Tag Archives: debt

Celebrities and Money, Financial Freedom, Financial Independence, Saving, Self-Made Millionaires, Wealth

Choose Experiences Over Things: My Experience At The JLO It’s My Party Tour Concert

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You get what you give. What you put into things is what you get out of them. – Jennifer Lopez

I took this picture while I was waiting to get in to the concert.

I have learned to choose experiences over things. You put those pair of expensive jeans on a credit card and 10 years later those $80 jeans could really cost you $300 with 25 percent interest attached. That wasn’t on the price tag! Those jeans will be long gone by then, but that time you went camping with your family and friends will be great memories that last a lifetime.

In the last several years, I have decided to spend money more on experiences. After seeing that episode of Gilmore Girls Concert Interruptus, I knew one day I would go to a concert so I could be as happy as Loreali and Sookie was to go see their favorite band. Those great feelings you get from actually doing something and paying for it with cash are priceless.

That is exactly what I did on July 17, 2019. I went to see Jennifer Lopez in concert. And I loved every minute of it!

Took this short video on my phone while at the concert.

She stopped by DC and performed at Capital One Arena after doing her make-up concert in Madison Square Garden in NY after the blackout on Saturday July 13. What a professional.

And let me tell you. I looked into what it takes to do concerts and JLo’s setlist and tour dates. Performing is grueling work.

See my posts

Jennifer Lopez: From Jenny From The Block To JLO And $100 Million

How Dave Grohl Turned Passion Into Profits

Jennifer Lopez – It’s My Party – The Forum – Inglewood, California – June 7 2019 – setlist

Want to help celebrate JLO’s birthday with her! See remaining tour dates below.
Jennifer Lopez – It’s My Party Tour dates:
June 10 – San Diego, CA – Pechanga Arena
June 12 – Sacramento, CA – Golden 1 Center
June 13 – San Jose, CA – SAP Center
June 15 – Las Vegas, NV – T-Mobile Arena
June 16 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Arena
June 19 – Denver, CO – Pepsi Center
June 21 – San Antonio, TX – AT&T Center
June 22 – Edinburg, TX – Bert Ogden Arena
June 24 – Dallas, TX – American Airlines Center
June 25 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center
June 28 – St. Paul, MN – Xcel Energy Center
June 29 – Chicago, IL – United Center
July 3 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
July 5 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesar’s Arena
July 7 – Toronto, ON, CA – Scotiabank Arena
July 10 – Montreal, QC, CA – Centre Ball
July 12 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden
July 16 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
July 17 – Washington, DC – Capital One Arena
July 19 – Newark, NJ – Prudential Arena
July 20 – Philadelphia, PA – Wells Fargo Center
July 22 – Atlanta, GA – State Farm Arena
July 23 – Orlando, FL – Amway Center
July 25 – Miami, FL – American Airlines Arena

Instead of spending a fortune and being close enough to the stage to reach out and touch the artist and see the white of their eyes, I selected a seat that just fine to see how different my experience would be. My seat cost $49.95 and I have a blast!

You do not have to go in debt or sell your belongings on Craigslist or drive for Uber or Lyft just to spend $500 on concert tickets. The jumbo screens show you all the action just fine in my book.

This was also her first tour since ending her Las Vegas Residency which made like $100 million in ticket sales!

Related image

For a night out on the town it cost me about $100 bucks!

So if you want to paint the tow red, I suggest you stay in the black and pay cash and not go in the red and use credit. Cause you know your girl Greenbacks Magnet is all about saving a dollar!

See my post Why Halle Berry And I Continue To Save So Much

If you read my tweets then you know I can’t stand debt. I would stop doing just about everything in order to save up huge chunks of money to pay off debt. I once saved up $15,000 to pay off $14,745 worth of debt! Paying debt off in chunks feels awesome.

I learned to pay off my credit card and other debt in lump sums from reading about how Grammy award-winning artist John Legend doing it after he got his first big paycheck. Smart!

See my post Money Advice I Got From John Legend

How how I hate DEBT. Let me tweet the ways!!

Just hearing about another pro athlete going broke is enough for me to change my free willing money spending ways.

Breaking News: Adrian Peterson is in debt after making $100 million in earnings in the NFL. This is my version of Scared Straight. Scared Debt Straight that is. Is he not reading my blog?!!!

