Want to keep more money? Obey the law!
Nothing I'm about to say will come as a shocker, but it needs to be said ;) And that's because I'm getting dangerously close to a few of these! I know human nature will always play its part, but without reminders every now and then we tend to keep going until caught. So today, we tackle the law. And how staying on the right side of it will keep more money in our pockets.
Don't park illegally. You'll be faced with fines from $25 to $250 an occurrence! Or even worse, you'll get towed. And that's definitely no fun to work out - for both you and your wallet (especially if you live in a city like NYC or DC, bleh.) The Mrs. learned this the hard way the other month and she didn't even have to go far. She parked in an emergency lane IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD and was promptly handed a $250 ticket. She was pissed off to no end (she had parked there late at night because she didn't want to walk far alone), but it sure did teach us a lesson!
Don't Speed. Not only will you get slapped with fees, but it's a one way ticket to higher insurance rates! That one speeding trip costs you years of extra premiums for nothing. I know we never *try* to get caught, but some of you test the limits a lot more than others and you know exactly who you are ;) The last speeding ticket I got (knock on wood) was 10 years ago and the only reason I remember it was because I never told my dad and yet he "somehow" found out! haha...Cops, insurance companies, parents - none of them like it.
Don't Cheat The Government: Guess what? If you don't pay our taxes you'll be slammed with even more once you're caught! And possibly jail time. You still locked up Mr. Snipes? Stay on top of it the best you can or hire someone to do it for you. It may cost a little more, but it'll save you a lot more down the road.
Don't Go To Jail: Not only does it suck, but you can't earn any money in there. Or at least anything decent (I've been told you can earn a dollar or two a day doing chores?). That means all your debt & bills out in the real world will keep piling up awaiting your beautiful return.
And Lastly, Pay Your Bills on Time! It's not illegal if you don't, but it's a surefire way to keep burning money for no good reason at all. Banks and credit cards LOVE people who pay late so they can legally jack up the fees & interest rates! And unfortunately the only person at fault here is you :( So please, don't let them bend you over like that - stick with the game and pay attention.
Don't park illegally. You'll be faced with fines from $25 to $250 an occurrence! Or even worse, you'll get towed. And that's definitely no fun to work out - for both you and your wallet (especially if you live in a city like NYC or DC, bleh.) The Mrs. learned this the hard way the other month and she didn't even have to go far. She parked in an emergency lane IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD and was promptly handed a $250 ticket. She was pissed off to no end (she had parked there late at night because she didn't want to walk far alone), but it sure did teach us a lesson!
Don't Speed. Not only will you get slapped with fees, but it's a one way ticket to higher insurance rates! That one speeding trip costs you years of extra premiums for nothing. I know we never *try* to get caught, but some of you test the limits a lot more than others and you know exactly who you are ;) The last speeding ticket I got (knock on wood) was 10 years ago and the only reason I remember it was because I never told my dad and yet he "somehow" found out! haha...Cops, insurance companies, parents - none of them like it.
Don't Cheat The Government: Guess what? If you don't pay our taxes you'll be slammed with even more once you're caught! And possibly jail time. You still locked up Mr. Snipes? Stay on top of it the best you can or hire someone to do it for you. It may cost a little more, but it'll save you a lot more down the road.
Don't Go To Jail: Not only does it suck, but you can't earn any money in there. Or at least anything decent (I've been told you can earn a dollar or two a day doing chores?). That means all your debt & bills out in the real world will keep piling up awaiting your beautiful return.
And Lastly, Pay Your Bills on Time! It's not illegal if you don't, but it's a surefire way to keep burning money for no good reason at all. Banks and credit cards LOVE people who pay late so they can legally jack up the fees & interest rates! And unfortunately the only person at fault here is you :( So please, don't let them bend you over like that - stick with the game and pay attention.
posted by J. Money at
8:07 AM
17 Comments:
One more thing you can add to your list -- is check your checking account balance before handing over a check. A bounced check results in fees on both sides. So if you ever want the person you bounced your check on to do business with you again, you would have to offer to cover his/her bank charges, as well.
