Author Topic: "Finance Lab" from today's Washington Post  (Read 2073 times)

pagoconcheques

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"Finance Lab" from today's Washington Post
« on: March 15, 2015, 10:10:29 AM »
Where to begin......?  It seems to me this guy is in hair-on-fire mode but the "advice", while addressing the car and adult-child over-subsidy problems, fails to give the needed face punch. 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2015/03/13/before-retirement-a-plan-to-clear-90000-in-debt/

"invest in a new hobby of remodeling old cars" --  No, just no.  Cars as toys are even more of an expense than investment than regular cars for regular use. 

"paying a car loan and its insurance for his daughter, who is working her way toward financial independence"  and "Selling the house that his father left to him – the one his daughter is living in now would increase the living expenses for his daughter" --  Yeah, I bet those daughters are making big strides with parental subsidies like that. 

"His monthly bills amount to about $4,000, including a $750 mortgage payment, about $600 on groceries, an average $580 on cable and utilities and about $600 on dining out and other cash purchases. His car payments add up to $950, and he has about $500 in minimum payments on his credit cards" -- I don't get this at all.  Staunton is a pretty LCOL area and his home must be huge and absurdly inefficient to have utility bills that high.  That also seems like a really high grocery bill for two people.  The car payments are ludicrous, and based on his home and work locations he is commuting about 50 miles a day round trip.


Livewell

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Re: "Finance Lab" from today's Washington Post
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2015, 10:31:01 AM »
I clicked the link and was surprised to see a picture of someone who was so much older with that caption under him. 

Hope him the best but he's already lost the biggest tool he has - compound interest. 

Sad. 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!