You’ve heard the saying before that there are a few guarantees in life: death and taxes. I’d also like to add another: guaranteeing yourself a rate of return. I get asked this question frequently, usually by someone who’s a conservative investor or someone looking for a “sure thing”. This is what I tell them and I am telling you. Call this your money back guarantee. For the majority of readers, this will come into play as most of you have debt in some form or another. Whether it’s your mortgage, automobile, boat, credit cards, college, many Americans have different amounts of debt all at different interest rates. Typically, your consumer debt (credit cards) is going to have the highest interest rates. Here’s how to guarantee yourself a rate of return: PAY DOWN YOUR DEBT. By paying down your debt you will be guaranteeing yourself the rate of return equal […]
interest rate
A Nifty Little Trick to Increase Savings
A nifty little trick that can be part of your savings plan is simply this: once a debt is paid off, still treat that payment as a bill – but now direct that bill payment to your bank account, IRA, or employer sponsored plan. Here’s how it works: Let’s say you have a car payment of $250 per month. You’ve worked hard to get the debt reduced and eventually (maybe even early) you pay off your loan on the car. What a feeling! Instead of allocating the money to be spent elsewhere, such as buying another car or spending it on other items you probably don’t need, consider taking that $250 per month and reallocating it to yourself. The easy thing about this is that you’re already used to paying it, you’ve already budgeted for it, why not pay yourself? Also, you can consider putting the payment to yourself on […]
Sterling Raskie, MSFS, CFP®, ChFC®
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And if you’ve come here to learn about queuing waterfowl, I apologize for the confusion. You may want to discuss your question with Lester, my loyal watchduck and self-proclaimed “advisor’s advisor”.