Have you ever tried a stay at home vacation?  I mean, not just a long weekend but a full week off from work just to stay at home?  You should try it.

With a stay at home vacation you’ve eliminated the majority of your normal vacation expenses like travel and lodging.  That’s huge and it saves you a bundle.

Not only that, you effectively extend your vacation time since the days you would normally be traveling are now extra vacation days.  Nice!

So now that you have all this time and money, what are you going to do!?

Get a massage.  Try those restaurants you usually don’t want to spend the money on.  Take the kids to a sitter and go out on some dates.  Go to the movie theatre several times.  Rent a sports car for a few days!  Do nothing.  Sleep in.  Order food to go or to be delivered.  The possibilities are endless.

You have so much more control of this situation - so have the week of your life.  You’ll come back from this vacation a lot more rested, and a lot less poor!
 
So many money topics seem like common sense.  But if they really are, why aren’t more people doing smart things with money?  Take payments for example (take them, please!).  When buying stuff, big or small, why is it all about whether we can afford the payment?

On our biggest life purchase, our house, whether we can afford it or not comes down to what the monthly payment will be.  The monthly payment limits our purchase, not the purchase price.  Hmmm…so we usually overpay and stretch out the payments as long as possible.

Even for one of our next largest expenditures, our vehicle(s), it’s the same thing.  It’s not the purchase price that limits how much we spend, but the monthly payment.  Go figure.  So we buy more than we can afford and stretch the payments longer.

And it continues likewise on down the line to smaller things too like appliances, furniture, televisions, and other stuff we just have to have.  It’s not the purchase price that determines whether we’ll buy it, but ultimately the monthly payment.

What’s the problem here?  We’ve been cleverly marketed to and “trained” to think in terms of payments and not how much out-of-pocket it’s going to cost when we finally pay it off.

What’s the solution then?  CASH.  If you only used cash to make purchases, you would evaluate each purchase based on how much it cost (or hurt to dip into that pile).  With cash we would save so much money on items because:

·   We wouldn’t be paying interest
·   We would shop around more to get the best price
·   Fear of depleting our cash reserves would scare us off from even making some purchases to begin with

That’s why cash rocks.  You spend less (or not at all sometimes!).  And while you’re waiting to make a purchase, someone pays you to hold your money.  Cool.  So now let’s make “payment” a word from a foreign language.
 
We totally agree with the growing opinion that debt is a big scam.  We have been conditioned to believe that debt is the only way to succeed in business or shine in our personal lives.  But in truth it's only good for the creditors. 

The best way to fix your financial problems is to quit relying on debt and instead go nuts to get out of it in any and every possible way - even if it means selling everything and starting over.

Fight your way free of debt like a bird caught in a net.  Chew off your foot like a badger in a trap.  Better a broken wing or missing pieces than ending up as road pizza!
 
What’s wrong with a little debt?  Everything!

Do you realize that many people have not read a non-fiction book since high school?  In contrast we’ve read that millionaires typically read several books per month.  Hmmm…does it really make a difference?  Let’s see…books, or the television and radio.  Da!  Why do we keep falling for the “buy, buy, buy” pitches?

We can guarantee you this: Most of what is said on the television and radio about money is a scam, a lie, deceitful, B.S., and not wise – designed to keep us in bondage.  To make us want to buy, buy, buy.  To make us slaves to the banks and to our stuff.  That is why Americans are in so much debt – we’ve fallen for witty marketing. 

We’ve been trained that this is how you “get ahead.”  You borrow for anything and everything you want.  Don’t wait, don’t save, don’t sacrifice.  Have it all now.  Have more than our grandparents ever did before we’re half their age!  And if we get in over our heads, hey, just file for bankruptcy and walk away.  Pass it on to our kids and grandkids to clean up.

Come on people, let’s wake up!  Don’t expect the government to fix our stupidity like an enabling parent.  Where do you think their money comes from anyway?  We pay for all government bailouts. 

Debt is unintelligent and the surest way for the United States to cease to be a world economic power, and you to be broke and powerless.  Debt is killing us.  Please, let’s stop doing it now.  How many second chances will we get?
 
Hi Sister Sue,

Deborah and I hear a lot of people saying that they do not want to pay off their house because of the tax deduction they will lose.  Here is what we think about that.

If someone does have a mortgage, then of course take the tax deduction.  But to not pay off the house early for fear of losing the tax deduction is really giving away a lot of money for no good reason!  It is giving the bank a dollar so you can save 25 cents on taxes.  That's not good math.

Why not be done with the bank?  For every quarter you lose in tax savings, you get to pocket 75 cents for yourself!  What do you think of this?  Of course, if you are still concerned about having a tax write off you can always give to a charity and get the same tax savings.  I’d rather them have it than the greedy banks.

Anyway, when Deborah and I realized what is going on here, we decided to make all the extra principle payments we could to get the house paid off ASAP.  Four years actually, from the time we bought it to paying it off.  You can do it too, sis.

Now our tax write-offs are actually helping the world be a better place, and not some bank buy another plane. 

Love,

Dan
 
Although we do a lot of talking about money in our book, Boiled Down Money Goo, we don’t believe that life is ultimately about it.  Having enough investments to justify hiring a personal investment adviser does not mean that someone has “arrived.”  That’s just not the case.  There are a lot of rich and miserable millionaires in the world.  A life without vision is not improved with money.  Consider this baked madness

A customer once approached the owner of a small bakery about “improving” the business.  His fresh baked breads were amazing.  With good credit he could borrow and establish a franchise.  Then he could have it all—a custom house, flashier car, and a jaw-dropping income.  Eventually the baker could sell the bakery franchise, retire, and then do whatever he liked.

The baker just shook his head and replied, “I can do everything I want to now.  Expanding the business would require working more days and hours, so when would I find time for what’s important?  If anything, I’m cutting back even more on work hours, since my kids will be grown soon and I promised the wife that we’d travel more.  I don’t love money as much as I do my family."

So figure out what truly sets your heart free and make that happen.  Don’t let anything waylay your dreams.  That’s why it’s important to get the money thing right – it’s a handy tool to reach your goals.  No matter your net worth, only when you’re living your dream will you have a truly rich life.
 
You know what?  There is definitely something cool to be said for traveling with your parents or parents-in-law, especially if you have kids. 

You can save a lot of money by staying together.  You can probably find a two or three bedroom place to rent by the week for less than it would cost each of you to stay separately in hotels.  And chances are you’ll actually have a lot more space for visiting and relaxing.  Plus, with a kitchen you can save money on meals too.  Who knows, maybe your mother-in-law cooks amazing chicken and dumplings or your father is an expert with the barbeque!  These more functional accommodations (as opposed to cramped motel rooms) will improve the quality of your vacation. 

If it’s possible to all travel in the same vehicle, then you’ll not only have more time to visit during the trip, but spend half as much on gas too.  Let one person drive so everyone else can relax without the hassle.  There’s another benefit of driving all together if you have kids.

We recently went on a road trip with my wife’s parents and took their minivan.  We sat in the front seats, her parents in the middle seats, and our four year old in the back seat.  Guess who buffered all the “are we there yet” questions and questions - not us!  It was a nice break for a change.  And here’s a side perk.  If an elderly parent is handicapped, you have all the best parking spots everywhere you go! 

Once you’re at your favorite spot (ours is the coast), you have plenty of grandparent and grandchild bonding time.  So there's more couple time with your spouse and that is always good.  And of course, it's just plain fun to spend time together with your parents and make memories. 

Oregon coast, can’t wait to see you again!

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    Get out of debt, I dare ya!
    Boiled down money goo guru, Dan

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