http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=patcondell&p=r

I do not tithe to a church but my heart is not black. I give plenty to the less fortunate.

You’re comparing apples and oranges. It’s asinine to even discuss whether or not getting rid of your THIRD car is a good financial decision or not. OF course it is! I think it’s belittling readers who are struggling with layoffs, huge medical bills and other financial hardships to answer such a question.

Please summarize, what are your investment plans for 2009. Thanks

Several savings accounts, one for car fund, one for household jobs, my sister is at uni and they pay half of her fees so one other account for that and maybe a few others. At the beginning of the month, along with paying the bills etc a certain amount goes off into each of these accounts (not necessarily much, I don’t know. But adequate to cover most things that will need doing.) They have a general savings account too. But no ‘investments’ or anything outside of that.

They also have sweeps on their account… 27th of the month, anything over 300GBP gets put aside in the savings (either generally or into the different ones – they are all held at the same bank). This leaves enough money if food-shopping day falls between then and when they get paid at the end of the month or for any other expenses. And they also sweep in reverse… if their current account ever goes below 50GBP, it automatically tops it back up (I think to 300 again but it might be less) from the savings. So, they don’t have an ‘emergency’ fund as such, because they have enough cushions that they shouldn’t ever need it.

They don’t particularly attempt to live frugally but they try not to be wasteful. They like their treats and their holidays but they budget for these treats every month aside from all of these savings, and of course have a holiday account alongside all the others. Some of their money at least will probably be in the bank for a long time and I was just wondering if you thought they’d be better getting investments and such or sticking with their current plan? They don’t have specific retirement savings although they do have company pensions I think (my stepdad is older than my mum, there will therefore be quite a period where he retires and she is still working). But they are trying hard to bring the morgage down and to cut back on some of their treats so that he can retire on time in a few years if he wants to (currently undecided but they want the option) – he earns quite a bit more than she does. Do you have any other tips for when he does retire, or for when she eventually does as well?

(Currently I live with them and pay rent but don’t have to manage these kind of finances for myself, so I am just an interested observer with an eye to the future. And obviously if there’s anything that you think may specifically benefit them I would be glad to pass it on. :-) )

Thanks.

I’ve recommended CD purchases from various online banks, I usually prefer ING Direct but do not own any CDs currently. So long as the CD is FDIC insured you might as well look for the best rate. Brick and Mortar banks can rarely compete with the online rates.

The Small Business Administration (www.sba.gov) has a program called SCORE. They SBA will help you get a mentor for any type of business problem you may face. It is free. When I started 20 years ago I had no idea about accounting. I met with a SCORE volunteer who was a retired CPA. He spent hours will me showing me what records to keep and how to keep them. Then he showed me how to prepare them tax time. He was extremely helpful and helped me get on the right track from day one. I urge you to check out SCORE at your local SBA office.

Cheers Carpe diem.

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I think you missed something in your answer to the couple with three cars. She said she lived in Wisconsin. Now, depending on exactly where that is in Wisconsin, that could mean levels of snow and ice we seldom see in Iowa. She is obviously concerned that her small 35mpg car can’t handle the winter roads. I would advise selling 1 SUV and the small car, and buying something that gets more than 19 mpg and feels safe in the winter.

@Nick….why so judgmental? We all have our own situations that are different from other people. I haven’t had television in 15 years, so does that mean that I should judge everyone else who does as wasteful and below my consideration? That isn’t really fair. –Paula

-Nate

re: tithing.

I think you should have attributed “should give what he or she has decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion.” to the Bible (2 Cor 9.7)