I encourage you all out there to stop what you are doing and find a way to start saving 5 percent of your income.

Start with just $500 in the bank and work your way up to one month of expenses. That Is how I went from $25 in the bank to $5,000. Save for the things you want. Paying with cash is freedom.

https://twitter.com/FrugalToFI/status/1149887056224477184

It’s like JLo says, “you get what you give.” You have to work for what you want. She says she gets nothing for free. And that she has to pay for everything.

The harder you work, the more you get. I’m taking my money earning and saving cues from Jlo. I like to study the self-made. And Jenny from the Bronx is as self-made as they come. So happy birthday JLo. Make a wish. I’ll tell you mine. It’s simple really. I want to always spend less than I earn. Your turn.

Budgeting, Financial Independence, Investing

3 Financial Lessons From Eating Ketchup

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3 Financial Lessons From Eating Ketchup

Full Disclosure: This post is hot off the presses and written by fellow blogger Dr. Breathe Easy Finance This is Part 1 of a 2-part collaborative post with yours truly 😉

This post is on a lighter note but don’t skim over it, I put my heart and soul into it. Kidding. But I tried to make it exciting.

Origin of this post – My beef against ketchup and fries

The human habit and interest never ceased to amaze me. I posted an article that I thought would be very helpful for people on how to budget their money to live the life they want.

It was a well-researched post with multiple points and topics covered. We covered a lot of ground in that one article  – 10 reasons to budget, 8 steps to create a successful budget, 5 risks of not managing your money, 4 tools to manage your money including our free budget template and to cap it off, we discussed the money habits of millionaires.

I tweeted the post, what happened?  Crickets. 2 likes after 24 hours.

That same day, I saw a post about fries and ketchup. Literally, some guy eating few fries with a huge amount of ketchup.

What happened? 23,000 retweets (well including me), not even counting the likes and comments.

Well I retweeted to point out that entertainment sells much more than finance tips that actually helps people.

But then, my own tweet took a life of its own and got lots of comments and retweets. So I gave up.

Not really, my friend Miriam (from Greenbacks Magnet) and I decided to write a blog post about ketchup and fries. She picked fries, I picked ketchup.

I think a simple approach to life is best. If ketchup and fries is what people want to see, we will give it to them.

To better prepare you for this post, check out this very scientific video about why ketchup is so hard to pour. 

Seriously though, the ketchup bottle has bested even the strongest men and women of this world.

Literally, 1.7 million views on this 3 minutes video. See what I am saying?

I originally promised a 12 financial lessons from eating ketchup, but I decreased it to 3 just for you my readers, to spare you the agony. You came here for the ketchup anyways, not financial advice right. 

3 Financial Lessons From Eating Ketchup

1. There is a sweet spot for everyone in personal finance – Find yours

Based on your goal in life and your philosophy, there is a sweet spot that you are comfortable with. Stick to it and don’t let people try to knock you off your financial mission statement.

If you feel like 30% bonds is where you are comfortable with and you have done your due diligence and researched, then stick to it.

Since I don’t do half jobs, I dived deep into every article I write. I came across an article about the Heinz ketchup bottle and how it could be a nightmare getting the ketchup out when it gets clogged.

I am not much of a ketchup guy, so this was news to me. You do not understand how many forums are discussing this and how frustrated people get.

Don’t even bother asking how many curse words and punching, kicking has occurred because of this phenomenon.

Finally, a spokesman from Heinz revealed the secret. It was almost like Heinz intentionally made people struggle first and after a few years, they felt bad about it and finally said – you have been doing it wrong for years. Imagine that!

A Heinz spokesman said: “To release ketchup faster from a glass bottle, here is a little secret from Heinz.

“The sweet spot to tap on the Heinz bottle is the 57 on the neck. All you need to do is apply a firm tap where the bottle narrows, and the ketchup will come out easier.”

It turns out that all the years of frustration that people experienced, banging the bottom of the bottle, cursing, yelling, throwing the bottle across the room, punching and kicking the bottle and getting nowhere – the answer was simple and it’s been there in front of us all this time. New York Post even wrote about it.

You already have your financial mission statement, why don’t you reread it and reassure yourself. Stick to your sweet spot, it will save you a lot of head banging, kicking and screaming. 

