Comments for Money Hacks

Comment on Send Yourself a Bill for Savings by JimmyDaGeek

JimmyDaGeek — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 19:41:38 +0000

Hmmm…. All my bills that have gone paperless send an e-mail message to me to pay them. When I receive that notification, I set up my checking account bill pay to send a payment automatically at some future date. My savings is either automatically withdrawn from my checking account or sent from my paycheck. Plus, I use my checking account bill pay to automatically make donations on a regular basis.

In short, unless someone is technophobic, there is no reason for people not to pay themselves automatically or to pay their bills in the same way.

Comment on Borrow and Save by JimmyDaGeek

JimmyDaGeek — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:56:27 +0000

This is just a variation on theme - like saving your change each day. Why not be more systematic, if you can be? Use direct deposit or bill pay to automatically transfer money into a savings account. In other words, follow the simple rule of paying yourself first by taking the money out of your hands before you see it. You get used to living on what is deposited into your checking account and don’t notice the rest.

Comment on Start on the Path to Riches with a Roth IRA by JimmyDaGeek

JimmyDaGeek — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 21:49:10 +0000

You’re forgetting one thing - Congress giveth and Congress taketh. Rumors abound that Congress want to milk retirement accounts to help pay for their new spending.

Comment on Create a Will — Even if You’re Young by Adam

Adam — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:19:46 +0000

Umm… Some tips on how to do that would be cool. Thanks!

Comment on Fix It or Junk It? by Melissa

Melissa — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 22:13:41 +0000

I am in a similar boat - yet different of course. I have a 2001 toyota celica - i live in a place where it’s fun in the summer but does not do well at all in the winter and the snow. I was planing on buying a new yet used car next year anyway - want something different. Will have the car paid off in 2 months. Well just recently on a long road trip the front bottom bumper.grill fell off and i need a new 02 sensor. Total in repairs $1,000. I am wondering if it is worth it to spend the $1,000 to fix it now just to drive it for another year?

Comment on Reduce Recurring Monthly Expenses by mus

mus — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 19:37:16 +0000

Couldn’t agree more, with basic cable ($7.95 via Comcast) i now get all the basic channels (crystal clear picture) and i still catch up on all the hip shows via bittorrent. (savings of $24 a month).

Now i have to get rid of my car payment, sell this car, pay off the loan and by an older car with cash? start relaying on public transportation? still working on that.

Comment on The Return of Money Hacks by Scott

Scott — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 14:27:50 +0000

Welcome back! I just started reading some of the old posts. Good stuff.

Comment on Money Hacks on the Move? by AJC @ 7million7years

AJC @ 7million7years — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:31:14 +0000

This is REALLY interesting because I’ve just opted to go the opposite route: creating TWO separate sites. The first is my blog (you can get there by clicking on my comment name, above) and the second is myrecently announced ‘grand experiment’: 7m7y.com

Having said that, one is a blog and the other is a journal/journey for 7 Millionaires … In Training! So, it might make sense to keep separated … we’ll see!

Comment on Expert Tips on Fuel Efficiency by Ethel

Ethel — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:59:50 +0000

I know I’m a year late, but he missed an obvious one for the average driver: Use cruise control.

Maybe he can drive more efficiently than his cruise control, but we’re pretty efficient drivers - and we get about .7 mpg more (from 19.3 to 20.0 mpg) from our minivan using cruise control. We also removed the back seat, and that was almost 1 mpg (18.4 to 19.3 mpg).

I won’t ever be as extreme as this dude, but getting more mpg is a bit of a game for us.

Comment on Testing by Ethel

Ethel — Tue, 13 May 2008 20:54:09 +0000

It’s on the site

Comment on How Much Should You Have Saved for Retirement? by rod gosinya

rod gosinya — Sun, 11 May 2008 15:30:36 +0000

In other words, if your income is $50,000/year, you should have about $300,000 saved at age 50. From 45 to 50 saved 300,000. when you have only grossed 250,000. Great article. Good luck to all of you.

Comment on Testing by Russ

Russ — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:53:17 +0000

Looking forward to reading Money Hacks. I’ll be watching.

