46 Things I Wish My Mom Taught Me About Money
Women’s Personal Finance.net has a very thoughtful article about all the very simple and yet indispensable things that one learns about money over a lifetime that would be nice to have known before you got kicked out of your room. The article is lengthy but well worth the read and a good encouragement for Joe’s Goals users who are trying to beef up on their thriftiness.
One of my favorite quotes:
Saving Money is a Positive Habit, not a Negative Burden. Parents who save money have children who save money, as long as the parents make a positive impression when it comes to the savings part. A habit can also be considered an addiction-and an addiction to watching your hard-earned money grow is not a bad one, either.
And don’t forget it! Nothing wrong with an addiction to saving money. I know a lot of Joe’s Goals users who have created simple goals to encourage them to set aside money for savings. It is a habit that, with the advent of modern banking, is easier than ever. Some banks (such as ING Direct) even let you setup an auto withdrawal from your checking account so saving (the article suggests 10% of your paycheck) is the first thing you do each pay period. Incidentally a lot of online banks are paying very high rates on their savings accounts now:
- ING Direct is at 4.40%
- HSBC Direct is at 5.05%
- Emigrant Direct is at 5.15%
I’ve used them all and am happy to reccomend them.
These percentages are amazing! In the Netherlands the maximum I’ve seen is 4%. Too bad sending money overseas is quite costly as well. I wonder if the European union has such different percentages as well.
But saving money is a good idea, although I can’t save 10%.
Chris