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If you can afford this…
…Whenever you’re at the store and make a debit card purchase with the option for cash back, get some back. $5, $10, $20…whatever. And put this into a rainy-day fund. You never know when you might need some quick cash or it’d be the make-or-break for a quick splurge.
Granted, I learned of this method from a friend of the family who used this method to hide money from her husband so take it with a grain of salt.
Got some bad marks on your credit, even a 30-day late ding? Dispute them, even if they’re legit.
Americans can request a free credit report every year, from all 3 credit reporting agencies. Mark everything negative as, “wasn’t me”. The debtor has 30-days to respond, if they don’t, fuck 'em, it’s off your record.
Worst case? They come back and say the challenge was verified as false. Oh well.
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Spend less than you earn. Earning interest is better than paying interest.
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Debt can be good if used wisely. I took on debt to buy an apartment that saved me money due to cutting commute costs more than interest costs.
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Think long term.
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Learn about taxes and get a good tax guy. There’s a lot of “hacks” you could use to significantly reduce the amount you need to pay to the tax office. Best case scenario - you own an investment property which means you can write off all expenses, including mortgage interests.
Before buying a house, learn about home loans. Get yourself an offset account and for investment property get an interest only loan. Refinance your loan every time there’s a better deal.
Put all your payments, bills, rent, etc. on a credit card that earns you some points. Over time you will get free stuff just for paying your bills.
If you can afford it, put away 10% of all your income to a savings account. If 10% is too much put away as much as possible.
If you’re into risk, invest into stocks. I would recommend long term investments in well established companies that will give a nice return in 5-10 years. If you’re a dare devil, look into penny stocks with large dividends.
Stay away from crypto and “lucky shots”. If it’s too good to be true it’s not worth it.
Inherit your wealth!
Have no social life, it’s much cheaper.
But in all seriousness, if you have to have a social life, limit your spending on that stuff. Restaurant and bar tabs can add up quickly. Budget, limit your drinking, and if you don’t wanna limit your drinking, at least do some cheap drinking at home first.
We used to drink a quart of cheap beer in the parking lot before we went to the nightclubs. We had spares in the trunk for later if we sobered up too much.
VoIP is cheaper than cell service.
Vinegar is a good cleaning agent.
A hard drive at home is way cheaper than cloud storage.
Tailgating burns more gas.
How does the last one work?
If you’re tailgating you have less time to respond to the car in front of you braking or decelerating and therefore you need to slam the breaks more
slam the breaks more
Not to mention the brakes too.
Exactly
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VoIP
Yes, but then you have no service when you’re out and about since you need a WiFi connection.
I have a data only plan which kicks in automatically when WiFi isn’t available.
Thank you for that information. This whole thing is fascinating to me.
Do you still have a conventional phone number? I have family that are too old/tech incompetent to use something like Signal but who must be able to get a hold of me if they need to.
What happens if you go over your data cap?
Why is it so cheap? Do they sell your personal data or something?
I have so many questions!
I have two numbers, both VoIP. Anyone can call or text me, they don’t need to do anything other than dial the number. I even get texts from my bank.
The data cap auto renews and doesn’t expire. For me, 1gb lasts 2 or 3 months. I don’t recall what it costs but it’s dirt cheap.
VoIP is cheap because it uses the internet instead of the cell network. There is almost no costs to operate the device.
As for privacy, VoIP is a little more private than cell service. I had to disclose my ID and cc but that happens with most cell service. I’m not being triangulated by cell towers. My texts are being set to my email and deleted off the VoIP servers.
Jmpchat is a VoIP service with a lot more privacy but it’s currently out of my price range.
I’m happy to answer more questions.
Pile as much money as you can, as often as you can, into VTSMX or VTSAX and chill.
What are those?
If you don’t touch an account for 7 years, it disappears from your credit report. That means NO ACTIVITY at all. No usage of the card, no payments, no nothing.
There are some debts that this does not apply to, like school loans, but I know it works on credit cards.
Now, here’s the real world disclaimer. During those 7 years, your credit will TANK. You will have a hell of a time trying to finance a Happy Meal. If you have good credit, it will take another 5-7 years to get it back to where it was. But, if your credit is already trash, and you can’t afford to pay every bill, it is an option that could get you back within your means.
Is it ethical? I figure the system itself isn’t ethical, so stealing back from the ones who take advantage of others doesn’t bother me one bit, but I totally understand if someone would disagree.
You will have a hell of a time trying to finance a Happy Meal.
I don’t know much about finance, but don’t do this!
The real financial tip is don’t listen to people like this guy. “Trust me bro, you can rack up a ton of debt and then just never pay it off!”
