financial crap

[pontifex]

so how did all you guys learn about all this kind of financial crap? stuff like doing your taxes, what you need to buy a house and all the legal mumbo jumbo bs that goes with it, investing, and anything else?

were you taught in high school? college? learned it by yourself or what? because i have no fvcking clue what any of this sh!t means or wtf i am supposed to do and its all pissing me off because i'm probably missing out on something or getting screwed over.

if you learned yourself, how did you learn?

 

[NanoStuff]

in-ter-web

 

[olds]

It's not crap. Crap comes out of your butt.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
It's not crap. Crap comes out of your butt.

it might as well come out of my butt because i still don't understand any of it

 

[Gunslinger08]

Doing your taxes? Are you serious? You really can't figure out a 1040EZ by yourself, or atleast with the help of the included instrurctions?

 

[Epic Fail]

by watching Sesame Street as a toddler.

 

[jlee]

if you learned yourself, how did you learn?

Parents FTW.

Haven't had an chance to buy a house yet, though.

 

[mb]

Parents, professors, internet....

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
Doing your taxes? Are you serious? You really can't figure out a 1040EZ by yourself, or atleast with the help of the included instrurctions?

i probably could, and apparently did but i wasn't sure if i did it right so i had someone do it. turned out i did it right i guess.

but not just that though, like i owed money this year - $135. 1st year in about the 9 or 10 years that i have had to file taxes that i owed. going over the form there was some stuff i may have been able to deduct but i don't know.

 

[daveshel]

I'd say your post count contains a clue...

 

[Aztech]

Various places and experiences. There needs to be personal finance class in high school though. Anyway, you can buy a book on personal finance, browse the web, etc. And, just come on here and ask some questions and read money threads. So, what you wanna know?

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: Aztech
Various places and experiences. There needs to be personal finance class in high school though. Anyway, you can buy a book on personal finance, browse the web, etc. And, just come on here and ask some questions and read money threads. So, what you wanna know?

i don't know...there's just so much.
i was just signing my tax forms and writing the check and i'm just feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff that i don't know that should have been taught somewhere along the way, imo. i'm just ranting about how little i know about any of this stuff.

instead of taking worthless classes in HS, i would rather have taken classes that explain stuff in the real world and how it works and how you go about it.

 

[Boztech]

Got a LOT of great advice from my parents (well, my father essentially), and learned from their mistakes.

Then I got into reading financial self-help books big-time because I was interested in investing.

Now I use the intarwebnetthingy.

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: joshsquall
Doing your taxes? Are you serious? You really can't figure out a 1040EZ by yourself, or atleast with the help of the included instrurctions?

Not everybody files a 1040EZ. When you start itemizing deductions, etc... it becomes pretty darn complicated. That's how tax preparers stay in business.

 

[iversonyin]

Grab some books and newspaper....please

Informations are all over the web.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030723...8645-4318324?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Let's start with a simple one. Shall we?

 

[CPA]

taxes - school and doing it myself (self-taught)
home buying/mortgages - research and questioning the experts
investing - reading books and actually experimenting with it.

Just like everything else in life, you need to do it to really understand it.

 

[Kipper]

Originally posted by: Boztech

Originally posted by: joshsquall
Doing your taxes? Are you serious? You really can't figure out a 1040EZ by yourself, or atleast with the help of the included instrurctions?

Not everybody files a 1040EZ. When you start itemizing deductions, etc... it becomes pretty darn complicated. That's how tax preparers stay in business.

I just did a 1040 because of capital gains...that was a pain in the neck.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: iversonyin
Grab some books and newspaper....please

Informations are all over the web.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030723...8645-4318324?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Let's start with a simple one. Shall we?

i need "Personal Finance for the Extremely Retarded" because even if i bought that book, unless it explains everything in depth and in extremely simple terms, i won't understand it.

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: iversonyin
Grab some books and newspaper....please

Informations are all over the web.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030723...8645-4318324?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Let's start with a simple one. Shall we?

i need "Personal Finance for the Extremely Retarded" because even if i bought that book, unless it explains everything in depth and in extremely simple terms, i won't understand it.

It's not going to come to you overnight man. You learn as you go. Such is life.

 

[Descartes]

Tell you what man, isolate an area of knowledge you think you're deficient in and go buy a book. The internet is great, forums are great, and getting random tips from people are great; however, nothing can supplement a cohesive understanding of a topic that you'll gain from the right book.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: iversonyin
Grab some books and newspaper....please

Informations are all over the web.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030723...8645-4318324?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Let's start with a simple one. Shall we?

i need "Personal Finance for the Extremely Retarded" because even if i bought that book, unless it explains everything in depth and in extremely simple terms, i won't understand it.

First thing you need is confidence. Approaching anything with such a low self-esteem won't get you anywhere. Have the confidence that you can comprehend any subject and buy the appropriate material until you do so.

 

[iversonyin]

Originally posted by: pontifex

Originally posted by: iversonyin
Grab some books and newspaper....please

Informations are all over the web.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/030723...8645-4318324?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

Let's start with a simple one. Shall we?

i need "Personal Finance for the Extremely Retarded" because even if i bought that book, unless it explains everything in depth and in extremely simple terms, i won't understand it.

Then this book is exactly for you. I think this one has picture in it.

Yahoo Finance provides alot of good articles as well.

Watching CNBC and Bloomberg once in a while wouldn't hurt neither.

Magazine such as Klinger is also an excellent source for personal finance.

I leave taxes to my accountant. Or simply get TURBOTAX.

 

[Aztech]

Yeah, there should be classes somewhere along the way before people dig themselves into financial holes.

Let's see, some of the best stuff I've learned:

* Do what you love and the money will follow
* Pay yourself first. That is, put money automatically into savings, then spend the rest.
* Put max in your 401K EARLY. Compound interest and time are your best friends if you put money away young. Then, sit back and watch it grow.
* Avoid credit cards if you can't pay them off each month. If you're disciplined enough, get a good rewards card, like the Citi Dividend Card. 5% back on gas, groceries, etc.
* Buy a house in a good location. Value goes up as you live in it and do nothing. Yay! More easy money.
* Buy late model used cars
* Annualcreditreport.com gives you free credit reports each year. Get them.
* It's not a Hot Deal if you didn't need it

I do my taxes at H&R Block. I'm not trying to understand that crap. You take the standard deduction unless you have a lot to itemize, like interest from a mortgage.

Do you own a house? What's your financial situation?

 

[DaWhim]

I study it.

 

[Boztech]

Originally posted by: Aztech
Yeah, there should be classes somewhere along the way before people dig themselves into financial holes.

Let's see, some of the best stuff I've learned:

* Do what you love and the money will follow
* Pay yourself first. That is, put money automatically into savings, then spend the rest.
* Put max in your 401K EARLY. Compound interest and time are your best friends if you put money away young. Then, sit back and watch it grow.
* Avoid credit cards if you can't pay them off each month. If you're disciplined enough, get a good rewards card, like the Citi Dividend Card. 5% back on gas, groceries, etc.
* Buy a house in a good location. Value goes up as you live in it and do nothing. Yay! More easy money.
* Buy late model used cars
* Annualcreditreport.com gives you free credit reports each year. Get them.
* It's not a Hot Deal if you didn't need it

I do my taxes at H&R Block. I'm not trying to understand that crap. You take the standard deduction unless you have a lot to itemize, like interest from a mortgage.

Do you own a house? What's your financial situation?

Some good points.