Habits of Super Savers
Вставка
- Опубліковано 29 гру 2023
- Are you a Super Saver? Clark discusses the key choices you can make in your life that will truly empower you to have control over your financial future. There are two big decisions that most enable super savers to live on less than what they make.
Thank you for listening today, Clarkies! If you want to be part of our “Clarkie” segment, call 404-981-2071 to leave a message and we may play it during a future episode!
Clark.com: Advice You Can Trust:
SUBSCRIBE ► / clark
Follow Us for More Money Tips:
Website ► clark.com/
Podcast ► clark.com/podcasts/
Newsletter ► clark.com/newsletters/
Instagram ► / theclarkdotcom
Facebook ► / clarkhoward
For the very best deals and money-saving shopping tips ► www.clarkdeals.com
If you found this video valuable, give it a like.
If you know someone who needs to see it, share it.
Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
Add it to a playlist if you want to watch it later.
Our Promise to You:
At Clark.com and ClarkDeals.com, we do not get paid for endorsements or reviews of any product or service, nor do we allow advertisers to place paid content on our sites.
► clark.com/ad-disclosure/
I meticulously clean and maintain my vehicles. It gives me great satisfaction when my friends can’t believe how old my car is. No car payments no pain.
As I suspect is the case for many who post here, Clark is basically a hero of mine. That said, I do feel his approach should apply only to a certain point. Once you've secured your financial security I believe a long term plan for what you want your money to accomplish during and after your lifetime needs to be considered. There's no point in living on a fraction of your income permanently unless you have concrete plans for the remainder of it and there's nothing wrong with that plan including some luxuries if you can truly afford them. If you don't make these plans, the government will be glad to make them for you upon your death.
The govt is busy taking it while we are alive. And so will greedy unscrupulous dentists, roofers, plumbers etc. and also now Americans are forced to replace any appliance or mechanical in their home in 6-10 year increments. There is plenty to save up for. There is no end to it.
Learn to be content with what you have...
I live on a disability income of $1100 a month n I'm Totally Debt Free. What Clark said is sooo true, I drive an 18 yr old car, n live in a 20 yr old, 1500 sq ft house.
absolutley true. im 45 on my third car, only getva new one when the cost of repair is greater than the value of the car.
I see it I can repair it for pennies on the repair dollar, then I give it up.
That used to be straightforward. Lately, the calculus is always changing. Car prices are stupidly high compared to historical values. No one makes good cheap low-end, basic transportation cars anymore, so even reliable used cars are expensive. And this, among other things, has driven up the price of repairs. I drive a reliable 21 year old car and every time I have to sink another thousand or so into it for repairs and upkeep (about every two years) I clench my teeth and look at the used car market. Then hand my credit card over to the repair shop.
@@brimstone33 I had a Corvette I bought new and when it finally got to the point that repair’s got to be more than I had budgeted per year I finally gave in and sold. I did get lucky and sold when the market was high. In the end the Corvette was extremely reliable but it was so old that parts were hard to come but when you found them the were expensive. The Corvette was 31 years old when I bought it.
Same here!
Spot on! Driven old cars and been diligent about preventative maintenance. Don’t worry about what other say/do/think!
After 30+ years of driving (very) used card, it’s served me extremely well. So much so I can simply buy a new car with cash whenever/wherever if I wanted.
I'm 80 years old and still live on half my income which is $2,000 a month.I'm doing well.
Good job.
It is a great post, it is amazing how people can struggle and blame everything else but their spending habits. My goal for the new year is to live off of half of my income. Thanks for posting ❤
I’m living off one third of my income. 😇
Good for you
badass.@@arthouston7361
Clark, I'll add learning how to cook is the next key piece in supersavings. Restaurants are usually a ripoff, especially for healthy food. Cooking properly is healthy, entertaining and economical. And today you can learn how right here on UA-cam (just like you can learn about anything else) for free. If you don't eat right and get some exercise and decent sleep, sooner or later you're gonna pay for that. Cause health care ain't cheap either - can be more than a car or a house. And don't even think about having a kid until you have some money in the bank to pay for the expensive little rugrat and a solid plan for child care.
Easier to be a super saver when you make ok money.. i never have.. raised 3 kids/wife on 30-40,000… was what it was.. And my cars were old.. 200,000+ miles
That book The Millionaire Next Door changed my life!!!
We are in our mid 70s and don't care much about saving anymore because the race is almost over. We know our cost of living and we live off our SS. We traded up this year from a 2003 Buick LeSabre to 2014 Buick Lacrosse. Paid for. We have just started spending some small amounts on home improvements. We only buy what we can afford to for as we go. I'm not bragging because we made our share of stupid mistakes when we were young. But that's when you should make them because you have time to recover and learn.
I didn't get my act together until I was almost 55. Then I started buying gold and silver. But I sold some between 59 and 61 so I didn't have to work. I started collecting at 62 and have no debt and can buy 600 dollars in sliver a month to make up what I lost and still live great. I'll keep buying silver as long as my SS can keep up with inflation and only sell it in my later years.
