Whenever you have money, or get money, it's very easy to spend it. Some people blow it all on dumb purchases. (new car, vacations, wasteful purchases, etc...) Don't do this. But sometimes, people spend that money on something that seems "smart" in the moment, but actually hurts them big time in the long run. Here's a real life example to help it make more sense. (name's have been changed for privacy and anonymity... all the legal stuff) Dave served in the military. Decent income but nothing crazy. He received a lump sum payment from the military for something unfortunate that happened to him during service. It was $120,000 (net after taxes) He was married with kids and never owned a home. The first idea that Dave and his wife had was to use that money to put a HUGE down payment on a home. This "seemed" like a smart move.... at first. Until Dave realized that even with that huge down payment, they would still have a mortgage payment every month, and it would still take decades to pay off the mortgage. I offered Dave a different plan. Since he was military, he had access to the VA loan program. Which means he can buy a home with a $0 down payment. The mortgage payments would be higher, but what happened next made all the difference. Dave used the VA loan to purchase a slightly older house that needed some sprucing up, but was still nice and livable. This house had an advantage though. It was sitting on a few acres of land, and it was in a rural community with less county restrictions. Their mortgage was ~$2,400 a month. This cost ~$13,000 in closing costs. So his $120k was now down to $107k. Then Dave and his wife took the remaining $107k and built two smaller units on the property that they could post on AirBnB and rent out. He charged $115 a night and they were rented out about 50% of the time. Here's the math: $115 x 2 = $230 per night $230 x 15 rentals a month = $3,450 a month in revenue. They did all of the maintenance, cleaning, and turnovers themselves to reduce expenses.

Making just ONE extra payment per year on your mortgage, can take YEARS off your loan. Even if you split it into 1/12 extra each month, it cuts 5–7 YEARS off a 30-year loan. That’s tens of thousands in avoided interest. Here's the formula: (Monthly Mortgage Payment / 12) + current monthly payment = New monthly payment Here's some examples (because most are lazy and won't do the math themself) - Current mortgage = $1,500 month 👉 Pay $1625 every month - Current mortgage = $2,500 month 👉 Pay $2,709 every month - Current mortgage = $3,500 month 👉 Pay $3,792 every month This is what it looks like with today's home prices and interest rates. - Original mortgage: $425,000 at 6% interest (30 years, plus $200/month for taxes & insurance). - Normal payoff: 30 years. - With 1 extra payment per year: Paid off in about 24.75 years (~24 years, 9 months). - Time saved: Over 5 years off the mortgage. By just making one extra payment per year they’d shave off more than 5 years of payments. Here’s the side-by-side: - Normal 30-year payoff: $492,312 in interest paid - With one extra payment per year: $392,937 in interest paid - Savings: $99,375 in interest, plus the mortgage is paid off 5 years faster. That’s nearly $100k saved and 60 fewer mortgage payments — just by adding one extra payment each year. 👉 Who here has tried this? If so, let us know how it worked for you in the comments.

Just call them and say: “I’m looking at switching to another company. Their service looks (faster, better, etc..) than yours. What discounts can you offer to keep me?” Most people instantly save $20–$60/month with one call. Sometimes this works with utility companies too. 👉 Who’s brave enough to try this? If you get a win, drop it in the comments and encourage someone else to do it too.

I'm not a fan of banks... like at all. But we all need emergency funds set aside for when life hits you below the belt. (i'm referring to your wallet, not your groin. get your head out of the gutter 😆) Today, most banks pay you 0.01% in a savings account. Don't let your emergency funds sit there while inflation erodes it into the void. If inflation is 3–7%. That means your money is shrinking while it sits there. These days, a high-yield savings account might pay you 4–5%. Just stick your emergency savings in there and earn more. It's not ideal, but its waaaayyy better than .01%. - 4% is 39,900% more than 0.01% - 5% is 49,900% more than 0.01% 👉 If you know of (or have) an account thats offering decent interest right now (compared to .01%) drop it in the comments and let us know. (affiliate links are allowed for this post)