2. Ketchup cannot make up its mind whether its solid or liquid – Keep your finances simple.

This one is even more fun. Who knew lots of scientist’s study ketchup.  I mean, I would not be surprised if ketchup is being researched more than some diseases. Osler–Weber–Rendu syndrome for example.

Keep your finances simple. This is what I do. Instead of using 72 different funds in my portfolio, I started with the 3 funds portfolio.  Also that’s why I wrote about my 12 toddler steps to personal finance. I agree, it’s not perfect, but it gives me the general guideline to follow.

Throughout my fellowship training and first 6 months of my real job, I focused mainly on paying off my loans. Simple enough, that I paid the loan off faster than I expected.

There is an Australian researcher, Anthony Stickland, who made it his life mission to solve the ketchup flow problem.

Dr. Stickland, a senior lecturer at the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Melbourne in Australia, literally developed step-by-step instructions that should help your ketchup flow much nicely.  In that instruction, there are lots of physics theories involved.

3. Don’t just jump into investments because an authority figure recommends it – The ketchup cure

I learned this from my short encounter with cryptocurrency investing. So I watched some YouTube video and also followed some big names on twitter at the time.

Many times, they promote a coin for people to buy – for example, John McAfee will tweet about coins, and then people rush to buy it, artificially inflate the price of the coin.

Then a pattern started to emerge, few hours after, there would be a huge dump in the coin. It turned out he got paid to promote those coins. I also believed he bought the coin right before, then dump the coin after people buy up and he would benefit from the promotion.

This might not apply to other investments as bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are not regulated.  However, you get the point. 

Ok as promised, the story of the ketchup cure –

Apparently, ketchup used to be a medicine around 1835 and it was sold as tomato pills. A genius doctor at the time spearheaded the project. Dr. John Cook Bennett, the medical department president at Willoughby University in Ohio.  The pill was sold as cure for illness ranging from diarrhea, jaundice, indigestion to rheumatism.

Conclusion 

While this might have been a funny or unfunny version of my venting, there are some things I felt need to be addressed.

  1. Human nature loves entertainment than something serious, even if it will improve our lives. 
  2. You can relate finance to anything, just gotta be creative
  3. There is a sweet spot for everyone in finance – just like the 57 spots for ketchup bottle
  4. Keep your finance simple – don’t be hot or cold. Pick a strategy and stay the course
  5. Don’t jump into any investment without doing your due diligence – Ketchup cure did not work – no magic formula for investing. 

Part 2 will be released later today by Miriam. Will be adding it later.

Financial Freedom, Financial Independence

Financial Independence in 10 years

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If the goal is to have financial freedom, then it is worth the sacrifice.

I have been reading nonstop about personal finance. It has been a heck of a ride. The roller-coaster of emotions that goes along with it is not so scary when you focus purely on the numbers.

Most experts will say to save 10-20% of your income, but that still means working a 30+ career until being free. I wanted to get off the hamster wheel earlier or at least whenever I wanted instead of when only I could.

I thought wouldn’t it be great to focus on getting out of the rat race sooner. Why not just focus on a certain time period?  I picked 10 years because that is a good chunk of time for most people to get themselves in the head space to understand that discipline is in order to achieve this lofty goal.

I just narrowed down my focus to only looking for information pertaining to how to become FI in a decade.

Here is what I found along the way.

THINK 10

They say to think big. So, I say think 10.

I began to look for information on being financially free.

For instance, saving 50% of your income and getting a return of 5% or more could net you over $500,000 and allow you to become FI in 15 years. Not bad.

If your living expenses are under $40k a year, then you can make that work for you. Therefore, the more you spend, then the more you have to save. It is just that simple.

Saving 65% of your income with a return of 7% or more could net you over $600,000 and allow you to become FI in about 11 years.

Even better, saving 70% your income with a return of 7% or more could net you over $700,000 and allow you to become FI in less than 10 years. Yahtzee!

I found a savings rate early retirement chart on Clark Howard’s website. He generally decreased the number of working years by four once you hit a 40% savings rate.

TAKE YEARS OFF THE RETIREMENT SCHEDULE

After, I did my research, I also found the following:

  • By saving 60% of your income, you can take 1 year and 6 months off every time you work 1 year.
  • By saving 70% of your income, you can take 2 years and 4 months off every time you work 1 year.
  • By saving 80% of your income, you can take 4 years off every time you work 1 year.
  • By saving 90% of your income, you can take 9 years off every time you work 1 year.

