EL

Friday Quotes XI

It’s that time again for some motivation. I can use some myself and all of you can too with awesome, fantastic, and uplifting quotes. I think quotes have that lasting effect on people and can be used to harness something from within to either keep the positive momentum going or maybe a beginning to start that new exciting path.

I started given you quotes about 6 months ago and now I’ve noticed all over the twitter world more people placing quotes on their pages. I feel the happiness, and it will only get better due to all the motivation spreading over the Internet.

I am releasing this post a day early as I will be away on vacation for a few days. But please enjoy the quotes and I’ll see you when I get back. Keep checking the site as I will have some good posts coming up for you in my absence.

Best Quotes:

-If your not about investing then you might as well live poorly. – RichUncle EL

-Mo’ Money more Interest- RichUncle EL

-A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it. – Bob Hope

-Success is having to worry about every damn thing in the world, except money. – Johnny Cash

Can you enjoy your life and still put away some dollars for your future? I believe so and everyday PF bloggers out there are proving it. But it is sad when I speak to some of the younger generations and I ask them if they are into investing. The first thing out of their mouths is no about 90% of the time. Why are they so afraid to take a chance and change their future? Maybe it is because they rather go clubbing instead of being owners of a company. To all of you who have not taken the time to invest something for the future, set up a percentage of your net pay and start slow and steady buying dividend paying funds or stocks you will not regret it.

As for the quotes above Bob Hope really drove this quote home, because what are companies about? Making money and a bank is no exception to the rule. Actually a bank is one of the oldest businesses in the world, and by all means they should make money. Johnny Cash actually made some sense here with this quote as success and fame bring about many problems, but money should not be one of them. Unless you have a shady embezzling accountant. Then you might have some serious money problems. What do you guys think of these 4 quotes? Feedback is always welcomed.

Best PF Post’s of the Week:

-Where to begin Investing: MoneyUnder30 (Before investing look up fund fees of .50% or less)

-Are you Addicted to Debt? : MoneyInfant

-80 New Financial Calculators: Financial Mentor

Great articles deserve acknowledgement. All of these offer a different prospective to the personal finance blog world. I usually aim for great content posts on my Friday carnivals, and these three are a must read. I learn so much from reading these posts and others as well and I feel you will not regret it if you read them as well. What was your favorite post this week?

Comment and let me know what was your favorite quote or post this week?

RichUncle EL

How I lost 20 Pounds

Wow I didn’t expect to lose this much when I started my new work out routine. I was fine body wise but I had a desire to be more ripped. So I got on the P90X bandwagon and it was great for the first 3 weeks, but then the motivation declined. How many of you can relate to this drop off in energy, how are the #newyearsresolutions working out for you? Why did I start doing this new workout, because I was bored with the traditional workouts I had been doing. Lift this bench press here pull that pulley their. I wanted to reinvent and switch up my body to hopefully increase my energy levels and gain power with more unconventional ways. I didn’t have a desire to bulk up anymore like I did in back in 2006. I found that I like looking ripped compared to just looking big. Plus being lean helps improve speed on the basketball court and on the running track.

So I took my workouts outside and away from the gym.(Have not entered a gym in over 4 years) I cut out the extra portions of bread and rice that my body didn’t need. I increased overall workout intensity while increasing my fruits, protein, and veggies intake. Back in 2007 my normal workout routine would take about 2 hours, now I can do a great workout in 30 minutes. (Less breaks and a more intense workout routine)

Excercises I do to stay fit:

Push-ups
Squats
Pull-ups
Sprints and Interval Running
Dead lifts
Burbees
Planks
Core and Balance Movements
Alternate Jumping leg Squats
Jumping Jacks

Probably many of you are thinking what does this post have to do with finances? Well my friends can you say dollars out of my pocket and into the hands of clothes retailers, because now I am more lean and mean my pants do not fit me anymore. Shirts look a little baggy as well. I used to buy large now I am getting medium shirts as they fit better. This is one part of losing weight that has a downside. Money spent to change up and reinvent the ward rope.

So what will I need to get, how about a new suit, at least three new work slacks, and 4 new work shirts. All of these items can total about $1,000 unless I get really savvy and do some comparison shopping and use online discount codes. I can also do some smart shopping during back to school sales and hopefully catch some good percentages off the merchandise.

In conclusion you will spend more if you lose weight by buying new clothes but on the other hand you will be spending less by not consuming all that extra bad food. Some of the foods I do not intake anymore are: Soda, fruity cereals, fast food burgers, non-whole wheat bread, french fries, and only eat a select few desserts. Now that I eat less my grocery bill has been reduced by about 15%. In addition to this I also saved on gym expenses and instead use my dumbbells and will be investing soon in kettle bells. I think the cost savings over the years are worth it to me by elminating time and fuel costs of commuting to a gym.

