More than a dozen times I have expressed why this blog was created and what it's purpose was and still is. Five years ago I was struggling financially. My income dropped due to pay changes at work. I started to feel the effects of being a dad to 3 girls and barely being able to provide for them. I couldn't figure out how I would work 50 hours a week donate plasma and still barely having enough funds to pay the necessary bills. Our credit cards were maxed my income had dropped and soon after we had to ask our mortgage company for help. They refinanced our home through the HUD program which ended up ruining our credit. Soon after that we found ourselves in dire need of a second car with no money and no credit due to the transmission failing.
I'll never forget the look of hopelessness and anger on my wife's face when we heared the news that we were not going to be able to get a loan for a car we desperately needed. Without saying much she asked for my credit cards and cut them up it was to say the least a very trying time in our marriage and our lives.
During these trials I wanted to find answers to why I was constantly struggling and what I could do to improve my situation and I also wanted to know answers to a simple question, why? My question to the universe to karma to God was why me? When i did things right by working hard and staying away from governement and church assistance programs, Why did I have to struggle and forgo vacations wants or even a honeymoon?? And for so long. I still to this day 11 years of marriage have not had a proper honeymoon and I will not stop writing or expressing my feelings of disappointment until I get that, plus 9 other things.
Anyway
I spent over 2 years reading blogs newspapers and studying what people were doing that I wasn't and things we had in common and I found out a few things I can change and have even adjusted some strong feelings I have had over the years. I basically had free therapy sessions through writing on my blog that narrowed down what are my problems and how do I resolve them. This is what I have found so far.
#1 life is not fair yet there are cards that play in your favor. USE THEM.
If you have never played this card game I suggest you do. It's called Scum Bum. The object of the game is to become President . A Bum with a lucky hand can do that but it's more difficult because the President and vice President have an upper advantage. They get the scum and bums best cards while they give them their worst cards. Thus is life. Yet, it doesn't have to be that way. Now I have just recently changed one of my positions and it is partially due to writing this blog. In certain circumstances where you are working hard have developed independant practices not spending your money profusely and lavishly AND do NOT have a season pass to a disney theme park local theme park or ski resort.... do, I repeat do look for programs wether government or not that will help you get ahead. There I said it my mind has been changed from absolutely not to with some discretion do use them ONLY if they will help you work hard and get out of poverty. I have so far applied for 2 government programs and have been approved for both. The HEAT and school lunch program have saved me over 60 a month and i received nearly 400 dollars in aid for my 2 energy bills! The main reason why I did this? My property taxes went up over 500 causing my mortgage to be increased by nearly 100 bucks! Forcing me to find ways to pay my bills. Now due to the government getting more of my hard earned dollars, I have lately been taking more. Not in retaliation but in simple survival. These actions of mine have actually led to more savings and helped me become more independant. I know this is lengthy but I'll explain why I decided to try a few programs and why you should not (again with certain discretions) feel bad about utilizing good cards when the game is stacked against you.
It may be shocking (or not) but rich people including billionaires rely on government assistance. Take the late John Huntsman Sr
(awesome guy awesome legacy) who in 2013 after the government shut down called Utah Senator Mike Lee "an embarrassments to Utah" later on we find out that one of the reasons why he expressed a strong opinion is because his cancer research center lost several million dollars because of a government. that is in extreme debt shut down.
Now, simple question. Regardless of the level of importance this money has, is this not an example of a reliance on the government from a billionaire. It is for the good of the public but this paragraph above is proof that rich people DO rely on government assistance and/or tax breaks.
Other places that you wouldn't think of that do rely on government assistance
*Disneyland!
*Disneyworld!
Not directly but DO rely on government programs. How? Let me put it this way. Go to either theme park and look around. I almost guarantee you that at least 60% of those around you have used or are currently on food stamps or medicaid or low income housing. Thus saving money in one area of their finances and creating an excess of available credit, or rarely, actual funds, thus allowing them to buy season passes plane tickets you name it.
Other reasons to seek assistance. (Again to further your independance)
*Baby formula is expensive due to government interference. The government pays around 4 dollars a can for wic recipient's who get them free while the rest of us pay the full unaffordable price of 18 dollars a can. P.S. where do some of those cans go when recipients don't use them?
They are for sale on Craigslist or the local classifieds like this.
