To Heat, or Not to Heat, That is the Question

[jamesdeluxe]

It was awesome!

Harv, dig it out and repost.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Harv, dig it out and repost.

YES!
I missed it

 

[Campgottagopee]

If you want to live in a free country, you have to accept the fact that people are going to make choices you don't agree with.

It's taken me many years to realize this.
My life became simpler once I did.

 

[jasonwx]

It was awesome!

i don't know about awesome...
My wife has been buying a lot of CD's , 4% is easy money..
We have always live with a zero dept mentality, if you can't pay cash for don't buy it. Never ever carry a credit card balance. Pay cash for cars. Don't lease cars!! Leasing is another word for renting..
Yes have a mortgage but pay that off as soon as you can..Don't fall for the mortgage deduction bull either..
Was that preachy enough

 

[Warp daddy]

If you want to live in a free country, you have to accept the fact that people are going to make choices you don't agree with.

Regarding low interest rates, yea that is the Fed, and they should probably be an exception to the "it's a free country" rule. (Collectively) we count on the fed for discipline, even if we whine like babies when they do the right thing. You certainly can't expect politicians who are in office to lobby for higher interest rates.

I can't comment on your specific net worth situation, because I have no idea what you're invested in, or how much non-investment income you have. Any mix of stocks and bonds is, on paper, down in the last 8 months. So you are either invested in something else, or you have enough income to overcome portfolio losses.

Agree in your first statement .

The Fed failed America epically in their acquiescence since 2008

Our non investment income is approximately equal to our investment income and has steadily ramped up each year since i retired 1995 .

We have never ever had a zero sum or loss at end of year . The worst year 2002 i ever had was net gain of 15 k at years end ..


THIS IS MY Personal philosophy i do NOT expect most to agree : I learned long ago when ones financial corpus meets or exceeds one's initial goal AND as one approches the Last 3rd of one's expected life run DO not get greedy ( a major loss at that period of life is neigh impossible to recoup AND my outlook once that initial corpus goal is attained is this : A small Percentage of a BIG number is STILL a Big number )


As an illustration i have seen friends who HAD TO return to work and lose their financial flexibility and desired retirement outcomes ......... Again i dont expect Most to agree that is understandable

 

[Warp daddy]

i don't know about awesome...
My wife has been buying a lot of CD's , 4% is easy money..
We have always live with a zero dept mentality, if you can't pay cash for don't buy it. Never ever carry a credit card balance. Pay cash for cars. Don't lease cars!! Leasing is another word for renting..
Yes have a mortgage but pay that off as soon as you can..Don't fall for the mortgage deduction bull either..
Was that preachy enough

 

[trackbiker]

i don't know about awesome...
My wife has been buying a lot of CD's , 4% is easy money..
We have always live with a zero dept mentality, if you can't pay cash for don't buy it. Never ever carry a credit card balance. Pay cash for cars. Don't lease cars!! Leasing is another word for renting..
Yes have a mortgage but pay that off as soon as you can..Don't fall for the mortgage deduction bull either..
Was that preachy enough

 

[Harvey]

Someone told me when I was a teenager that if you pay cash for you first car and you pretend you're making payments and put it in a money market or mutual fund you'll have more than enough to pay cash for your next car and the one after that and the one after that.

This is smart. You may need some help with that first car, to get one that will last you long enough to accumulate the money for the next one. My first car was $500, which I paid myself, but I was in college and didn't nearly have enough to save a car payment each month. The car lasted less than a year before all the dash lights went on and the motor stopped with a thud.

Never borrow money for things that depreciate.

This is a solid concept, but not possible for many.

Someone think of a title for this thread and I will break it out.

 

[tirolski]

Someone thing of a title for this thread and I will break it out.

Don’t make Harvey work extra or ya might get in trouble...
Bought my first car from a friend for a hundred bucks and I had to dig it out of a couple feet of snow.
Started right up.
She sure was a beauty.

 

[Campgottagopee]

Leasing gives you a low monthly payment but you end up with nothing in the end

Disagree. No matter who you are or what you do it cost you X amount of dollars to drive a car. If you pay cash for a car you can break it down to a monthly cost of ownership. Price of car + cost of repairs divided by the number of months you own your car = you monthly cost of ownership. Obviously this only pertains to new car purchases. What you end up with is money in the bank. If you do the math, the monthly cost of ownership is extremely close to the same.
I'm not here to try and sell anyone on leasing. I'm sharing my experience, and telling all that if I were to buy a new car I would lease it. That said, when the time comes for me to own my own wheels it will be a rusted out POS F250

Don't lease cars!!

Think of it this way....
It's just like paying your electric bill.
If you drive more than 12K miles / yr, leasing is NOT a good option.