8. 聰明的花錢(Swap extraneous spending for smart long-term moves)：沿用文中的例子，就是寧願把錢花在保養車子上也不要花在買DVD Player(這兩者有相關嗎？)。因為保養車子可以增加車子的efficiency和減少需要大修的大筆支出，但DVD Player就沒有後面的經濟效益了。(省掉去電影院的票錢和爆米花錢？)
9. Investigate refinancing: Not applicable to me. 不過以現在的低利率，好像車貸的利率高了些，應該要早點付清了。
10. 重新檢視保險費：聽說公司有合作的保險公司比Geico還便宜，要去了解一下。
11. Adjust your withholding allowance: 2007年報完稅後可以拿回超過$2,000 refund. 好像應該要去跟HR問一下是否該withhold少一點...
12. 獎勵自己(Reward yourself)：哈！所有項目裡我最喜歡這一點。譬如說當有加薪、bonus、和 tax refund時，拿一點錢來獎勵自己，然後把剩下的都存起來！嗯，我已經決定要把95%的tax refund存起來，剩下的拿去吃頓好的然後再買雙可愛的雨鞋。為了不要浪費任何一丁點錢，每個月要去搜括家裡所有的零錢，我想加起來應該也有$10, 20夠去買些grocery了。
13~15是在更差的情況下，去延長車貸和房貸。老天保佑我不用到那樣的窘況。所以啊！現在開始要把皮勒緊一點，來個省錢大作戰吧！
Showing posts with label 關於金錢. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 關於金錢. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
如何度過經濟衰退期 (上) - 摘自《15 Money Moves for Tough Times》
還是單身的時候，似乎不太把錢看在眼裡。每天中午花個十幾塊美金吃飯不覺得如何，因為可以跟同事們打屁八卦吐苦水，順便聯絡感情；每兩個週末就要去shopping mall買幾件衣服，倒也不是缺了什麼，只是不想悶在家無聊；買生活用品不太會去比價或是找特價品，因為生性懶惰怕麻煩。並不太會去追求什麼名牌奢侈品，只是這樣積少成多的花費，好像賺的錢就剛剛好在月底花完。反正不知道把錢存起來要幹麻，若是花錢可以買到好心情，why not?
只是這樣的心態在結婚後就得改變了。以前總是很看不起錙銖必較的媽媽們，覺得花在那邊比價撿便宜的時間成本早就超過省下來的錢，何苦？但我現在漸漸了解，誰不想輕輕鬆鬆當個貴夫人，想買什麼就買什麼？實在是因為一個家庭的支出是很驚人的(若想要舒適的過...)：換車子(4WD)、買房子、小孩基金、旅遊基金加上一大堆在意料之外的花費。所以若不想辦法在生活費上省點錢，哪夠養活一家子的人哪？我們家現在雖然還沒有小孩子，但一份薪水養兩個人，多少也開始覺得有些吃緊。
好死不死，美國宣布2008年開始進入經濟衰退期，儘管還不至於馬上面對裁員的威脅，但bonus和raise的減少，不能說對我們這樣的小家庭毫無影響。無法開源，就想辦法節流吧！今天在Yahoo! Finance看到一篇還不錯的文章《15 Money Moves for Tough Times》，於是想做個筆記，順便看看自己有什麼可以改進的。
1. "消除"不必要的花費(Eliminate the nonessentials)：注意！這邊用的字眼是非常強烈的"消除(Eliminate)"，而不只是"減少"喔！首先，紀錄下每一筆購買的物品和價格，然後嚴格的審視哪些東西是"必需品"，哪些東西只是用來滿足自己的慾望。換句話說，在買東西前，先問問自己這東西到底是我們真正需要(need)的，還是想要(want)的。很多人都會把need跟want搞混。舉例來說吧，最近天氣動不動就低到華氏十幾度，赤裸裸的手放在冰冷的方向盤上，常常會凍的我雙手發紫，於是想買雙皮手套來保暖。一雙$25的手套是我需要(need)的，可是一雙$100的手套就只是為了滿足我的慾望(want)了。所以沒有不會死的東西就先別買吧！
2. 準備一筆存款以備不時之需(Start a go-to fund for emergencies)：估計每個家庭平均每年會有將近$2,000的意外支出，若像我之前那樣總是把薪水花光光，這樣的意外費用會帶來不小的財務負擔。所以我現在已經設定好每個月銀行自動會幫我從checking account存一筆錢到high-yield saving account，一方面節制我的花費，一方面也讓我有筆儲蓄以備不時之需(雖然怎麼樣都不想動裡面的錢。我發現，存的越辛苦，越不捨得花。)
3. 考慮減少某些支出(Consider cutting back some expenses)：有些消費行為無法一下子就完全沒有，但至少可以考慮一點點減少。像若是很少看電視，就沒必要裝cable；當規定期間一到，就把兩支手機號碼換成"家庭計畫"(family plan)來減少開銷。
4. 保住現在的工作(Safeguard your current job)：以前在台灣工作的時候，除非有無可抗拒的因素，一般公司不會隨便叫員工捲鋪蓋走人，但自從看過在一天之內fire 20幾個人的恐怖場面後，我了解到大部分美國人對自己的工作是很沒有安全感的。怪不得每個人都努力的強調自己的重要性，總是要拍馬屁抱大腿選邊站。不只是為了要往上爬，有時候為了保住飯碗，這些動作是一種必要。當然最正面的方式還是努力充實自己，檢視自己對公司的貢獻，並且讓上面的人知道你對部門的貢獻。Be proactive!