Normal people do not buy 9 cans of formula at 18 dollars a piece. They don't. This person is selling formula that you paid for and making a profit. So again the cards are stacked against you. I've changed my position. Honorably accept and use honesty when using the program. She should be donating not selling
*Your landlord gets tax credits from your rent that you don't get. I'm pretty sure you know how rent works. Your landlord is in debt to a mortgage company and you are renting from your landlord. He pays 500 a month for your unit but charges you 1000. he pockets 500 as income and his real estate increases in value. At the end of the year he writes off all interest that you paid for and becomes richer. Why? Again another government program that the rich take advantage of.
Moving on
#2. There are 3 expenses in life that people pay way too much for. If you can control and recognize where these expenses are even hidden you can capitalize on your own growth. The 3 expenses are Real estate, Insurance and Car loans.
Let me disect those for you.
*car loans: one of the worst investment you can make is by buying a brand new car. How bad is it? The car you just bought for 41 Grand plus and additional 3k in upgrades (like you really need that paint coating) will be worth 5-7 GRAND after driving it off the lot.
How?....
Well let's take a look shall we. Ater you look at the sticker price of 41k the sales guy says he can knock off 2 grand he then convinces you you need a few upgrades so you add an additional 3 grand in upgrades so the full price is 42k. At signing you realize uncle Sam and your state want their cut of the Sale so if your in a state like California you pay an additional 3150 in TAXES! making the whole car purchase 45150 (wait wasn't the negotiated price 39K)
Oh and you thought we were done LOL!
Now you need registration and plates
An additional 450 bucks
So you drive off the lot with a 45 Thousand 6 Hundred Dollar Loan.
And your cars worth.
Probably around 38.5
Which means you lost 7100 dollars in Value in one day after driving it off the lot!
Again were not done.
That loan over 6 years because let's face it no one can do 5 year loan anymore in fact after googleng average car loan length I came up with this.
25% of new car loans are so unaffordable the financial companies had to lengthen the terms of the loan!
Again for this example we will go ahead and use 72 months as an example.
So..
Over the life of a 45,600 dollar loan at 3 % on a 72 month term you are going to pay approximately 4104 in interest. Your payments will be 690.33 and your insurance payment will probably be around 160sh. The day you pay that car off and it's worth less than half of what you paid for it you will have spent 61,224 dollars total.
8746.29 a year!!
*Real estate It's in EVERYTHING we buy!
You may not realize it but you pay for alot of real estate you will never own. The cost of buildings are in your clothes your food your interest on your car loan your car your taxes your insurance ect ect ect.......
And then you buy your own piece of the American dream and end up paying 8-10 grand or more a year in interest.
There's not alot a person can do but one thing I do to help cut the amount I give to a buisness rent payment is to always shop around. Check online stores who have better deals then actual physical stores.
Let me give you an example
At Walmart there was a certain product I wanted and I bought it. Walmart is normally known for lower prices but not this time. I used an app to scan the product and found out it was 25% cheaper online. So I returned the item and bought it online.
I paid less with amazon because they have less real estate cost associated with their goods
I also paid less in taxes. I have already saved the government on programs I never used and paid plenty in taxes. They don't need more if my income.
Lastly insurance is in EVERYTHING we buy too. Thanks to obamacare we have higher grocery bills higher energy bills and higher medical bills. Businesses now have to provide healthcare to their employees and they pass those cost onto you. You pay more because your actually paying for their medical and Insurance cost. To top it of you pay your own high price insurance which includes health, car, and house.
There are a few options to consider if you want to try and get your car and house insurance cost lower. 1st, always always always shop around. Every YEAR. We have what's called a FREE market. You will get robbed if you don't keep your insurance agent on his feet I don't care if your agent is your bishop pastor or best friend. Your eventually going to be higher premiums. There are also several lesser known insurance companies that offer insurance at a much lower cost than there competitors. How? Remember how I talked about how certain cost sneak into everything you buy including real estate you never own or health insurance you don't benifit from
Like Geico
Or Progressive
These are just one of hundreds of buildings they lease or own. The cost of maintaining and purchasing coming from selling you an insurance plan. Thus is why it is less expensive to go with lesser known insurance companies because. Duh duh duh.. duh....... they don't have real estate costs to pass onto you.
I think I have covered all of my life tips I've learned so far. Moving on to my personal progress where I am at and where I want to end up.
I once wrote a post Titled 131829. That was my entire debt. It was an update and progress report that I use to do. I have some unfortunate news. My debt now is much larger more than double, BUT! I may be able to argue that I pay less on insuranse and interest and also earn around 80 to 100 a month off of my debts which makes them alot less (thinking of a word) uhm straining(?) than before.