This is what Jacob Lund Fisker details in his book Early Retirement Extreme.

Saving a high percentage of your income is literally allowing you to sock away years of retirement income at a faster rate.

That would mean based on the above statements, the following:

  • Saving 60% of your income for 7 years, allows you to knock 11.2 years off your retirement schedule.
  • Saving 70% of your income for 7 years, allows you to knock 16.8 years off your retirement schedule.
  • Saving 80% of your income for 7 years, allows you to knock 28.7 years off your retirement schedule.

This would mean retiring in your 30s or 40s as opposed to your 50s or 60s. However, working is relative. If you truly have something that you enjoy doing, then it is not an issue. FI is about finding work or activities that you want to do without having to worry about punching a clock and getting paid.

WHAT IS FI?

It is the ability to make work optional.

Your assets are now generating enough cash flow for you to exit stage left out of the workforce.

I found this great chart that defines it eloquently.

Freedom vs independence

Image credit: doubledebtsinglewoman.com

HOW AND WHERE TO SAVE

Unfortunately, it is not enough just to save, but to have a target.

Most reading I have done on FI includes putting money in index funds, taxable accounts, savings, checking, and money market accounts,

For example, J.P. Livingston of TheMoneyHabit says she was saving about 70% of her income and then split that up into different categories.

Of that 70% of her income, she put 60% in savings and the remaining 40% into investing.

A place like the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX) or EFT (VTI) should work for you just fine.

All this means that you must not only invest, but put a high portion of your income aside to actually be able to hit the eject button on your job. After all, you need income to live off of and investments typically come with rules like you are unable to withdraw any funds before age 55 to 59 ½.

I continually read about those that have retired early and reached financial independence. The common denominator is this: savings.

What can I tweak? How can I do better? I always strive for abundance. After I achieve one goal, then I make a new goal.

Once I got serious, I started socking away 41% of my income. My next move was to get to 50% of my income and eventually work my way up to a 75% savings rate.

I have also noticed that high yield savings accounts rates have gone up recently. There are accounts now paying over 2% interest. That’s right. You can earn 2% just for parking your money. The more you save; the more you earn. That is the same amount some people are receiving in annual raises and cost of living increases!

Do not let anyone tell you that this is not possible. Forget the naysayers. There is a saying that the elephant keeps walking as the dogs keep barking. Do not let fear, others opinions, or lack of effort keep you from reaching your goals.

You are the MVP on your Financial Freedom team. Go for the goal. Always.  

There is no better goal than being free.

Financial Freedom, Wealth

America is the land of loans

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Approved, Finance, Business, Loan

Worry is the interest paid to those who borrow trouble. – George Washington

Finance it! That should be slapped on bumper stickers across the country. 

There are now loans for just about anything you can think of. Whatever your heart desires, you can finance. Almost.

My father would say that people need to learn discipline as they want to do every whimsical little thing that comes to mind and this can cause trouble in your life.

I learned at a young age that trying to get your little hands on everything you crave is a gateway to higher levels of debt and spending.

It starts with one video game and then balloons to buying the console, accessories, new games every other week, and monthly subscriptions to gaming magazines. That quickly escalates to $1,000 iPhones, $2,000 MacBook’s and flying first class everywhere. Even if it is drivable and only a few states away.

How is all this lifestyle creep paid for?

With plastic.

After working at a federal credit union, I got the inside peek behind the financial curtain into many strangers lives.  

Some people are clinging to their middle-class status like the ones they had in their childhood upbringing, while others are dangling over the financial edge and many more have fallen over the financial precipice completely.

Financial institutions knowing this fact, as wages have been stagnating since about 1979, are all too eager to fill that gap in earnings with loans.

Let’s find out what type of debt is out there awaiting consumers that are not financially savvy enough to avoid them or are left with few alternatives to avoid them in the first place.

NO CASH, NO PROBLEM

Quick to borrow is always slow to pay. – Proverb

How many times have you heard commercials that say your job is your credit? Get real. Your credit is your credit.

Miss enough payments and that job means nothing. They will repossess anything.

I saw this up close and personal at the credit union. I saw cars getting repossessed, families stressed out and on the edge of a financial cliff, and those with bad credit had it the worst of the lot.