5. 為下一份工作做準備(Be on the lookout for your next job)：就是因為沒有一份工作可以保證做到退休，為了確保經濟來源，永遠都要保持競爭力，為下一份工作做準備。更新履歷、維繫人脈、注意職場動態，沒事上上人力網站，看看有哪些相關職缺，需要哪些條件，趁平常多吸取專業知識甚或爭取相關實務經驗，如此在突然失去工作時，才能讓中間轉換的時間縮到最短。
6. 減輕負債(Keep your debt load light)：每個月若是無法付清信用卡帳單的話，還是別刷卡了吧！付現金至少可以讓你花完就不花了。
7. 繼續存養老金(Barring a complete personal financial meltdown, continue funding your retirement)：靠國家，國家倒；靠小孩，小孩跑；靠自己，最牢靠。之前做了個測驗說我可以活到78歲。假設60歲退休，哇！我還有18年要活哩！還是早點開始存我的養老金吧！
(To Be Continued...)
Monday, January 14, 2008
If I Had A Million Dollar...
人往往高估了自己的物質慾望，也高估了物質帶給自己的滿足感。曾經，我也想要有個大房子。外面看起來要像皇宮，客廳要舖上大理石地板，廚房電器都要是bling bling 的不鏽鋼，臥室要像公主房間一樣充滿粉色蕾絲，一間空房要當圖書館兼音響房，另一間空房要當家庭電影院，而後院要有一個游泳池跟一個花園。其實這樣的要求在房價較低的美國中西部應該不是太難達成。只是隨著年齡的增長，才發現真正會讓自己開心的不是這些物質上的滿足，而是與家人、朋友間的情感。當然這是在三餐能溫飽、每個月帳單都付得出來的前提下。
一個人生活了三、四年，才覺得情感的滿足比什麼都重要。現在看到大房子，想到的只是撣不完的塵、拖不完的地、居高不下的utility跟maintanance fee、和滿屋子的空虛(除非生了一卡車的小孩)。有了自己的家庭電影院，就少了去電影院約會、啃爆米花、和滿廳觀眾爆笑跟流淚的樂趣。有了自己的游泳池，就失去了和鄰居小孩去社區游泳池玩水所培養出來的情誼，更甭論三天兩頭要去撿落葉、換水所必須花的金錢跟人力。不過還是想要有個像圖書館的讀書房。放著輕鬆的音樂、坐在舒服的IKEA躺椅上，和老公小孩享受這樣悠閒的周日下午是我的夢想之一。儘管如此，我還是不會放棄坐在誠品一個下午啃完兩本暢銷書的快感。
所以，我漸漸不會去羨慕別人住的大房子，也漸漸不會去看高級的裝潢雜誌。我開始很珍惜每個在我身邊的緣分，很想念以前的朋友，很喜歡和家人在一起。不管家裡是不是有足夠的碗盤桌椅，只要客廳還算乾淨，就想請朋友來坐坐、一起玩Wii。看到大家玩得開開心心，心裡就會有滿滿的感激。
當然以我現在的財力，離能夠養得起一個房子的日子還很遠，有時候甚至還會有點捉襟見肘。但我更清楚自己努力的目標和快樂的真諦。少一些慾望，多一些活在當下，也許日子並不會那麼難過。
Monday, May 23, 2005
401(K), IRA and Roth IRA -- I
I guess many people, just like me, already heard of them, knowing that they are some kind of retirement accounts, but not sure exactly what the differences among and the advantages and disadvantages of them. As I am going to have them of my own and even audit them as part of my job, I did some research and here is the brief summary.
