Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

  • Home
  • About
  • Melissa Recommends
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Powered by Genesis

To Grow Wealthy, Stay Where You Are

May 27, 2016 By MelissaB 1 Comment

When I was little, I devoured the Little House on the Prairie series. I felt bad then for Ma and Pa. I felt bad for the way they struggled financially, facing setback after setback. I felt bad that they always had to move just as soon as they were settled.

But then I read the books again as an adult. Then I read them one more time to my daughters. Now I realize, as much as Pa was a loving father, he was responsible for a lot of his family’s financial hardships.

Life in Wisconsin was good for them. But once Pa got the itch to go west, his family never had a stable environment. They never got more than a few years into getting settled and making a life for themselves before they moved again.

Does Moving Now Cause the Same Financial Difficulties?

Grow Wealthy
Grow Wealthy by Staying Put?

Most people would argue that life was different then, and moving around now doesn’t cause as much financial hardship, but as someone who recently completed a 2,000-mile move, I would disagree.

My husband and I had lived in Chicago for 14 years before we made the move last July to Tucson, Arizona. We went for my husband’s work and because the move would give us a lower cost of living and a pay raise for my husband. On paper, everything looked good.

We foolishly thought we’d stay for two to four years. Now, I’m not sure we should move so soon if we want to prosper financially.

Even though my husband’s employer paid for the move, we still had many expenses like setting up the utilities and paying deposits on them, buying a few new pieces of furniture, etc.

Breaking Even and Getting Ahead Takes Years

We bought a house when we moved here, knowing that we weren’t sure how long we’d stay. We’ve had our mortgage for 15 months now, and in that time, we’ve paid down $4,300 on principal. Our home has increased just $1,100 in value during that time. That gives us a cushion of about $5,400, but I’m guessing if we were to sell our house next year (which would be two years that we’ve lived here), we’d be losing money thanks to realtor fees.

We’ve also just reached the point where we’ve started to discover ways to save money in our new city. Now I know where the cheapest places are to buy groceries, secondhand clothes, etc. Our first few months here we spent much more than we normally do on groceries because I didn’t know which stores offered the best deals.

We also have finally found decent doctors and dentists. Our first few months here, we found out my daughter need 6(!) cavities filled. We had to go to four different dentists before we found one that we liked and could trust. All of those different visits cost us a little less than $200 out of pocket, and that was before her cavities were even filled.

Of course, I’m not saying never to move. In our case, the decrease in cost of living and my husband’s raise made it possible for us to own a house, which we couldn’t afford to do during our 14 years living in Chicago. However, the whole story isn’t just on paper.  When you move, there are many incidentals that add up. Moving repeatedly can cause you to struggle financially.

It’s no surprise to me that the only time in life when Pa and Ma flourished financially was after Ma put her foot down and refused to move from DeSmet, North Dakota. Without the constant moves, they could finally get established and become comfortable financially.

How often do you move? Do you agree that frequent moves are detrimental to your finances?

MelissaB
MelissaB

Melissa is a writer and virtual assistant. She earned her Master’s from Southern Illinois University, and her Bachelor’s in English from the University of Michigan. When she’s not working, you can find her homeschooling her kids, reading a good book, or cooking. She resides in New York, where she loves the natural beauty of the area.

www.momsplans.com/

Filed Under: Frugality, Home, Married Money, Saving, ShareMe Tagged With: Frugality, Home, married money, moving, Saving, wealth

The Wealth Cure

September 30, 2011 By Shane Ede 1 Comment

The Wealth Cure

By: Hill Harper

When you first see the image of who Hill Harper is (He’s an actor on CSI:N.Y.), you assume that this is just another book by a celebrity to boost his status and pad his wallet.  What you get when you read this book, however, is another thing entirely.  Not only is this not a book that Harper had someone write for him and then published using his name, it’s a thought provoking book that happens to be about wealth.  If you’ve read many books on money and wealth, you know that a majority of them are dry, boring books to read.  Harper manages to take what is a very important message about the role that wealth plays in our lives and melds it into a very engrossing story about life, success, and the real worth of wealth in our lives.

He starts the story with a short few paragraphs setting up the story for the rest of the book.  Recently diagnosed with cancer, he decided to take a train from Los Angeles to Chicago.  The rest of the story is about the revelations he came to while riding the train.  It’s a wonderful book that really cuts to the core of what wealth really is, and how, so often, we pervert it into something entirely different.

This is a book about life, and how the way we treat our wealth, build our wealth, and live our lives really can make a difference, not only in our life, but in the life of others.  I would highly recommend reading it, especially if you find yourself struggling with the role that money plays in your life.

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book for free as a review copy.

Shane Ede

I started this blog to share what I know and what I was learning about personal finance. Along the way I’ve met and found many blogging friends. Please feel free to connect with me on the Beating Broke accounts: Twitter and Facebook.

You can also connect with me personally at Novelnaut, Thatedeguy, Shane Ede, and my personal Twitter.

www.beatingbroke.com

Filed Under: Books, pf books Tagged With: book review, Books, hill harper, pf books, the wealth cure, wealth

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Improve Your Credit Score

Money Blogs

  • Celebrating Financial Freedom
  • Christian PF
  • Dual Income No Kids
  • Financial Panther
  • Gajizmo.com
  • Lazy Man and Money
  • Make Money Your Way
  • Money Talks News
  • My Personal Finance Journey
  • Personal Profitability
  • PF Blogs
  • Reach Financial Independence
  • So Over Debt
  • The Savvy Scot
  • Yes, I am Cheap

Categories

Disclaimer

Please note that Beating Broke has financial relationships with some of the merchants mentioned here. Beating Broke may be compensated if consumers choose to utilize the links located throughout the content on this site and generate sales for the said merchant.

Visit Our Advertisers

Need to change careers? Consider an Accounting Certificate Program from WTI.