Motivational Money Management
I still remember the shock of realizing how much debt we had – after all, it is not every day you hear you are in $160,000 of consumer debt. How is so much debt to be paid off? (I am not big on suspense, so I’d tell you: we paid off $160,000 of consumer debt in three years, and we have lived debt-free since February 2013.) But let me get back to when I found out we are in so much debt. At first, I went numb. Later, I got angry. I was furious with my husband, with myself, […] Read more »
A vehicle warranty is a wonderful thing. They cover a host of things on a complicated machine should it break due to a manufacturing defect. It’s one of the reasons we bought our daughter a year old car before she went off to college. But not knowing exactly what is covered by a warranty can cost you. That lack of knowledge almost cost me over a $100. A Broken Down Car The text message from my daughter was a picture of her dashboard with the battery light on. I immediately called her and found out her car would not start. […] Read more »
I made an unexpected purchase over the weekend. I was presented a deal I just couldn’t pass up. At the age of 46, this lifetime Minnesota resident purchased his first snow blower. For years I vehemently stated I would never have a snow blower. I thought I could clear my driveway with a shovel faster for the average snowfall. I poked fun at people spending all their time unclogging snow blowers while I kept making progress with a shovel. Those snowfalls for which a snow blower would actually be useful were too few and far in between to justify […] Read more »
Some people make buying a car really difficult, and they actually wear it like a badge of honor. They brag about their negotiating skills. Bursting with pride, they tell stories of how they demanded a lower price from the salesperson and walked out only to be called back a week later. If you’re like me, this sounds like stress I don’t need, and a complete waste of time. I seek out no haggle dealerships for my car buying needs. Those that love negotiating car prices are rolling their eyes right now. I got those same eye rolls from people when […] Read more »
I frantically sent the email, with a subject line starting with “URGENT.” Then I called the number from the website and left a message saying I didn’t need the service person to come for my 7:00am appointment to look at my sprinkler system. I didn’t need them to come because I found key information that made the service call unnecessary. The internet saved me money. Broken Sprinkler System About a week ago, I opened my sprinkler system for the first time this summer. The control panel said the system was on, but none of the sprinklers pop up. I called […] Read more »
We can’t hang out with our friends, or visit our family due to our state’s shelter at home order. I even had to tell my son, who is away at college, to not come home for a weekend visit. In times like these creativity is required to stay in touch with friends and loved ones. Here are 5 inexpensive ways to communicate during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Phone Call The phone call may be shunned by many, but it’s still an effective way of communicating when you want to have a one on one conversation. Emails Email your loved ones often, […] Read more »
We’re now at the end of week three of working from home. Here in Minnesota, we’re at the end of week one of a “Shelter in place” edict from our Governor. For those of you that are in a similar situation, what are you all spending your money on while you’re quarantined at home? Our main expenditure has been home gym equipment since health clubs are closed. Other than that, we’ve gotten take out food a couple of times, as well as take out beer from a local microbrewery. Gotta support those local businesses. Our next expenditure is something super […] Read more »
Coming out of the bathroom after her morning shower, my daughter told me the bathtub was draining extremely slowly and asked if I could take a look at it. I was certain a monstrous glob of her very long hair was causing the stoppage. I could either pay a plumber to unclog the drain, or I could put on my DIY hat later that evening and save some money. Little did I know I was in for an adventurous Friday night. YouTube To The Rescue My wife suggested I pour a bottle of Liquid Plumber or Draino down the drain. […] Read more »
Hotel reservation lines connect you to a central call center. These call centers handle reservations for all locations of a hotel chain. This is efficient for the hotel chain, but not necessarily for the customer. In fact, many times travelers get better rates by calling the hotel front desk directly. Front Desk Service My wife and I need a hotel room for an upcoming marathon. We are late in trying to get a room, so we anticipated difficulty. She checked the availability online for a hotel within walking distance of the finish line, not surprised to find no rooms available […] Read more »
The person on the other end of the phone was a representative from my medical care provider asking about my outstanding balance. She stated they were willing to reduce my bill by 20% if I could pay in full over the phone. My outstanding bill was leftover from an ER visit last year, and we were on a 10 month payment plan so that I could use my monthly pre-tax HSA contributions instead of using after-tax out of pocket funds. Given we were half way though our payment plan, and had made our payments on time each month, I was […] Read more »
Debt is something that can cause many sleepless nights, if it gets out of hand. Ideally, you should learn how to manage your finances, by checking out the best personal finance blogs, and seeking professional advice if necessary. This can help you to keep your finances in order and avoid having issues with debt. However, many Americans struggle with financial literacy and find themselves in situations that they cannot handle. In fact, debt is a common factor in the lives of many people in the US. The average American has around $38,000 of personal debt. This is aside from any […] Read more »
When was the last time you paid attention to your budget? I don’t mean a glancing look, I mean sit down at the computer or kitchen table and really dug into it ensuring it accurately reflects your expenses and spending? If you don’t regularly evaluate your budget and our spending, your finances are not running as efficiently as they should. My wife and I spent the majority of our Sunday afternoon cleaning our home. As I worked through some of the tasks, I was surprised at how dirty some areas were (and at just how much cat hair had collected […] Read more »
In most cases, it’s not super easy to achieve debt freedom. But that doesn’t mean your life has to be miserable while you’re getting out of debt. In fact, you don’t have to sacrifice all the fun in your life just because you’re paying down debt. You can still have fun! In this post I’ll show you how to make a solid plan to achieve debt freedom without being miserable in the process. You Can Still Have Fun Getting out of debt isn’t completely about deprivation and self-sacrifice, although they do play a role. Some people would rather put […] Read more »
My wife planned a weekend get away for our family at an indoor water park in Wisconsin Dells. She found a package offered by one of the hotels that initially saved us over $300 off the regular price. She later found an even better offer that, after a quick phone call, saved us another $80. These packages included the room only for two nights. Another package offered additional amenities, but analysis was needed to determine if it was worth the higher cost. Package Details My wife and I went through the list of additional amenities, researching how much each of […] Read more »