Not taking the advice we give out

[cypher1]

Does anyone not take their own financial advice that they may give to others? For example, with excess cash I know I should be either maxing out my 401K, or putting more cash into paying off my mortgage, or investing more into taxable investments. Any one of those options would be more ideal in the long-term for goals, but I've decided to hold onto more cash for different priorities and plans in the near future. So the response "It depends," is more relevant each person's different situation or stage of where they're at in life.

[myrdale]

Everything is situational, as you stated.

I want a new truck. A new truck will be $30k. I don't need a new truck. I wouldn't suggest someone in debt buy a new truck. I could buy a used truck for half the cost. I am not in debt and I am going to pay cash. I also want to buy real estate. I could use that money to go towards a rental house. I am probably buying a new truck anyway.

This past year I sunk $1,000 into bee keeping. Just a hobby. I don't even plan to harvest honey. That $1,000 could have went towards either of my larger goals above.

Over the weekend, I purchased a pair of salt and pepper grinders and a couple seasoning holders. I sunk $90 into that stuff. I didn't need any of it.

At lunch today I had a salad from Zaxby's, a large drink, and a side of fries. $15.

Am I spending uncontrollable? My IRA is maxed, 10% to the 401K. Mortgage is paid off. Cash on hand for the truck on top of the extended emergency fund. Its all situational.

[disneysteve]

Does anyone not take their own financial advice that they may give to others?

Absolutely. Everyone's situation is different. There are rules of thumb, and they exist for a reason, but that doesn't mean they apply 100% of the time. Most of the time when people post questions here, we have only very general information about their situation, so the advice I give is equally general. It's what I think most people ought to be doing. Is it what I would do? Not necessarily, but I know every detail of my own situation so I can make more nuanced decisions.

That's largely why when people do post questions, I typically respond with a whole list of questions in return because if you want a really good, well thought out answer and not just spitting out a rule of thumb, you need to provide as much detail as possible.

[bjl584]

it happens
we have our own priorities

I think that as long as the big picture looks good, then it doesn't make sense to sweat all of the details

[ua_guy]

I agree...it's easy to dispense good advice. Following it in every personal situation is a much narrower path to walk. However, knowing what good advice is, and then doing things differently probably makes a more informed, and more rounded decision overall. I am in the midst of making a very poor financial decision. But at least I know that. The tradeoff is happiness. I will have less money. But because I know good advice, I will restore my pre-decision financial status in the months to come!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

All the time. I am a huge proponent about buying too much house and car. I say that always causes budget problems. That more than a starbucks habit or eating out which are easier to cut but not usually a bigger part of a budget compared to a house or car. Those are usually out of line and cause problems like being able to eat out or have a coffee.

Now I am about to be in that same predicament. Our mortgage will be a higher percentage than I would like and is definitely in the "higher" level of acceptable, still within the limits but not comfortable. So the answer would normally be move. But i'm not going to move. This is a temporary thing for us and when we bought we did follow the rule of "affordability" and I kept it in mind.

But because of this I am keeping in mind that I will be trying to keep my car longer because of our budget.

[cypher1]

I agree...it's easy to dispense good advice. Following it in every personal situation is a much narrower path to walk. However, knowing what good advice is, and then doing things differently probably makes a more informed, and more rounded decision overall. I am in the midst of making a very poor financial decision. But at least I know that. The tradeoff is happiness. I will have less money. But because I know good advice, I will restore my pre-decision financial status in the months to come!

Spot on with decisions based on trade-offs and finding a healthy balance. Being able to afford living off less income but being more happy as an outcome, I will not argue with.

As others pointed out with rule of thumb guidelines, those are set in place to simply guide us. While situations may vary for everyone, it's nice to know I'm not alone with thinking it's acceptable to not always follow those best practices.

[disneysteve]

As others pointed out with rule of thumb guidelines, those are set in place to simply guide us. While situations may vary for everyone, it's nice to know I'm not alone with thinking it's acceptable to not always follow those best practices.

Yep. Look, my wife and I are 56. Retirement is hopefully just a few years away. We have a comfortable 6-figure income, zero debt, a 7-figure portfolio, and currently save about 45% of income. We're doing well. We can stretch or bend the rules a lot more than folks with tighter financial situations, a lot of debt, lower incomes, or lacking in retirement savings. But I will say without a doubt that many years of following the rules of thumb and the standard advice that gets dispensed here has helped get us to the place we are now. As Dave Ramsey says, "Live like no one else now so that later you can live like no one else".

[Singuy]

My advice doesn't go beyond live frugally/save until you have zero debt including a mortgage while maxing out retirement. Go nuts once that happens. We used to live frugally but today we spend with practically little care within reason. Who knows, I may even step into a star bucks and order a coffee.

[MonkeyMama]

I don't give advice that I wouldn't take.

But I personally don't like any of the rules of thumb. I find them to be mostly useless because things are so individual. Most of the rules of thumb are too aggressive for me personally. (Meaning, we are way more financially conservative than most rules of thumb). LAL's post though reminds me that I feel the opposite about housing rules of thumb. Those are nonsense when you live in a high cost area.

I've had a wide variety of income/financial experiences. Most of my advice is things I have done or would readily do.

I also probably steer clear of advice when it comes to experiences I have not had. I am not big on the "getting out of debt" advice because is not anything I have personally experienced or have any insight into. If five people with more relevant experience have already chimed in, I am just not going to see the point.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I don't give advice that I wouldn't take.

But I personally don't like any of the rules of thumb. I find them to be mostly useless because things are so individual. Most of the rules of thumb are too aggressive for me personally. (Meaning, we are way more financially conservative than most rules of thumb). LAL's post though reminds me that I feel the opposite about housing rules of thumb. Those are nonsense when you live in a high cost area.

I've had a wide variety of income/financial experiences. Most of my advice is things I have done or would readily do.

I also probably steer clear of advice when it comes to experiences I have not had. I am not big on the "getting out of debt" advice because is not anything I have personally experienced or have any insight into. If five people with more relevant experience have already chimed in, I am just not going to see the point.

I also usually bend the housing but I find it the easiest way get the rest of a budget back in line when seeing how to get out of debt.