Do you save?

Any debt that is related to a depreciating asset -- basically anything except a mortgage, business loan and I guess you can include student loans to some degree -- should be paid off ASAP. You need to have an emergency fund, but saving is defeating the purpose if you are keeping any kind of interest.

 

I'm seriously thinking about just selling the car with $16,000 owed, as long as I'm above water on it, and instead buying something for cash in the $4,000-$5,000 range, when I can swing it.

I hate having a car payment. Just seems like such a waste of money when you're trying to get ahead.

 

I haven't made a car payment in eight years. It is one of the very good things about my life.

 

Someone linked to an Atlantic story from a month or two ago about how car companies are frustrated because young people no longer think of cars as status symbols. They - we - basically could give a care. We'll spend our money elsewhere. I'm starting to agree, particularly with as reliable as a used car can be nowadays. And I really don't drive that far, and neither does my wife.

 

Mathematically, you should pay off the higher debt first.

Psychologically, some people feel the need to save first just to build the habit.

 

Can we really take financial advice from someone who thinks Kathy Griffin is attractive without makeup?

 

Yes. Embrace the 6s of the world.

 

You need to deduct the cost of the meal you ate that night at the house form the money you saved not eating out.

 

Sure. But I think you'd be shocked at how low that is for people who thoughtfully shop and cook.

 

I'm very cheap on some aspects of my life — you probably wouldn't like how warm I keep my place in the summer/cold in winter — but I like to travel whenever I can get away for a few days or weeks. I'll spend on the things that make me happy, but that's after I put as much as I can afford into my 401K.

I still have a nice amount of money (not as nice as it was before Merrill Lynch went in the tank) left over from the college fund my dad set up and I have that available for whenever I'm ready to buy a place or in case of emergency. It's a comfort knowing it's there and I probably wouldn't spend quite as much on travel if I didn't have it available.

I'm very lucky, I know, to be 40 and debt free.

 

If you have the means to do so, see if you can pay that off early with no penalty. That's not good at all ... as many have already posted.

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What Einstein said about compound interest could be as meaningful as much of his more technical work. Hard to overemphasize the power of compound interest.

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One of the smartest things my stepfather ever did was write me a check for $1,000 when I finally graduated.

Before I could get too worked up, he told me "that has a string attached."

It was earmarked in its entirety for an IRA. I've maxed out every year since ... haven't participated in a 401K in a while because companies refuse to match.

 

While some on here may have different political views than I, I also drive an old Toyota and do what I can to save. Turns out to be about 10% after 401k, matches and stock options. I really really wish it were 20% but "life happened" (kids, jobs, a couple of major illnesses).

It's a balance to still pay off debt but also save for the future. I do feel disappointed that I will most likely not be able to spring for my kid's college tuition but I do want to do something that helps them dramatically when they are in their early 20's.