Is your credit score too low or in the 500’s? Forget about it. Either you will not be able to borrow or it will be at interest rates so high you will be paying off that sweater you bought for your kid’s 3rd birthday when your kid goes off to college.

Do not be fooled into thinking companies are being so nice to give you this product for low monthly payments. That low monthly payment of $42 over 24 months is still over $1,000!

If you must borrow, get those scores up. That way you pay less interest.

IS IT FOR SALE?

Of course, it is! Everything is for sale. And its pricey too.

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.” – Henry Ford

They will let you subscribe to just about anything, for a fee. Much unlike this blog, which you can subscribe to for free, you have to pay for anything you deem necessary or desired for your life.

Just because it is for sale does not mean you are not shelling out big bucks for it. Case in point, if an item is on sale for 25%, then you still have to pay 75% to take the item home with you.

I say skip the for sale signs and racks and focus on only buying quality products that you need and truly want, but that you can actually afford.

BUY NOW, PAY LATER

As an individual who undertakes to live by borrowing, soon finds his original means devoured by interest, and next to no one left to borrow from – so must it be with a government. – Abraham Lincoln

This is what I feel is the old bait and switch. Sure, you can finance it now and pay later, but later is going to be a long time and it’s going to cost you…A lot.

I say avoid paying interest and forever and a day.

Read my posts on savings or get my eBook on crushing debt and saving $10,000 every single year to see how you can save and start paying cash.

LOANS FOR EVERYTHING

No one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public. – H. L. Mencken

Over the years, I have started noticing more and more that not only is everything for sale, but it is able to be financed.

What has been really glaring has been the new loans that have crept up and put out in the main stream for the last 10-15 years.

What loans am I talking about?

  • Holiday Loans (for Christmas Presents)
  • Vacation Loans (finance that cruise)
  • Internship Loans (finance additional training along with college tuition)
  • Summer Loans (for the gap between Fall and Spring college semester)
  • Care Credit (healthcare financing)
  • Hurricane Loans (National Disaster Loans)
  • Government Assistance Loans (Government shutdown loans)

That’s right. If you have never heard of some of these loans listed above, that is because they are not often advertised except during certain economic times or periods or places such as college campuses or certain banks.

Do you really want to finance Christmas?

You take out a loan for $1200. You have 12 months to pay it back with interest.  The time you were supposed to be saving (the previous 11 months) you were repaying this loan. That leaves you for no funds for the following Christmas. You go to the bank and they say, “we have this loan that could help you out.” Just skip it.

Better yet, have the family pull names out of a hat and just buy a gift for that one person.  Save a fortune. Your bank account will thank you.

The ones that really get me steaming are the National Disaster and Government assistance loans. People are in a vulnerable position and you want them to go into debt! More debt! Really?!!

No one plans for national disasters. You can plan your finances, but some things are not all foreseen.

For instance, some people lost their homes during the most recent hurricanes in Puerto Rico and Texas. The insurance companies were saying they had to pay a deductible to get their home rebuilt. This was to the tune of $5,000! Most people don’t just have that type of money laying around.

Borrowing will only put you deeper into debt and unable to save when an emergency like this happens.

The worst by far is government assistance loans for the government shutdown. Folks would not need a loan if they could save. Now, you want more of their money, which they don’t even have? What sense does that make.

I say focus on building up the rainy day fund so you are not caught out in the financial rain without a savings umbrella.

HOW MUCH IS THAT LEXUS IN THE WINDOW?

“A business that tries to save money by not advertising, is like a man who tries to save time by stopping his watch.” – Henry Ford

It’s all about advertising.

That’s why so many people are pulling up in Target parking lots wearing Gucci boots, carrying a Louis Vuitton purse, all the while texting on an iPhone on to buy $10 socks that are marked down and dare I say it On Sale.

See my post on Name Brand Labels

I see more folks driving luxury vehicles now than I have ever seen in my life.

What happened to just needing to get from Point A to B?

Please do not let the smell of new leather cause you to have empty pockets. No car or gadget is worth going into debt over. Or worse yet, going broke.

On one television show, I saw a mother of two young kids trying to see if she could come up with the rationale to finance a $100,000 car! Do not do that. It is not worth it.

