December 2014 Awesome Article Round Up

Money Beagle posted “Why You Should Pretend Gas Is Still $4 Per Gallon” Gas prices change a ton and people tend to forget that.  There are even people right now deciding to buy gas guzzling SUVs and big trucks because they can now afford the fuel.  The thing is, gas prices most likely will increase again.  On the other side of the coin you have people who know they are saving money through lower gas prices, but aren’t consciously saving that money, instead they are spending it on other things (myself included).  Gas prices that are now down almost 50% from their summer high can easily be saving consumers $100 a month, without having to do anything!   No one knows for sure what gas prices will do, so don’t squander the savings while it is cheap at the moment.

Brock at Clever Dude posted “Dear Garbage Company, I’m Moving On”  after receiving a 30% increase in his bill throw added fees.  It seems his garbage provider is following the Comcast method of doing business.  While I truly believe that garbage pick up is one of the most essential services we can have,  there has to be competition in order to keep providers in check.  My garbage collection fees are around $15 per month, so for about $4 a week they drive a giant very fuel inefficient vehicle to my house, pick up whatever waste my family has generated and dispose of it at the dump site.  I can’t do it that cheaply myself! The dump charges me $1.50 per bag to dump, so if we generate 3 bags, that alone is $4.50 for the week, no including the gas and time to drive 15 miles to the dump.

Erika at Newlyweds On A Budget posted “How Much It Cost To Buy Our First Home In Southern California” She goes into the numbers quite a bit, which is nice to see, especially for someone who lives in a much lower cost area.  Where I live a $550,000 home would be a mansion on several acres, it’s a bit of a culture shock to see a modest home go for that price.  I always knew that PMI was proportional to the loan amount, but had no idea it could end up around $400 a month.

Okay, this is an older post from Club Thrifty, but it’s new to ME for the month of December. Holly posted “USA Today: The ‘American Dream’ Now Costs $130K“. Holly points out how ludicrous the numbers given by USA Today look.  It’s like they live in another world.  I personally achieved the “American Dream” at age 20 by owning a home and having two cars in the garage when Mrs. C and I were making around $35K a year.  We have yet to earn half of what USA Today says is needed to live the American Dream.  $17,000 a year for housing expenses, $12,000 a year for groceries, $11,000 a year for vehicles, AND $32,000 for taxes? Maybe they wouldn’t have such a high tax bill if they didn’t have to work so damn hard to earn 6 figures to pay for a McMansion and a luxury car!

What other awesome articles have you come across this month?

John C. started Action Economics in 2013 as a way to gain more knowledge on personal financial planning and to share that knowledge with others. Action Economics focuses on paying off the house, reducing taxes, and building wealth. John is the author of the book For My Children's Children: A Practical Guide For Building Generational Wealth.

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