasons to invest in real estate. But as a Get Rich Slowly reader, I think you’ll appreciate another core real estate investing benefit: control!
I love J.D.’s message here at Get Rich Slowly: You are the boss of you! You can apply this lesson to so many parts of life, but it especially applies to your finances. Real estate investing fits very well with the GRS philosophy. Why? Because real estate gives you much more control than other more traditional investments.
I’m also a fan of low-cost index fund investing, for example, but do you have an impact on the returns of your stock portfolio? Not really. The 3500+ managers of the companies owned by the VTI total stock market index fund do impact your returns, but not you personally. You simply control when you buy, how much you buy, and when you sell.
But with a rental duplex, for example, your decisions directly affect its profitability (for better or worse!).
If this prospect of control excites you, then keep reading. But if your palms are clammy at the idea of hands-on investments, just focus on a different vehicle. That’s okay. There are options for everyone in this big investing universe!
To make things manageable, we’re going to break things down a little. As a baby, you learned to walk by taking tiny steps. You also fell down a lot, but with a diaper four inches from the ground, what’s the harm?!
Well, you’re no longer a baby. Financially you do have a lot to lose. Your family, your hard-earned savings, your plans for financial independence, and your pride would all suffer if you made bad investments.
I get that. And that’s why we still need to take safe, baby steps. There’ll be plenty of time to run and grow faster once you’re more confident. But in the beginning, just strive to move forward steadily.
The seven baby steps below provide a simple path to follow. I’ve taken each of these steps personally. You can use them as a blueprint to help you move forward with your own real estate investments.
For those of us living in the western world, we don’t have to worry very much about the necessities of life. We’ve got a lot of wealth, but can our money get in the way of a relationship with God?
The post Our Wealth Can Put Us At A Disadvantage appeared first on Bible Money Matters and was written by Peter Anderson. Copyright © Bible Money Matters – please visit biblemoneymatters.com for more great content.