See my post on 3 Money Lessons from Til Debt Do Us Part

JUST SIGN HERE

Sell to the masses, eat with the classes. – Henry Ford

It has been often stated, if you sell to the classes, you’ll dine with the masses. But if you’ll sell to the masses, you’ll dine with the classes.

Another spin on this quote is this one here.

Sell to the masses, eat with the classes. Sell the classes, go belly up!” – John F. Savage

It is said the majority of people rent this world from a minority of people. That is how it goes. Unless you change the status quo. Become an owner. Keep more of your money and always invest.

They make it all too easy for you to sign on the dotted line and then have to fork over 25% of your paycheck just to pay for your items.

I want to pay for the item, get it handed to me, then transaction over. Installments suck!

I say save for what you want.

Not sure where to start.

Just start small. Even saving $5 a week just to get in the habit of saving is better than doing nothing and having no savings at all.

So, please do not sign on the dotted line. Do everything you can to save. It will be your safety net should real disaster strike because when it does it’s like lightning. It usually strikes fast and more than once.

Play good defense and save. Surround your financial house with savings. Do not get tackled because you left your wallet open, figuratively speaking.

Plan your money smart and be safer financially.

Celebrities and Money, Retirement, Saving, Wealth

Introducing the $100,000 bottle of water

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This $100,000 bottle of water costs as much as a house in some parts of the country. Heck, even the world!

Thirsty? Well, this bottle of H20 will only cost you $100 grand. You heard me. $100k! Yes, that’s USD.

That’s the most expensive sip of water I have ever heard.

What if I accidentally spill it? Oh, to perish the thought!

I was sure it was a joke. Like how Jokey the Smurf brings you a present and then you find out it’s a gag gift. You know, something like that.

I can’t even fathom parting with that much cash for something you could get for free out the tap at home or at any restaurant.

Who are the marketing geniuses who thought of this? Who is the target market? What are the demographics?

Who in their right mind would pay $100k for some water?!!

WHO WILL BUY $100K BOTTLE OF AQUA?

Fine. I’ll bite. Who are they?

I guess you could say this water is targeted at a high-end clientele. Those that have pockets so deep, that smacking down that type of scratch is no problem, as all they have to do is whip out their Centurion Black Card. Swipe, sign, and done.

The company actually got rapper 2 Chainz and DJ Diplo to taste the water. They have both sold millions of albums. So, sure you could market to them. Market to the affluent is a must at this price point.

If you don’t have to bat an eyelash at this type of transaction, then good for you.

The rest of us reasonable mere mortals are not buying it. Where did this water come from?  Is it magic water from the fountain of youth? Will it heal all maladies or whatever ailments you have. Basically, will it cure what ails you and eliminate the need for the ever increasing cost of healthcare?

Could I rub it and make 3 wishes?

Like in the show Gargoyles, this isn’t Aladdin’s lamp. All things have their limitations. Even the character called Puck agrees with me. Check it out 30 seconds in.

Water can quench your thirst, clean you, keep you healthy and alive, and that’s about it.

MAKERS OF THE MOST EXPENSIVE BOTTLE OF WATER IN THE WORLD

The company is called Beverly Water. They are located in Beverly Hills, California.  The water is called Beverly Hills 90H20. It is crafted spring water from the California Mountains.

Coined “The Most Expensive Bottle of Water in the World,” is clearly meant to entice people with deep pockets that this is a must have item.

Here is the description that I posted on their website:

Description

“The Most Expensive Bottle of Water in the World”

Limited to only nine bottles in the world, the Diamond Edition of the Luxury Collection of Beverly Hills 9OH2O is the ultimate in water.  Designed by Jeweler to the Stars Mario Padilla, each exquisite bottle features a white gold cap set with over 600 G/VS white diamonds and over 250 black diamonds, totaling 14 carats.  Each bottle comes in a custom secured presentation case together with four engraved Baccarat crystal tumblers, and it is presented in person by renowned water sommelier Martin Riese at a private water tasting anywhere in the world.  In addition, the Diamond Collection package includes a one year supply of the Lifestyle Collection of Beverly Hills 9OH2O.

THE MOST EXPENSIVEST SH*T

There is a video posted of 2 Chainz and Diplo getting a tasting of the water from a, get this, water sommelier. It turned out as expected. Neither care to buy $100k bottle of water. Why you ask? It’s simple. It’s just water!