I don’t recommend it, at all, it was a VERY long and difficult time for me to recover, but if you’re already at rock bottom, it can get better.
You sure about that? I have a friend who thought that too but found out 7 years later that only a bankruptcy will disappear after 7 years, not just idle delinquint accounts. He needed to actually file for bankrupcy to make it go away. This was in Usa, NY; maybe it’s different other places.
As a second “data” point: I have some accounts on my credit report that have not been touched in a decade+ yet they are still there (they are not delinquent).
I don’t know why those situations didn’t work out, and without more details, I won’t bother to guess, but yes, I am sure because there’s a few utility bills and two credit cards with a couple thousand each from about 20 years ago that are no longer a problem for me.
That’s awesome! Just wanted to get you to take a second look in case you were as diligent as my friend but it sounds like you’re right, then!
Delinquent accounts without payment can be removed from your credit report by disputing with the credit bureau, with the exception of FEDERAL student loans. Filing for bankruptcy and having that on your record for seven more years seems like the worst possible way to deal with it.
Edit: in the USA
What are you disputing? You can dispute inaccurate or fraudulent marks on your credit.
The entire credit system is to keep undesirables from moving into “better” neighborhoods, to keep the po folk in their place - both geographically and socioeconomically.
Before the credit rating system, you better attend the Elks Lodge with your local banker and be an upstanding deacon at your church to get a loan. Being white and having a firm handshake is also a must.
At least the credit rating system is a game we can all play.
Generally speaking, idle unpaid accounts like this are either sold by the creditors to a third party debt collector, resetting the clock, or they will sue you for the non-payment to get a judgment or lien, resetting the clock.
The only sure bet is bankruptcy, which will drop off your report after a period of time that varies from state to state in the U.S. (generally from 7 to 10 years). Not sure is this applies outside the U.S.
🤷🏻♂️ Worked for me.
False. New debt collectors purchasing the debt does not reset the clock. Also depending on your state, debt collectors could be barred from legal action well before 7 years.
Edit: in the USA
If you want to increase your credit score and are financially responsible, switch over to using a credit card.
Diversify your portfolio: Instead of putting everything into savings, split some of it into stocks and shares.
I’ve heard that they amount you should be putting into your pension is a percent of your income equal to half the age you were when you started saving. Not sure how accurate that is.
If you do happen to be well off and/or have a good job, spend your money on things you like rather than hoarding it.
Donating to charity and supporting small businesses is usually morally correct. If you have the means, tip your instance admin or developers of software you use.
Be careful when buying things that the seller can remove from you at any time. But don’t use that as an excuse to not buy things you’ll enjoy while you have them.
Don’t use your bank or credit card! Get the amount of money needed for let say the week as cash and use cash everywhere. You know always how much is available without checking your bank apps. When the week finishe if there’s some money still available you could use it for “less needed” goods.
My mum is like this but I think this kind of thing depends on where you’re at in your financial journey and also the type of person you are.
I find that cash burns a hole in my pocket and I check my apps regularly to track spending so any cash effectively just “disappears”, I won’t even remember what I spent it on.
I completely prefer digital spending because for me it’s easier not to lose track and if I seem short, I can trace exactly where it went.
If you’re someone who is not in financial trouble and pays off credit cards regularly then I advise trying to find one with decent rewards and use it for as much of your spending as possible.
This not only gets you air miles / cash back but also helps to build a strong credit record if you’re looking to buy a house, car, … in the future.
- Save first. If you aren’t living paycheck to paycheck, then always put your money in a separated bank account for saving.
This help eliminating the need to keeping track of your spending.
- If you tend to be fined for overdraft, then use an overdraft protection service. The service fee is much lower than the OD fee.
Money is easier to spend than to make.
If your retirement fund isnt 7 figures or larger, you probably aren’t going to retire in your own home. “The old folks home” ain’t cheap, and they WILL take it all to pay for it.
What if you own your home?
You can find just about anybody’s Social Security number. (Equivalently, they can find yours.) Amazingly, some institutions still use knowledge of this number as proof of identity for purposes of extending credit to a stranger.
Yeah, I get a letter in the mail like once a week because some fucking company lost it accidentally, and their penance is sending apology letters.
So yeah, monitor your credit, I guess. Just sucks when it’s credit karma or the like who lose your info.
Freeze your credit at all 3 major credit reporting agencies! Do it now, if you haven’t already. And don’t let them trick you into paying money to do it. It is 100% free everywhere.
It takes a few minutes and could save you lots and lots of time and money, since it makes opening new lines of credit in your name near impossible even if they know your SSN.
