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Posted
May 26 2009, 04:36 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly.
I thought it would be fun to share an interview with my real millionaire next door, a man we'll call John. He used the basic tenets of money management to build wealth and to retire early. Here's how I described John when I first wrote about him last year:
John is a 71-year-old retired shop teacher who lives in a modest ranch house on half an acre, the same house he's had for over 40 years. He has an old barn filled with salvaged lumber, outdated appliances, and who knows what else. When he's around, he drives a junkie 25-year-old station wagon. But most of the time, he's not around.
He spends his winters in New Zealand helping friends on a dairy farm. His summers are spent fishing in Alaska. For a couple of months each year, he's home, puttering in the yard. Year-round, he rents his house to boarders. He leads a very active retirement.
John's story was popular with Get Rich Slowly readers, and many of you asked me to interview him. I had to wait for him to return from New Zealand, but recently the opportunity finally presented itself. John agreed to sit down for a chat.
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Posted
Mar 17 2009, 01:32 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Some people are physically unattractive and wealthy. Some are poor and very cute. If you had to choose between the two, which would you pick?
J. Money opened that discussion at Budgets are Sexy. Here's the question he asked:
Would you rather be attractive as hell BUT you never make more than $30k a year for the rest of your life, or you're pretty damn ugly BUT you're as rich as Oprah Winfrey?
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Posted
Oct 30 2008, 03:14 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Sara at On Simplicity simply states what she calls the "cold, hard truth": "Advertising sucks. ... It's engineered to make you feel like you're incomplete, that you have an unfulfilled need, that you're not good enough." Eluding ubiquitous advertising is one of the "18 means for living below your means" at Marc and Angel Hack Life, a blog that features compilations of valuable tips to deal with life's vexing problems. This particular post draws on some of the blogging world's best thinking on the keystone of financial health. Once again, Marc and Angel do not disappoint.
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Posted
Oct 22 2008, 05:13 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
What's in our wallet? We can assure you it's not the American Express Black Card. We hadn't even heard of this ultra-exclusive card -- known officially as the Centurion -- until we stumbled upon a personal Web site dedicated to unveiling its secrets. Some guy not in the employ of Amex spends his time singing the praises of a piece of metal (it's not plastic)? We just had to read on, if only to see how the other half lives.
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Posted
Oct 05 2008, 08:59 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. How much do you know about millionaires? My wife recently had dinner with her friend Linda, who is a high school social studies teacher. As they ate, Linda bemoaned the lack of personal-finance and economics education in the United States. She mentioned that every year she gives her economics students a short "millionaire quiz" to see just how much they know about wealth and where it comes from. They do poorly at it, which surprises them. Linda says they always pay attention to the follow-up discussion. Because I asked nicely, Linda sent me a copy of the millionaire quiz in the mail. Here are the questions that give the kids so much trouble:
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Posted
Aug 13 2008, 06:59 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from Abigail Perry at I Pick Up Pennies.
When Tim and I returned from our honeymoon in late May, waiting for us were several gift cards we received as wedding presents. These cards begged to be spent, and we obliged.
I’ve been fighting materialistic urges since the cards zeroed out. Materialism is an awful habit because you can never have enough. There is always newer technology on bigger screens with better resolution. There will always be some fashion in vogue that you lack. It’s relentless.
Purses, jewelry, clothes, electronics -- all have been calling to me. I’ve been hyperaware of everything I didn’t have.
Like an MP3 player.
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Posted
Aug 07 2008, 02:39 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Someone asked Jennifer Derrick the other day why she doesn't make more money so she can have the "finer things in life" -- jewelry, fancy cars, big house, expensive vacations. She's talented enough. Doesn't she want these things? Nope. But that person said: "Everyone wants those things and if you think you don't, you're living in denial. You only say that to make yourself feel better because you can't afford them."
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Posted
Jun 27 2008, 08:48 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Most of us have lottery dreams. If we won the big one, we'd quit our job(s), pay off the house, live abroad. But consider this: The amount of money it would take to change your life might actually be much more modest -- and a lot more attainable. "Paidtwice" at I've Paid For This Twice Already calls that amount your "life-changing money." She used to think it was hundreds of thousands of dollars. "But then I realized -- at this point, life-changing money for me really means simply getting out of debt and establishing an adequate emergency fund," she wrote. With $40,000, she wouldn't have to think so much about money with every decision she makes. Many of her readers said they feel the same way.
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Posted
Jun 26 2008, 03:30 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
It goes without saying that whenever personal-finance bloggers write about how much money they saved on shampoo or toilet paper and other mundane stuff, someone thinks -- and sometimes writes -- "Get a life." Why think about -- or take the time to find -- a $1 savings on a tube of toothpaste? As Kevin at No Debt Plan succinctly says in a post called "2 reasons you should care about my toothpaste savings," it's not just about the toothpaste. It's about "your money-spending life."
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Posted
May 19 2008, 07:14 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Do you want to be absolutely sure that you'll work many long years and retire with little more than a paltry Social Security check? Then make sure you read and obey Kevin's "10 steps to avoid becoming a millionaire" at No Debt Plan. This blogger manages to put a humorous spin on a very sobering topic. Here's No. 6: "Ignore work benefits. 401(k) plan? Sounds kind of funny to me. Why would the company want to give me money? Plus, I'd miss that 3% in every paycheck."
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