After, introducing the water to the two gentlemen, which is housed in a massive case, you get the feeling something is seriously off here.

Then comes reality.

THE $100,000 DOLLAR QUESTION

2 Chainz asked what everybody wants to know, “What are you paying $100,000 for?”

The white-gloved sommelier then points at the bottle cap.

You are not really paying for the water, but what the water comes in and with.

Which is a 14 real diamonds, 600 white ones, 250 black diamonds, and white gold.

For this diamond luxury experience, you’re getting the case, and 4 diamond baccarat glasses.

After I stopped laughing hysterically, I started reading the comments on the video.

The hands-down and absolute funniest part after watching the video is reading the comments section.

MY SENTIMENTS EXACTLY

Here are just some of the comments I saw that popped out at me.

Imagine how disappointed you were if you paid $100k for this bottle thinking its vodka

MBA lesson right here

If you can convince someone to buy a bottle of water for $100k. You deserve that $100k.

I will put some tap water in a bottle and sell it for 500k!

Marketing and BS.

Ima stick with my Aquafina😂😂😂

I’m no mathematician, but that’s more than 2 chains.

For those who didnt catch it, you are not paying 100k for the water. You pay 100k for the Diamonds and the gold on the Cap.

The glasses the diamonds and the case cost 99,999 and the water 1$

0$ water … 100k bottle cap

Man, that water better have the power to cure all diseases for that kind of price. 100K seriously???

I better become a mermaid after taking a sip for 100k

100k for a bottle of water? That sh*t better bring Jesus and 2pac back.

Meanwhile in Flint, Michigan…

This water better come from the fountain of youth.

Bottle of air 2billion dollars

One person put my exact thoughts, as I described above, into an elegant rebuke of buying water this freaking expensive.

MadeInVolantis 2 years ago

For 100k that water better turn me 18 again. For 100k that water better cure my thirst forever. For 100k that water better wash me of my sins. For 100k that water better make me a million dollars back somehow.

Well said.

Basically, it’s a $100k jewel-encrusted capped bottle with water inside.

Let’s think about this for a second. What could you do with one hundred thousand dollars? I’m about to tell you.

YOU COULD DO BETTER THAN BUY A DIAMOND CAPPED BOTTLE OF WATER

You could do all types of things with that kind of money. These are just some suggestions.

WHAT YOU COULD DO WITH $100,000

  • Start a college fund for underprivileged kids
  • Put every dime in the market and get historical ROI average of 7%; be a millionaire in 30 years (there goes that million bucks the commenter above was talking about)
  • Start a business
  • Donate $1,000 to 100 charities
  • Donate $10,000 to 10 charities

WHAT WOULD BE FUN TO DO WITH $100,000

  • Rent out a blimp over your old college campus, get $100,000 worth of ones and make it rain
  • Go to Vegas, rent out the Penthouse of an expensive hotel , and bet 10,000 on black
  • Get on a plane to Dubai, UAE, fly first class on the Emirates and visit every attraction
  • Visit Rome, Paris, China, London, and Australia just to get a keychain
  • Get back stage and front row passes to see your favorite artist in concert
  • Enter a professional poker tournament with a $10,000 buy-in
  • Walk up to anyone of the people collecting for the salvation army and give them a check for $25,000 (kind of like that scene in the movie Ghost)

Great scene. You will love it. No need to thank me for uploading it here.

If you have never seen the movie, then I highly recommend it.

WHAT YOU SHOULD DO WITH $100,000

  • Donate 10% to charity
  • Put a down payment on a piece of property
  • Pay off all or a large portion of your debt
  • Invest in the stock market like the S&P 500 index
  • Pay cash for college
  • Buy a car outright
  • Invest in your health

If you want to impress people, just show up to their events on-time and don’t complain.

And if you just so happen to get thirsty, stick with VOSS, Evian, or Deer Park. Can’t go wrong.

That’s just my $0.02, er ehh, I mean $100k money saving tip of the week.

Banking, Credit Cards, Financial Freedom, Investing, Retirement, Saving, Wealth

Avoid paying interest and get rich

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If you use a credit card, you don’t want to be rich. – Mark Cuban star of “Shark Tank”

According to CNBC, Americans have an average credit card balance of $6,375 and owe a record breaking $1 trillion in credit card debt, which is the most ever recorded in history.

