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Living for today - Planning for Tomorrow

July 23rd, 2005

Blogging on a Saturday Night

Normally, I’d say it’s a cheap night if I’m home putting up some ramblings on my blog, although, the catch tonight is that my wife is out with a couple girlfriends from college. Probably won’t be too expensive though. She doesn’t drink much and is always watching her spending, so I can’t complain.

Time to Ebay a few things. I just got a heck of a deal on a new laptop from Dell. Over 50% off with all the online coupon codes so it only set me back about $600. I have a serious electronics “fetish” that I continually struggle to control. On the plus side, I’ve had a lot of luck selling items on Ebay for a profit. I’m planning on selling a few items to offset the money I spent on the new laptop. Additionally, I worked some overtime last week which will cover the rest.

So, I’ve got that purchase covered without impacting our budget. I’m chalking it up to “living a little now” spending. For the hardcore savers out there, I’m sure this is pure heresy. I have to admit, there is a part of me that thinks I’m nuts for buying this laptop, but I’m sure I’ll get over the buyer’s remorse. Luckily my income level lets me do a little of this without derailing my financial goals. I know i could reach these goals faster if I buckled way down, but I just don’t think that would be the right decision. We’ve got to splurge a little now, rather than save everything for a point in the future that might never come. We tend to cut ourselves a little slack since our savings rates are quite high. (We are only living on 65% of our income and only have mortgage debt)

Anyway, I guess I’ve done the best I can at rationalizing this purchase. Worst case scenario, I’ll sell it on Ebay and get all my money back if I find I’m not using it enough, or just can’t get over the guilt of spending the money.

July 23rd, 2005

Links for you to Love

http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/22/pf/ask_expert/index.htm
This article addresses the reality of many, many people in our society. What do you do if you are nearing retirement and you haven’t started saving for retirement yet?

This is a perfect example of the value of educating young people in high school about compound interest and what a drastic difference you can make in your retirement by saving early.

http://money.cnn.com/2005/07/20/pf/shopper_0508/index.htm
A few other bloggers have linked to this article, but I wanted to put it in here just in case you haven’t seen it. This article, is amazing. It really highlights how our consumption based society can really screw a person up. I’m struck with how big of a hole this woman built for her family and noticed that they really could make a lot more progress by changing their lifestyle even further.

http://biz.yahoo.com/brn/050721/14173.html
6 mortgage myths that can save you money. The term of the loan, and the type of loan are a critical thing to consider when buying a home. Based on your short and long term goals, each loan has it’s benefits.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4705899.stm
Credit card companies are building information sites that can help you identify what card is right for you. Hmmmm. Isn’t that a little like a drug dealer recommending either the crack, the meth, or the heroine? I’m not sure I trust them.

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/7/emw263778.htm
Article talks about the fact that many people who are in foreclosure also have lots of high interest debt. Also talks about how some companies are raising their minimum payment which may trigger more fees for the households that can’t afford it. Seems unethical to change the terms on money that you already borrowed. They can’t do that in the mortgage industry, but with no regulations on the credit card companies, it’s open season.

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