"The whole problem with the world...
is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." -- Bertrand Russell (1872-1970)
First of the month. Time to do a flurry of economical matters. On the first of every month, I try to go through and schedule all the bills that I can. Some I pay that day, others I merely schedule. For example, I organized the payments for my credit cards, even though they don't occur until the 10th and 22nd. When I input those into my financial software, it shows it as gone from my account already. That's another nice check that keeps my spending in check, insuring that I have the money reserved for important things.
My financial situation is helped by the fact that I overbudget expenses. Consciously, I budget more for food, gas, power, and phones than I know I'm going to spend. That way, when the month turns over, what I didn't spend on those categories turns into "extra money". It doesn't work all the time. If there's a month where I dine out with people often, then it looks like I still budgeted really well. I can handle that.
Much of my investment outlook involves tricking myself, somehow. Money contributed to an IRA, for example, stays put. You pay a heafty fine if you withdraw early (i.e., before I'm 65). That one's easy.
Then there's an investment account. When I mention that I have investments, people get grand ideas of me trading stocks left and right while eating caviar. Nothing so glamorous (or profitable), I'm afraid. Really, it's a savings account. Money goes in, gets invested in "long term" things, and stays put. Instead of Bank of America giving me .25% interest, it pays 15% or so. But the risk is that it doesn't always pay 15%. It could pay 1%. Or -15% (knock on wood!). No guarantees, unlike BoA; They guarantee that it will always pay .25%.
Important for me is that I can't simply remove money from that, either. I don't have an easy method, for one thing. It's not set up to work over the internet, so I'd have to find the nearest office and trek over there. That alone is enough to make me think twice, where instant balance shuffling on-line makes it REALLY easy, in other cases.
Speaking of money, it's time to teach lessons and earn some.
First of the month. Time to do a flurry of economical matters. On the first of every month, I try to go through and schedule all the bills that I can. Some I pay that day, others I merely schedule. For example, I organized the payments for my credit cards, even though they don't occur until the 10th and 22nd. When I input those into my financial software, it shows it as gone from my account already. That's another nice check that keeps my spending in check, insuring that I have the money reserved for important things.
My financial situation is helped by the fact that I overbudget expenses. Consciously, I budget more for food, gas, power, and phones than I know I'm going to spend. That way, when the month turns over, what I didn't spend on those categories turns into "extra money". It doesn't work all the time. If there's a month where I dine out with people often, then it looks like I still budgeted really well. I can handle that.
Much of my investment outlook involves tricking myself, somehow. Money contributed to an IRA, for example, stays put. You pay a heafty fine if you withdraw early (i.e., before I'm 65). That one's easy.
Then there's an investment account. When I mention that I have investments, people get grand ideas of me trading stocks left and right while eating caviar. Nothing so glamorous (or profitable), I'm afraid. Really, it's a savings account. Money goes in, gets invested in "long term" things, and stays put. Instead of Bank of America giving me .25% interest, it pays 15% or so. But the risk is that it doesn't always pay 15%. It could pay 1%. Or -15% (knock on wood!). No guarantees, unlike BoA; They guarantee that it will always pay .25%.
Important for me is that I can't simply remove money from that, either. I don't have an easy method, for one thing. It's not set up to work over the internet, so I'd have to find the nearest office and trek over there. That alone is enough to make me think twice, where instant balance shuffling on-line makes it REALLY easy, in other cases.
Speaking of money, it's time to teach lessons and earn some.
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