Thanks for joining me!
Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton
The Wise Sage
This month’s installment is a funzie-wunzie introduction to The Wise Sage. Each segment will feature an older, wiser sage giving money advice to all y’all.
This month’s wise sage: my very own father. He’s the kind of guy that has other people's children named after him, and he gives advice on which you can base your life decisions. Plus, he reads approximately 3,204 pages of news per day, much of that including economics and personal finance, so that helps too.
Sage & Mint: Hey Dad, what are some of the best financial decisions you made in your twenties?
The Wise Sage: I would say marrying your mom. Before I met her, I didn’t pay much attention to how I was spending money. I was a single guy with a good job and I spent what I wanted to. Your mom was frugal and she balanced out my spending. She budgeted, she was organized, and she didn’t have extravagant tastes.
We also lived on one income on purpose. We ended up saving more money than some couples that were living on two incomes. It’s pretty tempting to spend a lot of money if you’re making a lot of money, so we tried to cut out that mindset.
“It’s pretty tempting to spend a lot of money if you’re making a lot of money, so we tried to cut out that mindset.”
Also, we were pretty frugal on our car purchases. A car is a depreciating asset (it’s more likely to lose its value) while a house is an appreciating asset (it’s more likely to make you money).
Sage & Mint: What was one of the worst money moves from your twenties?
The Wise Sage: It pains me still to think about it. I did a poor job managing a rollover (the equivalent of a 401K today). Essentially, it came down to not doing enough research for my investments. I trusted a financial advisor who came recommended but I didn’t dig into the issue myself. I ended up losing a lot of money.
“A car is a depreciating asset while a house is an appreciating asset.”
Sage & Mint: Any other final thoughts for our dear readers?
The Wise Sage: Money doesn’t matter quite as much when you receive so much fun and joy from THE MOST WONDERFUL CHILDREN EVER THEY ARE JUST SO DELIGHTFUL.*
*Italics added for emphasis.
#10 Find a Healthy Medium
Everything in moderation. EVERYTHING.
How you spend your money and divy up the budget is no exception. Sammy the saver is good at stocking away a down payment and retirement, but he's a bit of a tightwad when it comes to day-to-day expenses. Stew the spender is good at throwing lavish parties and taking instagram-worthy vacations, but he struggles with putting the shackles on his wallet.
Whether prone toward saving or spending, try erring on the unnatural side just for a bit. There are benefits to spending money and benefits to saving money, and you'll never know the other side until you give it a whirl.
When it comes down to it, money is just a tool. Once we learn the finer points of spending, saving, and making our money grow, then we'll have the foresight to know when it's appropriate to tip with a $20 bill and when we should skip the out-to-eat meal altogether.
Cheers in your money spending and saving!
...And with that, our 10 money tips come to a close!
Want a refresh? Check out the links below.
#1 Don't Spend More Than You Earn
#3 Track Your Day-to-Day Spending
#5 Drive a Used Car – Part One
Travel on the Cheap: Big, Expensive City Edition
A few weeks ago, car guy husband and I took a little trip to Vancouver, Canada. We stayed in a four-star hotel. We saw sights and sounds and had a few rounds of drinks. We even went hot-tubbing. Oh, and Vancouver is the most expensive city in North America. More pricey than NYC, costlier than LA. Ok, now that we sound spoiled and snooty, let's be honest: we're cheap. And I was unemployed. So how can we pull off an awesome weekend at 50% off? Let's look at the numbers; First the expensive normal prices per couple and then you'll see how much we actually paid.
- Hotel: $260 (Spency! I know! This is downtown-downtown, like walking distance to shopping and touristy things.)
- Gas: $60
- Parking: $20
- Saturday lunch: $15
- Two-Pricetags Saturday Night Dinner: $60
- Drinks post-dinner: $30 (everything is so expensive in Vancouver!)
- Sunday breakfast: $12
- Sunday lunch: $18
- Sunday dinner (driving home): $14
And that's not even counting the $60 duty-free perfume I was lusting over!
Grand total: $489
($549 if hunky husband was feeling generous and wanted to buy me perfume)
But Sage & Mint, you might say, I'm young and wild and free, my bones don't creak yet and I don't have little chilluns running around, and THIS IS THE TIME TO TRAVEL.
You are so right, fretting reader. Here's how we do it:
Let's go back to that first sentence. Last weekend car guy husband and I took a little trip to Canada with OUR AWESOME COUPLE FRIENDS THE HOGANS. They're great. We travel well together. They're in grad school for counseling, so they're excellent at both communicating and listening , and this is key to our travel smoothness.
Right. So this basically means our couple of two turns into a party of four, and we split the cost of everything. So then we stayed in a four-star hotel that we found on Hotwire.com that was basically half off. We shared a hotel room on the 34thfloor of a Hyatt with a wall-size window looking out over downtown Vancouver.
We split the cost of gas. We found cheap parking,* and for a string of non-cheapness, we had a normal dinner and drinks afterward (see, we still have fun). OUR AWESOME COUPLE FRIENDS THE HOGANS went to Trader Joe's prior to the trip and stocked up on snacks, so we basically skipped buying an entire breakfast, lunch, and dinner at a restaurant. I didn't buy that perfume that I was lusting over, even though I still want to.
Actual prices per couple:
- Hotel: $63
- Driving: $30
- Parking: $10
- Saturday lunch: $15
- Saturday dinner: $60 (same)
- Saturday post-dinner drinks: $28 (same and spency)
- Sunday breakfast: $12 Starbucks special treat
- Sunday lunch: $16
- Sunday dinner: skipped it and ate at home
And yes, I'm going to do that mastercard thing, I know you were waiting for it:
A weekend with friends adventuring in a new city: PRICELESS
Grand total: $234 + priceless
Muuuch more manageable. Yes, it's a splurge fo sho, but if you've got some pocket change, why not take a vacation!
A few travel gems:
- Skip the souvenirs. Or just buy cheap ones. Tchotchkes will sit, pictures are forever.
- Skip the tourist draws. We went to two suspension bridges in Canada. One was free. And in a park. And surprisingly bouncy, to the chagrin of a few afraid-of-heights folks. The other was $32 PER PERSON and $5 to park. We skipped it and looked at google images instead. Don't be afraid to say no to your former plans.
- Buy groceries ahead of time. It's cheaper and prevents hangry-ness while traveling.
- Do free stuff. Cities have tons of great public spaces and actives. Go for a walk, drive around the city, wander around shops.
Now for a few warnings:
*You get what you pay for. Turns out our cheap parking was cheap for a reason. (Side note, this would've made our weekend way more expensive but we are forever grateful for company cars.)
- Sharing a hotel isn't for everyone, and that's the truth, but if you can pull it off, it's pretty much like a giant slumber party and pretty fun.
There ya go: International travel on the cheap!
Expect plenty more on the travel front. Ski trips, camping adventures, exotic locales. At Sage & Mint, we lurv to travel. I bet you do too. Got any tips or tricks to share?