your one, golden piece of advice you would share

[sandrark]

Two questions
1) What do you mean by "- Utilize Roth's while your income is low"

I mean choose to invest your retirement in Roth accounts, rather than 401(k)s - unless matched. Roth profits grow TAX FREE, and are TAX FREE when you take the distributions in retirement. However, there is an income limit - if you make too much, you can't use them as a tax-avoidance option.

From Wikipedia:

The Roth IRA MAGI phase out ranges for 2009 are:

* Single filers: Up to $105,000 (to qualify for a full contribution); $105,000-$120,000 (to be eligible for a partial contribution)
* Joint filers: Up to $166,000 (to qualify for a full contribution); $166,000-$176,000 (to be eligible for a partial contribution)[4]
* Married filing separately (if the couple lived together for any part of the year): $0 (to qualify for a full contribution); $0–$10,000 (to be eligible for a partial contribution).

2) Fixer upper, how do you get a good one, do you use a realtor? I would be afraid of getting into one that is not worth the effort. Imagine If I fix it up and don't get a good return?

First of all, your home is not an investment. It's shelter. But you can get a very good value if you buy a house that's UGLY and doesn't look good.

When we bought our house in 1992, a widower had lived there, and while the house was solid, it was ugly. The estate heirs put it on the market with a minimum of cosmetic work - essentially, only interior/exterior paint, and new sod. The carpet was old and worn, the fixtures were ugly, the linoleum in the kitchen was orange and green and soiled, the kitchen cabinets were unpainted plywood. In short, it was hideous.

We saw that the house had solid bones - 3 bedrooms of a good size, a nice dining room, a large living room, plus a rumpus room downstairs, and a garage.

We had it professionally inspected - which told us that we would need to spend $$ within 3-5 years on a new roof. Systems that weren't perfect but had a longer expected lifespan: the plumbing (which was original, 70 years old); the furnace (from the 1950's), and the electrical system (which was a nest of old wiring).

We patched the roof in 1993, and replaced it finally in 2006.
We replaced the carpet in 2001 (9 years after moving in!)
We renovated the bath right away.
We renovated the kitchen in 2001 (along with the carpet replacement).
We've replaced the valve and thermocoupler on the furnace. Still running.
We re-wired the whole house in 2007.
Still on the original plumbing.

Being patient and not charging home improvements (via a HELOC or Visa card) has been critical in making this work financially.

We also asked our realtor to run us a report of all houses in the zip code that had sold in the past 6 months, with info on square footage, # bedrooms/bathrooms, time on market, listing price, sale price. It was VERY CLEAR that the house we were considering buying was a VERY good deal in terms of what had sold in that time frame.

So I guess my advice is: buy an ugly probate house that has been professionally inspected, and research your comparative houses in that zip code to make sure you're not overpaying.

And understand that what you save up front, you will eventually pay out in improvements out of pocket.

Sandi

[snafu]

Buying 'stuff' will never, ever heal the hole in your heart. Whatever is bothering you needs to be resolved

Never charge items like gas, restaurant meals, groceries, entertainment as they are usedup/gone before the charge bill even arrives
How many Ts, CDs DVDs etc. are enough? set limits
Don't base your decision to purchase on the fact that you can manage the monthly payment. Do the math, figure out how much the car payments or flat screen payments will ultimately cost you.

[debtfreeme]

trick to compounding

I have not taken the time to read everyones reply but could you come up with a trick that shows the power of compound interest?

Something that starts with a couple of students. They both get the same amount of XYZ. One saves it (or invests it) and the other saves part of it. Show them the difference with something tangible.

Sparklers, confetti, etc.

[Inkstain82]

Since "spend less than you make" is already taken, I'll say this:

Work to live, don't live to work.

Having a fun job is incredibly overrated, if it becomes the center of your life.

[maat55]

Read The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey or The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach. Or both preferably.

[jasonnoguchi]

You can never be a bad person and a good employee.

[cschin4]

Fun is free!

So many times we associate shopping or spending money with fun and as a way to entertain ourselves. It becomes second nature to just go to the mall for something to do, etc. I used to mindlessly just go to browse. Then, I realized the more that I browse and put myself in front of merchandise, the more I will spend. Also, eating out or other activities that cost money.

So, be more creative in thinking of ways you can enjoy your life that don't cost money. View it as a challenge. I now find that it is much more enjoyable to NOT shop. I can walk my dog in the park, go for a hike, go to the library, play games, etc and have found many more ways to entertain myself and family besides going out and spending money.

[arthurb999]

Never borrow money to buy something that is going to go down in value.

[maat55]

Never borrow money to buy something that is going to go down in value.

This, with Steve's: "Live on less than you earn" are the two I live by now.

[LuxLiving]

Not sure who said it originally, but I've always remembered it after hearing that, "The poor buy STUFF, the rich buy ASSETS."

[wincrasher]

I doubt you can tell a teenager anything - they seem to know everything, and us adults, nothing. So why bother?

But if you must, "always save for a rainy day" is pretty good.

[disneysteve]

I doubt you can tell a teenager anything - they seem to know everything, and us adults, nothing. So why bother?

Being the parent of a teen, I have to say that isn't quite right. Teens will pretend to know everything and pretend not to care what others say, but they do hear and listen. They just don't acknowledge it. Every once in a while, though, they'll say or do something that lets you know that they were in fact paying attention. Our job as parents and teachers and mentors is to just keep giving them the right messages whether we see the results right away or not.

[jasonnoguchi]

Cut Up Your Credit Card

[kenyantykoon]

MAKE AS MUCH MONEY AS YOU POSSIBLY CAN BECAUSE LIFE IS SO MUCH EASIER WITH BULGING POCKETS AND OVERLOADED BANK ACCOUNTS (just giving my honest opinion so please dont flaf this comment )

[lovcom]

KenyanTyKoon, I could not agree with you more! lol

And here is one that almost no one will agree with, but I believe it 100%:

Are you ready for this?

Here goes, but sit down first:

Lots and lots of money can buy true and unequivical HAPPINESS!