ProBlogger is doing a group writing project on what bloggers would do differently if they had a chance to do it all over again. If you’re a website owner and haven’t checked out Darren’s blog, you should really do so. There is a wealth of information on his site and he is well known.
Now on to what I would have done differently if I had to do it all over:
I would have started my blog earlier. As with all business ventures, the earlier you get in the game the easier it is to succeed. There is less competition and there are lower barriers to entry.
Of course hind sight is 20/20. Who would have known blogging would be so big 5-10 years earlier?
Written by admin on July 25th, 2006 with 3 comments.
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In part two of this Live Below Your Means series, I wrote about everyday purchases like buying a coffee from Starbucks or buying lunch at work. Today I would like to write about a major purchase like buying a house.
For most people buying a house is the most expensive purchase they will make in their lifetime. Unfortunately, this is also an area where people throw a lot of money away.
One of the first things that a real estate agent will go over with you is to figure out how much of a house you can afford. This how much of a house you can afford thinking is costing you a lot of money.
Yes, everyone wants to live in the biggest and nicely house possible. But how much is buying the biggest house you can afford costing you? Well it could possibly cost you your house if you have to foreclose.
When you buy the biggest, you leave little cushion for yourself financially. What if your expenses go up? Everyone should be well aware of this with gas prices tripling over the last few years. That aside, there is a just as important reason to not buy as much house as you can. What about investing for your future? My fiancée has a friend that is looking to buy a house for $200,000 in Dallas.
Sure she can afford the house, but she doesn’t need that much house. She could easily buy a home for $150,000 and invest the difference for her and her family’s future. Let’s look at how much money buying a $200,000 house is costing her over buying a $150,000 one.
Scenario #1 – 30 Year Loan at 6.5% Interest:
Home Cost: $150,000
Monthly Payment: $948.10
Total Interest Paid: $191,316.00
Scenario #2 – 30 Year Loan at 6.5% Interest:
Home Cost: $200,000
Monthly Payment: $1264.14
Total Interest Paid: $255,090.40
The $200,000 dollar home will not cost her $50,000 more; it will cost her $113,800 more over the life of the loan. This turns out to be $3800 per year or $316 per month. Which you can see is the difference in the monthly payments.
Remember that you will have more than your $113,800 in cash after 30 years if you go with the smaller home. This is because your money should be working for you, making you money.
In part 4 of 4 in this series, I will show some details on how your money will make money over time.
* Note that I rounded numbers in some instances to make it easier to follow.
Written by admin on July 24th, 2006 with no comments.
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