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- From: jacobsen@cc.swarthmore.edu (Robin Jacobsen)
- Subject: Re: middle class/affording a house
- Message-ID: <jacobsen-270792073516@mac12.beards-art-cc.swarthmore.edu>
- Followup-To: misc.consumers
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- Organization: Swarthmore College
- References: <1200@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>
- Distribution: na
- Date: Mon, 27 Jul 1992 11:47:06 GMT
- Lines: 82
-
- In article <1200@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM>, emolinar@stake.DaytonOH.NCR.COM
- (Elizabeth Molinaro) wrote:
- >
- >
-
- I agree w/ Elizabeth
-
- Nothing comes easy and what you want you have to work for (unless you have
- a rich family). My husband and I both worked our way thru college. When
- we were married we lived in a 1 bedroom apartment for 4 years while we
- saved to buy a house. We had one car and I took two trains to get to work.
- It took a long time but we were able to buy a house and have two kids.
- Yes, we put in long days and worked hard but we have pride in knowing that
- we worked for the things we have and never asked anyone for help. We also
- feel that we were lucky to be able to it. Most people in the world work
- just as hard (and harder) and have very little to show for it.
-
- Robin
-
- We still watch how we spend money and save.
- > What has amazed me about this conversation is that (aside from what I
- > will say) only ONE person has advocated a little bit of buying/spending
- > restraint in order to save to buy a house.
- > In the spirit of helping out that one true believer ; ), I would like
- > to offer a couple of tips that have served me well, for all my 30 years:
- > (with house, 2 cars, 2 cats, no bills.)
- >
- > 1. Get those credit card bills down to $0.00
- > The corrolary to this: pay off your
- > cars, etc. Get all bills to $0.00.
- > Once you quit paying XX% interest,
- > you'll be amazed at how much you "save"
- >
- > 1.5 TRY to exist on a cash only basis from hereafter,
- > and use those credit cards only for purchases that
- > you can pay off in a month -- and only because you
- > want to make some interest on your cash accounts in
- > the meantime.
- >
- > 2. Save ANYTHING. But make sure you save at least
- > something every single week. If it's $20.00 bucks
- > this week, then make it $200.00 when you have finally
- > paid off your credit cards.
- >
- > 3. Do not buy anything on the spur of the moment. This means
- > that you go gorcery, clothes, sundry shopping with a list,
- > every time. No buying anything that wasn't on the list.
- >
- > 4. For everything that you managed to resist, put that money
- > into a jar. Empty that jar into a savings/money market/
- > investment fund at least once a month.
- >
- > 5. Begin your investment fund/money market by either:
- >
- > A. signing up for an instant withdrawal from your
- > electronically deposited check to the bank..
- > B. signing up for a fund that has no minimum
- > entry fee...Janus Funds can be started with
- > $50.00 if you go the electronic route and
- > deposit at least $50.00 every month thereafter.
- > (This is not advice to begin a fund with Janus,
- > just an example. Read your prospectii.)
- >
- > 6. And, I hate to say it, but the other guy said it right:
- > live frugally for a year or two. Find free things to do,
- > go on cheap vacations to relatives places in the Pocanos,
- > or wherever, and make sure your families know that you
- > are in the frugal mode: you'll be amazed at the helpful ; )
- > suggestions and the extra generosity that may come your
- > way for Xmas, birthdays, etc.! This also gets you off
- > the on-upmanship game of gift giving...
- >
- > AND: entertain at home, with friends who you like and who
- > are the type to bring something (subsidizing everyone else's
- > Friday binge is not what we have in mind here.)
- >
- > 7. Life is not too short to live frugally for a year or two, in
- > order to accomplish large goals. And who said frugal had
- > to be boring???? Life is always what YOU make of it: money
- > is only a part of the equation, not the whole.
- >
- > Elizabeth Molinaro.
-