My total estimated debt as of today is 296 thousand dollars. Which includes 1 mortgage @ 265k NO Medical! and 31k in credit card debt. Again it may be shocking but I currently make 80 to 100 bucks a month off of my credit card debt and pay NO interest! Again NO INTEREST . Need proof?
Bam!
Ta da
This one (above) has over 700 dollars again no interest
This one currently has over 5800 on it. I consider it one of 2 car loans.
Cash back equaling 39.74 in one month. I cashed out 20.46 the previous month as shown above.
99.19, again in 1 month
7.16 every bit helps.
20.46 after cashing out 45.80 the previous month
And total cash back on just one of 7 cards I currently use to maximize my cash back earnings. I have had this card for just over a year and a half. It currently averages 94 dollars a month! This blog is partially to blame for all this. In my other financial health news. I have around 23k in all of my accounts. And my net worth is probably somewhere in the ballpark of 50k so not bad and not so good. I do need improvement but hey, I'm not paying interest on all of my credit card debt.
The last thing I wanted to mention was an update on my blog ransom.
If you don't know I have agreed to myself that this blog will be deleted if all of my Ransom requirements are met.
Guess what!?
Several have been done including some not mentioned!
From most important to least important
1. Go on an actual Honeymoon. Sadly still not done. With kids you run into finding a babysitter and emotions of not wanting to leave them. At least I do. I have been able to get away with my wife but we still don't accept those as a honeymoon. The honeymoon has to be somewhere more adventurous. A cruise, a trip to hawaii or cancun. Somewhere out of the country. It also has to be at least 5 nights. Plane tickets with window seats and no sickness or pain!! I say that because our last trip we went on I was in extreme pain up until we were on our flight when my eardrum finally ruptured mid flight releasing and ending nearly 6 WEEKS of pain. Also my wife on our wedding day was sick. We had to go to a wal greens before heading to our hotel.
2. A cruise. I have writhen several times my envy for those of you who have experienced this. I do have an announcement I have been on a cruise a full week with my wife! So this is done!
So why is this not considered a honeymoon? First of all it was work related. I don't want anyone except me and my wife on our honeymoon. I was also in pain up until the plane ride.
3. Go to a MOTAB christmas concert. Again after 10 times trying I finally got to go to a concert. It was awesome. To top off this fun date with my wife we stayed at the anniversary inn. Another goal that I have had along time checked off my Bucket list.
4. No medical bills. I feel as though I have been at a disadvantage on this one. I hano knowledge to programs or ideas on how to control medical cost. No one told me about government programs. Not one bishop came up to me and asked me if I needed help. I have spent over 70 THOUSAND dollars on medical related expenses that's absolutely rediculous. One good thing that has come out of this trial is I am more aware. I do add more playing cards of knowledge to my deck so that of I'm stuCK in a medical situation, I have options. As of right now, I do not have any medical bills. So check this off the list.
5. A getaway place. Preferably a cabin but a camping spot I own would work maybe a timeshare, somewhere I can escape lifes troubles and just relax in a quiet and peaceful setting.
6. Debt Free. This does not include the house but would be nice if the house was paid off too. Last year I was debt free. Due to some income changes and unfortunate events I have been tackin on interest free debt. I hope to be debt free someday.
7. 4 one week Vacations in 1 year. I believe I have hit 3. my income has gone up and my freedom is alot better. This one can be done.
8. A house of envy. Done. I do have a nice house and people do envy it.
9. An affordable house payment. I am currently mining ideas on how to lower my mortgage. An affordable house to me right now is less than one thousand. Right now I pay over 1600 a month. Thankfully I am not struggling but what a difference 600 dollars would make. That is 7200 a year in savings.
10 and lastly a trip to Hawaii or Alaska. I will take either one. And that's just for the heck of it.
I do have one more I would like to add. I have been having dental issues for nearly 4 years now. I have slowly progressed to 3 teeth now that are partally missing and in pain. So I am adding to my list a one time entry that all dental work be up to date before I delete this blog .
I think I will end there. I would write more often but it seems as though I have been taking more time to write. Time i don't have. This blog post started almost 4 weeks ago and has taking me a total of 8 hours to complete. I may be doing it for one random reader and myself but I still learn while I write and I find healing in writing so it's been very beneficial to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment