Good Daily Habits For More Productive Days If you want to get really organized, stay on top of tasks, and enjoy a productive day, you have come to the right place. I know firsthand how frustrating it can be to feel like life is constantly slipping through your fingers. A new distraction or overwhelming to-do …

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Once a bankruptcy or a consumer proposal is filed in Canada, a “stay of proceedings” kicks in. This article will explain what a stay of proceedings is, how it works, and why it matters for Canadians facing financial difficulties.

What is a Stay of Proceedings?

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A stay of proceedings is an automatic legal protection that, once in place, stops creditors from starting or continuing most collection actions against you.

The Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act states that:

‘upon the filing of a proposal made by an insolvent person or upon the bankruptcy of any debtor, no creditor with a claim provable in the bankruptcy shall have any remedy against the debtor or his/her property or shall commence a claim provable in bankruptcy until the trustee has been discharged or until the proposal has been refused, unless with the leave of the Court and on such terms as the Court may impose.’

This stay provides much-needed creditor protection by stopping unsecured creditor actions, including:

• Wage garnishments

• Collection calls and letters

• Legal actions and lawsuits

• Bank account seizures

• Freezing of bank accounts

• Utility disconnections for past-due amounts

• Landlord evictions for rent arrears

• Requirements to Pay from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)

Any existing legal proceedings and collection actions must stop, and creditors cannot start new proceedings without court permission.

There are, however, certain exceptions:

A stay of proceedings does not prevent actions by secured creditors (such as mortgage or car lenders) from reclaiming their collateral if you’ve fallen behind on your loan payments. Even if you file for bankruptcy, you must stay current on secured payments if you want to keep your home, car, or other secured assets.

A stay of proceedings does not apply to debts not discharged under bankruptcy law, including child support, spousal support and debts incurred due to fraud or misrepresentation.

How Fast Does A Stay Of Proceedings Work?

A bankruptcy stay of proceedings is automatic and immediate. A stay is granted when you file a bankruptcy or consumer proposal. It immediately stops creditors from taking action to collect their debt.

Upon filing, your Licensed Insolvency Trustee sends the stay to the bankruptcy court and notifies your creditors. Your employer will only be notified if a garnishment order is underway.

Your LIT will now handle all communication with your creditors. Creditor calls may take a few days to stop as notifications are sent and communication is filtered to the right departments. If you continue to receive calls, tell them you have filed a bankruptcy or proposal and give them the name of your Licensed Insolvency Trustee.

How Long Does a Stay of Proceedings Last?

The stay of proceedings lasts the duration of your insolvency proceeding:

• In bankruptcy, the stay remains in effect until you receive your discharge. This typically lasts 9 to 21 months for a first-time bankruptcy.

• Protection continues during the entire length of your consumer proposal, which can last up to 5 years.

The stay ends when you are discharged, and your debts are eliminated, at which time you no longer need creditor protection.

However, a stay can end early if your proposal is rejected or annulled or your creditor successfully applies to the court to lift the stay.

Alternatives to Bankruptcy Stay of Proceedings

If you are hesitant to file bankruptcy, options like a consumer proposal or a Division I proposal allow individual debtors to negotiate a repayment plan with creditors.

Specifically, a consumer proposal:

• Offers the same stay protection as bankruptcy

• Allow you to avoid bankruptcy

• Can be more flexible in terms of repayment options

• Has less impact on assets and your credit score

Other options like debt consolidation or credit counselling don’t provide formal legal protection from creditors.

If you’re facing aggressive collection action or are struggling with overwhelming debt, contact a Licensed Insolvency Trustee today for a free consultation. We can explain how a stay of proceedings could protect you and help you understand all your debt relief options.

The post What is a Stay of Proceedings? Creditors and Bankruptcy Protection appeared first on Hoyes, Michalos & Associates Inc..

California drivers may soon feel the impact of Governor Gavin Newsom’s climate agenda as gas prices are projected to climb by 65 cents per gallon in 2025, with further escalations expected over the next 10 years.

The governing entity, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), is tasked with executing the most rigorous climate policies globally, aiming for carbon neutrality by 2045. Read the rest

What does Simone Biles, Warren Buffett, and Audrey Hepburn have in common? In their designated fields they are considered successful, not only by their peers but society too.

Emulating such levels of greatness is hard when we are knee-deep in life. Yet, we can still infuse success into our everyday lives. We may never achieve the accolades of a few but beating everyone’s expectations, including our own is worth the effort.

