Dave Taylor
Rex kwan Do
I know there is a topic discussing cutting the chord and such but figured what better time than now to call it what you want but "save money" "spend less" "be more conservative" "be smarter with your money" etc...big changes coming for the Taylor household and I will go as far as to say most likely every middle income family in the US(if not the world). If you feel inflation is coming, the diesel S&P500 may stall out and consolidate for a while(months/years?) and in general gas and commodities are not getting cheaper. How do we save and continue to live the "good life"? This isn't quite a doom and gloom post but more of a "at some point we need to pay off this debt we just printed and it's going to be in the form of inflation, higher interest rates, higher taxes etc" type of post.
Let's start with what some consider the new normal and I consider the new drowning of the middle class in never ending debt. We are moving to Middletown, Md at the end of December and it's a great opportunity to clean some things up. For me I'd generally like to spend less and change the meaning of what necessities really are. Last year we ditched cable tv. Somehow I feel like that didn't help as much as I thought as we now have an Amazon Firestick with subs to Amazon, Disney +, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock etc. What is a happy median? Is YouTube TV worth it? Is there an affordable, all encompassing package?
And then there is my bullshit. Where does it stop? Do I need a pay Strava account, Sufferfest, Trainerroad, Trainingpeaks, Spotify, Zwift etc? I just cancelled my wife's Retro Fitness account that she left unused since the beginning of Covid.
Life insurance policies? What is worth it and what is bullshit? Car payments? Do you need a new car payment or lease of is that just a status/luxury thing? I recently bought a Transit 150 to help with the move but in reality the thing eats gas. Thank the good lord for my 05 POS ghetto beater Corolla with 255K miles. I used to love custom cars and trucks because of the work, dedication and passion to build them and maintain. I'd still like to build a custom truck again someday but to TBH owning any vehicle with a "status" label attached to it doesn't interest me. I want my car to be safe, reliable and affordable but at the same time I don't care about 0-60, Apple Car, self driving etc. Will I save money buying a $35k electric car vs driving a $4k Toyota Saris? You get the point, a car gets me from point A to point B. Driving is not a passion or a hobby but something I am forced to do.
One last thing before the closing statement. What do we buy these days that is quality? Everything is disposable, Chinese junk . A fridge that lasts one day past warranty, an RC car that costs $125 and is worthless after one crash...hell, I even bought a white rubber made trash can for the garage from Lowes and the first bottle I threw in it shattered the cheap plastic it was made from. We did luck out(I hope) with the new house in that it is early 2000s construction by a local builder. It has real oak floors, stairs etc. We looked at some Ryan and Toll Bros homes and damn are those things overpriced junk. Crooked, poorly closing doors, cheap materials and shitty property excavation. This could be seen by sinking driveways, and front porches separating from the house.
Seriously though, we have some money saved, plus some retirement accounts but what do you do with it? Yea, I know the S&P goes up forever(until it doesn't). I may have been off on my market crash timing but I still feel it is inevitable. Where do you put money for a decent return now? Can I outpace my new 2.75% mortgage rate?
Let's start with what some consider the new normal and I consider the new drowning of the middle class in never ending debt. We are moving to Middletown, Md at the end of December and it's a great opportunity to clean some things up. For me I'd generally like to spend less and change the meaning of what necessities really are. Last year we ditched cable tv. Somehow I feel like that didn't help as much as I thought as we now have an Amazon Firestick with subs to Amazon, Disney +, Hulu, Netflix, Peacock etc. What is a happy median? Is YouTube TV worth it? Is there an affordable, all encompassing package?
And then there is my bullshit. Where does it stop? Do I need a pay Strava account, Sufferfest, Trainerroad, Trainingpeaks, Spotify, Zwift etc? I just cancelled my wife's Retro Fitness account that she left unused since the beginning of Covid.
Life insurance policies? What is worth it and what is bullshit? Car payments? Do you need a new car payment or lease of is that just a status/luxury thing? I recently bought a Transit 150 to help with the move but in reality the thing eats gas. Thank the good lord for my 05 POS ghetto beater Corolla with 255K miles. I used to love custom cars and trucks because of the work, dedication and passion to build them and maintain. I'd still like to build a custom truck again someday but to TBH owning any vehicle with a "status" label attached to it doesn't interest me. I want my car to be safe, reliable and affordable but at the same time I don't care about 0-60, Apple Car, self driving etc. Will I save money buying a $35k electric car vs driving a $4k Toyota Saris? You get the point, a car gets me from point A to point B. Driving is not a passion or a hobby but something I am forced to do.
One last thing before the closing statement. What do we buy these days that is quality? Everything is disposable, Chinese junk . A fridge that lasts one day past warranty, an RC car that costs $125 and is worthless after one crash...hell, I even bought a white rubber made trash can for the garage from Lowes and the first bottle I threw in it shattered the cheap plastic it was made from. We did luck out(I hope) with the new house in that it is early 2000s construction by a local builder. It has real oak floors, stairs etc. We looked at some Ryan and Toll Bros homes and damn are those things overpriced junk. Crooked, poorly closing doors, cheap materials and shitty property excavation. This could be seen by sinking driveways, and front porches separating from the house.
Seriously though, we have some money saved, plus some retirement accounts but what do you do with it? Yea, I know the S&P goes up forever(until it doesn't). I may have been off on my market crash timing but I still feel it is inevitable. Where do you put money for a decent return now? Can I outpace my new 2.75% mortgage rate?