He he, good point. It pays to be good, huh?
I hate it when people whine about speeding tickets and other fees. It's something that's totally preventable.
@Ariella - Agreed. And do you know what's better than even that? NOT WRITING CHECKS! haha...I really hate them. I know it helps some people stay on their finances more (which is great!) but they just get in my way.
@Carrie...On The Cheap - It certainly does :) It's not as fun, but luckily this is a Finance blog, not a Do Crazy Things & Enjoy Life blog. Well, part of it is, but you get the point.
@Frugal Urbanite - Right? We all get them at some point, but it's almost always our fault. The worst is that they just get us when we least expect it.
Not that it really matters, but "higher someone to do it for you" should be "hire someone to do it for you" :)
Huh? I don't see that ;)
I think this post is very misleading...robbing a bank or running a Ponzi scheme can be quite fruitful.
positive thing about jail....no bills. talk about frugality :)
I'll add another one (based on stories told by my fiance - a staff attorney for a county court):
If you get in trouble with the law/your landlord/a neighbor who wants to sue you, don't stick your head in the sand and hope it goes away. Listen to what the judge says, do what s/he asks, and take care of things before they escalate. You'd be amazed at how many people spend thousands taking care of what should have been a $50 problem.
do not smoke weed while speeding in the city(particularly a foreign one) because these become quite big problems and either get you sent to guantanamo (or wherever they send terrorists these days) or lead to your deportation
Tickets are the worst, especially the camera ones. I remember getting one a few months back and that was a waste of $100.
i'm with ariella, don't write bad checks - that's another one to add;-).
it's definitely cheaper to be on the right side of the law.
I agree, I can't understand those people who keep speeding and getting tickets. What a waste!
I would add: Don't Drive Drunk. Incredibly dangerous and incredibly expensive if/when you get pulled over. A few people I know have gotten them, and it ain't pretty, financially or emotionally.
J. Money,
So, this has nothing to do with your article but I thought i should mention it here: My computer at work can't access your site. Every time I go to it, my computer freezes up. The obvious explanation is that my computer cannot handle so much awesomeness. But, is there an actual way I can fix this so I can get my Budgets Are Sexy fix in the morning and not wait until the night to catch up?
@Mr. Moneybags - It sure can. Like giving you something to think about while in jail ;)
@ - No "Bills" or bills?
@Jane - Hah! Yes, always smart to get your $hit in order and taken care of asap.
@kenyantykoon - You're not speaking from experience are you? ;)
@Craig - Yeah, esp when you KNOW they're right there looking at you! haha....actually, I'm pretty oblivious to them, but my wife points them out all over.
@Ms. MoneyChat - You and Ariella should write up a check and mail it over to me :) I've got this sweet USAA app that I can use to deposit it right from the palm of my hand.
@TeacHer - Drunk driving is NO JOKE, totally. Money aside, you can KILL PEOPLE!!! One of the worst things (in my opinion) you can do.
@Investing Newbie - Hahahahah you are correct, it can't hand so much awesomeness ;) That was pretty funny, sir. I am sad to hear about that though, perhaps your work blocks anything with "sex" in it? I know it doesn't work at Panera Bread and Gov't servers (at least that's what' I'm told).
But yes, there is another way! Two ways, actually:
1) You can sign up to receive my posts every day by email. I think it goes out at around 1pm ET.
Let's try that again:
Two ways to read Budgets Are Sexy w/out going to the site:
1) You can sign up to receive my posts every day by email. I think it goes out at around 1pm ET.
2) You can sign up to my blog via a "reader". I use Google's reader to check out all my favorite blogs, but there are a ton of others out there. You do this through my RSS feed
Plain old common sense will save you more money and keep you out of more trouble than just about anything else.
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