Comments on: An annoying email I got

By: IUnderstand

IUnderstand — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:06:01 +0000

Yep, It was so much easier to save when I was single and childless. I had complete control. Now my husband has credit cards and a checkbook, too.

So, here are some meaningful ways to save a lot of money: 1) Send your kids to public school – at least for elementary and middle. Private school is a complete waste of money since the college applications don’t ask where your kids went or what their grades were for K – 8. If you think your public school is lacking, spring for some private tutoring. So much cheaper. This alone saved us $300k – and yes, we are the only family on our street in public school. And, we are likely the only ones with a big retirement account. 2) Buy a reasonably priced car and drive it for 10 years. Ignore your neighbors’ new cars and comfort yourself with your fat investment portfolio instead. 3) Go camping for vacations or stay at inexpensive motels. Skip the resorts. Don’t fly anywhere. Make Grandma come visit you. 4) Don’t buy jewelry and only shop at discount stores. Skip the big department stores. 5) Don’t buy tickets to concerts, professional sporting events, Disney on Ice, or the Philharmonic. These are really fun, but not worth the price tag. Only go to the movies once every three months. Lots of family entertainment is much cheaper or free. And, limit the restaurant meals. The kids don’t eat theirs anyway and you just end up thowing it away.

Then, go ahead and enjoy a latte when you want one. You’ve earned it.

By: Jan

Jan — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 02:35:33 +0000

Well, I think it can be hard. The U.S. has almost no maternity or paternity leave laws, fewer flexible job options, no subsidized daycare… all of which mean you try to survive on one income or pay a lot for daycare, or remain at home longer than you’d like b/c it’s tough getting back into the workforce and tough to find a part-time job. It doesn’t mean you’re throwing money at fancy cars, gadgets, and overpriced coffees.

By: Impressed

Impressed — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:09:20 +0000

Wow! I loved this. I just paid off $27, 000 in credit card debt in two years. How did I do it? Got a second job and really cut costs. It can be done! Next on my list, that student loan WILL be paid off in a little over a year!

By: AvidReader

AvidReader — Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:30:51 +0000

Ramit, what’s u r take on this?

Check out this post from Money Blog

On $11 an hour, Jersey man made millions
Posted Jan 17 2008, 02:29 PM by Karen Datko

http://blogs.moneycentral.msn.com/smartspending/archive/2008/01/17/on-11-an-hour-jersey-man-made-millions.aspx

By: The Writer’s Coin » Blog Archive » Not perfect

The Writer’s Coin » Blog Archive » Not perfect — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 12:02:26 +0000

[...] yesterday Ramit over at Iwillteachyoutoberich got an email from a guy who was saying that all the personal finance he reads doesn’t apply to him. That [...]

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 07:51:26 +0000

I know a single mother with 2 kids (of which she has to pay an obscene amount for childcare), but she IS happy….really! She shops at Goodwill for her own & children’s clothes (BTW – Target donates a whole lot of inventory), housewares etc. She had to look hard at her finances and found hidden expenses – do you really NEED kleenex boxes, qtips, paper towels all over the place? For the ladies, 10 pairs of black pants? Buy NEW books at Barnes? When there is a library around the corner? This is being wasteful to some. It is to her. Living within your means and passing it down to your children and not giving in to their wants rather than needs is what its all about!!!

She is my inspiration.

By: john

john — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 06:36:00 +0000

He called you a guru. He’s quite generous right there.

By: Danilo Jose Vargas

Danilo Jose Vargas — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 21:22:24 +0000

Wow! An amazing post indeed. Ramit you broke it down perfectly. The first step to financial independence is about taking responsibility for the actions we’ve taken, and for the steps we need to take to create a better future for ourselves. If nothing else, I think your exchange with this gentleman helped him see that.

No matter how dire, how poor, pay yourself first! That’s what I always say. And how about focusing on the abundance that exists everywhere around us, instead of always focusing on scarcity and limitations.

Being rich is a state of mind!

I’m new to your blog but I’m loving what I see so far.

Thank you.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 14:12:33 +0000

I think you are awesome. I can be more verbose but it’s really not necessary because that just sums it up. Thanks for investing your .02 in our world.

By: Tertius

Tertius — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 17:41:05 +0000

I’m a 24 year old, just basically finished my BSc degree and I’m an entrepreneur at heart, so taking that route from the start.

I’ve been struggling with budgeting, always working it out to the t. I haven’t read your blog in a while, it was in my RSS reader, but I reinstalled windows and hadn’t gotten round to installing the reader again (exam time). So I read the first few pages today and came across “An annoying email I got”.

I realised that, yes I want a good financial future, but that I’m not as committed to it as I should be. So now I’m taking the extra 10 minutes to walk to do my errands instead of using my car to do it.

And I hope this little change will motivate me to make a lot of little changes.

Feedback on my choice : I enjoyed the walk, I did my errands more efficiently and met a history teacher I had at school in grade 9, if I had used my car, I would have wasted petrol, gone to a shop that I don’t like going to and honestly would not have enjoyed myself as much.

You feel good when you know that you’re making the right choices.

Thank you for your blunt honesty Ramit,
Tertius