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What grade do you give your personal finance skills?

Posted on 11/22/13 at 1:02 pm
Posted by Sternocleidomastoid
La Northshore
Member since Apr 2010
214 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 1:02 pm
Debt: Credit, credit cards, mortgages, auto, etc.
Budgeting
Long-term financial planning
Risk / Insurance
Investments: 401k, 403b, stock portfolio
Real Estate
etc
Posted by anc
Member since Nov 2012
17996 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 1:06 pm to
Debt: Credit, credit cards, mortgages, auto, etc. -
B+ - I only have a mortgage.

Budgeting
B- - Sometimes higher but November and December, both the wife and I seem to blow up our budget.

Long-term financial planning
A - Maxed out everything I can, 401K, Roth, 529, etc.

Risk / Insurance
A - Insured 10x my income with a term life policy. When it expires in 27 years I will be self insured.

Investments: 401k, 403b, stock portfolio

See Long term planning

Real Estate
D - Primary Mortgage is okay. I took a hit on an investment property and had to short sale a couple years ago.

Overall - C+ I made a major mistake with zeros on the end of it, but I learned.
Posted by Zach
Gizmonic Institute
Member since May 2005
112406 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 1:57 pm to
Debt: Credit, credit cards, mortgages, auto, etc.
A ... I've never owed money on anything except mortgage and it was minimal.


Budgeting
B .. I live very frugally but have to dock my grade because I allowed my first wife to spend like hell until I dumped her arse.


Long-term financial planning ..
B .. I don't think long term. At my age I don't buy green bananas.


Risk / Insurance ...
I don't know what that means.

Investments: 401k, 403b, stock portfolio ...
B .. I made a mistake with a mutual years ago. Have done very well with blue chips in the last 30 years.

Real Estate ...
A+ ... I have always made money on selling homes. But I never want to sell this one. Wife has instructions to sell when I die because lake front property in the woods is hard to maintain by a woman who cannot boil an egg.

Lucy...




Posted by jimbeam
University of LSU
Member since Oct 2011
75703 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 3:55 pm to
Mind you I am a college student so this probably doesn't mean shite

quote:

Debt:
Have none
quote:

Budgeting
i'm pretty bad at this. I generally think hard about what I am buying before I do, but hardly ever put it on paper
quote:

Long-term financial planning
I'm working hard on my education
quote:

Risk / Insurance
not applicable
quote:

Investments: 401k, 403b, stock portfolio
I have a good chunk in index funds. A lot from birthday money, ect, but some from my earned money
quote:

Real Estate
not applicable
Posted by dlmast87
Amish Country
Member since Dec 2007
1941 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 4:06 pm to
Debt: A.... debt free! (rent)

Budgeting: B.... I have things set up with mint.com and follow it pretty closely but could do better.

Long term: C-.... maxed out both of our Roths, but only contibute the max my company will match. Hope to increase this. No kids so no 529.

Life Insurance: N/A I think I'm too young to look into this so not applicable.

Real Estate: N/A I don't have any real estate investments at this time nor do I own a home. We plan on building in a couple years.

Overall: B-
Posted by foshizzle
Washington DC metro
Member since Mar 2008
40599 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 6:27 pm to
quote:

Debt

A - I'm not afraid to use debt correctly, in the right circumstance it is smarter than paying cash. But I'm very careful not to misuse it and always read the fine print.

quote:

Budgeting

C - I'm pretty bad at this but fortunately have enough surplus income that it doesn't matter. Basically I just don't spend a huge amount on "stuff" but don't really have a budget beyond making sure my 401 and Roth get stuffed each year.

quote:

Long-term financial planning

B - I think about it sometimes but again I have enough extra income that I'm not all that worried.

quote:

Risk / Insurance

B+ - I have an umbrella and enough LTD to take care of things, plus the other usual stuff.

quote:

Investments: 401k, 403b, stock portfolio

A - I used to help manage portfolios for a living. I actually read the fund prospectus, for example, to make sure what I'm getting is what the name of the fund would imply.

quote:

Real Estate

D - Don't really know much here.
Posted by DollaChoppa
I Simp for ACC
Member since May 2008
84774 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 7:02 pm to
Posted by NC_Tigah
Carolinas
Member since Sep 2003
123778 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 7:06 pm to
quote:

Debt: Credit, credit cards, mortgages, auto, etc.
Budgeting
Long-term financial planning
Risk / Insurance
Investments: 401k, 403b, stock portfolio
Real Estate
etc
A

It also helps to be married to a summa cum laude Accounting/Finance type though.
Posted by Hand
far side of the moon
Member since Dec 2007
2064 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 8:16 pm to
quote:

Debt


The amount that I do owe is minimal and at an average rate of 1.5%... B

quote:

Budgeting


I'm on autopilot for the most part... I limit my purchases. I don't have a want for stuff, but the stuff I do own, I want to be really nice... I project my quarterly personal financial statement, income, and cash flow two to three years out... A

quote:

Long-term financial planning


Tax diversified... Contribute maximum to every account imaginable... Not even close to needing estate planning, but starting to research vertical and horizontal asset segregation and sheltering in trusts... B-

quote:

Risk / Insurance


My employer takes care of this one for the most part... health/life/short-term/long-term... Should probably get an umbrella... Will need to eventually get long-term care... B+

quote:

Investments


Need to work on asset allocation... And I still believe that I can beat the market... D

quote:

Real Estate


Don't own any... Don't want to own someone else's house... Want to build... Missed out on 3% rates... F
This post was edited on 11/22/13 at 8:17 pm
Posted by FootballNostradamus
Member since Nov 2009
20509 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 8:50 pm to
quote:

Debt
- B+ - I have absolutely zero debt. This may seem odd to have this category as a B with no debt, but I feel I'm a little too anti-debt to warrant an A. I need to learn to be more comfortable with a manageable amount of debt.

quote:

Budgeting
- B - My problem here is consistency. Over an annual period I probably spend about the same amount, but it varies wildly month to month and even week to week. I'll go through a couple weeks in a row or even a month or two where I spend next to nothing, just food and drinks. Then I'll have a week where I randomly decide to buy a new TV, fly to see a friend, get a new suit, etc. I can do it right now cause I make a substantial amount more than I need, but if I ever get to where I need to live month to month off basically what I make it will require more discipline on my part.

quote:

Long-term financial planning
- C+ - I could be better about maxing out my IRA and 401K. I do contribute to what the max my company will match, but I rarely max-out my IRA.

quote:

Risk / Insurance
- B - I've a 6 month emergency fund that I've never touched before. I bare minimum health insurance but only because I'm 25 and don't know the last time I was ever sick. My investing is pretty well-rounded to minimize risk and I do next to no day-trading, 1 year min hold for most of my stocks.

quote:

Investments
- A+ - I contribute a substantial amount of my paycheck (over 50% usually) to a group of Index Funds on a cost-average basis. I plan on not touching these for a long time.

quote:

Real Estate
- F - I have absolutely none at the moment. Looking into purchasing some land for development in the Caribbean soon to build a vacation house on that I'll also use for rental purposes.
Posted by foshizzle
Washington DC metro
Member since Mar 2008
40599 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 9:12 pm to
quote:

This may seem odd to have this category as a B with no debt, but I feel I'm a little too anti-debt to warrant an A. I need to learn to be more comfortable with a manageable amount of debt.


IMHO that is a good rating then and you understand why. Not many do.

The Dave Ramsey/no debt crowd should get a B- at best. Not bad at all but what gets people into trouble isn't the debt, it's the spending on unproductive assets.
Posted by southernelite
Dallas
Member since Sep 2009
53151 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 9:19 pm to
quote:

Life Insurance: N/A I think I'm too young to look into this so not applicable.



How old are you? Are you married or anything?

It wouldnt be a bad idea to at the very least have some insurance so that your family can afford to bury you and all that.

I'm 25 and I have a $250k term policy. My parents pay the premium ($30/mo) are the beneficiary so that if anything were to happen to me, it essentially pays off the little debt I have and my vehicle, and they'll be able to bury me with indebting themselves.
Posted by dlmast87
Amish Country
Member since Dec 2007
1941 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 10:31 pm to
26. My wife has a small policy through her teaching job and my job provides a small one as well. We have no debt and both sets of parents are well off and could provide support if something tragic happened. I just don't see it as a priority right now.
Posted by FootballNostradamus
Member since Nov 2009
20509 posts
Posted on 11/22/13 at 11:26 pm to
quote:

IMHO that is a good rating then and you understand why. Not many do.

The Dave Ramsey/no debt crowd should get a B- at best. Not bad at all but what gets people into trouble isn't the debt, it's the spending on unproductive assets.



Yea my pops is Ramsey to the core, debt was a curse word to us growing up.

I'm getting better at accepting it, but I still wouldn't say I'm comfortable with it.
Posted by matthew25
Member since Jun 2012
9425 posts
Posted on 11/23/13 at 12:27 am to
I pay cash and no CC debt. 2.6% mortgage or else I would pay it off. B +

Learn something new about finance everyday B-

My Christmas reading list: 4 books on Buffett; Fools Gold about corruption at JP Morgan; Bogle's Common Sense on Mutual Funds; and A Random Walk
Posted by NC_Tigah
Carolinas
Member since Sep 2003
123778 posts
Posted on 11/23/13 at 7:27 am to
quote:

debt was a curse word to us growing up.

I'm getting better at accepting it, but I still wouldn't say I'm comfortable with it.
Like anything else it is a matter of fully understanding opportunities and pitfalls.

What debt options are available?
What is their risk vs benefit, given your personal circumstance?

Debt, coupled with associated tax advantages, can serve as an excellent leverage vehicle. It can serve as an effective inflation hedge. But as your father would likely attest, it can also be a runaway train to insolvency or financial disadvantage.
Posted by Bayou Tiger
Member since Nov 2003
3657 posts
Posted on 11/23/13 at 7:34 am to
Debt B
Budgeting C
Long-term financial planning A
Risk/Insurance A
Investments B+
Real Estate B-
Net worth for age A
Posted by TrueTiger
Chicken's most valuable
Member since Sep 2004
67651 posts
Posted on 11/23/13 at 11:35 am to
me: A-

my wife: F
Posted by sdc74
Houston
Member since Jan 2007
1193 posts
Posted on 11/24/13 at 9:48 am to
Debt B
Budgeting C
Long-term financial planning A
Risk/Insurance A
Investments B
Real Estate A
Net worth for age A+

I think I've done pretty well. Made some pretty smart (mostly dumb luck) moves on real estate and stocks. I have a hard time budgeting though. The only way I can manage money is if I put it somewhere I can't touch it. My goal for 2013 was to put atleast $50,000 cash to the side and I've done that. But I just put a bid in on some land I can't pass up.
Posted by kingbob
Sorrento, LA
Member since Nov 2010
66998 posts
Posted on 11/24/13 at 4:27 pm to
Debt: 10/10 as I have zero
Credit: 3/10 as I have no credit history
Investments: 0/10 as I have no investments yet
money management: 5/10 as I have a budget that I'm good at sticking to, but I could do a much better job of keeping records and tracking purchases and expenditures.
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