I agree with so much of what you say in your article. I'm still young and have a car loan and a mortgage but my finances are in good health. I fully intend on paying them both off well in advance. The main thing for me is that i can still live the life i want to while covering my debts. I can still go for nights out, matches, holidays without worrying about money. I work hard for my money 45 hours a week but life is for living. The worst thing for me would be to hit 70 and not enjoyed myself along the way. I don't earn a spectacular wage but what i do is take care with it.
When i wanted to buy a house i set up a direct debit for every payday until i had saved a deposit. If the money was gone straight away then i had my budget for the rest of the month and it was up to me to live within it. Most of my friends still live week to week to survive but they have $1000 smart phones and $300 shoes and are always trying to keep up.
Where i really made the difference is by not caring about brands. This covers food, clothing, shoes ect... as you can be paying 5 times more for a product just because it has a certain name on the side. I will still buy quality but the name tag doesn't matter to me.
I'm hoping after paying off my two big debts to purchase more property and shares to set up additional streams of revenue as i don't want to still be working for somebody else at 60 and would like to have my options set up. It's not easy but it is doable if people make good decisions and plan for it.
I feel for you and can only encourage you to read as many articles on yahoo personal finance or CNBC money that you can. By the way I still have a iPhone S3 which is so old they tell jokes about it.
Thanks for the comments by the way some sound advice in there!
I do try to make the savings where I can and some of your tips will be tried. Switching providers and looking for offers can be a big one. If you keep going on the track that you are then I have no fear for you in the future because like anything it's a lifestyle choice that was made. When you asked what was really important to you it was about your own health and providing a future for your family. Two very important things.
Don't worry I still have a nice phone in the galaxy note it's just a few years old but won't be getting changed for a while as it perfect. Got it on a good deal. Have fun.
Posted using Partiko Android
Another thing I thought of after posting this article was ATM fees 2.00 or 2.50 each week can add up over the course of a lifetime. It may seem like nickel and diming but I would encourage everyone to use the ATM at their own bank.
Thank you for the reply.
True. My bank is decent on that regard as if you keep more than 2k in your account at all time then there are no fees on that account. Totally free for the year. You can see it on holidays though. Atms that charge a fiver to withdraw funds and some cards that can charge up to a dollar per transaction. I can see how this would add up fairly fast.
It's not huge but it's a combination of 20 different little things that make a huge difference every month.
Posted using Partiko Android