By Linsey Knerl
JD from Get Rich Slowly recently asked me an interesting question: Compare your personal finances today with how they were ten years ago. What have you learned?
I thank my lucky stars (and the patience of my husband) that it didn’t take me quite 10 years to get a handle on my financial situation. At 29, I’m hardly what you would consider an expert, but I do usually only have to learn each lesson once before I’m on to bigger, better experiences. Getting to sleep at night without worrying about money is the ultimate sign of “making it.” Read on to see the 6 biggest lessons I’ve learned in getting there.
Love your momma, but don’t lend her money. I’m the first to admit that my family would seem a little “close” for comfort. My parents and I live on a shared property with separate homes, and we often have to split some minor expenses (water bill, carpool costs, etc.) I maintain my position, however, that we don’t deal with loans or shared expenses bigger than what I would feel comfortable losing. I’m not about to hit my mom up for $15 or the equivalent of a bag of groceries. We usually work things out, but for the record, I’m not keeping tabs. I would suggest you do the same. (Xin Lu also has some excellent reasons to keep your money.)
No wedding ring? Keep your cash. Watch an episode or two of Judge Judy, and you won’t need to read any further. There’s no court of law for some guy you just met at a bar last week, and whom you gave $1,000 for a fake hip surgery. Seriously. Unless there’s prenuptial option or you feel really confident in your pro bono abilities, courts are usually only good for splitting hairs between legally married couples with lawyers. Even then, things can get really, really messy.
Bills are meant to be paid. You can run, and you can hide, but eventually someone pays your cell phone bill. If it’s not you, it’s the next guy, who suddenly finds there’s a 5% increase on his security deposit. Please don’t be another reason it’s harder for me to buy milk at the store. It’s just bad karma.
Fast cash is nothing but trouble. Cash-advance dealers offer you very little in return for the service – and tax refund-anticipation loans are very similar in practice. I know that sometimes you have to do what you have to do…. but think it over and do the math. It isn’t always the silver lining you’ve been hoping for.
The glove box of your car is no place for your phone bill. While I’m still wading through this bad habit, I’m getting so much better. Put your bills in a safe place where you’ll be SURE to pay them on time. Better yet, use Jason White’s method of One-Touch Money Management. It takes me a long time to earn the money for that $30 late fee.
Kids don’t cost any more than a nice car. The best thing I’ve learned is the joy and fulfillment that being a parent can bring. If I had waited to be 100% financially-stable before starting a family, I’d be doing a lot of lonely karaoke at my local beer pub instead of some of the really cool things I’m doing with my kids now. While “experts” claim that it can cost up to $93,000 per child to raise a kid (see chart at this link), the number is based largely on how much you make to begin with. Using that rationale, if you live a more simple life on a more simple income (and in an area of the country where it costs less to live), you can do it for far less. In actuality, it costs less to raise a kid than it costs to buy a mid-sized SUV. Add in the cost of gas, auto insurance, and maintenance/repairs, the kid is cheaper hands down. The next time you worry about how much kids cost, and how you’d rather wait until you’re more financial secure, take a look in your garage. Chances are, you’ve had it covered all along.
My financial situation is drastically different than it was 10 years ago. After all, I had just turned 19, and had become an adult in the eyes of my state and local government. While I had always been a bit conservative in my financial decisions, I had a lot to learn. And I still do. The balance of my bank account has had little to do with “making it.” While my life is much simpler in terms of lifestyle, purchases, and the ways I spend my time, it is also much richer.
译文:
金钱管理课程：生命中的十年不多
最近来自“慢慢致富”网站的法学博士问了我一个有趣的问题：如果将你今天的个人财务状况与十年前相比，那么你从中领悟到什么呢？
我要感激我的幸运星（以及我丈夫的耐心），这让我没有花费10年之久来明白自己的财务状况。当我29岁的时候，我几乎不考虑专家的想法，但在接受更大、更好的考验以前，我通常不得不学习金钱管理的每门课程 。 晚上睡觉的时候不用为金钱烦忧，这是我梦想成真的最佳标志。请继续看看我学习到的六门重要的课程。
要爱你的妈妈，但是不要借钱给她。首先我要承认我的家庭似乎太过“亲密”了，以至于让人感到不自在。我的父母和我分开居住，但拥有共同的房产权，而且我们经常不得不分摊一些很小的开支（水费账单、拼车费等）。我在家庭中维持着自己的地位，然而，我不会还贷或者共同承担更大的费用，这会让我没有舒适感。我不打算为了找我妈妈讨15美金或者是和杂货袋同等价值的东西。我们通常是解决问题，至于备案，我不会记帐。因此我建议你也这么做。（心路（音同）也有一些绝佳的理由关于存钱）
没有结婚戒指？ 那么就存钱吧。你可以看一两集《朱迪法官》（美剧），不需要继续看下去。上个星期你在酒吧遇到了一些同性恋，你给谁一千美元做一个假的髋部手术，这都和法庭无关。 说正经的，除非有婚前选择权或者你真的感觉对公益活动信心十足，法院通常只擅长对有律师的合法夫妻鸡蛋里挑骨头。即使如此，事情也可能会变得相当糟糕。
必须要支付账单。 你可以逃跑，你可以躲藏，但是终究要有人支付你的手机账单。如果不是你，就会是下一个人，他会发现自己的押金增加了5%。请不要找其他借口，比如我很难在店里买到牛奶。这只是因果报应。
赚钱快速没有任何意思，带来的只有麻烦。预支现金商因为你提供的服务而给你微薄的回报，而且退税预期贷款在实践上都非常类似。我知道有时你不得不做要做你必须做的事情....... 但是请仔细考虑并计算一下。这一直都不是你原本期望的一片曙光。
你车上的手套箱不是放电话账单的地方。而我仍在艰难地克服这个坏习惯，现在我感觉好多了。请把你的账单放在一个安全的地方，确保你能及时支付。还有更好的办法，使用杰森怀特的方法——触摸式金钱管理。这让我费了很长一段时间来赚钱，为了那30美金的滞纳金。
孩子的花费远远低于一部好看的车。我学到的最棒的事就是为人父母所带来的快乐和成就感。如果在成家前我要做到百分百的财政稳定，那么我就会在当地的酒吧孤单地唱着卡拉OK，而不是现在和孩子们在一起做些相当酷的事情。当“专家”声称抚养一个孩子的花费可能达到9万3千美元 （请看链接的图表），这个数字大部分是基于开始你赚了多少。采用这个基本原理，如果你想过一个更简单的生活，拥有一份简单的收入（而且一个国家的某个地区生活成本较低），你可以花费更少。从现状来看，抚养一个孩子比买一辆中等大小的运动型多功能车的支出要少得多。附加上汽油费、汽车保险费以及保养/维修费，那么抚养孩子简直是轻而易举的事情。 下次当你担心抚养孩子需要多少成本，你宁愿等到自己的财务状况更加牢固，请看一眼你的车库。运气，始终伴随着你。
我的经济状况和十年前彻底的不同了。毕竟，我已经过了十九岁，在我的国家和当地政府已经是一个成年人。虽然在经济决策方面我总是有点保守，我有很多要学。而且我还在这么做。达到银行账户的平衡几乎已经没什么可做了。由于我的生活方式、购物以及我支配时间的方式让我的生活变得更简单，我的生活也变得更加富有了。