Investing that money instead could net you anywhere from $50,000 to $200,000, depending on how long you invest it and getting a return on investment of around 9%.

And that does not include an employer match or if you invest more. You could save and invest your way to a small fortune thanks to compound interest.

Here are some ways to avoid paying interest.

MAKE IT AUTOMATIC

I’m sure to many of your out there this is not new advice. However, how many people are actually doing this is another story.

Setting your bills up on automatic payments is a great way to avoid missing payments.

Credit card companies can levy a hefty fee for missed payments. The most recent I read was $38! Forget that. I rather use that money for gas or some other function. Anything is better than paying fees.

In addition, credit card companies can ratchet up your interest rate to 29.99% for missing a single payment!

That means almost near perfect timing of paying all bills.

The closest you can get to doing this is to make all your payments automatic.

Set up everything you can on autopay.

You can put the gym membership, cell phone, utilities and insurance payments on a credit card. Then set up automatic payments with your bank to pay that credit card off at the end of every month and you’re done.

PAY DOWN YOUR DEBTS

Paying off high interest debt is a must on the road to wealth.

Every dollar you spend towards interest cannot work for you compounding interest instead.

Think about it. If you pay $700 per month servicing debt and pay 50% of that in interest, that money is gone. Dust in the wind my friend.

If you can do the polar opposite, investing the entire $700 and earning interest instead, you have a clear path to building wealth over time.

That is the equivalent of $8,400 a year you are investing as opposed to using that amount to pay debt in which $4,200 goes to principal and the other $4,200 in interest and that money you never see again.

CONSIDER BANKING WITH A CREDIT UNION

If you read my posts, about the Unbanking of America and New Banking Rules: clear a check payment in a day, then you understand where I’m coming from.

Many may not know this, but credit unions are not allowed to charge more than 18% on loans or credit cards (unless you default).

The savings gain alone from not having to pay some credit companies 22-27% interest is huge!

You could save anywhere from $50-150 bucks or more per month with a lower interest rate. That’s another $600-1,800 per year!

Just something to consider.

REFINANCE YOUR MORTGAGE

If you can lower the interest rate on your mortgage, you can save $100’s or $1,000’s of dollars a year.

In addition, if you can change your repayment period from 30 years to 20, 15, or 10, then you can save a ton of money.  Maybe not tons of money monthly or right away, but over the life of the loan.

For example, a $250,000 mortgage at a 3.92% rate over 30 years will cost $425,533. You reduce that to 15 years and total output is $331,058. That is a difference of upwards of $100,000!

If you take that $100,000 and put that into index funds, you could have anywhere from $600,000 to $1 million dollars over 30 years with a minimum 6% return on investment.

Many folks will buy at least 2-3 homes in their lifetimes. If every new purchase resets your debt-free mortgage clock by 30 years, then you are likely to spend most of your working years in debt.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this is actually the norm for most people.

You do not want to be normal. You want to be different and extraordinary because that gets results.

If more folks put down 10-20% and got 15 year mortgages, you would be better off in the long run.

Paying on one item for 30 years is a long time.

A lot can happen in 30 years. Heck, a lot can happen even in 10 years!

Retire that debt ASAP or as fast as you can.

You can build an in-law suite, swimming pool, and remodel the kitchen after the debt is gone and the home is paid off.

People used to have mortgage burning parties, after paying off their home. Let’s try to bring that back shall we.

I have recently read in the news personal finance experts expressing their concerns over mortgage payments that Americans are making.

Most wanted the debt paid just before you retire. Others said get rid of it in your 40’s. Like around age 45. Why you ask? Since, this is the point where you are halfway through your career, it is best to spend the second half of it working toward building capital to fund your nest egg.

That is excellent advice.

Basically, you spend the first 20 years paying off all you owe, and the last 20 years building up your retirement accounts you will need in your golden years.

SUMMING IT UP

All you have to do is follow these four steps and you can avoid paying interest or at least a whole lot less of it.

Remember these 4 steps:

  1. Make it automatic
  2. Pay down your debts
  3. Bank with a credit union
  4. Get a 15 year mortgage

Sounds pretty simple right?

Well, you would be surprised by how many people are not doing any of the things stated above.

Therefore, if you can start doing even one of these things now, you are well on your way to building up your bank account.

And in the illustrious words of Porky the Pig, “That’s All Folks!”