Money-Saving Tips from Tibs and Shell

[Tonus]

I get some strange looks when I go to the kitchen at work and down a glass of water from the tap - almost like I have an extra foot growing out of my head.

bold mine

You mean there's already one foot there now?

She probably meant an extra horn.  She is an atheist, after all.

[Tiberius]

And I can't say I've ever thought of credit being "scary" I just never had a legitimate need for it and I've never really bought into the whole idea that you need credit to live. I think it's a luxury that we have in today's age but I honestly think it's a huge fucking scam and credit card companies have convinced everyone in the country that you need a credit card to live the American Lifestyle and I just don't buy into it.

You don't need a credit card to live, but if you can make money off it and improve your credit score, why not do it?

I would honestly never buy a house until I had the cash up front.

If you can save the money up quickly, there's some benefit to doing this, however for people on a modest income, mortgages make much more sense. Not only can you live in the house while you're paying it off (so you aren't losing money by renting), but often you can deduct the interest paid from your taxes each year.

You really need to do the calculation and work out how long you need to save the money for the house vs how much you'll be spending in rent during that time.

[AceBoogie]

You don't need a credit card to live, but if you can make money off it and improve your credit score, why not do it?

Like I said the cash back credit card sounds like a good idea.

If you can save the money up quickly, there's some benefit to doing this, however for people on a modest income, mortgages make much more sense. Not only can you live in the house while you're paying it off (so you aren't losing money by renting), but often you can deduct the interest paid from your taxes each year.

You really need to do the calculation and work out how long you need to save the money for the house vs how much you'll be spending in rent during that time.

As true as this may be I don't see myself staying where I am for any more five years. I'll probably be moving out of state by then and if I'm not going to live somewhere long term I'm better off renting. And I would have to look into it more but I believe it's actually cheaper to rent in a lot of cities.

I certainly believe there are benefits to home ownership but I also don't really want to deal with yard work or general maintenance. I just don't really feel like I'm wasting money renting; I have a place to lay my head at night and a place to hang out when I'm not working.

As far as I know my credit score is pretty good because though I use it very little I definitely used it more when I first got it and I've had it for a few years now. So if I do ever change my mind about owning a house I'm sure the option will be there for me to take out a loan if need be.

I'm kind of at a point in my life where as long as I follow my budget I'm profiting a nice amount of money every year and it all gets stashed into savings accounts, my 401(k) or other places where my money can grow. Not too worried about 'wasting money' renting to be honest. But like I said I understand that not everyone is in the position I'm in so for some people it may be necessary to own a home rather than rent.

But honestly I don't know a whole lot about owning a home or having a mortgage because it's not something I've ever seriously looked into. I've never wanted to own a house so I've never felt a need to find out about it. Maybe there is something I'm missing but I still don't feel like I want to own a home at this point in my life. Maybe I will get one of those mini houses in the form of a small RV and travel the world spreading my message of Satanism and money saving tips.

[Seraphina]

bold mine

You mean there's already one foot there now?

She probably meant an extra horn.  She is an atheist, after all.

I also have a tail growing out of my backside... 

[Shell B]

I'm with you, operator. Tibs and I have been talking about home ownership, but it was never something I was interested in because of the size of the purchase and the implications. Staying still for the rest of my life? No fucking way. I've ready plenty of financial advice that actually says it's cheaper to rent in the long run if you plan on moving a lot. The cost of selling house every time you move is too high to balance it out. I'm considering it more now because staying still doesn't sound so bad on a big old farmhouse with Tibs. Still freaks me the fuck out.

[AceBoogie]

Yeah I hear it. I have a bit of nomad in me and will probably move around my whole life if I have the means to do so

[Tonus]

I'm considering it more now because staying still doesn't sound so bad on a big old farmhouse with Tibs. Still freaks me the fuck out.

With a fair amount of land around it?

[Shell B]

I'm considering it more now because staying still doesn't sound so bad on a big old farmhouse with Tibs. Still freaks me the fuck out.

With a fair amount of land around it?

Oh, yes. He wants the house. I want the land.

[Tiberius]

This tip works if you live in a state that has Ocean State Job Lots, which I believe is New England, New York, and New Jersey. There are probably similar stores that do these kind of offers, so look around for them.

Ocean State Job Lot is a discount store that stocks a load of every day items, most of which are pretty decent. Every week they publish a bunch of "Crazy Deals", where if you buy a certain item or items, you get a store gift card of a certain value, almost always worth more than half the price of the item you bought, and occasionally worth the entire price (hence the name "Crazy Deal"). The "catch" is that on most of these items you still have to pay any sales tax, and you can't use the Crazy Deal cards to buy items that reward you with another Crazy Deal card.

However, you can get a load of stuff effectively "free" or at extremely low cost by doing this. Of course, you have to use the gift cards in order to actually save money, but we find that a lot of common household items are on sale there.

[Tonus]

With a fair amount of land around it?

Oh, yes. He wants the house. I want the land.

I grew up in NYC and lived there until last year. Houses in the city and nearby suburbs have almost no land around them and are almost as cramped as the apartment buildings I lived in. I moved out here (Dayton OH suburbs) and it's almost rural. Got a nice house on a half-acre for about 1/4 of the cost of the same house on almost no land in NYC. A half-acre out here is pretty small as the locals see it, but it's all the room I'll ever need. And as a bonus, doing yard work drops my blood pressure by a pretty good amount so I've got a reason to smile while I stumble around pretending to know what I'm doing.