money advice from savvy people …

automate your finances – pay yourself first .. as soon as the salary hits the account , have an automatic deposit to your retirement , emergency funds , reducing your debts – credit card / student loan / car loan / home loan first

people who save more than 40 – 50 % of their income each month and invest it into the long term ( stock market ) are all set for an early retirement / financial independence – where work becomes optional after , say 40

after that , you are free to spend on what you like – but track where your money is going – plenty of tools – from a simple notepad to an excel file or software tools like perfios , personalcapital , mint , you need a budget , to do a more graphical analysis of where the money is going

you can negotiate your credit card interest rates , cell phone plan rates , car insurance rates .. just by comparing with other vendors and threatening to walk away from your current vendor .. they will try to keep you as a customer .. so there is a good chance you will get a better deal .. that is extra money for you in your bank and for you to invest .. all it takes is a phone call

this will help you spend less – before buying anything , wait for 30 days .. if you still want it , look at the hours that you have to work to get that item .. you know your monthly salary , divide it by approximately 160 hours to get your hourly rate .. is the item worth x hours of your work life .. if yes , go for it

and yes , that new car , financed with 20 % down is a stupid purchase and is keeping you poor .. insurance , financing , fuel , servicing , parking fees , speeding tickets , driving time (average 1 hour each day ) all can be avoided if you take the public transport or move closer to work and walk or bike to work .. if you avoid the commute , you have a better work life balance

if you take the public transport , you can read a book , listen to a podcast , learn something new , get smarter

cars don’t appreciate with time , they go down in value as soon as you drive them off the car dealer’s lot – it is called depreciation

if you really need a car , go for a certified used car – the cost will be less , less or zero financing needed and no road taxes to be paid from your pocket – be smart – let someone else take the hit