The Best Discount Cards for your Budgeting Dollars

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The wallets and key rings of consumers have been filling up with little pieces of plastic that promise deep savings. Whether it is a loyalty card that offers you discounts on products or a membership card that offers even greater discounts chances are the stores you shop have one to offer. The economy is forcing millions of us to find new ways to earn extra money as well as cut back on expenses. One of the easiest ways to do this is to find the right mix of discount, membership and loyalty cards to stretch your hard earned dollars farther. […] Read more »

Learning from Failure is a Stepping Stone to Success

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 When I started my site, Daily Money Shot, I was beyond nervous. I   wasn’t so much nervous in what I had to say versus being frightened of putting effort into a blog that no one would read. Although I knew that my need to write superseded my nerves, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I would never get more than 3 readers. Why? Because I had previously tried to blog and, for all intents and purposes, failed. I failed for a number of reasons. I wasn’t passionate enough about the subject matter of the blog. I didn’t network well […] Read more »

The Absolute Best Way to Use Your Credit Cards Responsibly

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Personal finance bloggers, writers, and TV personalities love to talk about credit cards.  I hear and read them give advice about using cards in ways that will maximize your credit score, they tell you how to find the “Best” cards for you, and they give you info on how to get the most lucrative credit card perks like airline miles and cash back. Most of these gurus generally give good solid advice (for those that use credit cards), and most people need good advice when it comes to using credit cards in a responsible manner, because when it comes to […] Read more »

Make Sure Your Budget is Realistic

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Budgeting is one of the most important things you can do to build wealth. A budget is used to set up how you are going to make the most of your money. You can make sure that you use your money in a way that is in line with your priorities. It’s all about control. The most important part of a budget is for it to be realistic. Budget guidelines are great, but you aren't expected to fit your life into someone else's box. A budget that isn't using real life numbers is doomed to fail. Read more »

A Closer Look at Rising Health Insurance Costs

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Getting back to that Aetna advertisement. It is not your imagination, health insurance rates have risen much faster than other costs of living. The image above is courtesy of the Kaiser Family Foundation. It illustrates the cumulative changes in health insurance premiums, workers’ contribution to premiums, inflation, and workers’ earnings from 1999-2010. It is important to realize the data on this chart is purely from employer sponsored plans and does not include retirees or the self-employed. The past decade had an overall inflation rate of 31%, or an average 3.1% per year. Earnings during the same time period increased by […] Read more »

Expensive Hobbies and Habits and Their Cost-Saving Alternatives

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cost saving alternatives to expensive coffee

Scrapbooking. Spa Days. Golf. Sewing. Travel. Gourmet Coffee. Smoking. Clothing. Dining Out. Hobbies are meant to be a time to relax, release some stress and have fun. Hobbies are enjoyable because they are always something you enjoy. Habits are formed for similar reasons. They can help you relax, help you release stress and occasionally bring fun to your life as well. All of the activities mentioned above are either habits or hobbies. And all can be budget busters when allowed to be. Some people may feel that they have to give up the things they love in order to save […] Read more »

The Lost Subject: Personal Finance

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Were you taught about money and personal finance when you were in school? I wasn’t. Even today personal finance is not taught in most schools or considered a curriculum requirement for college students. How do we expect today’s youth to stop the vicious cycle of debt if we don’t teach them how? The latest report from the Federal Reserve shows that consumers are still using their credit cards in a big way; revolving credit, which is made up primarily of credit card debt rose to $801.0 billion. It’s obvious the cycle continues as millions of Americans rack up debt and […] Read more »

The First Step in Combining Finances

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Discussing, setting, and reaching goals together builds trust and unity in a relationship. Having different goals and working against each other breaks down trust and fosters a feeling of "yours and mine" rather than "ours". That is why I'm a huge proponent of combined finances for married couples. I do not suggest combining finances when you are not married, but once you are legally married then your partners actions affect you even if you have a "yours and mine" accounting method. Read more »

Hidden Expenses That Impact Retirement

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Anthem Healthcare sent me an advertisement for their health insurance and priced it on a daily basis. “Now just $1.58 per day!” Naturally, that rate didn’t apply to me but to a hypothetical 35 year old “healthy” male. Surely their comprehensive database could have sent the quote for me as a 50 year old. In any case, you don’t pay insurance daily. That $1.58 day rate is paid at $47.40 per month or almost $600 per year, which for health insurance is pretty inexpensive. I called and my daily rate would be $5.04 per day or $151 per month or […] Read more »

Valentine’s Day on a Budget

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Valentine’s Day… (sigh) In modern times we celebrate this day by showing our love for one another. The original meaning of Valentine’s Day, however, was to honor Saint Valentine but the connection between that and what Valentine’s Day has become is a complete mystery. The connection is only found in folklore and legends but nothing concrete. Deemed by many as a “Hallmark Holiday”, Valentine’s Day has exploded into a mass marketing campaign  that has been accepted by society as the romantic holiday of love. This acceptance has people buying jewelry, expensive chocolate, plush teddy bears with hearts that sing songs, […] Read more »

Tough Financial Shape? Just Listen for the Call to Action

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At one point or another, many us will recognize that we're in tough financial shape, and that becomes our call to action. We ought to be thankful we can hear the call when it comes, because for some of us, we don't "get off the dime" and act in our own best interest until it's absolutely necessary. And, some of us are financially hard of hearing. Recently, I've had the opportunity to peek in on the lives of others, through social media, and learn a little about their challenging financial conditions. I'd like to share some of my observations, and insights and suggestions, in an effort to get some value out on the table. I do this in the interest of helping others understand there are various indicators that we should recognize as a type of wake-up call. We ought to create insights regarding these indicators, and put them to work for us, so we sleep better at night. Read more »

Choices Are Hard, Which Choice Will You Make?

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I recently saw this sign on the refrigerator at work:   It’s an interesting sign, one that makes me think every time I go into the kitchen.  But the other day, as I was waiting for my lunch to heat up, I looked at the sign again. Since I relate almost everything to money, I realized that the same mantra can be applied to our debt. It would sound like this: “Getting into debt is hard. Getting out of debt is hard. Staying out of debt is hard. It’s all hard, so choose which hard you want.” I thought this […] Read more »

Being Debt Free is NOT the Goal

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I recently registered for the Twin Cities marathon, which will be held in October of this year. It will be my third marathon, so I’ve been through the training before. However, as a refresher, I dusted off a marathon training book I had purchased several years ago and began reading. The first chapter is quite inspirational. It reflects upon the time and effort it takes to train for a marathon. By the time race day arrives, months of work have been put in, and hundreds of miles have been logged in preparation of the big event. The thing that stands […] Read more »

Just say “No” to Refund Anticipation Loans

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Refund anticipation loans are loans given to you by the company that did your taxes in return for signing over your tax return. They give you a check, or prepaid debit card, and you sign over your refund to them. So you get cash right now, they get your refund later. I totally see why they are tempting. You are sitting there getting your taxes done. Mr. Tax Guy says you will be getting a $3,000 return. Yay! He then asks for his fee of $150. Boo! Read more »