Smart Thinking On Investing – February 24
Smart Thinking On Investing – February 24
The Thrifty Issue heads up this week’s Smart Thinking by suggesting original ways to live for free. Tonya Stumphauzer, author of the Budget and the Beach blog, reveals how we can stay motivated even if we’ve passed early retirement age. And Scott Alan Turner helps us reach the million dollar goal we all have in his self-named blog.
Life and a Budget’s Latoya Scott shares her smart ways to spend any tax refund you may receive. And Economics Professor Emily Oster answers the big “buy or rent” question for Quartz…
Free Yourself from Consumerism Society
- When trying to budget and save money; take a look at what you can source and get for free instead
- From finding and growing your own free fruit and vegetables in your garden/local area
- To hunting down clothes/book/and goods swaps, signing up to be a mystery shopper, entering competitions and giveaways, and renting out spare rooms or garages for innovative ways to be self-sustainable
Do you have any advice for self-sustainable living? Share your comments in the section below
Stay on Track for Retirement
- Okay, so you may not be part of the elite FIRE crew (“Financially Independent, Retiring Early”) but that doesn’t mean you should give in and lose sight of your end goal
- Take heart that you’re still young and healthy, and even if you’re not yet financially independent that you’re on the right track (if you have an appropriate emergency fund in place at least)
- And even though you haven’t quite reached it, there is still time to work on your frugal muscles and achieve your financial ambitions
Reach the Million Dollar Mark
- 10 million homes over the U.S. have already reached the million dollar net-worth goal; an achievement you too can reach; firstly, by living sensibly
- Secondly and thirdly, by optimizing your career moves and pay potential, as well as investing in index funds
- Finally, consider paying a tax expert to help you manage the many areas you need to pay out on and save around 10-20% of your final tax bill per year
“Spend” Your Tax Refund Wisely
- Use it to clear debt; an unexpected windfall is a great asset to use to help you pay any high-interest debt off
- Line your emergency fund; either contribute to it or use your refund to get kick-started with one—your safety cushion is an important part of your potential financial independance
- Apps are helping millions of people invest and save; by overcoming the lack of willpower we find stopping us from achieving our financial goals
To Buy or to Rent
- This is an age old question, and is often dictated by the housing market as it goes up and down
- Sometimes though, not actually being able to rent the right property will decide for you
- In all other cases; consider the calculation difference between what you’ll spend in rent against how much it will be to buy, as well as your projected time horizon for owning the property
Do you want to start investing on your own, but don’t know how?
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