(Awesome guest post & video by Jeff Rose while J$ is out with Baby Money…)
Jessica Simpson sporting her “Daisy Dukes” is sexy. Right fellas? Many women would make the case for Robert Pattinson in the Twilight series as being super sexy.
Personally, a Double-Double at In-N-Out burger is about as sexy as it gets! Numnumnum…..
Okay, so we now know what’s sexy, but today we’re going to learn about what’s NOT sexy when it comes to managing your money.
Instead of doing your basic boring blog post about it, I told J. that I would film a video just for him. And I’ve even sported one of the coolest shirts ever!!
Check it…
Because I’m a nice guy, I’ll also outline the points for those that don’t want to hear me do a rendition of Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back” or seeing my wife attempt to hit me with her hot pink Nike Free’s. Or even see my special treat at the end. Yes, you can read my points below and miss all that excitement!
The NOT Sexy List
- Not checking your credit report. Seriously, it’s free and it takes like 5 minutes. Laziness is definitely not sexy. Go to Annualcreditreport.com and get yours today. (You can then pick up your free credit *score* at CreditSesame.com)
- Not saving enough for retirement. I’m a financial planner, of course I’m going to say this. Most people think 10% is enough. It is….. if you enjoy eating off the McDonald’s Dollar Menu when you’re in retirement. Bon appetit!
- Not teaching your kids basic money principles. You got your kids potty trained, congrats. Think your done? Hardly! Kids need lessons on money. Otherwise plan on them living with you…..forever! If you’re not qualified to teach them then find somebody that is.
- Your emergency fund needing an emergency rescue. If you go to an ATM to inquire how much you have in your savings and it laughs at you, your emergency fund probably needs some help. The last thing you want to do is head to the pawn shop to sell off your wife’s jewelry because you can’t afford to pay for a new tire. That’s when things get thrown at you. Heavy things that hurt.
What else is on your “Not Sexy List” for managing money? Do share!
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Jeff is an Illinois Certified Financial Planner who authors the blogs Good Financial Cents, Soldier of Finance, and Life Insurance by Jeff. He is a father of 3 awesome boys, husband to the coolest chick on the planet, In-N-Out Burger junkie and Crossfit addict.
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I like your list! I think a couple other things to add to the not sexy list include credit card debt and being in debt up to your eyeballs. I think my girlfriend would slap me at the end of the video so I don’t know where your wife was for that one :-P
I need to check my credit report again. Last year was fine, but it’s time to make sure 2012 is going well. Other than that, I’m doing pretty well. :)
I don’t usually like video blogs, but this one was really fun. You also have a very beautifully decorated house. Give my compliments to your wife!
@ L Bee. Yes, my wife deserves all the credit. Honestly, I think she’s decorating our entire house so that it’s Pinterest worthy. Hence why she created this page on her blog: http://houseofroseblog.com/home-tour/
And I’m glad you liked the video! :-)
Awesome video Jeff. I love the ending although that was a total edit. First shoe was thrown at your right shoulder, the slow motion one was on your left shoulder. Details my man haha.
LoL. Nice video Jeff. Those are definitely things that are NOT financially sexy. You know what else is NOT SEXY? Paying too much in taxes and not getting a good tax advisor to get a bunch of your sexy money back! I’m a little biased (as a tax guy), but seriously, SO MANY PEOPLE give FREE MONEY to the government when they don’t have to. And that’s not sexy.
I like your not sexy list. It’s a great start! Here are some of my not sexy money items.
1) Not checking your cc’s at least once a month to make sure the balances are still paid or setup to be paid off. Nothing I hate more than someone using credit like it’s free money or ignoring a card because it SHOULD be paid off.
2) Not owning up to your spending/cc/whatever until it gives you panic attacks or your wife throws it at you. It’s there, check it out.
3) Purchasing or making a life decision because it feels right, while simultaneously ignoring expenses involved with said decision.
