Comments on: Why your opinion about the stimulus plan doesn’t matter

By: Attention whiny complainers: Why you STILL aren’t saving money | I Will Teach You To Be Rich

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:49:29 +0000

[...] more). The magic comes in getting you to actually take action. But we love to debate minutiae and complain about the economy, even though saving money fundamentally involves earning more and spending less. These commenters [...]

By: Millionaire Acts

Millionaire Acts — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 06:25:15 +0000

Nice to stumble your blog dude! We’re in the same niche.

By: Josh

Josh — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:42:35 +0000

Ramit,

I normally don’t comment on your blog, and normally don’t read down to comment 40. Right now I am supposed to be putting down some notes from a meeting I had with a business mentor about venturing out with entrepreneurship – but I find myself figuratively a million miles away, reading about a topic albeit educational but far removed from my circle of influence. Funny where procrastination leads.

I like your article, one thing that does strike me is your tone towards personal empowerment. Ultimately the macroeconomic situation is the aggregate of our individual decisions and we need to take steps within our own lives to be more responsible, accountable and financially honest. Debating the government’s next move is an effective way of avoiding the responsibility of planning our own lives.

It is of course valid but probably not the most effective application of our skills towards bettering our own lives. I love the mission of your blog – best of luck with your mission.

By: Ramit Sethi

Ramit Sethi — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:36:47 +0000

Chris, I'm a big fan of how you're paying debt down -- that is excellent. My point of this post is: How much time have you spent on the asset allocation of your retirement portfolio? Or calculating if you'd be better off investing more or paying off your mortgage? Or optimizing your income, insurance, food, gas, and other costs (see my 30 Day Challenge)? Because those are things you can control.

By: Chris

Chris — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:22:59 +0000

Ramit,
It is true that the bill has been signed. But as a person who both emailed and mailed my opinions to my congressmen, I must say that I am saddened.
Why?
The desire for the current President who chose the slogan “Change We Need”, and then proceeded to do exactly as his predecessor did. He also signed into law the bill proposed by his predecessor. And appears to be moving troops from Iran to Afghanistan.
I’m still waiting for the “Change We Need” from the head honcho.

As to how it affects my finances. The stimulus plan is ineffective/inefficient as far as building 4M new jobs.
I don’t wait for a gov’t handout.
I pay all our bills on time (if not ahead of time). Put a measily 5% of my pay away, however since my wife is going back to work after staying at home for 9 years raising our children, she’ll be putting away most of her paycheck towards retirement. Which of course increases our retirement portfolio.
All the while we will be paying down our 15 year mortgage at a 4.625% rate, and be quite thankful if I am still employed throughout the next 14 years to accomplish that task.
We will continue to provide food/education/shelter for our 4 young children, while we examine more sustainable methods to provide for income outside of our jobs.

Unlike Dr. Stuart, I don’t believe that we would have received anywhere near $75,000 in cash from the gov’t, but likewise, it wouldn’t have been a mere $800 that the gov’t is being “kind” enough to give back to us after borrowing from our children’s futures, this time around.
As for spending any percieved increase we get back in taxes, that will not happen. Paying down our debt is highest on our goals at this point in time, so that we may be able to help our children out when the cr*p hits the fan and the national debt reaches over $15T by the end of the term for the current commander-in-chief.

By: I don’t want to hear about it « Stacking Pennies

I don’t want to hear about it « Stacking Pennies — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:03:57 +0000

[...] I don’t want to see your Facebook status about the stimulus, nor an MSN name stating that the country is going to hell in a hand basket, with too many exclamation points. (At least levity to the sentiment and say “where are we going, and why am I in this hand basket!?”) Unless you are going to be some kind of political activist and actually do something, or unless I am voting in the near future in a way that can affect this, I just don’t want to hear your opinions on whether or not you think this is a good idea. Last week, Ramit took the words right out my head and composed them into an articulate and pointed blog post in a way I never could: Why your opinion on the stimulus plan doesn’t matter. [...]

By: Erik Snyder

Erik Snyder — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:11:41 +0000

There are many instances when the government does affect my personal finances. Because of the mortgage crisis, many American can not refinance their homes, because home values have dropped so low. This potential monthly savings affects everyone’s budget. Also, There are very few places to make money with your money right now. Money market and CD rates are close to zero, factoring in inflation and you’re losing money. I think the biggest need right now is creating jobs and cutting taxes, which will not happen because of this spending excess bill just signed.

By: Bible Money Matters

Bible Money Matters — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 18:23:56 +0000

I agree that we need to put the rubber to the road, and start taking action in our own personal finances. It’s important to make good decisions, pay off debt, save and invest for the future. At the same time I think it’s important to stay engaged in the political process – and to let your elected representatives know when you’re not happy with them.

The key in my eyes is moderation. Don’t go overboard complaining for no reason – and when you complain – complain to those who matter. When it comes to money, don’t worry so much about what you can’t do – but about the things you CAN affect. Setup a budget and start going on changing your own financial life!

By: Yogesh

Yogesh — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 19:53:26 +0000

Hi Ramit .. I just came across your blog. I think it makes a lot of common sense. That’s why people probably don’t do it that much.
Personally I have been following some of the ideas. Some of the things that I liked WWAID, C.E.O strategy. Actually WWAID made me chuckle .
Good luck with your book.

By: Colin

Colin — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 06:32:56 +0000

Hi – here’s what I am actually doing: #1. Buying stuff: Lack of consumer confidence and massive unemployment are making the employed richer and we don’t have to do anything. Our purchasing power is increasing as prices deflate. #2 betting against the stock market. Did you know that if you had shorted the S&P500 (ticker symbol SH) you’d be up 22% for the past 12 months? Market prices are psychological. Go read the news (or even the comments above) and you’ll see that things aren’t going to change for the better in 2009.

Disclaimer: I’m not an investment professional and you should not consider anything I’ve said to be advice. It’s not.