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Save BIG and small - the things that you shouldn't do

- don't lease the car because you can't afford buying it - you will waste a ton of money
- don't get a 30 year fixed mortgage rate just because it is more secure - you likely sell in 3 to 5 years
- don't go out for a month, see how much money you will save - I bet it'll be long before you go out again
- don't send your kids into Ivy league school before they know exactly what they want to do - community college will do just fine for a year or even two - then transfer - it is very expensive changing majors late in a game in elite universities
- don't go on vacations that are not all-inclusive - it will cost you much more
- don't select small deductible on auto and home insurances, chances are nothing is going to happen to your car or home - raising it from $250 to $1,000 will cut your premium by 15 percent to 30 percent or more
- don't put into 401k more than your employer matches - unless you have to get a tax break
- don't buy mutual funds with initial sales load, and/or a large expense ratio - try Vanguard for the cheapest yet excellently managed mutual funds
- don't buy anything other than term life insurance - the "cash-value" policies, including universal life, variable life, whole life and so on, will make your agent rich
- don't use traditional home phone line - go with "voice over IP" like Vonage or Comcast or what have you, or get an extended plan on your cell phone
- don't day-trade stocks, and especially on a margin - you end up losing your underwear
- don't buy into "buy and hold" strategy - the globalization and the world mess makes pretty much every company unsafe - only proven mutual funds and specialized sector stocks are somewhat good

Sat Jan 27, 2007 12:01AM by Tony | More in Personal Finance | Comments (0)

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