For the remainder of this week I want to do something that I believe has never been done in the history of Personal Finance: encourage spending!
Why would I do a ‘heathen’ thing like that:
1. Well spending is good for the economy … it’s how we got things going after WW2 … go ahead be a Patriot!
2. Money has NO PURPOSE until you spend it
3. Money SPENT NOW is worth more than MONEY SPENT later (due to a little thing called Inflation)
4. Learning when/how to spend is AS IMPORTANT as learning how to save … after all, you WILL spend b/w 50% and 90% of your weekly paycheck!
5. If you don’t SPEND when you CAN and SHOULD, society has a word for you: Miser and we don’t want to confuse being SENSIBLE with being STUPID, do we?
But, there is a why and a wherefore that I will be exploring for the rest of this week … enjoy!
And, don’t forget to let me know what you think … we want to be on the cutting-edge of Personal Finance thinking, not the BLEEDING EDGE … your feedback will help us determine where we stand.
AJC.
I’m curious a bit by your topics. No doubt spending money is social responsible, creating more jobs, and help boost the economy. My list of worthy cause to spend money on, as a consumer:
Camera – I want a Digital Rebel to start dabbling into photography. Only when I have $1000 to spare.
Travel – Once every 2 or 3 months, I want to get out and visit people. So far this plan has been working out pretty well and I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn’t have to be that expensive (can be) but I have friends from college to crash so a trip will cost around $500 – $600 or so for a weekend get-away (plain tickets include). I figure, 6 times a year only cost me roughly $3,000, which I can make anytime by working some extra weekends, while I can get to know a tons more people, new network, see new places, and become richer as a person. Once you know and see more, you will less likely to judge other people and be more opened to ideas.
Occasional self-indulgences such as an iPod. I can’t live without the iPod since I spend roughly 1 hour everyday on the road. It’s a $300 well-spent.
Donation to my Church. I’m not Christian but I do believe money should be used for good-will action as well. I rather give to the church than give to the tax-man.
Learning and education: I gotta keep constant up-to-date in my field, also, I want to enrich myself too with other interesting hobbies in music and art. This won’t be much, but I will probably end up taking one college-level class every semester when I have the luxury of having time and money.
Long-term plans:
Buying condos and rental properties. This will for sure boost the economy, one “$150,000” or “$200,000” at a time.
Continue to invest in micro/peer-to-peer lending. I have a decent account in Prosper so I’d like to keep that rolling. I hope that I can help other people through financial hardship and at the same time, make decent return with my money. Oh, AJC, I have a question for you about P2P lending — wonder if you can share your opinion.
Never, ever, get into credit card debts. I’ve been debt free for the last 2 years now and I never want to get back into carrying revolving debts.
Everybody – Guest Post courtesy of Alex, today!
Seriously, thanks for your contribution today Alex. To me Saving and Spending are the Yin and Yang of money … isn’t it sensible to provide at least some commentary on how to control the rush of cash as it leaves your wallet?
PS Buying condos (presumably to earn income) isn’t Spending … it’s Investing. Good luck with it … just remember sooner is (much) better when it comes to investing.
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