7 big money mistakes to avoid (comments)

Posted by Redvioletskydancer Fri Nov 6, 2009 6:50am PST

Those are some good ideas. There are 20 good money saving tips at www.womensave.org link: http://www.womensave.org/tips.php that will help you save all year. They also have phone numbers to call to see if the state comptroller is holding money for you that you could use for the upcoming holiday season and menus to feed a family of 4 on $50 a week. They want women to join their forum and share HEALTHY menus for $50 a week too.



Posted by Cindy Fri Nov 6, 2009 10:42am PST

I'm an avid believer of protecting yourself first, so I heartily agree with #2. Your kids don't always turn out to be the kind of person you want them to be. What happens if after you've raised them to adulthood and paid for their college education and down payments on their homes and whatnot and you find yourself in old age and they decide they don't want to take care of you? Or because you've been providing for them your whole life, they don't know how to provide for themselves and providing for you would be way beyond their means and comprehension. With that in mind, it's in your best interest to pay for your retirement first. I'm actually an optimistic person, but I like to be prepared for the worst.



Posted by Giz Fri Nov 6, 2009 12:41pm PST

For the record "none" and "cindy", I worked 60+ hours a week in college, spread between 2-3 jobs at a time. My siblings all had/have 30 + hour a week jobs while in college and we all paid for our own books, housing and some of our college tuition as well. I, at 26 years old, have a good job and have been paying any non-school related bills 100% by myself ever since the age of 18. I bought my own cars and house and the only debt I have is my mortgage (which I put extra money towards every month). I drove across the country, up the coast and back on my own for 6 weeks when I was 22, camping the whole way, and I paid for everything. Any vacation I took after the age of 16 was financed soley by me.

My parents taught me responsibility better than anyone I know. They also taught me that it was important to provide your children with the best opportunities in life and the only way to do that is to make sure they have access to education. Many kids I know didn't have that access because their parents didn't care enough to think about it and they couldn't balance working enough to afford school along with handling the classes needed to graduate. For the record, I haven't finished school yet. I have a solid career in Real Estate and Marketing that I have been working hard for since the age of 17. I'll finish when I'm ready. At this point, I will of course be paying for everything on my own. That is the path that is best for me.

I have 3 siblings who were better off getting through all of the education they wanted right after high school. That doesn't mean they were being stupid, irresponsible or wasting money. What an ignorant statement. None of us party/partied. My older sister also has a home and car as well as a grad degree she paid for entirely on her own. My little sister and brother both contribute a decent amount to their schooling and finance their own living expenses, study abroad programs, books, food, transportation etc. None of us use credit cards or any other sort of financing that doesn't involve a mortgage.

I learned very well how to provide for myself and had my parents not taken care of me or been there to support me while I was growing and learning to do so, that may not have been the case. They taught me how to use credit wisely, save money, budget, separate want from need, have a good work ethic and balance both work and other life responsibilities. The issue is that many parents don't teach their kids before the age of 18 how to be an adult and are then shocked when they toss them out the door to fend for themselves and they get completely lost and fail. Parents assisting with college tuition has nothing to do with kids not being capable of handling their own lives and finances. The two items are completely separate.


Posted by maryl Fri Nov 6, 2009 2:36pm PST

Take care of yourself first, . . you cannot carry someone else if you are cut at the knees! SAVE,SAVE,SAVE!!!


Posted by B Fri Nov 6, 2009 3:57pm PST

Joy in Seattle, I'm not sorry for you. You decided to have a child so now you need to stop whining and get your stuff together. I don' care if you were married, in a relationship or whatever when you got pregnant. If you decide to bring a child to this world you should know that you have to be able to provide for it, alone if necessary. I do not believe that most Americans don't have money for basic things, because if they have the money to spend it on junk they don't need then I take it they have it for the basics. Oh wait, this is why the economy is down the drain, because they did not have the money and were buying stuff they could not afford anyways. Ooops! Long live the credit card!.

I am a full time student and only my husband works,and he does not make buckets of money. But we still are able to afford all the stuff we need, pay for my books and school supplies, have some fun and save cash and have additional retirement plan to the one he gets through his company. If you think you have to have it all, you will end up in deep red.

I also agree that the whole big name college stuff is overrated because unless you want to work for Fortune 500 company, most employers don't care what school you went to or what your GPA was. Unless you get a free ride, or have rich parents who are either rich enough so that they can pay for retirement and your school or dumb enough to pay for your school only, go to community college, study hard and have good grades there and get a scholarship when you transfer to a four year institution. Works totally ok.


Posted by SUSAN M Fri Nov 6, 2009 5:00pm PST

I disagree with not paying extra on the mortgage. Pull out you amoritization (sp) chart and look and how much of your payment goes to interest vs principal! It will make you sick. Add a bit more and save a few hundred bucks in interest! It is not rocket science. I am 35 and own a modest home but it is nearly paid for. While I will lose my tax deduction, I dont owe enough on my house to make the interest tax deductable over standard deductions. Tax man said I needed to buy a bigger house or have a kid. I choose C- none of the above and take the tax hit. In this economy and last year when I was on medical leave for 6 months of year I thanked God everyday I had small house payments!


Posted by sitter_ragdoll Sat Nov 7, 2009 1:34am PST

B is right. I'm sick of single mothers whining about how poor they are. Maybe you should have thought of that before you got knocked up. My grandmother's husband died in the war and she raised three kids while working 3 jobs to get by so when my co-workers complain about cut hours yet spend 100$ on a slutty halloween costume or go out for lunch everyday, it makes me roll my eyes. you made choices and now you have to live with them.