@@musicman7297 Good luck. Metal such as gold and silver have never been a good investment. It has a poor track record and it never beats basic S&P over time. But everybody has their own approach. I find most of this UA-cam investing advice to be a total waste of my time. Everybody is simply guessing and searching for "clicks". Nothing more.
I never stopped living like a college student (left grad school in 1999). I would implore anyone to think about tradeoffs. While I have more in investments than I would if I didn't live frugally, your happiness and living your life also counts. I just hate working so much I refuse to spend what I make lol
18 year old car here. Dread having to have a car payment.
You preach it. I have a Year Make/Model Vehicle Identification Number
2005 TOYO/MATRIX This girl keeps running. I have no idea of new stuff with vehicles and I do not want to learn. All I ask for air conditioning, since I live in So CA. My house is paid for we paid hundred thousand and it is worth a million. we never moved and our mortgage was paid years ago. We live in so california and live comfortably here. We are the far but few
I remember your late-night AM radio days. Kept me company when I wasn't sleeping.
my budget is live on half of my check. I have a lot of dividend checks but I never count those in my budget and it just goes into the pool for investment.
My ego does not need a new car....
I drive a 24 year old Corolla that I bought when it was new. I paid it off early, and I haven't had a car payment in 21 years. That alone has allowed me to be a super saver. Car payments can be a huge budget buster of course. I could buy a new car and pay cash for it now, but my car still looks great and runs like a top. I don't like waste....trading in a perfectly good car for a new one is kind of silly to me unless my car is totally falling apart.
It's always interesting to me that these financial savings guys seem firmly oriented toward folks at higher income levels. None of these videos are about "You make $3000 a month and your rent is $2000, what do you do?"
They're always about "You make $6,000 a month and want a $700 a month car payment and a $3500 a month mortgage and lunch at Chipotle every day, maybe don't do that."
I’m 75, single and have been retired for four years. I’m debt free except for a mortgage. I purchased a new construction home in North Texas two years ago. New home cost $400,000. I have a $200,000 mortgage. I went through a very contentious divorce at age fifty five. In return for not paying “lifetime alimony” I gave my wife everything we had accumulated over thirty years of marriage. I worked hard, lived below my means and managed to retire with a net worth of $2,000,000+/-. Bottom line is I live a great life on substantially less than my retirement income. My annual SS income is $36,000 after Medicare + approximately $70,000 from a somewhat conservative, well managed combined IRA & personal growth and income investment portfolio. In a typical month my cost of living, mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, car, food, entertainment, etc. is less than $5,000. At the end of every year I have more money than I started out with! Except for the mortgage I NEVER carry debt. Note, my mortgage is at 3.3% and I have $200,000+ cash earring 5% in FDIC insured deposits. My advice, live within your means and NO DEBT 🤠
You've convinced me to hang onto my 5 yo car as I only do 3,000miles a year and will not look for a new one now.
🕊️ Wise man 🤓 take notes 📝
🕊️ Thank You!🌹Clark
I telly daughter,Savings =Freedom and Investment=Wealth
And that all adds up to being able to enjoy your time as you like and not being dictated to
We as a family are very luck indeed?!
Clark Howard: I very much enjoyed your presentation for the Bogleheads Conference.
Very good advice. So true what you are stating in your vid.
My thing is, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. My car just fine, so I don’t need a new one. Yeah, it would be nice, but there’s no real reason.
Great info as always
Both our cars are from 1996, sometimes it’s a bit challenging to get them fixed but for the most part I can fix most things.
Awesome info big man
I was cleaning out my dresser yesterday and found a pouch containing $5 bills. I then remembered that I was saving just $5 bills. Restarted doing it. As for cars, I have a 2001 Toyota Tacoma pickup, a 2004 Dodge Caravan, and a 2014 Honda CRV with 57000 miles on it. Don't plan to buy another vehicle anytime soon.....the worst use of money there is - car payments.
Great info ❤
Wow you nailed that you are so damn correct…this is so me everything you said 😂👍🏽
As a male, I agree with your statements 100%. It might be worth visiting the “older car” approach from a female perspective. Most women, even married, dread the thought that their car might break down. I’m not implying that they need a new car, just that Clark’s approach might only work for half of middle income.
True, break-down anxiety is real. I deal with it by:
1. Putting money aside for unforeseen repairs and telling myself that money is a fraction of new car costs.
2. Doing the best preventive maintenance I can. Belts, hoses, tires, brakes, batteries and fluids get changed out before they become big problems.
3. Having a good road assistance plan from my auto insurer. And a good relationship with my repair shop (NOT the stealership) so I know exactly where to tell the truck where to have my jalopy towed.
4. Having a breakdown plan, especially on long trips. I review emergency driving procedures in my head while I'm driving and "what if" I have to suddenly pull over. Flashlight, high visibility vest and hat, electronic road flares and warning triangle. I always have a charged cell phone and a backup battery pack. I keep a couple of spare bags in my car to load up anything I might want to take from my car if I have to get towed to some strange town in the middle of nowhere (or have an accident) and have to abandon it. At this point that sucker has paid for itself several times over and if I have to sign the pink slip over to a roadside repair place rather than get it fixed I can just grab my stuff, hop in an Uber or rental, and drive off with a clean conscience. Live long enough and one important lesson you learn is that eventually everything - and everyone - dies.