Success doesn’t have to be the medal-worthy to have value and the easiest way to have success is with small steps that cut out excess.

The post Small Steps to Success: Cutting Out Excess appeared first on Budget Life List.

The post How to Earn “Infinite Returns” on Real Estate Investments appeared first on SparkRental.

Canadian healthcare is universal however, there are areas where MSP doesn’t cover you- like dentist, optometrist, or massage therapist visits. Prior to my husband coming onto my extended health benefits plan, I think he went for a teeth cleaning every 3 years. That’s okay, his …

Read morePolicyMe Health & Dental Insurance Review

The post PolicyMe Health & Dental Insurance Review appeared first on Genymoney.ca.

Grenoble is an ideal blend of mountains and livability. The 16th largest French commune has Alpine views in every direction, but the city itself is almost entirely flat. This pairing gives Grenoble the feel of being in the mountains, but it doesn’t leave you out of breath when walking or biking. The downtown is almost […]

The post Grenoble Makes The Grade appeared first on Bonus Nachos.

This year, I simplified the two monthly articles that I’ve done for years – passive income and goals/resolutions. I’ve combined them and added some personal details.

Personal Monthly Recap

• The month started with my wife deployed for Hurricane Helene.
• We went to a local Harvest Festival and entered my cousin’s zucchini, which won first place. Our kids did some tug of war and sack races – lots of old-fashioned fun.
• We had a special trip to the zoo with the Cub Scouts that had behind-the-scenes animal interactions. The zoo was doing its annual pumpkin festival with around 5,000 lighted carved pumpkins that they replace every week (as the pumpkins go bad). It’s outsourced to a company called Passions for Pumpkins which does it for three states in the US

[One of the thousands of carved pumpkins – an iconic moment in New England sports history.]

• My wife and I ran over the Pell Bridge – the longest suspension bridge in New England. It was great to watch the sunrise. Fortunately, it wasn’t as cold as last year.
• We went to Atlanta for FinCon. The kids crammed a lot into a few days, including Coca-Cola World and the largest aquarium in the United States.
• We celebrated Halloween with some friends, and the kids got enormous amounts of candy.
• We did the local annual corn maze. It’s always fun to get lost in nature for an hour or two.

Back to the Passive Income and Goals

I put my goals in a spreadsheet and review it once a month. I know that I have too many goals to complete them all. That gives me the freedom to work on a few different things. Most people focus on fewer goals and aim to complete them. They find it much less overwhelming. That’s just another reason why I’m weird. Do whatever works for you.

Click for a larger version in a new window

I just realized now that all year I’ve had Hobbes in my spreadsheet. He’s a great comic character, but I meant Hobbies.

Passive Income

I have three side hustles with a passive component: a dog-sitting business, this blog, and managing a website for a non-profit. All three require some active work. However, I can get paid for all three even while working a full-time job. That’s why I consider them somewhat passive income.

If this definition of passive income seems off or confusing, please refer to my the last stand-alone article on passive income.

Dog, Blog, and Web Income

Dog boarding was fairly average in October. I could have done better, but I went to the annual financial creator conference, FinCon. Not being around for a weekend meant that I couldn’t take dogs.

[Our puppy had a play date with her biological sister. They both came up to Rhode Island from Atlanta.]

Blogging income continues to be terrible. Much of my income comes from people finding the site on Google and seeing the ads. Google is sending a lot less traffic nowadays. They’ve focused on showing results from big brands and shopping results. Of course, with AI results, much of the time, people don’t even need to click on a website. I’m going to switch some things up, so stay tuned for that over the next few months.

The non-profit website I manage doesn’t pay much, but I love being part of the organization. I hoped to add more this year, but so far, I haven’t come up with anything. I’m doing more work than I thought I would for the non-profit, and it looks like they have some surplus income. I’ve been trying to hint that the budget could go to technology, but it’s hard because I originally volunteered myself. Next year, I’ll have to take this out of the passive-ish income. They pay me every month, but I work enough that it doesn’t fit even my stretched definition.

Finally, I started doing some web work for a restaurant. That’s an hourly rate now, so I’m not including it here. Hopefully, it will translate to some kind of retainer, which I might include here.

October’s dog, blog, and website income was $3,888.72. The previous month, it was $5,369.47.

Because this type of income requires some active work, I only count half of it as passive income. More on that later.

Rental Property Income

We have two rental properties. They still have 15-year mortgages, so the rental income is just a couple hundred dollars more than breaking even each month. We’re almost done with the mortgages, though, and they’ll make much more money (around $25,000 a year).

For the purpose of this report, I calculate their income using the following formula:

(Rents After Estimated Expenses) * (Equity Percentage Owned) = Passive Income

Estimated expenses are insurance, property taxes, condo fees, and estimated condo maintenance. Equity Percentage Owned (EPO) is our total equity divided by the property value in Zillow. (Zillow is very accurate for our condos.)

Zillow says our properties were worth $5,000 more than last month. That breaks a string of drops. We pay off about a thousand dollars of mortgage debt on them every month. That’s a recipe for gaining $6,000 in equity.

I calculate the rents on the properties at around $2,657/mo., after expenses. This calculation is a little disingenuous because I average what our true rents are and what the market says they should be. We should be charging a lot more, but we have good tenants, and we’re trying to be kind, considering the exploding housing costs.

This month, we owned 81.90% of the properties. Using the equation above, this would be $2,176 in monthly income. For a year, using this method, we’d net $26,113.

Last month, and the month before, it was $2,168, so we gained $8. That’s typically how this growth goes. It’s slow, but real estate has been one of my most consistently growing income streams.

[While my wife was away the kids built a LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon that I found on sale for under $100. They chipped in some of their money. Here, my son takes a break to read a book. (This is not the norm at our house.)]

Managing rental properties requires some work – a few days a year. For this reason, I only count 80% of this number as passive income.

Dividend Income

My wife has been maxing out her retirement accounts for a little more than two decades. I maxed out my retirement accounts for my first ten years of employment, but it got much tougher when I became self-employed. At that point, I mostly focused on maxing out my Roth IRA and a little on my SEP-IRA. Investing this money for so long has created quite the nest egg for us.

For the dividend income portion of our passive income, I assume we invested all the money in brokerage accounts (retirement and non-retirement) into an ETF that conservatively pays a 2.5% dividend. I use this 2.5% number because I’m too “Lazy” to track the exact dividends from all accounts. Also, dividend payments are very inconsistent, with most payments coming quarterly. Is 2.5% a fair number as an estimate? I’ll let you be the judge, but one ETF, iShares Core High Dividend (HDV), is paying around 3.63% right now.

I also have profit-sharing income with a private company in which I own a small stake. I get a check each month that behaves like a dividend – it’s just taxed a little differently.

[Ice cream and a science lesson at Sub Zero Ice Cream in Atlanta]

This month our dividend income using this estimation was $5,001. We finally broke the $5,000 mark! I grabbed these numbers on the night of the election, before the big run up the next day. Waiting would have made a significant difference, but I always try to grab the numbers on the 5th of the following month. Last month, September, this was $4,985 so you can see it’s a decent $16 gain..

Unlike the previous two sections, this income is 100% passive. For this reason, I don’t have to adjust the numbers.

Total Passive Income

Dog/Blogs: $3,888.72 – Adjusted to $1,944.36
Rentals: $2,176.00 – Adjusted to $1,740.80
Dividends: $5,001 – Remains at $5,001

Dogs/Blogs Blue Line
Rental – Red Line
Dividend – Yellow Line

Total Adjusted Passive Income: $8,686.16

That monthly income would be about $104,000 a year. I consider that financial indepence. We might be spending a little more than that as we make some home improvements and send our kids to fancy private school. We don’t need to spend as much as we do though.

Here’s a graph of the numbers since 2017, when I started keeping track:

(The blue line represents the monthly total adjusted passive income. The Red Line represents the 12-month average. This helps remove some of the seasonality of dog boarding.

Our 12-month average is $8,505.32. That’s a sliver below our all time high of $8,581.87 last August. I didn’t expect to make new highs this year and we’re running out of updates, but it’s possible. This is the core number that I want to beat because it shows that blogging doesn’t have to make any money at all to still do well. (I would still need the dog boarding to grow this number though.)

My wife continues to work as well. She now has 25 years in the military and will be getting a pension that effectively doubles all this passive income. Her job has gotten easier and seemingly more fun, so she might stay 30 years and grow the pension more.

I can’t think of anywhere else to put this information, but our net worth grew a modest 0.28% last month. Overall, it’s up 13.51% for the year. Our liquid cash was very much the same as the month before. Some people track their spending to know where their money goes. I’m too lazy, so I just look at the liquid cash number.

