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10 ways to stay broke - forever

mmntech

Lifer
Spotted this on Yahoo (yeah, Yahoo) today. The top ten money mistakes people make. A lot of it is common sense, something that isn't that common anymore.
http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/10-ways-stay-broke-forever-goldengirlwp-3781981077.html?x=0

1) Finance everything
Live for the now. If you can get a loan or buy something on credit, do it. This should be easy; after all, your salary isn't nearly big enough to cover all your "needs."



2) Pay the minimum — on everything
Take a look at your credit card statement. It should tell you how long it will take you to pay off the balance if you make the minimum payment. Shoot for a time frame that's longer than you can ever imagine living. That should do it. Now go have fun!


3) Spend it all
Financial advisors tend to recommend that you "save up" for things you want. That's impractical if you want things right now — now isn't it?!


4) Buy a huge house
Why have a smaller house, when you can afford the 40-year mortgage payments on a bigger one? If you're lucky, the market will rise, giving you some extra equity to spend!


5) Buy a new car
Car models don't change much year to year, but you can't put a price on that new car smell. Ideally, you should be sporting a new ride every two or three years and financing it (of course!) for the longest term possible. If you do this for long enough, you may end up owing more than your car is even worth. That's okay — you'll look great doing it!


6) Take a vacation
Pull out your credit card and go somewhere nice. There's nothing better than getting away from it all, and you totally deserve it! After all, you want to be able to brag about this for years to come.


7) Buy more toys
A great car is important, but what you really want to shoot for is a motor home pulling a truck, pulling a trailer with two ATVs inside (and possibly a boat, too). Then you'll know you've arrived — and you can arrive on any terrain you want.


8) Pay more when you can
Rather than worrying about saving a dollar here and there, just do what is most convenient. Coupons, shopping around and waiting for things to go on sale is such a pain — and why bother for only a few dollars? After all, time is money!


9) Shop every day
Treat yourself whenever you get the chance. After all, nothing feels better than coming home with something new at the end of a hard day. If you can't find a use for what you've bought, you can always add it to your gift closet. You do have a gift closet, right?


10) Eat out
Treat yourself to dinner out at least a few times a week. It's convenient, it's relaxing and your time is worth something - even if you wouldn't have spent it working.
 
and for maximum effect, become a politician and employ these same practices with everyone's money
 
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Nothing wrong with 5 either considering the used car market is asinine right now.

yea actually nothing is wrong with 4 and up if you can afford to do it and don't use credit cards. hell even #2 is okay if your only debt is a car payment, student loan, or mortgage.
 
Only one I really disagree with is number 5. I bought a new car because warranty is important to me. I want to know that everything will be covered. As long as it's within budget I don't see the problem with it, especially if you can get 0% financing.

7 and 10 are also OK, again as long as they are in budget and you don't go overboard; Eating out 5 times a week, and buying a new TV every month, etc.
 
The issue is overspending. None of those things is necessarily wrong except for paying minimum balance and spending it all (financing everything is fine as long as the rate is lower than inflation.)

Really, spending it all shouldn't be on there because that is exactly what all of those other things are for a lot of people.

If you are fiscally responsible and have a lot of cash/savings/retirement there is nothing wrong with having a big house or a yearly vacation or a new car each year...as long as you aren't spending all of your money it is OK.
 
Yea, I'm going to be broke forever if I take *a* vacation. 🙄


edit: The list is pointless, the only way to stay broke forever if money is going out faster than it is coming in(e.g negative cashflow). It doesn't matter what you do.
 
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Nothing wrong with 5 either considering the used car market is asinine right now.

That's a good point. Based on the prices some people are asking for their 4-year-old cars with 50,000 miles on them, you'd think there was no such thing as a "car dealership" that sells brand new cars with zero miles on them for just a little bit more money.

One option is to look for old stock - "new" cars that might have a few hundred to a thousand miles on them from test drives and as loaners that the dealer was never able to sell. One friend bought a 2009 model car in 2010 for a pretty substantial discount, another got a 2010 car in 2011 in a similar situation.
 
Guilty of number 10 for sure, but im not paying most nights so it's cool, besides I enjoy my 30 dollar steaks and 10 dollar sides.
 
One option is to look for old stock - "new" cars that might have a few hundred to a thousand miles on them from test drives and as loaners that the dealer was never able to sell. One friend bought a 2009 model car in 2010 for a pretty substantial discount, another got a 2010 car in 2011 in a similar situation.

End of the year is the best time to buy, when they are trying to push out the old models.
 
I really don't see what's wrong with taking "a" vacation as someone else already stated, as long as you don't go all out. Not eating at five star restaurants or a five star hotel saves money, yet you still can have fun.
 
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