Let’s start this week’s roundup with Elle at Couplemoney, asking Pay off Debts First or Build an Emergency Fund? We each have our own approach to this, and when I was in debt (aside from the mortgage) I was short in the emergency fund department. I always felt that what counted was the bottom line, and the fastest way to get rid of the debt was to pay the highest rate first, period. Setting aside $1000 or two didn’t make sense to me when I still had cards at 18%.
Deciding on a 15 year mortgage or taking the 30 year but paying it off at a faster pace? The financial buff does a bit of math for and helps you understand Payment Flexibility Insurance: Pay a 30-Year Loan On a 15-Year Schedule. The decision is yours alone, and TBF helps you understand the cost, either way.
Chris Tecmire of Simple Family Finance guest posted at Man vs Debt, How To Deal With Sentimental Clutter Without Feeling Guilty. If you are a ‘throw-it-all-away’ person, you can’t relate. You look at a small pile in the corner of a friend’s closet and think “hoarders.” But there’s an in between, and I think many of us fall into that category. Chris offers some good ideas how to cut back a bit.
iam1percent explains Why I Don’t Invest In Individual Stocks. Some sound reasoning why you should stick with mutual funds or as his reader comments, ETFs. Few investors have the time to properly research individual stocks well enough to keep up with, let alone beat the averages.
Forest at Frugal Zeitgeist asked Does buying in bulk make you eat in bulk? An interesting thought. For food that spoils, the question really starts with,”will we eat all this before we have to throw it out.” But for other things, Forest’s point is well taken, is the ginormous can of mixed nuts literally too big a temptation? A
And to wrap up this week, at Money Under 30, Amber asked Do Daily Deal Sites Cost You More? You’ve seen the deals. Groupon, Living Social, Amazon, eBay Daily Deals, and many more. The key thing is to not get excited to see “80% off!” but to look closely at the deal itself. Is it something you’d buy anyway? By coincidence, I happen to buy a deal this past week. A $10 deal for $20 worth of food at a local diner. My wife and daughter like going there for breakfast on a weekend. I’m too cheap. Well, maybe not cheap, I just prefer to eat out at places that serve food that I don’t make at home. $20 for $3 worth of eggs and toast? Not for me. $200 for a dinner at a restaurant serving unique foreign food I’d never learn to make? Worth every cent. Make sense?
Happy Father’s Day!