Business and Other Money Goals

Personal Income ($85,000)

Two years ago, I made over $98,000 in side hustles. Last year, I made $88,000. I’ve recently cut back on dog boarding a bit, so I’m aiming for $85,000 this year.

Through October, I made $68,998, which is on pace for $82,448.52. I think I’m going to fall short on this one.

Complete Estate Planning

After several months of not getting together with my wife to answer the lawyer’s questions, we finally were able to get it done. I had expected this to be easy, but it really is difficult.

[We were able to catch the Northern Lights. I loved how the moon was peaking out of the clouds at our local beach]

Kid Wealth (Goal: 50,000 Page Views)

For the third year, I hope to get 50,000 page views on Kid Wealth.

In 2022, I launched Kid Wealth and wrote a lot of articles. It had 4,200 page views that year. In 2023, I got involved in other projects, but traffic tripled to 13,708. This year, I’ve only posted a couple of articles – ouch.

For some reason, traffic surged in October after an already good September. I’m getting double the traffic that I was for most of the year. I have no ads and almost no way of making money. I’ve got some renewed interest in this and also some ideas for 2025.

Professional Improvements

A few months ago, I worked on my website to show off my freelance skills. This past month, I updated my LinkedIn for the first time in about 15 years. That was a major goal for this. Additionally, I got the web work for the restaurant that I mentioned above.

[This praying mantis was outside our garage. The prayers apparently did not help.]

Health

I’m putting more focus on health this year. As you can tell from the above, our financial situation is great. Now, we just have to be healthy enough to enjoy a few decades of spending our money.

Lose Weight and Body Fat (Goal: 175lbs, 22.5% body fat)

I started on January 1st at 192.5 pounds and 26.3% body fat, according to my Fitbit scale. Ouch!

At the end of October, my average weight was 180.2 – effectively the same as last month. My body fat was 23.1% on average. The 4-mile Pell Bridge run with my wife seemed to lower my body fat for a couple of weeks. Towards the end of the month, I started eating a little more healthy again. We’ll see if it pays off in the next report.

[Pell Bridge Run!]

Health Points (Goal: 350)

This year, I’m tracking my health by giving myself a score at the end of the week for diet and exercise. The top score in each is five points.

When I give myself a five, I am saying that I generally had the reasonably best week possible. I can only have a couple of off meals a week and still get a five. The rest of the time, I have to eat with a purpose, such as half fruits and vegetables or half plant protein. If go out to restaurants and just eat whatever I want, then I’m only going to get one point.

For exercise, I’d have to put in a very solid effort every day to get a five. At the start of the year, I got mostly one point each week. The weather wasn’t very good, and I wasn’t motivated to exercise. Since spring, I’ve started walking more – often getting in 10,000 steps a day. I need to do higher cardio and weights, but this is a step in the right direction.

With 52 weeks, I can earn a maximum of 260 health points each for diet and exercise.

At the end of October I have 222 points. That’s a pace for 266 points. I’m going to miss my goal, but I know it’s helped me make much healthier decisions. Next year, I’ll shoot for 300 points.

Health Appointments

Medical appointments are a very important part of staying healthy. Here’s what I’ve done this year:

Dental – I had to do some deep cleaning this year. It was two separate appointments where they did one side and then the other. I had the regular cleanings and a couple of fillings replaced, including one in October.

ADHD – I finally got diagnosed with ADHD. Getting the standard testing with a specialist was impossible, with the scheduling being months in the future and their insurance policies changing at that time. Finally, I did an assessment at ADHD Online and paid out of pocket. I brought the results to my primary care physician, and she prescribed me a very low dosage of Adderall. It’s been very helpful.

Body Analysis – In February, I got a body analysis from DexaFit after watching “You Are What You Eat” on Netflix. They scanned my body completely for body fat. I also got a VO2 max test for cardio fitness and an RMR metabolic analysis. The results weren’t what I was looking for, but they will be a good baseline. I should get a follow-up, but I’ve been busy. I don’t know if I’ll get another one this year.

[Went to a town street fair where this crazy marching band was.]

Annual Physical – I had my annual physical a couple of months ago. She had recommended a colonoscopy in the past, but I wanted to wait until I got my ADHD sorted out. I thought a colonoscopy was a quick procedure that took maybe a couple of hours. I don’t know how to do a whole day cleanse and then manage the next day with my responsibilities of caring for dogs and kids. I think it makes sense to push this to 2025.

Finally, I’m on quest to regrow hair. July was my first month. I think it takes about 4-6 months to see results. I think this is going quite well. I’m probably going to update that article within the next month. You can judge for yourself with the before and after pictures.

