Why Don't People Manage Debt Better?

Re:Why Don't People Manage Debt Better? by kdamken on Friday February 19, 2016 @02:16PM (#11135814)

Playing devils advocate here: you're spending $1200 a year on coffee. With that money you could not only buy a really nice coffee machine and make it yourself every morning, but also have a bunch of money leftover to put towards your loans, invest, put towards a nice vacation, etc.

The idea is that those small daily expenses tend to add up, and there may be a lot more of them than you realized.

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Re:Why Don't People Manage Debt Better? by billmalarky on Friday February 19, 2016 @05:19PM (#11137104)

Reminds me of the old joke:

"If you had stopped smoking 10 years ago you could afford to be driving around in a Ferrari right now."

"Do you smoke?"

"No."

"Then where's your Ferrari?"

Point is don't sweat the small things. Sure they add up, but you should dedicate a portion of your cash flow towards investments at the start of the pay cycle, not "what's left at the end." Then the rest can be spent on anything arbitrarily with a clear conscious.

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Re:Why Don't People Manage Debt Better? by joverholt on Friday February 19, 2016 @02:56PM (#11136128)

Also, buy a coffee roaster and roast your own beans. There are lots of ways to get started on the cheap (popcorn air roaster), and unroasted coffee is around $5-$6 a pound. It's a very rewarding hobby. http://sweetmarias.com is a great place to get started.

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