# Carelessness with finances...



## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

It seems both my wife and I have become increasingly careless over our finances due to increased income over the years. Maybe I'm just paranoid after my wife got scammed but when I think about, I've been careless and lazy as well. I've also been gambling with higher stakes and have increased my "maximum spending for a night out" from $20 to $500 though I'm worried if I may end up tempted to boosting that up again.

What you guys think? Or am I just thinking too much?


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## turnera (Jan 22, 2010)

Are you putting 50% of all earnings into a savings account, into college funds, and a retirement fund? Then have fun with the rest.

If not, CHANGE.


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

More than 50% actually, I'm just worried we may be too complacent nowadays however with the leftover cash. Overly generous at times as well, we're always lending, sometimes we just tell them to keep it - we discuss it between ourselves first though. 

I dunno, I just don't want it to cut into our savings I guess. I lost a few grand recently due to that scam on my wife and even though it's not much it's a bit of a slap in the face really.


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## turnera (Jan 22, 2010)

If you're earning that much money, you really should be spending some of it on a professional accountant or money manager. Or better yet, investing in something that will continue to make you money for the rest of your life.

Have you read Rich Dad Poor Dad? You should.


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## Mavash. (Jan 26, 2012)

It's hard for me to answer because I don't know your income, how stable your job is, how much you have saved, how much you're investing, what your net worth is in relation to your income, etc.

There are TONS of formula's for how much you should be saving, investing and what your net worth should be based on your income. So to me as long as your job is stable and you've met all the criteria what does it matter how you choose to spend the excess.


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## turnera (Jan 22, 2010)

Honestly, I would at least like to see you have an actual budget. So you know where the money goes. Frankly as a 50+ year old, I'd rather see you spending it on investing in property, or water rights. I see a bad fall coming in the future for you. My H never looked at the checkbook for the first 20 years of our marriage, he made so much money. But we never saved a dime. Now we can't even pay our taxes each year.


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## VermisciousKnid (Dec 27, 2011)

I think it's easy to be undisciplined when you have more than enough money to meet expenses. And setting up a budget doesn't make sense when the numbers are chosen arbitrarily. That's why I think you should set up a long term goal and figure out how to get to it. Like "pay off the mortgage in x years" or "accumulate x dollars in 401k by age 55". Those give you hard numbers that you can work back from to arrive at monthly savings amounts. You have a good problem, though. Most people live hand to mouth and that kind of long term planning is harder to achieve.


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## pb76no (Nov 1, 2012)

Random, do you still have a budget? As my earnings increased, I adjusted my budget accordingly, so even though I have more disposable income, I still maintain a budget - just that % or set amount for discretionary spending is larger.

Maybe I'm confusing your back-story with someone else, but I thought you had your own business - that does pretty well. Same principal - income/expense report, asset & liability worksheet. The numbers are just larger, but you should still be sticking to a budget.


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

Yeah I guess I should be investing it, my business is all that I know however and I've looked into properties but unsure whether to get into that business due to my inexperience and I've also tried forax but found myself much more successful at poker ironically when it comes to playing around with my money.

My business has expanded as much as it can already and unless I want to expand some more and turn the bar into a proper nightclub which will cost way more than it took to set up the bar, I'm mostly leaving it alone as it's pulling in revenue from morning to lunch to dinner to late night and has already paid for itself with the liquor licenses I had to obtain - a hefty sum in fact.

I can start or expand another business but it would be risky. When I took over my business 4 years ago it was already very well established so the 2 year loss-survival-period common for new businesses was practically non-existent as the profits were there to reap to begin with. Admittedly it was still tough at first but became easier and easier once I took control.

Now though I think I've reached the point I no longer really know what to do with all the money. My wife used to be an extravagant spender herself but when I gave her more responsibility (yes she does the budgeting) it seems to have curbed it a few years ago. Still, I can see that our spending is getting increasingly careless and undisciplined.

Thanks guys, I'm glad to know that I'm not just thinking too much and that we have to wake up a little. Perhaps it's good that my wife lost me almost 3K to stupidity. What investment options do you suggest?

Hell I can just see myself attending all these investment money-maker seminars in Sydney (there's a ton) now... funny really, I still don't feel white-collar, and I still hate those rich fks sometimes lol


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## turnera (Jan 22, 2010)

That's why you hire a professional money manager to help you. It's what he does for a living - so let him use his expertise to guide you.

fwiw, my H is looking for an investor for an amazing product that will be a deal changer in a dozen different industries. They're in talks with a bunch of different investors, but haven't made any agreements yet...


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## RandomDude (Dec 18, 2010)

Yeah I guess I can look into that, though I would probably find myself in an investment scam and lose over 100K - read about it once lol. Then my wife can get me back for giving her sh-t about her scam which only cost a tiny 3K heh

Guess it would be rather interesting to see how I stand financially from an analyst/consultant/money manager point of view too. Thanks for this.


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## turnera (Jan 22, 2010)

You can google them, and ask for reviews, and check with BBB.


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