4) Not saving before purchasing. At least sell something on eBay before buying something big.
5) Not talking about money. It’s there and everyone uses it, so talk about it.
6) Following what others think is sexy. i.e. Vampires, Harry Potter, newest gadget, insert latest craze here. Just not sexy and a waste of money.
Haha! Great video! I think trying to act like a millionaire when you make like $30,000 a year is pretty annoying / un-sexy. Having a plan / mission is definitely way more sexy than buying dinners you can’t afford.
You’re hilarious man. It’s fun to see when CFPs don’t take themselves too seriously. Hopefully you can join our meetup next time we’re in StL.
Love the list -and the video. Only thing – that belch at the end almost made me lose my lunch. :) Not sexy.
Other things not sexy – not saving up cash for things because you think you’ll pay for them later. Buying with credit and home equity loans = unsexy.
Love the post. Another not sexy thing–cashing out part or all of your retirement to pay off debt.
@Jason
Thanks buddy! Life’s too short to be serious all the time.
@debtntaxes My wife threw 2 shoes at me! haha. The second one just seemed more fun to be in slow-mo.
@ LB Great additions. Would have included some of those in the video but didn’t want to be 15 minutes long. :)
@ Peter that belch was for you and your lunch baby!
@ Melissa Totally agree. Borrow from 401k’s is another pet peeve of mine.
Classic, solid advice.
1. Checking your credit report isn’t *quite* as easy for Canadians. There’s only two agencies. Equifax REQUIRES that you mail in a ton of crap, including ID. TransUnion doesn’t let you request it online, although there’s a reasonable phone system and they mail it out automatically after you answer questions.
2. Amen re: not saving enough for retirement. 10% is terrible and completely insufficient if market returns continue to fail. Max out ALL tax-advantaged vehicles – Roth IRA, 401k (in Canada, TFSA and RRSP). THEN save another 10% of your gross (which is easier cause of the tax rebate from your 401k or RRSP).
3. A really good book on teaching kids re: money is “Money-Smart Kids” by Gail Vaz-Oxlade. It’s a short novella, easy to read.
4. Emergency fund: $1000 to start. Then build 3 months of earnings as you pay off debt. Then 6 months earnings after your debt is repaid. Nuff said.
Informative list combined with an awesome vid. You should seriously get into acting Jeff. Dwayne Johnson better watch out. That death stare from your wife is wicked. Nice job!
dying laughing…. you are so funny…..annual credit report is SO expensive!
I need to get rigged like you with a mic, and those fancy water drop transitions. LOVE.
Great vid as always Jeff. I’m with Buck, I think there is acting in your future.
Great list Jeff, and it is NOT SEXY to not file your taxes!
I love the video. All very “unsexy” things indeed. Personally, I would move number two up to number one, especially if your employer matches. You can’t beat a 50% return on 15% of your gross income.
@ Buck I would love to just get paid to be Dwayne’s stand in. Don’t think I’m THAT big though. :)
@ Kathryn glad to it got a chuckle out of you. :) iMovie does all the transitions and the $8 mic makes a HUGE difference. ;-)
@JW agreed. Many think that 10% is enough and see too many people saving well below that. They’re in for a rude awakening closer to retirement
I had to laugh a bit at the use of the word “sexy” throughout this article and video. It was used a lot, even by J’s standards, but I guess you have to indulge when given the opportunity!
I appreciate that you included teaching kids about money among these essentials. It’s often viewed as a secondary financial responsibility, but I have been tracing the source of debt and bad financial habits back to what is learned from parents and what parents fail to communicate. I’m glad to see you communicate this as a primary financial responsibility. Thanks, Jeff.
Thanks again for video/guest posting my man!!! I’m so glad to see everyone enjoyed it as much as I did :) I TOLD YOU YOU LOOKED LIKE THE ROCK!! Haha… Keep at it homeboy, your videos are killer (which is good in a money niche like ours!! They’re usually soooo boring!)