Im a female and have only owned one new car in my 60 years. I traded it in on a used vehicle two years later, but a better brand. I have AAA and its been the insurance that I need to feel comfortable driving used cars all my life. I know that if I break down, cant get my car started, or have a flat tire/dead battery it only takes one 3 minute call, and a tow truck will be there to help me within 30 minutes. This is important, as I live in MN where we have REAL winters. Our "new" or "good" car is a 2011 Subaru. My husbands work vehicle is a 2009 jeep liberty. lol
Nope definitely not me
I'm pretty frugal but having children in a car that keeps breaking down isn't worth it. It's dangerous. I have a 13 year old car that has given us a couple of problems in the past year or so. Highly considering keeping it as a side car or selling very soon. I've been renting when going long distance. Our other car had a few issues that we fixed, only for the engine to go bad soon after. That one was 15 years old. Both were used when we got them. One other car we bought new and it had multiple major issues at about 10 years old, so that was traded in for the one we have now. Thankfully this one has done better but it has felt like a gamble. My first car was 17 years old when I got it and it lasted several years more but not without putting more money into it then it was worth. That car was much simpler than modern cars. Long story short, I'm not too sure waiting until your car starts needing major repairs is worth it. That's not to say you need to buy a new car every other year but maybe every 8-10. Especially if you drive daily.
Don't find your happiness in material things...
My car is a 2005 Lexus which I bought used 16 years ago. Have always worked from home, so car now only has 43,000 miles. No pets or kids, so inside is as clean and new as the month I bought it. My mechanic has first dibs on buying it when I get my next car in about 10 years. Insurance is less than $500 a year because I still have full coverage. I plan on one more car before I give up driving because of age. Why? Safety features my current car doesn’t have. Seriously looking to get a Tesla. If they are around in 10 years, I am sure they will have evolved significantly. Auto driving should be much better by then and may help me keep my driving independence longer.
Do you have any information on how long to keep a car? I'm feeling lately that the gamble of the cost of major repairs plus the anxiety of braking down with kids in the car (or not being able to get where I need to reliably) isn't super worth keeping a car until the wheels fall off. Cars are becoming increasingly complex and I have run into issues with not being able to find parts as well as bad mechanics. I've been wondering if there are any studies on selling the car before it ages too much vs waiting until it's junk.
I got a 21 year old F150 that I bought used....Wife has an Old Old Honda. We just snicker at these fools buying and expecially leasing new cars.
My daily driver is over 30 years old and the house is over 60 years old now 🥴
Carefree since 2007. Just bought my annual local bus pass for 2024: 415$
If you can't do a 15yr mortgage...you got too much house...15 year bi-weekly mortgage will put you in a good place ...it will pay off in around 12 years
Fast forward to @3:22
How can save something that keeps losing value?
Boy did I drive some jalopies! Happily retired, debt free, with $1,000,000 net worth. I said N0 to a heck of a lot of nice things to get here! You just have to be okay with that, and learn to love very simple pleasures.
One thing I am struggling with the math on is daycare. Where we live daycare costs are well over 2500k per month per kid. I’m lucky and we have some breaks on daycare at it is 2k/month. What I am struggling with is making ends meet to cover two kids in daycare, which is about 2x our mortgage. So i guess where I am stuck is what to trim to cover the costs. In my state there are subsidies for daycare but we don’t qualify. Anyway I am thinking about dialing back on the kids 529s which means no state tax credit. And dialing back our retirement savings. My only other knob is to pay off a small personal loan. Should I pay that off given the interest rate is so low?
Consider working part time, or working from home, or even having a babysitting business yourself. Or even working only while kids are at school if they are in school. Look into school districts positions.
Both my wife and I are full time right now so there’s not really room for a second job. I could consider consulting but my work has strict rules on that.
My husband work days I worked swings
@@msbrown8658 I think whole segment on daycare could be useful!
This time Clark I disagree with you. I purchase a new car every six years. Thus no major repairs and I have done very well for myself. As for my house the first one I decided to build it then every few years sold it and took the major tax break and moved forward. I did that several times until I was retired.
My car is 27 years old
Live like your grandparents lived when they were your age
@@autohelix and the root cause almost certainly includes modesty, living within your means and being thick skinned to what the neighbours thought of you.
Common sense is no longer common 😎
When your state taxes you so high on a modest house, you get screwed.
Retire at 31? Where is the video where you tell us how to do that?!?
College can be one of the biggest wastes of money today.
I'm sure this was great information, but I gave up before the LONG commercials were finished.
I could be a super saver if rent wasn't so high
or daycare wasn't so high
clark its to late, you cant save them.
Its not how much you save. But how much you give away. Saving is a selfish habit.