Comment if you have tried a new workout routine and the results you achieved.

RichUncle EL

Friday Quotes X

Best Quotes :

1. I know how to make dollars on top of dollars on top of dollars; by compounding interest. – RichUncle EL

2. You reach a point where you don’t work for money. -Walt Disney

3. Interest money can buy stocks, stocks give dividends to buy even more stocks. – RichUncle EL

4. I don’t make deals for the money. I’ve got enough, much more than I’ll ever need. I do it to do it.-Donald Trump

AHH some good quotes for all of you today. My quotes are based on passive income from stocks generating even more income. The other two quotes are based on two successful business men that finally reached a pinnacle in their lives and quoted that money is no longer needed to do what they do for their passion. I assume their businesses are now self sustainable. (FYI-Walt Disney is no longer with us) Yes the Donald is still working, but he elects people to do the business tasks he rather delegate. For example I’m sure every trump tower in this world has a property manager as he could not manage all of them at once. His apprentice show is exactly what I am expressing to you today as those people are fighting for a job within his organization. Imagine building something so great that it will be around forever. Wow. Disney World and The Trump Empire will be around for who knows how long. Decades maybe even centuries. Aim for more and you shall see results.

What is your favorite quote from the 4 above?

Best PF Posts of the Week:

-An Inside Look at Your Finances: Budgets are Sexy

-My Process for Determining a Suitable Rental Property: Free Money Finance

-My Entry Criteria for Dividend Stocks:Dividend Growth Investor (2011 Post)

-20 Big Cities Where Buying a House Beats Renting: Money Talks News

Great articles deserve acknowledgement. All of these offer a different presepective to the personal finance blog world. I usually aim for 4 featured posts on my post carnivals and these four are a must read. I learn so much from reading these posts and others as well and I feel you will not regret it if you read them as well.

Comment and let me know what was your favorite quote this week?

RichUncle EL

Watches equals Value

I wanted to do a post on a topic that I have never read before anywhere else and something that is different than my usual posts. I did internet research and even interviewed a few watch dealers to get this valuable information. I am fascinated with watches and a thought came to me one day. What watch brands hold their value or even increase in value as time passes? The list below is a great list with excellent brands, but unfortunately cost an arm and a leg just to get your hands on some of these. So if you want to invest in one of these you better start saving now because they are costly? Obviously if you are in the market for one of these you should be debt free, on solid financial ground, and have a huge net worth before attempting to buy one of these time pieces. Make a new budget category labeled future watch purchase, hahaha.

I have heard through the grapevine that wealthy individuals actually invest in timepieces as a way to hedge part of their money against other risky investments in their portfolios or to place surplus money in a hard asset. Have any of you heard of anything like this? Would you consider this for your own investment strategy if you could? If you knew for a fact that certain watches equals value would you drop a few thousand and make a purchase?

Examples of Hard Assets:

Jewelry (Gold, Silver, Precious Stones)
Real Estate
Cars, Planes, Boats
Watches
Vintage Furniture / Artwork
Machinery ( For Businesses)

The important thing to consider when purchasing one of these watches is first and foremost is to decide what movement you desire and if it is made by the company itself or not. Automatic, mechanical, quartz, and Solar are the only options for watch movements. By far the automatic movements with a power reserve (powered by your mobility aka Kinetic) are pricier than the others and it will hold its value longer. In addition to the complications mentioned before always make sure that the movement is Swiss made as this will pay off later in eventual resale. You will see a small print in the face of the watch that will verify if it is or not Swiss made. In addition to this if you dig a little further you can find out if the movement is a Valjoux which is a highly respected and recognized movement. The retail prices of most of these brands range between $1,500 – 80,000+. IWC and Omega are on the lower end of the price range and Patek Philippe and Jaeger LeCoultre are on the higher range price point. The companies who market their brands too heavily are disgraced by watch collectors because they are more mass produced in the world of watches and thus eventually will not increase in value. Quality over quantity is a key lesson for watch aficionados. This is something to consider prior to a time piece purchase.

Best Watches equals Value Brands:

-Rolex
-Bremont
-Cartier
-Blancpain
-A. Lange & Sohne
-Patek Philippe
-Jaeger LeCoultre
-Vacheron Constatine
-IWC*
-Omega*
-Breitling*
-Audemars Piguet*
-Zenith
-Sinn

If you notice there are some brands that are not mentioned here like Movado or Oris, I do recognize that these two brands and a few others as being good for certain target markets, but overall they do not increase in value as the brands on the list if they do at all. Granted other companies offer excellent watches, but the value of certain brands tend to stay level.

