Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

[aurielle]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

In two weeks I'll be done with #1. On to #2 starting in January. I get my yearly raise in January (a pittance, but every lil bit helps). Then #3. DH is signing up for #4 this month, and #5 & 6 are not applicable to us.

[laceshawl]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

Sometimes you might need to spend at least some of a raise, eg if your car was always breaking down it might be cheaper in the long run to buy a better one even if you had to take on monthly payments. Or you might need to do house repairs you'd had to put off in order to keep the property value up. These are ways of investing even if it's not putting money in the bank.

[rduell]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

I've been thinking of how I'm going to use my raise I get in January. I finally decided last night that half is going toward gasoline because I'm ending up overbudget on that because of running kids back and forth to college and all the activities the younger ones are in. The other half is going toward the debt snowball.

[Armywife]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

Since our debt has a few years to turn into a high interest debt (furniture at 0% until 2008), we have established a savings account which we will use to pay off the items right before it gets ugly. Hubby's raise just added a few hundred bucks into the pot so we're actually a couple of months ahead of the game

[rusty@saving]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

i have a raise coming in 1 1/2 months, we are going to be saving it for as long as we can.

[wannabefree]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

Unfortunately, I think most people always spend up to their raises.

I see a lot of people say to themselves I got a $200 a month raise so to celebrate I'm going to get a new car at $400 dollars a month

[vsjhoc]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

Save, save, save, save, save, and save! I am going to get a raise soon and I plan to save every bit of it.

Ima, I thought you were retired?!

[Ima saver]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

Well, I am not really retired. I quit full time work in about 1990 but worked part time til 1996. I did work during the census.
What I meant by getting a raise, it that I became eligible for social security yesterday, so I am going to take my month check and save every bit of it!

[sarah]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

I am hoping to be promoted soon so I have been thinking about this.

[instantinfo4you]

Re: Six Wise Ways to Spend a Raise

Although this seems like excellent advice, and just plain common sense. You would be surprised at the number of people who see their raise as a little extra spending money every month. They will see an extra hundred bucks a month as a new luxury that they really do not need. Such as 15 extra cable channels, or some other un-needed junk that just perpetuates the debt process.