Great article about Trump offering Nat. GUARD, Pelosi declined, then scapegoated Capitol Police Chief for Jan 06

News & Current Events Current Events
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Ageed :grimacing:

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As does Biden and just about all the politicians. Some are better at it like Kennedy from LA and some worse like AOC.

The simple fact of this coming election, however, is there are 2 choices. If you are a never Trumper then you only have one choice. In my opinion, we may not survive another 4 years of Biden.

If you look at what Trump did like the Abraham Accords and the booming economy and skip the crap like his tweets and horrible COVID handling I still think he is the right guy compared to the other.

I was a DeSantis guy but he lost so now I am a Trump guy. I would like to see gas come back down, groceries come back down, peace in the middle east etcā€¦ These are things I think Trump can do. They are also things that Biden has proven he cannot do.

At the end of the day you do what you think is right. That being said, donā€™t make a decision on mean tweets.

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  1. Max out your 401(k) contribution and employer match
  2. Buy a house well within your means
  3. Prioritize eliminating the debt on your house above all other purchases
  4. Drive your car for 15 years
  5. Tell your kids youā€™ll pay a portion of tuition to a STATE university
  6. Cut up your credit card
  7. Create a budget and stick to it

There ya go - 7 steps to becoming rich.

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All great directions. To you youngsters, time is your greatest asset. Stat investing EARLY, so you can take advantage of the power of compounding interest, and REGULARLY, so you can take advantage of dollar cost averaging, and to get into a SAVING mentality.

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  1. If youā€™re determined to keep a credit card with a high interest rate, pay it off IN FULL every month. Same thing applies to high interest loans. The faster theyā€™re paid off, the more $$$ you save for other needs.
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  1. How much money you make is not nearly as important as how much money you can keep.

For those who like to eat out instead of at home, the food and drink budget is one area that you can take control of to make a HUGE difference in how much you keep.

Some families I know eat out at least five times per week, then wonder why they are broke all the time while bringing in over $150,000/yr.

When you eat out, you are paying many middle men (owners, cooks, waitresses, busboys, grub hub, door dash, delivery guy), for your sustenance experience, all of whom add unnecessary cost. Then thereā€™s tips. Over the course of a year, thatā€™s a huge amount of potential savings.

Drinking alcohol when eating out adds another large percentage portion to the bill. If you find you must drink with meals, buy your alcohol before hand and try BYOB restaurants.

Iā€™m not saying that going out once in a while for a treat isnā€™t wonderful, just that if you buy your own food and prepare it at home you will save a large amount of money.

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Thanks all. I am already on Ramsey Step 6. However, I have a lot of mouths to feed based on my income alone. I may be doing okay, will never be rich.

Perhaps these tips will help others that read them.

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Canā€™t hurt to give them a try. You may never be filthy rich but you may make it to comfortably soiled wealthy.

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Do these even exist anymore in places that have decent paying jobs? The cost of housing has been dramatically outpacing the rise in wages for decades.

My wife and I who both have above average income jobs could barely afford to buy a home at the bottom of the inter bubble market crash back in 2012. Our income has gone up more than most since then but there is no way we could afford to buy a home anywhere near here at current prices. Even the dumps that need a ton of work are out of our price range now if we wanted any money left over to put towards college funds or retirement. Even renting a home in the area at current prices would leave us very little extra cash to invest in anything.

Our debt inflated bubble economy is making it just about impossible for the typical American to keep their heads above water no matter how hard they work and save. It used to be that it took one full time wage earner to comfortably support a family. Now it usually takes two full time wage earners to provide the same level of support. And they often have to move away from extended family support systems to find decent jobs which makes raising a family even more expensive.

Your list used to be a solid path to getting ahead. But for the majority of people these days it is a necessary path just to barely squeak by.

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Yeah, and itā€™s gotten much worse. Itā€™s ridiculous.

Do the best you can, do all the other stuff, and youā€™ll be on the right trajectory.

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The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey.

Everyone should read this book.