Let’s face it, we are not really taught personal finance topics in school and that is just a shame. We learn about history, science, language and math. Our schools even teach us how to cook, but they don’t teach us how to spend responsibly? That’s just not responsible. As I have grown over the years I’ve realized that there are some financial lessons every high school and person should be taught. These are lessons that I wish I learned. So, as I go over these 9 easy financially responsible choices you can make today you probably will want to get your pen and paper ready to take notes.
Pay Cash For Cars
It’s 2019 and I still don’t understand why people are still throwing away so much money at a big piece of metal on wheels. Credit marketing firms, advertisements and persistent salespeople for convincing consumers to take a loan to purchase a new car that loses 11% of it’s value the moment you drive the car off the lot. Don’t forget the 19 percent the car loses after the first year. Cars are simply not an expense you want to pay a lot for. Especially if you’re still working to become financially independent. Just get a used or pre-owned car you can afford to pay cash for and still maintain enough savings and cash to last a few months.
Keep Rent or Mortgage Low
It’s no secret that rent prices keep going up every year. We currently have a 15 year mortgage with a monthly payment about 20-25% of our monthly income after taxes. This means we’re able to aggressively pay other debts (although we’re debt free!) and achieve debt-free status sooner than later. Try your best to not pay more than 20% of your income to rent. This is an expense you have to pay attention to.
Shop at Farmer’s Markets
This has been a great strategy in helping us reduce much of our monthly costs. We are now shopping less and less at the name brand grocery stores and finding ourselves more at the local farmer’s markets. The food is cheaper, organic, and in my opinion tastes better! Simply changing where you get your produce and meats from can help you on save more money every month.
Buy Cards at the Dollar Store
I love getting cards for family and friends during special occasions. However, I do not like paying $4 or $5 for a piece of paper with words on it. Maybe I’m weird or too cheap, but I have found that the cards you find at dollar stores are very comparable to the expensive ones you find at Walmart or Target. Really, this is just a notice to check your local dollar store for more affordable options when purchasing something. Remember these are 9 easy financially responsible choices you can make today.
Open an IRA Today
Whether you like it or not this is something you can do today and should do as quickly as possible. Even if you have a 401(k) or 403(b) I still recommend having an IRA (Individual Retirement Account), because this gives you more potential tax-advantaged opportunities. Vanguard, Charles Schwab or Fidelity are all great companies to start with. Learn how to invest in index funds and 20 to 30 years from now you will be thankful you read this article and took action on this.
Begin a Monthly Budget
If you know anything about the BrotherFI path to financial independence (FI), it’s that budgeting is one of the top tools to achieve FI. And I personally do not like budgeting apps. I use a pretty awesome and FREE Google sheet to help me do this. Budgeting helps you take control of your money and move towards financial freedom.
Check Your Credit
While I am not a fan of building credit, I do believe in regularly checking your credit. You should do this to make sure no one is committing identity theft against you. Also, you may have an outstanding balance on debt you owe that you may not remember. It’s definitely wise to check your credit and see anything that could be affecting your financial health.
Say Goodbye to Credit Cards
Some of you will disagree. Some will agree. Some just don’t care and I get it, but I have to talk about credit cards. Credit cards are dangerous and most of you probably should go ahead and cut up your credit cards and make a plan to pay off all the outstanding debts. This “financial tool” really makes me sick. I don’t use one and will never sign up for one. If I ever do sign up for one, you all will be sure to hear about it. My position is easy to understand: you’re trying to achieve financial independence so why would you allow yourself to go into debt, even if for a second?
Get Life Insurance
This goes without saying. Life insurance is a critical and responsible financial decision you need to make. If you have loved ones who depend on your income get life insurance. If you want to leave some money to an organization you care about, life insurance is a great way to do that. My advice is to get term life insurance until you learn about all the other kinds of life insurance products out there. Chances are you will read, learn and realize term life insurance is really all you need as you work hard to build wealth.
Other than these 9 easy financially responsible choices we all can make today, I’m sure there are others out there. If you have one then go ahead and share below and get started on putting these into action today!
