Consider the case of Warren, who owned his home and owned and rented out an investment property in the Pacific Northwest. He felt, and appeared to be financially successful. But then Warren lost his job, accumulated sizable medical expenses, and had to sell his investment property to come up with cash for living expenses. Warren didn’t have enough equity in his home to borrow. He didn’t have other sources — a wealthy relative, for example — to borrow from, either, so he was stuck selling his investment property. Warren wasn’t able to purchase another investment property and missed out on the large appreciation the property earned over the subsequent two decades. Between the costs of selling and taxes, getting rid of the investment property cost Warren about 15 percent of its sales price. Ouch!
SHOULD YOU INVEST EMERGENCY MONEY IN STOCKS?
As interest rates drifted lower during the 1990s, keeping emergency money in money market accounts became less and less rewarding. When interest rates were higher, fewer people questioned the wisdom of an emergency reserve. However, in the late 1990s, which had low money market interest rates and stock market returns of 20 percent per year, more investors balked at the idea of keeping a low-interest stash of cash.
I began seeing articles that suggested you simply keep your emergency reserve in stocks. After all, you can easily sell stocks (especially those of larger companies) any day the financial markets are open. Why not treat yourself to the 20 percent annual returns that stock market investors enjoyed during the 1990s instead of earning a paltry few percent?
At first, that logic sounds great. But as I discuss in Chapter 2, stocks historically have returned about 9 percent per year. In some years — in fact, about one-third of the time — stocks decline in value, sometimes substantially.
Stocks can drop and have dropped 20, 30, or 50 percent or more over relatively short periods of time. Consider the major drops in stock prices in the early 2000s, then again in the 2008 financial crisis, and most recently in early 2020 thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Suppose that such a drop coincides with an emergency — such as the loss of your job, major medical bills, and so on. Your situation may force you to sell at a loss, perhaps a substantial one.
Here’s another reason not to keep emergency money in stocks: If your stocks appreciate and you need to sell some of them for emergency cash, you get stuck paying taxes on your gains. And those gains on stocks held less than one year are taxed at the relatively high ordinary income tax rates.
I suggest that you invest your emergency money in stocks (ideally through well-diversified mutual or exchange-traded funds) only if you have a relative or some other resource to tap for money in an emergency. Having a backup resource for money minimizes your need to sell your stock holdings on short notice. As I discuss in Chapter 5, stocks are intended to be a longer-term investment, not an investment that you expect (or need) to sell in the near future.
Evaluating Your Debts
Yes, paying down debts is boring, but it makes your investment decisions less difficult. Rather than spending so much of your time investigating specific investments, paying off your debts (if you have them and your cash coming in exceeds the cash going out) may be your best high-return, low-risk investment. Consider the interest rate you pay and your investing alternatives to determine which debts you should pay off.
Conquering consumer debt
Borrowing via credit cards, auto loans, and the like is typically an expensive way to borrow. (Note that car dealers could afford to give you a better price on a car rather than providing you with a no- or low-cost loan.) Banks and other lenders charge higher interest rates for consumer debt than for debt for investments, such as real estate and business. The reason: Consumer loans are the riskiest type of loan for a lender.
For example, if you have outstanding credit card debt at 15 percent interest, paying off that debt is the same as putting your money to work in an investment with a guaranteed 15 percent tax-free annual return. Because the interest on consumer debt isn’t tax-deductible, you need to earn more than 15 percent by investing your money elsewhere in order to net 15 percent after paying taxes. Earning such high investing returns is highly unlikely, and in order to earn those returns, you’d be forced to take great risk.
Consumer debt is hazardous to your long-term financial health (not to mention damaging to your credit score and future ability to borrow for a home or other wise investments) because it encourages you to borrow against your future earnings. I often hear people say things like “I can’t afford to buy most new cars for cash — look at how expensive they are!” That’s true, new cars are expensive, so you need to set your sights lower and buy a good used car that you can afford. You can then invest the money that you’d otherwise be spending on monthly auto loan payments.
Mitigating your mortgage
Paying off your mortgage more quickly is an “investment” for your spare cash that may make sense for your financial situation. However, the wisdom of making this financial move isn’t as clear as paying off high-interest consumer debt; mortgage interest rates are generally lower, and the interest is typically tax-deductible.
When used properly, debt can help you accomplish your goals — such as buying a home or starting a business — and make you money in the long run. Borrowing to buy a home generally makes sense. Over the long term, homes generally appreciate in value.
If your financial situation has changed or improved since you first needed to borrow mortgage money, reconsider how much mortgage debt you need or want. Even if your income hasn’t escalated or you haven’t inherited vast wealth, your frugality may allow you to pay down some of your debt sooner than the lender requires. Whether paying down your debt sooner makes sense for you depends on a number of factors, including your other investment options and goals.
Consider your investment opportunities