Hobbies

I almost never get time to do a hobby. I have too many jobs and house/kid management going on. Below are just some of the things I’d like to do:

• Learn AI

  My goal at the beginning of the year was to look into becoming a “prompt engineer.” AI was advancing so fast that I thought that “prompt engineering” might be dead. Regular readers saw that I used AI effectively in a few articles in the last few weeks. After FinCon, I realize that I couldn’t afford to do nothing on this, so I bought subscriptions to ChatGPT and Claude. I’ve been using them both for some research and projects over the last couple of weeks.

• Canva

  My kids use Canva at school, and they are better than I am. However, I used it in September to make a “gift card” for dog boarding, and it was super easy.

• 3D Printing

  Still no progress on using the 3D printer.

• Rubik’s Cube

  Last year, my 10-year-old mastered the Rubik’s Cube. He can speed-cube it in less than 90 seconds on average.

  I’ve got about 92% of the algorithm memorized. I’d say that 70% of it is in muscle memory – I don’t need to think. About half the time, I get lucky and don’t need the other 8% of the algorithm. I was able to solve it in 2 minute and 17 seconds on one of those lucky tries.

• WordPress Blog as a Journal?

  I should be keeping a journal of some kind. Lazy Man and Money is my money journal. The goal is a journal for everything else. I don’t think this is going to happen this year.

• Program in Python

  I want to make a toy program to get my old software engineering skills going again. After seeing how the new ChatGPT can code, I wonder if this is even a useful goal.

  Some of the new web work that I’m doing above has knocked the rust off. I’m giving myself partial credit for this one.

• Learn to fly a flight simulator

  Let’s push this to 2025.

• Learn to play Backgammon

  This may be a December thing to check a box off a box near the end of the year.

• Play a modern song on an ukulele

  Another month with no progress on this one.

Overall, I’m doing much better with hobbies than I expected. I still have a couple of months left to make some more progress.

Family

Declutter and Organize House

Every year, we have some home improvement goals on the list. Last year, we got new carpets and interior paint.

This year, we are looking to declutter, organize, and upgrade the whole house. We hired a friend who is an interior designer and she put together a good plan. For years, we had a lot of cheap Ikea furniture. In May we finished the dining room, which is one of our smallest rooms.

In July, we cleaned out the office to make room for new desks. We also cleaned up the basement and made it much more functional. We now have a little workout area and an area for the kids to play. I set up some of my old gaming consoles and made them easy to play.

[Old school harvest festival!]

In August, we got the new desks and bookshelves. It’s fancy Pottern Barn – the stuff that lifestyle inflation is made of. Now, I just need to find the time to organize my existing stuff in that space.

In September, I got most of my stuff organized into that office space. I also did a little work on decluttering the garage. Our outdoor light fixtures were 30 years old and failing, so we replaced those. It sounds like a tiny baby step, but it required picking them out and scheduling an electrician. Finally, my wife has been listing and selling a lot of stuff on eBay.

Last month, we worked more on the office. My wife’s part is great. My side… needs work.

Our 10-year old said that we’re practically in a completely different house with every room getting upgrades. He simply volunteered this insight without me prompting him about the changes.

Travel

In March, we spent a week on a Yucatán Peninsula cruise on one of Royal Caribbean’s biggest cruise ships and another week at Disney World.

In April, we went to the eclipse and did a day of skiing. Usually, I wouldn’t count weekends as travel, but it was a notable life experience.

In June, we went on our annual trip to Block Island. We can drive to the ferry in a half hour and be on the island in 90 minutes. It’s a nice staycation for four days. The highlight was a scavenger hunt that we did on our phones. It was all virtual.

Of course, the big August trip was to see Paramore and Taylor Swift, go to Stonehenge, and do a Beatles tour in Liverpool.

In October, the whole family went to Atlanta. I had my FinCon conference, so the hotel room was already booked. My wife knows a lot of peope at the CDC and wanted to meet up with them. The kids came along to see the Coca Cola factory and the largest aquarium in the United States. It was a short trip, but still valuable.

[I didn’t see the sign that said we shouldn’t climb on the rings until it was too late. Whoops!]

I’ve taken a couple of days to put together some travel plans for 2025. Nothing is firm yet, but I feel good about the preliminary plans.

