With house prices and interest rates so low, it’s almost a dumb idea not to buy a house in the near future. If you can fit it into your budget and still allow yourself some room to save, it can be a good investment for you and your family.
Not only do you get to experience the benefits of home ownership like tax breaks, not sharing walls with loud and smelly neighbors, and having more space to live and play, but the value of your home is almost guaranteed to increase if you own it long enough.
Also, if you are able to get a million dollar house for $50, then it’s probably worth it.
There are times, however, when buying a home can be a bad choice. It all comes down to whether or not you can really afford it.
It may seem like an easy question to answer, because you can’t save money unless you earn money first. What I want to discuss is how each one is going to help you more on the road to wealth.
To make things a little more complicated, I will start off by saying that the answer to the question is both, but you’ll have to read the full article to see how each one can help you attain the wealth you have always dreamed of.
Coming from a background in marketing, it is obviously helpful to see what kinds of advertising tactics lead to more sales. More and more creative ideas are tried every day in an effort to sell more products.
Advertising is basically a way for a company to trick you into giving them your money. No matter what they say, the sole purpose of these gimmicks is to get into your wallet.
By understanding some of the most common strategies that companies use, you will be able to make an informed decision about whether or not it’s really a good idea to buy something.
I first heard of lifestyle inflation in an article at the wonderful personal finance blog, Budgets Are Sexy, and it really got me thinking. Having gotten a raise at each new job I’ve worked at, shouldn’t my rate of saving increased exponentially.
If I was as financially savvy back then as I am now, I would venture to say that the answer would be yes. Then why am I not saving as much as I could be?
The answer is lifestyle inflation.
Buy everything you want. That’s it, that’s the secret. It seems obvious, but the more you look at it, the more you’ll realize that you do it every day.
See that laptop over there? Charge it, you’ll pay it off eventually.
See those new designer shoes? It’s buy one get one half off right?
You might as well get the extra large drink, after all, it’s only $1 more.
You’re going to see a lot of posts on The Best Money Blog about the fundamental attitude of people. This is simply because it is not the lack of ideas or abilities that hinders us from success, but the way we approach our lives.
I use the word cultivate to show you how you should view your financial situation. Most people do not get rich quick and most others do not even get rich slowly. It is said that 10% of people control 90% of the wealth in the world.
You can become part of that 10% with the right attitude, but you must invest your time, money, and effort and with continual attention, you will begin to reap the benefits of your labor.
