The Best Financial Decisions I Ever Made

By no means do I make the claim that I've made all the best financial decisions throughout my life. In fact, there have been times in which I've made quite poor decisions when it comes to my money and how best to make use of it. However, by learning from these mistakes and using them to guide me in future decisions, I've been able to distinguish between the good and the bad when it comes to my personal finance decisions. My successes stand out even more when I know just what can happen when I take the wrong fork down a particular financial path.

While my financial successes might not seem like much standing by themselves, putting them together over time, they have added up to quite a bit of savings. Here are a few of my favorites.

Renting

Since I have moved five times over last 10 years, I can only imagine the horrific expenses, not to mention stress that I would have encountered having to sell a home each time I moved. As a renter, I remember people telling me how they just couldn't believe that for as money savvy as I was that I didn't own a home, since it was such a "great investment.". I remember replying to them that I had run the calculations (which I had done numerous times and in numerous scenarios), and that I would spend more in property taxes, maintenance, homeowner's insurance, and increased utilities for a home than it cost me to rent. To me, it just wasn't worth it. Plus I got to enjoy all the perks that came with renter's life such as reduced stress, ease of maintaining the space, and at certain locations a free gym, indoor basketball court, swimming pool, lakeside balcony view, and a fireplace -- none of which I now have with a home. (Yes, I finally buckled to the pressure. See my "The Worst Financial Decisions I Ever Made" article to learn more.)

Moving Myself

In all those moves during the past decade, I would probably have encountered hefty moving fees had I used professional movers; costs that possibly would have ranged well over $10,000 total. Instead, I packed, rented a truck, and moved everything myself (with the help of my wife and at times her brothers and their friends). Let me tell you, it wasn't easy, but the amount of money I saved in the process was well worth the effort.

Used Cars

During a period of ten years, I owned a total of three used cars, the first of which I purchased in high school for $1,000. After it finally died and I had donated it to charity, I purchased a used car with hail damage (lots of dents but it didn't hurt the running of it any) for $800. It ran great, and with the exception of having to put in a new alternator, really didn't have any major problems. I ended up donating that car to charity as well several years after purchasing it since I had moved to Chicago and ended up taking the train to work. The final used car I purchased for $3,500, drove for several years, and ended up selling to CarMax for $1,900 when I no longer needed it.

So when all was said and done, I spent a total of $5,900 on three cars, which lasted me a total of ten years. During that time I would estimate I probably spent a total of $3,000 on repairs (most of which was due to my leaving the first car in storage and unused for several years while away at college). With the repair estimates of $3,000 factored in to the cost of the cars of $5,900, minus the $1,900 I was paid by CarMax for my last vehicle, I would say I spent about $7,000 during a ten year period (not counting gas, insurance, and general upkeep like oil changes, headlight and tire replacement, etc) for my sources of transportation to and from work.

Shared Expenses

I'm not trying to be funny here, but meeting my wife was probably one of the best financial decisions I've ever fallen into. Having met in college, and living together ever since, our ability to share expenses has probably saved me more money than any other financial move I've ever made.

Sharing expenses like rent, utilities, food, and similar items with my wife has in essence cut many of my most major costs in half. In the eleven years that we have been living with one another, we have been able to do more and have had more options both in our career, family, and personal lives due to the fact that we have split expenses, than we probably would have had living on our own.

More from this contributor:
5 Websites that Could Save You Money
How to Manage a Household Budget
Money Really Does Grow on Trees

Disclaimer: The author is not a licensed financial professional. The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. For financial advice, readers should consult a licensed financial advisor. Any action taken by the reader due to the information provided in this article is solely at the reader's discretion.