Kids

Kids are halfway through the first semester of school after a successful summer of camps. Their after-school activities are karate, First Lego League, and Scouting America. The 12-year-old will be in two school plays over the next few months while starting on the school swim team. Our 10-year-old is going to give basketball a shot. That will carry us through to the end of the year and into the next one.

[It’s always a good idea to give kids exposure to axes. What could go wrong?]

Final Thoughts

I’m pretty excited about how October went. I made really good progress on hobbies and got the new website gig. I’m feeling good about my health even though I’m still 5 annoying pounds from my goal. Even though the travel was minor, it was still a new experience for the kids (and my first time in Atlanta as well).

The post My Passive Income and Goals (October 2024) appeared first on Lazy Man and Money.

Now that the Fed has cut rates yet again, it looks like the housing market might start heating up. This means that you may finally get the chance to get a reasonable mortgage rate. Of course, reasonable is a relative term. Mortgage rates are still elevated today compared to their pre-COVID levels.

As a result, this begs the question: should you put more than 20% down when buying a home?

The recommended downpayment for a home in the U.S. is 20% because this is the amount that makes borrowers more attractive to lenders. When you put at least 20% down, you get better loan terms, a lower monthly payment, and can avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI).

But going beyond 20% is a different question. When interest rates are high (>8%), putting more than 20% down can be a no-brainer, especially if you can’t earn anywhere near that rate elsewhere. And when interest rates are low (<4%), putting more than 20% down can seem unnecessary. After all, you can probably earn more than 4% in a diversified portfolio.

But what about when interest rates are between 4% and 8%? That's where the answer isn't so straight-forward. It's also exactly where we are today.

So, let's review the pros and cons of putting more than 20% down on a home and why it's relevant to today's housing market.

When You Should Put More than 20% Down

To start, let’s look at a few reasons why you should consider putting more than 20% down, if you are able to.

• When Interest Rates are Higher
  • When interest rates are higher, putting more down reduces the amount of total interest you will pay across the life of your loan.
    • For example, let’s assume you want to buy a $500,000 home with interest rates at 6%.
      • If you put 20% down, you would pay $463,353 in interest over 30 years.
      • But, if you put 30% down, you would only pay $405,434 in interest over the same time period.
    • By putting 10% more ($50,000) down today, you would pay $57,919 less in total interest and $300 less per month across for each month of your 30-year mortgage! This is why putting more down can be so attractive in the long run.
  • The only difficulty with this decision is deciding what a “high” interest rate means to you. My definition is above 8%, but it’s always relative to what you can earn on your money.
• If You’re Risk-Averse
  • If you are risk-averse, you might also consider making a downpayment greater than 20%. Having a lower mortgage payment reduces the risk of a future default and makes it easier for you to save money in the interim. Of course, that extra cash you used on the downpayment could also come in handy during emergency situations. So depending on how you define “risk averse” putting more down may or may not be a good choice.
• For Peace of Mind
  • If you are someone that hates the idea of having debt no matter the interest rate, then putting more down on a home can be a way to increase your peace of mind. Though this might seem suboptimal, for a certain subset of the population, even mortgage debt causes worry. If you are one of these people, then getting your debt paid off faster can be the way to a more relaxed financial life.
• If You Are Older and Don’t Want a Mortgage
  • Lastly, if you are older and don’t want to deal with a mortgage anymore, putting more down or paying for a home in cash might be the right move. This is especially true if you don’t have as much income as you did during your working years. Mortgages have risks so by avoiding such risks in retirement you might just sleep easier as well.

While there are many good reasons to make a larger downpayment when buying a home, there can also be a few drawbacks as well.

Potential Drawbacks of a Larger Downpayment

Most of the drawbacks of a larger downpayment involve giving up optionality in exchange for paying less total interest. This loss optionality includes:

• Less Liquidity
  • When you put more down on a home, you increase the equity in your home, but also end up having less for other things. While you may not need that extra money right now, if you find yourself in need of a lot of funds within a few years, having this additional liquidity can make all the difference.
    • For example, if you experience an unlucky health outcome, having extra money outside of your home can be a lifesaver. While home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) exist to create this kind of liquidity when needed, not everyone will have access to a HELOC. 
  • Though no one can predict the future, few people regret having more liquidity.
• Missed Opportunities
  • In a similar vein, putting more down on a home means less money for other investment related opportunities. If the stock market crashes and you want to buy stocks on the cheap, you won’t be able to. While holding cash to buy the dip is generally a terrible investment strategy, locking up your extra cash in your home prevents you from taking advantage of such opportunities. 
• Reduced Tax Deduction on Mortgage Interest
  
  • For those that itemize their deductions (i.e. go beyond the standard deduction), reducing your mortgage payment can reduce the tax benefit associated with paying your mortgage interest. While losing this tax deduction sucks, please don’t miss the forest for the trees. As nice as the interest deduction is, not having to pay the interest at all is even nicer.

Overall, most of the downsides to paying your mortgage early revolve around unforeseen circumstances in your future. If you have less stability in your career or financial life, then making a larger downpayment may not be the right thing for you.

Before we wrap up, let’s look at some other things to consider when deciding how much to put down for a home.

Other Options to Consider

So far we’ve framed the option of putting more than 20% down on a home as a binary choice. You either put 20% down or you put more than 20% down. However, there are other options at your disposal that might just be the best of both worlds.

• Split the Difference
  • Instead of putting your target amount down, go half-way between 20% and your target. So, if you originally wanted to put 30% down, do 25% instead (the midpoint between 20% and 30%). This will allow you to get some of the benefits of putting down more than 20% without giving up all your extra liquidity. This is a hedged approach that may appeal to those who want to pay less interest without giving up all of their optionality.
• Make Extra Principal Payments
  • Instead of putting more than 20% down, you can hold onto that cash and make extra principal payments over time instead. This will allow you to have some extra liquidity after buying your home and give you some flexibility as well. You might need that additional liquidity in the first year, and if you don’t, then you can always start making extra payments on your own schedule.
    • Note that if you decide to go down this route, make sure that all of your extra payments go to principal only. Contact your bank to ensure that this is the case before making any extra payments.
• Put Down 20% and Invest the Rest
  • Similar to the prior option, putting 20% down and investing the rest can make a lot of sense if you believe that your portfolio can generate more income (after tax) than the interest rate on your mortgage. While this is unlikely when mortgage rates are at 6%, as rates drop further, this becomes more feasible.
  • Of course, there is no right answer here. While some would argue that 6% is too low to make extra principal payments, these kinds of decisions are always in the eye of the beholder. I think a 6% nominal return is decent and I would take it every chance I got. Others wouldn’t. That’s fine. This isn’t about who is right, but about what’s right for you.

Now that we’ve looked at some other options to consider when deciding the size of your downpayment, let’s wrap things up by discussing why there is no perfect answer when it comes to buying a home.

You’ll Never Get it Perfect

No matter how much you decide to put down on a home, the key thing to remember is that you will likely never make the perfect choice. In hindsight, you can almost always find a better decision you could’ve made compared to the one you did make.

Unfortunately, this is only true because of the benefit of hindsight. Since the future is uncertain, it’s nearly impossible to make the optimal decision in the moment. Though this is true, we still tend to judge our based on how they turned out rather than the process we used to make them.

But this isn’t the right way to look at it. Annie Duke calls this “resulting” and it’s one of the most difficult biases to overcome when evaluating our decisions.

I’m not immune either. I know I will likely fall victim to “resulting” after I buy my first home too. With interest rates set to decline further into 2025, I plan to start seriously home shopping next year. However, if I can’t get the rate I want, then I might have to put more than 20% down to get a lower rate and pay less overall interest.

Will this be the “perfect” choice? I doubt it. Maybe the market will go up a ton and I will have missed out by playing it safe. Maybe I will need that extra liquidity in a year or two. I don’t know.

These decisions are never easy to make. But accepting that you probably won’t make the perfect decision is the only way to go. 

So, happy house hunting and thank you for reading!

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This is post 424. Any code I have related to this post can be found here with the same numbering: https://github.com/nmaggiulli/of-dollars-and-data

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Dwarf shrubs are the perfect addition to any garden, offering vibrant colors, textures, and shapes without taking up too much space. They’re low-maintenance, versatile, and ideal for filling in gaps or adding structure to garden beds. Here’s a guide to some of the most stunning dwarf shrubs that will enhance your outdoor space.

1. Japanese Boxwood (Buxus microphylla)

Japanese Boxwood is a popular dwarf shrub known for its dense, glossy green foliage that stays lush year-round. This evergreen shrub grows slowly, making it perfect for low hedges, borders, and even topiaries. Japanese Boxwood thrives in both sunny and partially shaded areas, and its compact growth makes it easy to shape. It’s a low-maintenance option that requires minimal pruning to keep its desired form. Plus, its durability makes it ideal for various climates and soil types.

2. Dwarf Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)

Dwarf Butterfly Bush brings beauty and life to any garden with its vibrant blooms and butterfly-attracting fragrance. This shrub produces clusters of purple, pink, or white flowers that bloom throughout summer and early fall. Dwarf Butterfly Bush is a hardy, drought-resistant plant that does well in full sun, making it perfect for pollinator-friendly gardens. Despite its compact size, it offers a big impact with its vivid flowers and sweet scent. Plant it near patios or pathways to enjoy its fragrance up close.

3. Little Lime Hydrangea (Hydrangea paniculata)

Little Lime Hydrangea is a stunning dwarf shrub that offers unique lime-green blooms that fade to pink as they mature. This small version of the popular Limelight Hydrangea grows to about 3-5 feet tall, making it ideal for small garden spaces. Its long-lasting flowers provide color from summer into fall, adding a soft, elegant touch to your garden. Little Lime Hydrangeas thrive in full sun to partial shade and prefer well-drained soil. With minimal care, this shrub will become a focal point in your landscape.

4. Dwarf Alberta Spruce (Picea glauca ‘Conica’)

The Dwarf Alberta Spruce is a compact, cone-shaped evergreen with soft, bright green needles that provide year-round interest. This slow-growing shrub reaches only about 4-5 feet in height, making it ideal for small spaces, containers, or as a garden accent. Its symmetrical shape and dense foliage make it an excellent choice for formal gardens or entryways. Dwarf Alberta Spruce prefers full sun and well-drained soil and requires little pruning to maintain its shape. This hardy shrub is perfect for adding a touch of elegance to your garden.

5. Magic Carpet Spirea (Spiraea japonica)

Magic Carpet Spirea is a versatile dwarf shrub with vibrant, colorful foliage that changes with the seasons. In spring, its leaves emerge as bright red, transitioning to golden hues in summer, followed by deep pink flowers. This shrub is easy to care for, drought-tolerant, and grows well in sunny spots, reaching only 1-2 feet in height. Magic Carpet Spirea works beautifully as ground cover, in borders, or as a pop of color in mixed garden beds. Its colorful foliage and flowers attract pollinators, making it a wildlife-friendly choice.

6. Dwarf Korean Lilac (Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’)

Dwarf Korean Lilac is loved for its fragrant, lavender-pink blooms that appear in late spring, adding a delightful scent to your garden. This compact shrub grows to about 4-5 feet in height and can be used as a low hedge, in containers, or as a single accent plant. Its beautiful blooms attract butterflies and other pollinators, making it a lively addition to any outdoor space. Dwarf Korean Lilac is low-maintenance and adapts well to various soil types, though it prefers full sun for the best flowering. It’s a perfect choice for those looking for a fragrant, compact flowering shrub.

7. Blue Star Juniper (Juniperus squamata)

Blue Star Juniper is a unique dwarf shrub with striking silvery-blue foliage that brings color and texture to your garden year-round. This low-growing evergreen reaches about 1-2 feet in height and spreads out, making it excellent for ground cover or rock gardens. It’s highly drought-tolerant and thrives in full sun, adding both resilience and color to your landscape. Blue Star Juniper’s compact size and dense foliage make it an easy-care choice that adds visual interest without overwhelming a small space. Pair it with contrasting plants for an eye-catching effect.

8. Golden Mop False Cypress (Chamaecyparis pisifera)

Golden Mop False Cypress is a vibrant, feathery dwarf shrub with a bright yellow hue that brings cheerful color to your garden all year. This slow-growing shrub reaches about 2-3 feet in height and is known for its cascading, thread-like foliage. It’s low-maintenance, drought-tolerant, and thrives in both full sun and partial shade. Golden Mop False Cypress is perfect for adding texture and color contrast to a garden bed, border, or container. Its bright yellow tones create a beautiful contrast with darker green plants and provide a pop of color in winter.

Small Shrubs, Big Impact

Dwarf shrubs offer a variety of colors, textures, and forms to transform your garden, whether you’re working with a large space or a compact yard. With options ranging from fragrant lilacs to bright yellow cypress, these small yet impactful plants can elevate your landscape design. By choosing the right dwarf shrubs for your climate and sunlight, you can create a lush, vibrant garden that’s easy to maintain. Add a few of these beautiful shrubs to your space and watch your garden flourish year-round. With dwarf shrubs, your dream garden is within reach!

The post Transform Your Garden with These 8 Beautiful Dwarf Shrubs appeared first on Frugal Gardening.