Public Service Announcement: You STILL Need an Emergency Fund

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Smart, savvy, financial blog readers like yourself are certainly conscious of the importance of an emergency fund. But, maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve dipped into yours. Maybe you’ve become a little desensitized from the effects of not having one. Today we at Enemy Of Debt are doing a public service announcement giving everyone a bit of a refresher as to the importance of the emergency fund. I saw my wife’s phone light up with a text message notification. The message was from our son, notifying us that the garage door would not go all the way up, and was […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/20

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As soon as I finish this post, I’m heading out of town to my mother-in-law’s retirement party.  She’s done the calculations and determined she’s financially set to retire.  That must be a GREAT feeling!!!  Congrats to my mother-in-law for making it to the promised land! Fist pump for retirement, being financially set, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump Do These 7 Things to Save More for Retirement This Year What Are We Doing to Help Us Save a Bundle on Groceries? 5 Ways to Deal With Financial Stress and Improve Your Finances 13 […] Read more »

My Favorite Generic Products

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Store brand and generic products generate strong feelings of poor quality. As I put away my groceries over the weekend I couldn’t help but feel this perspective is many times unwarranted. I was surprised just how many of the products I had purchased were store brand or generic products. I’ve compiled a list of my favorite store brand products: Soda I’d be lying if I said store brand soda tastes exactly like the high profile brand names. However, for some flavors such as orange and root beer, I like the store brands just as much, and they cost significantly less. […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/13

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I look for it every year, and I’m never disappointed.  The great spring charcoal sale is on at Walmart.  Twin pack 15 pound bags (30 pounds total) for $7.88.  This is a GREAT deal, and over 50% off the regular price of a bag of charcoal.  You have to be careful though, as they always have twin pack 18 pound bags (36 pounds total) for double the price.   I’ve got 300 pounds so far, and I might pick up a few more bags to last me the entire year until the sale next spring! Fist pump for cheap charcoal, AND […] Read more »

What Is A Mortgage Escrow Account?

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Excited first time home buyers are exposed to a wide range of emotions as they go through the process of signing their name over and over again. Somewhere in the massive stack of documents is mentioned a mortgage escrow account. Some may just gloss over it, while others will put their pen down and ask a few questions. What is a mortgage escrow account, and what it it used for? Mortgage Payment Breakdown A person’s mortgage payment can include several different components. Principal : The amount owed to the lender is reduced by this amount Interest : The amount of […] Read more »

How Can an IVA Affect my Job and Possessions?

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An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a debt solution for people living in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. An IVA is only valid once administered by licensed Insolvency Practitioner, who will then supervise the agreement between an individual and their creditors. IVAs were initially introduced as an alternative for bankruptcy as part of the Insolvency Act in 1986. Rather than having to endure the more significant impact of bankruptcy, individuals were offered the chance to make repayments but at a more manageable rate. Companies like Carrington Dean explain this in more detail: https://www.carringtondean.com/individual-voluntary-arrangement-iva/ What Does an IVA Mean for my […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 4/6

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I’m currently on vacation in sunny Florida with my family.  I can’t think of a trip I’ve taken in my life in which I’ve been more happy to have been away from home.  While I’ve been basking in the sun at the beach in temperatures close to 80, my home state of Minnesota got slammed with a late season snow storm that dumped 8 inches of snow. Fist pump for missing snow storms, and for my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 9 Money Goals Everyone Should Have from Money Beagle 9 Best Apps to […] Read more »

5 Things You Should NEVER Order At A Restaruant

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It’s not a secret that I view most dining out as a complete waste of money. It’s not that I’m totally against eating at a restaurant, sometimes the ebb and flow of life is made easier by having someone else cook for you. Other times it’s done as a celebration of a special event. But many times it’s done out of poor meal planning, or laziness. On top of that, people pay astronomical prices for things they could easily make at home cheaper, faster, and better. Here’s a list of things that when ordered are like nails on a chalk […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 3/30

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My daughter will be turning 16 in just a few short weeks, and what she wants for her birthday is to have a dance with her friends.  Nothing fancy or elaborate, just a big open space with music and order pizza.  We found a building on our county fair grounds that has lots of parking, big space, and reasonable to rent.  While I thought we were done with the whole big birthday party scene, we want to do this for her sweet sixteen party.   Even though it is rather reasonable, it’s still not a trivial amount of money.  I agreed […] Read more »

5 Steps to Choosing an Insurance Plan that Covers Your Business Properly

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Money is almost always tight among startups. Amazon was in business for about a decade before it finally turned a profit. Many owners believe that insurance is a good place to trim expenses. They often reason that with few customers and little business, they simply do not need it. This attitude is usually a mistake. Insurance companies for risk profiles, in part, based on your number of claims. So, if there is little risk, it’s a good time to buy insurance. Getting into the game later usually means higher premiums. Moreover, many insurance companies have waiting periods. Switching on coverage […] Read more »

Find Great Deals With Brickseek

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Word of a great deal spreads fast. When a person finds a great sale, they not only tell their friends, neighbors and family, but they may also put it on social media. Some will find the same product at the same great price. Others will walk into their local store and find the product at a higher price. The same sale isn’t always in effect at every location of a specific retailer, especially when it comes to clearance sales. Websites like Brickseek can help you save time and money by finding the location with the best price near you. What […] Read more »

Recent Volatility in the Equities Markets Scares Investors

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2018 has rekindled fear among investors that a recession might be on the horizon. The year began with a small decline in stock market prices, and this was effectively dismissed as a normal market correction after a period of sustained bullish pressure. But when volatility returned in recent weeks, there has been real fear in the market. Fear causes contagion, and it can have an immense impact on the market as investors will always want to assess what is going on. But is the recent volatility simply an emotional issue, or is it rational? Fed and Interest Rates February 2018 […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 3/23

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We’re preparing for one last gasp from Winter here  in Minnesota.  A snow storm is supposed to roll in later today, dumping heavy wet snow on us.  But as normal, there’s a bit of uncertainty in that the temps may stay warm enough where it’s mainly rain.  I’m all for that at this point.  I’d rather have the liquid form of precipitation fall today and tonight and the sun come out tomorrow.   Come on, Spring! Raise those fists to Spring, and my favorite posts of the week! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 10 Habits to Change to Save Money […] Read more »

Don’t Like How Your Taxes Turned Out? Change Your Withholdings!

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After filing your tax return, you may be really excited or really disappointed about the outcome. The good news is, if you’re not happy with how things turned out you have the power to make changes and ensure you don’t have a repeat of the same next year. The most common result that would make people want to make a change is if they owed a large amount at tax time. However, if you received a significant refund you may also want to make a change to give yourself a little extra in each paycheck throughout the year. But you […] Read more »