Important fact and a distinction people overlook is for what purpose you are buying this timepiece whether you want this time piece to be for everyday wear or for special occasions? Always remember that you should look at purchasing a timepiece that is timeless literally, because then you can pass it down to your heirs. Even though most of the brands on this list might be considered luxury and can cost more than what the average person might want to spend. It is important to understand that this category of watches aka luxury are the ones that increase in value over time while the budget based watch categories do not. (Examples of budget based brands: Seiko, Citizen, Bulova, Timex, Invicta, Swiss Legend, Fossil, etc.)

Companies who are honorably mentioned for having excellent timepieces but did not make the list: Hamilton, Tissot, Bell & Ross, Momo Design, Oris, and Tag Huerer. (Value increases if any will not be as substantial) Also any watch made by a fashion designers like Coach, Versace, Michael Kors, or Gucci is blasphemy for real watch collectors, but might hold a special place for certain brand lovers. They are hell bent on making a fashion statement rather than making a fine time piece. Also to all you Michael Kors watch loving people, did you know that fossil is the maker of their watch movement? Enough Said.
-Getting a watch that will increase in value and could possibly be triple its worth in 15 years is another example of watching your money!

RichUncle EL

PS: Ask Men has a cool section called the watch snob where the author answers any questions you may have with luxury based watches.

*The series and movement of these brands will determine if the value will increase.

PSS: Rolex is the most recognized brand and it is renowned worldwide as a timeless brand. Pic By Rolex

Buying vs. Investing

Did you know that with simple smart decision making tactics you can adjust bad spending habits and transform them into investing opportunities. For example instead of getting another video game which retails for up to $60 dollars, you could borrow it first to see if you really like it and then you can invest that money for the time being while you decide. Where would this smart investor place the money? Sixty bucks can buy about 4 shares of vanguard’s international stock index fund(VGTSX). These index funds have a risk rating between 1-5 and are already diversified for added safety, by pooling together all the funds invested into a variety of stocks and other funds.

Another option for the $60 dollars is about 6 shares of Ford Stock. The current price of the stock is about $9.30 a share about 4 years ago the stock was at it’s lowest levels of 2 dollars and this was the perfect time to place a trade. Many analyst predict the stock is still cheap and will only go up from here. The current dividend yield on this stock is about 2.14%, and the more shares you own the greater the dividend payout you will receive.

It all boils down to this do you want to be a owner of money producing stocks and index funds or would you rather have something that collects dust in your house that after a few days you basically lose interest in it? So if you decide to change bad habits with good ones, your financial future will make a drastic turn for the better. Asset accumulation is the game the wealthy play in order to become wealthier. Anyone can do it, it just takes effort to understand and actually drop those dimes on something worthwhile that will possibly grow in the future as compared to a thing that will never ever grow or give you returns in you’re entire lifetime. I know my readers will make great decisions with their financial futures by taking surplus money and putting it to work to make more dollars on top of dollars. Also if you make the investing consistent and a part of your monthly routine you will be ahead of the majority of people.

Below is a quick run down of several scenarios between buying as compared to investing options for most people.

Buying Vs. Investing

A pair of Nike sneakers- $90 = 6 Shares of (VGTSX)

An Ipad Tablet- $500 = 53 Shares of Ford Stock

A Video Game -$60= 2 Shares of AT&T or CBS Stock

New Sunglasses- $120= 4 Shares of PSE&G Stock

RichUncle EL

FYI: Please do some research before buying stocks as they always have risk attached to them. The stocks I mentioned above were selected to show an investing example please take the time to buy those stocks that are right for you.

Friday Quotes IX

It’s that time again for some friday quote IX motivation. I can use some myself and all of you can too with awesome, fantastic, and uplifting quotes. I think quotes have that lasting effect on people and can be used to harness something from within to either keep the positive momentum going or maybe a beginning to start that new exciting path in life. Look below for Friday Quotes IX.

Continue reading Friday Quotes IX

Which cars are the cheapest to own?

Image by Fastcoolcars.com

Have you ever wondered which car is the cheapest car to drive. Well you might think hey my car only cost me 15K so that price is pretty cheap, but you need to look at more than just the price of the car. Fuel is a big component of how much your car will cost you over time, in addition to a few other fees. I will provide you with a list of cars that won the cheapest award in every category.

