Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University Week 8

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If you are just tuning in I’m currently taking the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University classes and reviewing them each week. If you missed any you can catch them here; Week 1: Super Saving Week 2: Relating To Money Week 3: Cash Flow Planning Week 4: Dumping Debt Week 5: Credit Sharks in Suits Week 6: Buyer Beware Week 7: Clause and Effect The Class This week’s Financial Peace University is called “That’s Not Good Enough” and is about bargain hunting. Or more specifically it’s about negotiating a deal. The real trick to getting good deals by negotiating is by […] Read more »

No Restaurants in November 2011 – First Week Peek Plus Recipes!

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If this is your first time visiting last year I hosted my very own No Restaurants in November challenge. The point was to save some money and hopefully curb some bad eating out habits while being transparent about all of it. I revealed how much we spent in October of 2010 and our savings at the end of November. The challenger was a huge success in terms of popularity so I decided to bring it back every year. If you want to know more about it read No Restaurants in November 2011 – for the rules of the road. It’s […] Read more »

Imagination is Free

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I’m going to ask you to do something you may not have ever been asked to do before. Close your eyes, and think of a recent experience in your life that was extremely stressful. Go to your “nervous, anxious, so angry I want to punch a wall” place. What do you feel like doing?  What would deflate the negative energy you’re feeling? Going out to eat so you don’t have to add the stress of cooking to the pile? Going shopping and buying anything you darn well please so you regain the feeling of control? Having your significant other notice […] Read more »

Preparing for the Ultimate Cost of Raising Children: The College Years

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If you have teenagers, you likely have been spending money on them for years. Clothes, food, toys, doctor’s appointments, camp sessions – it goes without saying that the costs add up pretty quickly. But the biggest expense of raising your children may be yet to come. While there is a wide range of costs depending on the specific college – from a local community college all the way up to a 4-year private university – it can generally be said that second education is extremely expensive these days. And while parents take a variety of approaches to their children’s college […] Read more »

What Are You Doing on Bank Transfer Day?

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Editor’s Note: This post is in no way linked to the Occupy Wall Street movement. The only thing I support about OWS is their right to assemble and protest, but even if I did agree with them — which I don’t — I would definitely not support the rapes, the violence, and the complete disrespect of others as well as the destruction of public and private property. Bank Transfer Day? Did you know Bank Transfer Day existed? I didn’t either, but I like the sound of it and here’s why. For starters, I used to be a “customer drone” with […] Read more »

What Will You Do With Your “No Restaurants in November” Savings?

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If you’ve accepted Brad’s challenge for No Restaurants in November by the end of the month will have saved up a sum of money. Last year, Brad saved $524.25 during the 2010 version of No Restaurant Month. Your savings will depend on how much you make and then spend at restaurants. When November ends, what should you do with the money you saved? Pay down your debt! First, if you have debt, use your November savings to reduce your outstanding debts, particularly the higher interest rate credit cards. You might think about what those balances represent and, if it’s financing […] Read more »

Day 1: No Restaurants in November 2011 – Let the Savings Begin!

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Time to break out the cookware!

So today it begins. No Restaurants in November baby! If you missed the rules I am giving myself (and possibly you) click here to see if you have what it takes. