I’ve found that one of the best ways to ensure a low spending weekend is to have a list of projects around the house to do. That could certainly backfire as sometimes there are supplies that need to be purchased to complete those projects. Here’s my agenda for the weekend: Go through and clean out master bedroom closet Clean carpets Replace broken outdoor outlet Workout like a beast There will be no cost associated with the first item, and the second two have only minimal costs (shampoo for our carpet cleaner, and an outlet) that won’t add up to more […] Read more »
Is Investing in Gold A Good Retirement Strategy?
I was recently reminded of Duck Tales, one of my favorite cartoons from when I was a kid. If you’re not familiar with the cartoon, the opening theme song sports a very rich duck in his vault diving into and swimming in a sea of gold coins and jewels. As a kid, cartoons pounded into into my heads the image of a stack of gold bricks being the pinnacle of wealth. How freaking cool would it be to have a room filled with gold to show off to your friends? I don’t know anyone that has such a room, or […] Read more »
It Takes Money To Save Money
It takes money to make money. It’s a common phrase you may have heard before. My interpretation of the phrase boils down to investing, whether it be in stocks or a business. If you have money, it gives you more options to be able to generate more money. Over the weekend I found a similar but less known assertion to be true. It takes money to save money. One of the things that I had let go of while we were paying off our debt was our lawn care. I love having a lush green lawn, but achieving the look […] Read more »
I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 04/25
I have two coworkers that flew all the way from India to work side by side with us here in Minnesota for the next few weeks. I’m certainly excited for them to be here, however I need to be just a little mindful of how often I go out for lunches. They will need guidance as to where might be good places to go as they are vegetarian and they are in an unfamiliar country. On the other hand, I’m used to bringing my own lunch, and I don’t want to break my budget either. You’ve waited long enough for […] Read more »
Preventing Impulse Buys With A Waiting Period: Does it Work?
Delayed gratification: The art of making yourself wait to purchase something new. Some people use a self-imposed waiting period to make sure that they really want to part with their hard earned cash. The thought is, you reassess the want to make a purchase after a designated waiting period. Many times you’ll decide against the purchase, thus saving yourself from wasting money on impulsive purchase. But does this practice really work? I had the opportunity recently to find out. About a month ago, we decreased our cell phone bill by $150 a month by switching to a no contract plan […] Read more »
I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 4/18
Tuesday was payday. I did the usual reconciling of the checkbook, paying the bills, and creating our budget worksheet for the remainder of the month. Vonnie and I sat down to have our usual Payday financial discussion. When we got to the part of how much we had in our checking account she stared at me and said, “What? How come it’s so high?” We went through the numbers in detail, and I explained that apart from not having to make a huge payment to our now complete debt management plan, we didn’t spend all of our discretionary funds from […] Read more »
How Delinquency and a Debt Settlement Program Can Affect the APR on Your Credit Card (Part 1)
A selling point, deal breaker, or the cost of securing credit — the annual percentage rate usually gives you a standard for comparing interest and fees from different lenders. However, when you’re initially issued a credit card or dealing with debt that is piling up, the APR is going to be very much based on the individual bank with which you’re dealing. Each and every lender tends to have unique strategies in pricing APR. However, when it comes to factors that generally affect APR, one thing creditors look at in evaluation is the credit-worthiness of the potential cardholder. As a […] Read more »
Financial Literacy: Communication and Teamwork Are Vital to Success
Preface: Today I’m taking part in the Financial Literacy Awareness Carnival hosted by Shannon at The Heavy Purse. Once you’ve finished here, click here and check out the list of other great posts by my fellow bloggers also participating in the carnival! Sitting in a chair facing a filled to capacity movie theater, the question that popped into my head was, “How did I get here?” I was one of three customers invited to the headquarters of CareOne Debt Relief Services in Maryland in September of 2012. They were holding an employee recognition event, and wanted to have a […] Read more »
Misplaced Dad On A Pre-Teen Shopping Trip
Today is officially my daughter’s twelfth birthday, but we celebrated it over the weekend. From our observations, as well as by asking her directly, the thing she wanted the most for her birthday was clothes. This was not surprising in the least, as my little girl, who’s biggest care in the world used to be wondering when her hair would be long enough to be put in a ponytail, has transformed (seemingly) overnight into a young woman who stares endlessly into a mirror primping and futzing with her hair, even applying some makeup before heading to the bus stop. The […] Read more »
I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/11
Monday’s post hosted a review and giveaway of Todd Tresidder’s book, How Much Money Do I Need To Retire and it’s time to announce the winner. Gina Helton, come on down, you’ve won! Expect an email from me in the near future to finalize delivery of the book to you. Congratulations to Gina, and thank you to everyone who entered. This weekend we’ll be celebrating my daughter’s twelfth birthday (which is officially on Monday). Is it me, or does there seem to be less pressure on birthdays as kids get older? This year she wants to get together with her […] Read more »
5 Simple Steps to Start Getting Out of Debt Right Now
Have you ever tried to get out of debt but just didn’t know where to start? I think most anybody who’s attempted to get out of debt has experienced that feeling at some point. You have decided you’re no longer comfortable with your debt load, and now it’s time to do something about it, but you’re just not sure what to do. So how do you get started? You can start by taking some small, easy steps to set yourself up for success. In this post I’ll show you the best small steps you can take right now to get […] Read more »
4 Ways To Make Money At Home
When I was in high school, I would boast that I was going to retire at age 26. From that point on all I would do is go to my home office and say, “Buy!” or “Sell!” over the phone a few times each day. I turned forty few months ago, and it’s painfully obvious that I haven’t reached that goal. Strange how life didn’t follow the twisted dream of a teenager. While I’ll likely never reach that goal of multiplying my millions by buying and selling stocks over the phone (who would use the phone for that these days […] Read more »
Review and Give Away: How Much Money Do I Need To Retire?
The book had been sitting on my desk in my home office for months, staring at me in plain sight as a reminder that I needed to read it. Someday. I had received How Much Money Do I Need To Retire from the author, Todd Tresidder, at the Financial Blogger Conference back in October, but I just couldn’t seem to find the time or the motivation to read it. Looking back, my mind just wasn’t in the right place. At the time, getting back on track with our retirement planning was just a twinkle in my eye. We only had […] Read more »
I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/04
Do you want to hear someone’s idea of a cruel joke? I’ve been soaking in the Florida sun for the last week, and we begin our road trip back to Minnesota tomorrow. Taking place this very minute in Minnesota is a late season major snow storm dumping over a foot of snow in some parts of the state. Cruel. Luckily my city will only get a few inches….and I’m actually hoping it melts off by the time I get home Sunday evening. While on vacation, Vonnie and I managed to stay right on top of our finances. I wanted to […] Read more »