Comment on Expert Tips on Fuel Efficiency by Michael

Michael — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 16:17:57 +0000

This is one of the craziest posts I’ve ever seen hit the Internet.

Turn off my engine if I’m stopped for more than 7 seconds?

Don’t use reverse?

Time traffic signals? Is this a bank robbery?

I’m just going to be comfortable not driving like a maniac and using a fuel efficient car. =)

Comment on Save Money by Rounding Up to the Next Dollar by JDuncan

JDuncan — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 20:42:14 +0000

Would you all be compelled to round up and give that ‘extra’ to a non-profit organization for a good cause?

Comment on IRS Withholding Calculator by Data Babble

Data Babble — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 16:36:23 +0000

Would like to see how it works, but I’ve gotten this message for a while now:

Notice - The IRS Withholding Calculator is currently unavailable. We apologize for any inconvenience. Until it is available, you may want to refer to the following information:

Comment on Paycheck Calculator by Dan

Dan — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:43:21 +0000

For the past 4 years I have worked for ADP, a leading payroll company, and I have steered hundreds of employers to this website to help with paycheck calculations, withholding questions, etc. I can vouch that it is a great tool for anyone to use.

Comment on Fix It or Junk It? by Terry

Terry — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 20:44:28 +0000

Most modern cars go past the 100,000 mile mark without even blinking. A car that is at 100,000 or a little beyond is a no-brainer. Keep it. I’m shocked that the Saturn mentioned at the beginning of this thread of comments is showing significant signs of aging at only 130,000 miles. There is something seriously out of whack if that’s the case. Makes me think twice about ever buying a Saturn! I have a Grand Voyager min-van with 270,000 miles on it and I’m only now at the point where “Fix it or Junk it” has become a serious question. I’ve had 2 major repairs and one maintenance job all within a couple of weeks of each other. That’s probably a sign that the risk of additional repairs and maintenance in the very near future is high and that the average monthly cost will exceed that of a newer car.

Comment on Paycheck Calculator by dee

dee — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 16:49:48 +0000

I concur with hazygrey. Worked for me too. (Almost to the PENNY)

Comment on How Much Should You Have Saved for Retirement? by Jeff H.

Jeff H. — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:55:36 +0000

One again, someone putting out a rough-guide calculator that’s too rough to guide anyone. This assumes no major life changes, how the money is invested, or any significant income changes.

I recently saw a great report on tv (PBS I think) about two different people that had retired from the same company. They basically worked the same job, made the same wage, and had the same retirement plan options.

The first put money into highly conservative investments. The second chose more aggressive investments. At age 65, they both retired. One now works packaging groceries at a local supermarket. The other just purchased a small lake house and boat.

Savings will barely out pace inflation if not properly invested. I encourage everyone to toy around with
http://personal.fidelity.com/toolbox/growth/growth.shtml
See how a small percentage change between just 8% and 10% can make a huge different at the end.

With the numbers above, if you made $35K per year at 45, you should have about $145K saved. Now consider in 20 years if you had this amount invested. At 6%, you would end up with $395K. At 8%, $573K. and at 10%, $827K.

All of these quick calc methods ignore these issues. How aggressive you can be in your investments may depend on a larger number of issues. So many that they are often useless as retirement barometers.

(Just found your site and I think it is great, so expect posts off and on. I recently decided to get really behind my financial situation, invest wisely, save wisely and hope to retire early. We will see how it goes.)

Comment on How Much Should You Save? How Much Debt Should You Have? by Jeff H.

Jeff H. — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 19:26:15 +0000

Debt, such as mortgage, is backed by an asset. That asset can have inherent value, just as many other big ticket items do, such as original works of art, antiques or classic cars. But if you have consumer debt on credit cards, there are likely no assets to back that debt.

Consider someone with $20K in consumer debt and a $60K in income. They would have a 1:3 ratio. Consider someone who owes $20K on their $250K house and makes $60K in income. They too would have a 1:3 ratio. Would you consider these two equal?

These ratios see to be flawed in that they don’t take into account your assets, savings or many other factors. So flawed that I don’t even know how useful they are for guides.

Planning for retirement is very complicated, and I think many of these quick calculators actually do a great dis-service to people trying to check out how they are doing.