Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
I thought I was the only person who often revisited old topics, having tried to present these lazy rehashes as new ideas. I was mistaken. The NY Times published, “5 Money Mistakes That Can Make the Road to Retirement Even Longer“, which is a fun rehash. It is behind a pay wall, my apologies.
How can I call it a rehash? I have written about all 5 of these “mistakes” a while ago.
Increasing Your Spending as Your Income Grows
Sounds a lot like lifestyle creep to me. When you weren’t making much, you lived within your means. Why is it that when you get flushed with cash, that changes? For a lot of folks, they stay cheap (I mean that as a compliment), you should too.
Not Tracking the Small Stuff
Or write it down or how do you know it happened? Having just retired, I have noticed my savings on:
- Lunches at work and snacks at work
- Coffee bought at work or on the way to work
- Commuting costs. That one is a big, obvious save, given the cost of gas these days. If I’d stayed working, an EV was in my future.
- If you don’t write it down, how do you know it happened (to quote Tom Clancy).
Those 3 don’t seem like much, but they do certainly add up.
Continuing to Use Credit Cards While Carrying a Balance
Hmmm…. Let’s not start a full on rehash of my, I hate debt, perspectives. I realize with the hyper-inflation, nobody seems to talk about, that sometimes you have to use “plastic”, but, it is never a good idea to carry balances on your Credit Card.
Failing to Create an Emergency Fund
This one is an easy one. Even if you view an Emergency Fund as “voodoo financial planning” (to paraphrase Ben Stein), you need to have an emergency plan or fund. A line of credit is not an emergency fund, keep that in mind.
Spending Windfalls and Other Unexpected Income
Maybe get out of debt? Yes, I am being a humbug again, but debt always limits your options. The less your debt, the more options you have. Found money should be used to pay off debt (at least a good part of it). Found money, like tax refunds, can be spent many times before you get it, as well.
I found this gem in my drafts box again. More are coming.
Final Thought
There are only about 20 pieces of financial advice. We just keep changing the examples.
