How many savers in the house?

[RobertK]

I was doing REALLY good for a few months... had a nice pile of cash saved up... then I bought something on an impulse, then it started a chain reaction...

In the last 2 weeks, i've bought:

Lincoln Electric MIG welder
auto-darkening welding helmet
protective leather jacket for welding
craftsman professional 60gallon 3.2HP 240v compressor
full TC Kline coilover setup with D/A shocks, camber plates, etc
Hawk HP-Plus pads

If you add in the rent check I wrote last night ($680), that's well over $4K =(

Better it come from saved money than a credit card.

[FredK]

Wha? You establish a FICO score by paying credit cards on time, paying long term loans on time, etc. My parents have no liabilities (mortgage, car, credit) and their credit score is high 700s if I recall correctly.

Anyway, this topic should really be geared towards people out of college and in the job market. What can you really do in college, besides maybe put aside a few bucks from a shitty job? I guess you can put money away from summer internships.

That said, I'm saving like crazy in both Roth IRA and in savings (actually a money market account). Only because I live like a slave, was I able to afford an engine swap.

[rwh11385]

A credit score is not a measure of wealth, it is a measure of how well you pay off your debts... (NOT KEEP THEM), and how trustworthy you are that you can repay loans.

TO have a credit score means you must maintain a balance of borrowed money at all times.

WTF?

Fred, most people on here are either in high school or still in college. But good habits are best to start early.

[RobertK]

Wha? You establish a FICO score by paying credit cards on time, paying long term loans on time, etc. My parents have no liabilities (mortgage, car, credit) and their credit score is high 700s if I recall correctly.

Anyway, this topic should really be geared towards people out of college and in the job market. What can you really do in college, besides maybe put aside a few bucks from a shitty job? I guess you can put money away from summer internships.

That said, I'm saving like crazy in both Roth IRA and in savings (actually a money market account). Only because I live like a slave, was I able to afford an engine swap.

If you have no debt and no payments then the longer than goes on the lower your FICO score becomes. True millionares with money in the bank and do not have ot borrow generally do not have a FICO score.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Credit-score-chart.jpg

The 2 biggest deciders are the capacity of your credit used and how you make on time payments. As I said before a credit score is not an inicator of wealth.

[RobertK]

A credit score is not a measure of wealth, it is a measure of how well you pay off your debts... (NOT KEEP THEM), and how trustworthy you are that you can repay loans.


WTF?

Fred, most people on here are either in high school or still in college. But good habits are best to start early.

Umm.. to pay off debts means you have to borrow money to get into debt. If you learn to save and pay for things then why do you need a debt?

The only things you should borrow money for are things that go up in value (ie. Real Estate) and you do not need a credit score to do that.

That's horrible advice, THE LAST THING a college kid needs to be doing is trying to be borrowing money when they don't even have a job. It's not wonder every 1 out of 5 people declaring bankruptcy today is either in college or of college age.

[rwh11385]

alright, well, you have fun in your little world there...

That's horrible advice, THE LAST THING a college kid needs to be doing is trying to be borrowing money when they don't even have a job.

You borrowed money to pay for your education? It's an investment that goes up in value, but you are going against what you just said there.


So you will never buy a new car on financing? And have $10,000 - 20,000 saved up for a home? Will everyone?

There's no harm in having $3000 in the bank, and spending $1000 on a Visa, then paying the bill on time and having your credit rating go up. Might save a lot of money if in the event you do have to borrow $ someday. The harm is when you are financially irresponsible.

[RobertK]

alright, well, you have fun in your little world there...

What? You mean in the real world?

What the hell is so hard about saving up and paying for things other than the fact that you have to wait a little longer than... tomorrow to get them.

Me thinks I fucked with your financial paradigm.

[Ducati]

I take lunches to work, and it saved me about 7 bucks a day. I'm trying to save up here and there in any way I can.

[RobertK]

Me too.. I can usually eat lunch for $15-$20 a week when I brown bag it a great way to save money if you are used to eating out all the time.

[Ryan Stewart]

Credit cards arent BAD for your. Revolving debt is. I dont do it much anymore because i stopped using it enough for the benefits but I used to basically use my Southwest Visa as a credit card. I would buy 90% of my things on it, balance it to my checking account, and pay it off every month.

By paying on-time or early I never actually gave the credit card any money, kept improving my rating meaning I get loans at lower rates/higher limits and that might come in handy when i buy a house or if something DID shit the fan and I need to go into debt over it.

[RobertK]

The only thing about that is the fact that you usually end up spending more than you would have if you would have just used cash. As for credit card benefits I've never heard a rich person tell me that their breakthrough was due to the awesome sky mile benefits. Banks are not non-profit organizations they know how to get you to spend. Credit advertising is the biggest advertising market in the industry. Do you really think they spend billions so they make no money and you can save money? Why do you think so many stores push their brand of credit card? Because they know that in general people spend more with plastic than they would if using cash.

Plus like I said before.. you should never plan to use debt to get you out of emergencies. 3-6 months of saved expenses should keep the emergencies away. Anything bigger than that you should be insured for.

[Ryan Stewart]

Wow, you are living in a dream world. Good luck relying on insurance to cover anything, even good insurance.

Rich people's breakthroughs were usually through massive business loans or venture capitalist, that is, unless their parents were rich. You dont go from rags to riches without someone investing in you. Its not like they just shat diamonds.

Only idiots lack the self-control to monitor their funds. Blaming VISA is like blaming McDonalds for you being fat. And personally, I find it easier to go through money in cash because of a lack of records. It's very easy to spend $5 here $25 there and have no record of it if you dont keep a receipt.

If you are retarded, I would agree, stick to cash.

[RobertK]

Wow, you are living in a dream world. Good luck relying on insurance to cover anything, even good insurance.

Rich people's breakthroughs were usually through massive business loans or venture capitalist, that is, unless their parents were rich. You dont go from rags to riches without someone investing in you. Its not like they just shat diamonds.

Only idiots lack the self-control to monitor their funds. Blaming VISA is like blaming McDonalds for you being fat. And personally, I find it easier to go through money in cash because of a lack of records. It's very easy to spend $5 here $25 there and have no record of it if you dont keep a receipt.

If you are retarded, I would agree, stick to cash.

What dream world do you live in?

I've never had a problem with car insurance covering my car nor health insurance covering my medical bills.. could you give a better example?

9 out of 10 millionares comes from nothing and about 50% them were poor immigrants not born in this country. The average time it took to build their wealth was 10 years and most accomplished this by SAVING AND INVESTING. Not through venture capitol investments.

I know lots of wealthy people that say credit cards are not worth the trouble. 75% of the Forbes 500 said that the best way to build wealth is to first get out of debt and stay that way.

If you are smart.. you would stick to cash (when I say cash I mean cash, check card, debit, card, and other misc liquid assets). It does everything that a credit card does except have the possibility of getting you into debt.

BTW.. You can track cash just as easy.. it's this cool new thing called a checking or debit card. I have this new fangled technology called "online banking" I can track everything I spend my $$ on with no problems. Even makes it easier to save!

[92 mtechnic cabrio]

Ha, suckers.

I'm a trust fund baby with a really really tight purse string on the money.

I'm broke as hell, but in dire situations, I could live, well.

[RobertK]

Lucky bastard.. my father gambled my trust fund away at the horse tracks before I was 3.