1. 401(k)
It's an employee benefit provided by the employer. Some details may differ from company to company, depending on the plan agreement. But most of the plans have to follow the law. For example, once an employee is elibible to participate the plan, he/she can elect to contribute certain amount of money into the plan. The maximum amount that an employee can contribute is $14,000 in 2005 and $15,000 in 2006. The annual dollar limit will increase by $500 annually beginning in 2007 and thereafter. An employee gets to choose the investment portfolio of this money. Then the employer has to take the designated dollar amount from employee's paycheck to put it into the plan. Usually, an employer will match up certain percentage of the amount that the employee contributes. For instance, if I decide to put $10,000 into the plan, then my firm will match up 25% of what I put in, that is, $2,500, a year. If I fully vested in that year, I will have $12,500 in my 401(k) as principal.
The advantage of this plan is not only that you can have your employer to pay a portion of your retirement plan, but also all these money are basically tax-free. Take my example, the $10,000 that I put in the plan will no longer be taxable in that year, nor the $2,500 that the firm matches up. Besides, you can choose how you are going to invest these money; well, of course only among the mutual funds that your plan provides.
Maybe I should not use the term "tax-free" before, because it's not. "Deferred" might be a better word because the money is taxable when distribution. Yep, when you reach 59.5 years old and want to take your money back, it is taxable. You can only hope that by the time you retire, you don't have that much income and are subject to lower tax bracket. Oh, and also, you must take the required minimum distribution once you reach 70.5 or your retirement date, whichever is later. It's not like you can put the money there forever; come on, what's the purpose for that?
Since this plan is to encourage employees to save for their retirement, it doesn't want any amount to be taken out before retirement. So basically you CANNOT take out any money before you reach 59.5 except for "Hardship Withdrawals". It means that you can take the money out before 59.5 from the plan for some "Hardship" reasons like, buying your principal residence, paying tuition and paying medical care expense. However, this should be your last financial resort because when you take the money out, this money is subject to 10% penalty and you have to pay the tax. Furthermore, you cannot put any money back in the plan for 6 months. So once you decide to participate the plan, you must be prepared to leave these money alone for a while.
-- To be continued.
1. 401(k)
It's an employee benefit provided by the employer. Some details may differ from company to company, depending on the plan agreement. But most of the plans have to follow the law. For example, once an employee is elibible to participate the plan, he/she can elect to contribute certain amount of money into the plan. The maximum amount that an employee can contribute is $14,000 in 2005 and $15,000 in 2006. The annual dollar limit will increase by $500 annually beginning in 2007 and thereafter. An employee gets to choose the investment portfolio of this money. Then the employer has to take the designated dollar amount from employee's paycheck to put it into the plan. Usually, an employer will match up certain percentage of the amount that the employee contributes. For instance, if I decide to put $10,000 into the plan, then my firm will match up 25% of what I put in, that is, $2,500, a year. If I fully vested in that year, I will have $12,500 in my 401(k) as principal.
The advantage of this plan is not only that you can have your employer to pay a portion of your retirement plan, but also all these money are basically tax-free. Take my example, the $10,000 that I put in the plan will no longer be taxable in that year, nor the $2,500 that the firm matches up. Besides, you can choose how you are going to invest these money; well, of course only among the mutual funds that your plan provides.
Maybe I should not use the term "tax-free" before, because it's not. "Deferred" might be a better word because the money is taxable when distribution. Yep, when you reach 59.5 years old and want to take your money back, it is taxable. You can only hope that by the time you retire, you don't have that much income and are subject to lower tax bracket. Oh, and also, you must take the required minimum distribution once you reach 70.5 or your retirement date, whichever is later. It's not like you can put the money there forever; come on, what's the purpose for that?
Since this plan is to encourage employees to save for their retirement, it doesn't want any amount to be taken out before retirement. So basically you CANNOT take out any money before you reach 59.5 except for "Hardship Withdrawals". It means that you can take the money out before 59.5 from the plan for some "Hardship" reasons like, buying your principal residence, paying tuition and paying medical care expense. However, this should be your last financial resort because when you take the money out, this money is subject to 10% penalty and you have to pay the tax. Furthermore, you cannot put any money back in the plan for 6 months. So once you decide to participate the plan, you must be prepared to leave these money alone for a while.
-- To be continued.
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