Thread: Are You Good With Money?

Yes, I am good with money. I am allergic to the idea of debt. The only thing I owe money for is my mortgage. I save money at the beginning of the month, enough to count yet I leave enough for the foreseen household budget, and then make do with what is left.

If we want something we buy it when we have saved up. This is more efficient than lending money because you'r still missing as much money as when you would have saved, but with added interest as well.

Honestly, is you can't make it to the end of the month without going into your savings on a regular basis, you should probably review your spending patterns. Financial health is all about planning and realism. Living on credit is evil.

I'm not too bad I suppose.

The only thing I have debt on is my car, but that was my moment of madness for finishing my CIMA exams..! I've wanted a sports car since I was old enough to say the words and I thought I'd do it now while I have no dependants and the money's available for it.

I have a regular saving thats drawn on my salary each month, as well as putting the maximum allowance into my pension each year as well.

I do have a little bit on my credit card left over from Christmas, but I should be clearing that soon.

Could be better, but could be worse as well..! Its the RAD y'see...

every time my debt goes down i find another AD
yes im probably at the limit of what i can manage

I owe a few grand on the cards. I could probably pay it off in one to two months if I resolved to do it. But my problem is I'm actually good with money - I can budget to the cent, my problem is I only need a bit of money to live off and so I only work part time with enough hours to earn that amount. Then I go and buy crap and spend any money I had left over. So here I am at 35 with no money. Fortunately I have a few assets, and generally the stuff I buy is good and lasts for ever.
But thanks for raising the issue, Jim. I'll keep it in mind and will report back in a few months.

I come from a country where credit cards were not an option while growing up. The culture was you save then buy, I am used to that. When I came to US however I went the "easy way" credit cards and debt. I did not over spent or anything, but couple health related issues in the family put my wife and me in a nice debt hole. My wife manages the budget and now we are debt free, pay the credit card balance every month and put money aside.
I do not buy stuff on a credit card unless I can cover with saved money, and I do not use the family savings on purchases that are not for the whole family, i.e razor/kniffe related stuff and so on.

I have always saved, and the only debt I have is the mortgage on my house (and I pay extra on the principle whenever I get any spare cash). Yes, I (and my wife) have credit cards, but they are just a convenience. We pay them off in full every month. I'm not sure why, it's just the way I am. My parents were the same way, so maybe that's it.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Yes, I am good with money. I am allergic to the idea of debt. The only thing I owe money for is my mortgage. I save money at the beginning of the month, enough to count yet I leave enough for the foreseen household budget, and then make do with what is left.

If we want something we buy it when we have saved up. This is more efficient than lending money because you'r still missing as much money as when you would have saved, but with added interest as well.

Honestly, is you can't make it to the end of the month without going into your savings on a regular basis, you should probably review your spending patterns. Financial health is all about planning and realism. Living on credit is evil.

+1. I feel fortunate that both me and my wife are good with money. Our only debt currently is our mortgage, student loans, and a new car we bought in December. The student loans have very kind interest rates and repayment terms. We'll overpay on our mortgage occasionally and we're planning to have the 4-year car loan paid off in 3 years. We have a good amount in our savings account right now, plus 401k and a bunch of private stock I received from a previous job.

I hate the idea of spending money I don't have. I did not own a credit card until '06 (I was 29) when I went on a trip to Italy and I'm glad that I waited that long -- the card is seldom used now and we pay off any balance on it immediately. I know many people who are now just recovering from spending they did with credit cards in high school and college. My younger brother filed for bankruptcy before he was 25.

Jim, I'm glad to hear that you found a great partner and are doing well financially now!

My wife and I took a 4 night finance class a numberf of years ago (maybe 10?) and it was an excellent investment unto itself. Ther are so many ways so many people will finagle you out of your money in a slow death sort of way (car loans, credit cards, etc) if you don't know exactly what the loan terms are, and how to look at how money works.

My wife is also good with The Books in our house as well!

Whoever mentioned Dave Ramsey earlier did you a great favor, he is the only one in this country talking any sense about the realities of money!

Originally Posted by nun2sharp

Whoever mentioned Dave Ramsey earlier did you a great favor, he is the only one in this country talking any sense about the realities of money!

Unfortunately I listened to Evel Knievel. He said,"If God had wanted people to save money he would have put handles on it."