This current list of cars is being provided by Kelley Blue Book Value. I always was curious to find out which cars after 5 years of owning them are cheaper when compared to other cars in their class. What are the fees associated with this 5 year auto expense figure? See the list below:

Fees by %:

Fuel – 26%
Maintenance- 5%
Insurance- 9%
Financing – 6% (If you didn’t pay cash for it)
Repairs- 4%
State Fees-6%
Depreciation- 44%

So these are the average fees for every car owner and the biggest piece of the pie is depreciation. The standard definition for depreciation is – how well the vehicle holds its value over time. In the examples listed below, the depreciation was calculated by taking the gap between what you paid for a car and what it’s worth in 5 years. Example Car price is 20K but after 5 years it’s worth 10K then the difference is 10K. Then that 10K is added to all the other costs listed above like fuel over 5 years. Thus giving you the grand total of what a car costs you after 5 years. Then to break it down further you can divide that by the amount of miles you drive giving you what your car costs you per mile. Hope you are not confused, and if you are read it again and go to the KBB website for some excellent pictures and graphs on each car listed below.

The 5 year cost to own list in every category:

Sub Compact Car: 2012 Nissan Versa S- $29,763.00

Compact Car: 2012 KIA Soul- $30,924.00

Mid Size Car: 2012 Honda Accord – $37,529.00

Entry Level Luxury: 2012 Lexus CT 200H – $39,212.00

Mid-Size SUV: 2012 Jeep Wrangler Sport- $40,036.00

Minivan: 2012 Mazda 5 Sport- $40,538.00

Sports Car: 2012 Mazda Miata MX5 Sport -$42,524.00

Full Size Car: 2012 Ford Taurus SE – $46,876.00

Luxury Car: 2012 Audi A5 2.0T Quattro Premium – $57,559.00

Full Size SUV: 2012 Toyota Sequioa SE- $59,984.00

What do you think about the fees for all the categories? Given the fact that these cars are considered the cheapest in each car class. I left out pick up trucks as I feel they are mostly used as business vehicles. I am surprised because I didn’t expect the fees to be almost as high as the total purchase price of a new car. For example the subcompact car winner costs about 12 thousand dollars brand new, but the 5 year cost to own is almost triple the purchase price. That is just ridiculous. I think situations might vary as you might drive less than the next person, but remember that these figures are based on tests and statistical facts being done for each category.

A month ago I wrote a post on a future car purchase for me The Mazda 3, do you want to know what the 5 year cost to own is on that car? The magic figure is $34,403.00 with a purchase price of about 18K. The grand total is basically double the amount of the new car price, wow. I think this just makes my decision that much more difficult. So given the facts of how these fees work and how they can affect your bottom line. Do some research before buying any new car, and take into consideration how well it will do in this 5 year cost to own test.

RichUncle EL

Image above is the Ford GT and it’s 5 year costs is probably 200 thousand dollars.

Spent $0 in a week

How:

Hey don’t judge me, I had all the food I needed and all the drinks were already chilled in my ice box, didn’t need to buy gas or anything else. It was a regular week and I finally reached a milestone. I always thought that this would be difficult to accomplish when I started blogging, but I can now say that I have done it at least 3 or 4 times in the last 4 months. It all started by tracking every penny I spent in my handy dandy notebook. The days of the week that I didn’t spend any money vary, sometimes the spend fast week started from Friday to Friday or most recently from Sunday to Sunday. As you would be shocked that I didn’t make a purchase during the weekend, I will let you know that it could be done. So if you want to accomplish a similar feat for all mankind or maybe just for your wallet, start tracking every purchase and then make drastic cuts by planning ahead of time. Groceries should be purchased to last you through the week, your gas tank should be filled prior to as well, and for crying out loud avoid any major retailers.

Why:

As you might be asking yourself why did I put myself in such a predicament of being a terrible consumer and not adding to our nation’s GDP. Well if you may ask I did it to add to my Net Worth which is my very own GDP. Another word for this extreme sport as per shopaholics everywhere, is basically called a spending fast. I had a goal in mind as a way to test myself to think differently and I was going to achieve it no matter what. Every step taken financially will hopefully lead me in the right direction towards achieving my goals. Not a single online purchase, not a single candy bar, and not a single article of clothing purchased in that week.

Conclusion:

The end result if I do this more often than not, I will reduce my annual expenses and systematically increase my savings. I have so many goals in life and I want to achieve them as badly as we all need air. Well maybe not that bad, but you get my point. Sometimes to achieve something you have to make drastic changes and this is my major change as of right now. I can not say that I will keep the spending fast going for long or that I might not spend money on something as dumb as a $150 dollar pair of Jordan’s. I can clearly state that I am more focused and determined than ever to do what I have to do, which is to be in a more stable personal finance foundation while growing my net worth.

RichUncle EL