Whether you’re looking at buying your first car or replacing a previous vehicle, there’s one decision you need to make right away: new car vs used car? That one decision will determine, to a large degree, where and how you shop for your vehicle. New Car vs Used Car Factors to Consider: While the financial factor of this decision isn’t the only thing to consider, it is a significant factor. Here are some of the basic financial assumptions involved in buying a car: A new car will cost more than a used car. The sticker price on two comparable vehicles, one new and one used, will vary significantly. A new car loses as much as 40% of its value in the first three years (about 15% of that in the first year), and you can expect to … [Read more...] about New Car vs Used Car – Which One is the Better Buy?
Personal Finance
Could Early Retirement Planning Be Ruining Me?
In a lot of ways I think that I’m so much better off for being so active in my own finances and early retirement planning. All around me I see people who have not taken control of their financial future - and it devastates them. They are stuck working at jobs they hate until well into their golden years. They have to miss family engagements. They are under the servitude of others until their health no longer allows them or qualifies them to be. It’s a sad way to go out, and it’s not something that I will ever allow for myself or my family. But despite my best intentions to achieve what others feel is unachievable, Is there a dark side to my obsession with planning for an early retirement? … [Read more...] about Could Early Retirement Planning Be Ruining Me?
A Crash Course on Annuities and How They Can Help You
The following post is a guest contribution. If you would like to write for My Money Design, please feel free to contact me. There's all sorts of things to do when it comes to retiring, and it's important to understand what annuities are. Here's a crash course on understanding their benefits. … [Read more...] about A Crash Course on Annuities and How They Can Help You
Tax Deferred vs Taxable Retirement Income Strategies – How Big Are the Differences Really?
Pop quiz: If you could choose to save $10,000 using one of two retirement income strategies, either a 401k or a regular taxable stock brokerage account, which one would you choose? If you said “401k” (or really any other tax deferred savings account), then that’s what I would have expected you to say. Why? Because that’s what conventional financial planning advice teaches us. We all know that if we want to have a solid retirement income, then we need to max out our tax-deferred savings, let it grow, and then worry about paying the taxes later. And why not? Things like 401k’s and IRA’s are perfectly valid strategies for saving as much as you can and building up your nest egg. So you can imagine my hesitation and apprehension as … [Read more...] about Tax Deferred vs Taxable Retirement Income Strategies – How Big Are the Differences Really?
Your Plan for How to Become Financially Independent
If you don’t think you’ll be able to retire early, then YOU are your own biggest problem. The fact that millions of Americans out there are only saving 2% of their income and holding 401k balances less than $100,000 is not an average retirement savings target that you should strive for. That’s just a financial epidemic that you won’t want to have anything to do with. You can do better! In this post we’re going to walk through a step-by-step plan for how to become financially independent with the honest hopes that you will be able to copy of my method and decide for yourself what parts of it will work for you. … [Read more...] about Your Plan for How to Become Financially Independent
How to Do Apartment Decorating on a Budget
Moving out on your own can be one of the biggest and most exciting times of your life! If it’s your first apartment, you get the thrill of finally being on your own and becoming an adult. But like most adult things, you’ll quickly realize that there are costs involved – big costs! Rent, food, utilities, parking, etc. And because your income is probably limited and held to a strict budget, the last thing on your mind is probably how you’ll furnish it. However, there is no need to worry. Plenty of college kids and young adults have long figured out how to do apartment decorating on a budget and they’ve been able to pull it off with some great success. So here are a few ways that you can do the same without having to put yourself … [Read more...] about How to Do Apartment Decorating on a Budget
How Do You Compare to the Average Retirement Savings of Other Americans?
Have you ever wondered how your 401k balance stacks up against the rest of the population? If you’re a devout saver, you may be surprised to find out just what the current average retirement savings for most Americans actually are. I first became somewhat curious about my own pace against those of other people after reading the book Your Money Ratios. The book offers you some suggested milestones for where you should be at with your savings given different age levels. In case you want to know but are too scared to “look under the bed”, your 401k balance is probably doing a lot better this year than you think. Despite some of the choppy financial news for this month, 2013 has been a pretty favorable year overall for the market on … [Read more...] about How Do You Compare to the Average Retirement Savings of Other Americans?
There Are No Shortcuts to Early Retirement Planning
Even before starting My Money Design over two years ago, I was on what seems to be a never ending quest to find the secret to achieving true financial freedom or great key to early retirement planning. How is it that people my age, perhaps younger or older, are able to quit their jobs if they want and still maintain thriving lifestyles? I’d love to tell you that after all this time that I have all the answers. That there was some kind of easy solution or magic bullet. However, I’m still a long ways out and seem to have a lot further to go. The path to get there has been more of a puzzle than I originally thought. Each piece containing it’s own unique challenges and scarifies. Here are my observations on the various paths that … [Read more...] about There Are No Shortcuts to Early Retirement Planning
