Car Selling Tips, 401k Robbers, & Spring Cleaning Your Finances 🧹

March 21, 2023

Happy Tuesday, positive people!

Repeat after me:

  • “I am good at budgeting”
  • “I confidently manage my money”
  • “I am passionate about building wealth for me and my family”
  • “Short term stock market weirdness doesn’t bother me, because I’m focused on looooong term investments”
  • “Being rich is a part of who I am

Affirmations like these might seem silly… But like my favorite poet, Hafiz, said… “The words you speak become the house you live in”. (and I want to live in a house made of money! 🤣)

OK, now let’s turn these words into ACTION! 👇👇👇


TO DO

Delete an App 🙅‍♂️

Chances are you’ve got an app on your phone that a) you open multiple times a day and b) it’s doing you absolutely no good! (for example, your guilty pleasure might be constantly checking stock updates, which adds zero value to your day)

Your mission this week: Delete that app!

Congratulations, you just reclaimed some free time, mind space, and serenity in your daily life. 🧘


CARS

Selling a Used Car for Top Dollar

The car market is still bonkers right now, and older vehicles are worth more than you’d think. A buddy of ours is selling his 2007 Honda Accord — with 180,000 miles on it — and is likely to get $5-6k for it! 😳

Maybe some of you folks are sitting on an older car, wondering about selling it?

If so, here are some tips to help you get top dollar…

  • Research the value: KBB and Edmunds are great places to start. Look up the features and options for your specific model, these come in handy when creating a listing.
  • Sales methods: Private sales (directly to another individual) is usually going to get you the most money. Trade-in and Instant Cash offers are usually the lowest. I know it’s tempting to hit the easy button and sell for less with “no work”, but usually putting in the extra effort is worth a LOT more money.
  • Clean it out: Here are 20 DIY cleaning hacks with household products you might already have. Tiny things like de-fogging old headlights with toothpaste makes a HUGE difference in selling price.
  • Photos, photos, photos! The better the photos, the better the sales price. Here are 20 tips for better car pics. (Pro tip: take a photo of the owners manual, title, and spare key setting neatly on the front seat. This might seem insignificant, but to potential buyers it demonstrates responsible previous ownership)
  • Make a thorough listing: More info about mileage, ownership history, and special features will help sell the car quicker. And if it’s got something like brand new tires or you just had the timing belt changed, mention that! FB Marketplace and Craigslist are great marketplaces and they’re free.
  • Prepare to negotiate: Brush up on some quick negotiation tactics. Know your bottom line, play good cop bad cop, create urgency, and remember YOU have the upper hand right now with it being a sellers market. 💪

Related stuff:


TOGETHER WITH HONEY

Honey is a browser extension that automatically looks for coupons/discounts on over 4,000 shopping websites (including Amazon!)

It works on both mobile and desktops, you just shop like normal and it’ll pop up when checking out to make sure the best discounts are applied.

Average users save $126 a year! Install Honey (it’s free) so you don’t have to manually search for deals when you shop 🤑


RETIREMENT

Cashing Out 401(k)s Too Early…

The Harvard Business Review recently reported that too many people are cashing out their 401k accounts when they change jobs. And nestled within that article was this interesting chart… 👇👇👇 

It seems the more “employer matching” that happens, the more likely people are to withdraw those funds when they change jobs.

“Free money”, as we call it, is something everyone should take advantage of if their job offers 401k contribution matching – it was put in place to encourage you to save more. But the real benefit isn’t just the initial match… it’s the years of tax free growth and compounding that becomes incredibly valuable later in life. But you only capture that goodness if you keep the money invested.

It’s sad to see people treat money differently based on whether they saved it or if it was given as a bonus. The reality is, they worked hard to earn everything in their salary package (wages, matching, time off, other perks), and should cherish each and every dollar that enters their life.

So for any of y’all switching jobs and considering cashing out your 401k, avoid it if you can!! Whether it’s your own savings or employer contributions… roll it over, convert it, or move it to your new employer.

Related stuff:

  • 📊 Average 401k Balance: Based on Vanguard retirement account data, Americans have an average of about $141k in their workplace retirement plans over all age groups.
  • ⤵ Rollover Help: Capitalize helps you find and roll over old 401k accounts to IRAs (it’s free!). They work with Fidelity, Vanguard, and all our fave brokers!

ICYMI

Buzzing around the interwebs…

Vanguard Safety
All this bank collapse drama has folks wondering… “What happens if a brokerage firm collapses?”. Here’s a thread of answers, as well as our favorite explanation of Vanguard’s unique company structure.

Drunk Shopping 😵
Apparently 1 in 6 Americans admit to shopping under the influence… And last year those people racked up about $14 Billion in drunk shopping purchases! Stay careful out there peeps — alcohol can increase impulse buying. 🍻+🛒=🙅

Minimum Wage 📍
Check out this map via Visual Capitalists, showing the minimum wage for countries all around the world. (There’s also a map just for US states if you scroll down the page a bit). Very interesting comparisons!!

$100k Salary 🤷‍♀️
SmartAsset reports the cities where a $100,000 salary stretches the furthest (spoiler: Memphis, OKC, and many cities in Texas). They also note cities where 100k doesn’t go very far after cost of living adjustments (surprise, surprise… NYC, Honolulu, and many places in California!)

2022 Scams 🥷
Last year people lost a record $8.8 Billion to scams, an increase of 30% compared to 2021! The top 5 were imposter scams, online shopping scams, prizes/sweepstakes, investment fraud, and business/job opportunity scams. Here’s a list of things to help protect yourself. Stay safe out there, people!!

Spring Cleaning 🤑
It’s time to get your financial house spruced up… Our latest blog shows a checklist to spring clean your finances!


FRIENDS OF HTM

Codie Sanchez, Contrarian Thinking

Right out of college, Codie was working 70-hour weeks for a paycheck. And even though she had a great education and an elite job, she felt like her life was out of control.

Today, things are different… Codie is financially independent, she owns 25+ small businesses, and founded Contrarian Thinking – where she’s on a mission to free the minds of individuals who are hanging onto traditional careers.

Want to learn how she built and bought so many businesses? Listen back to episode 577, check out her website, or follow her on Insta or TikTok along with 1.6M other people (yes you read that right) 


That’s it for now. Have an awesome day ahead!!

Best friends out 🍻

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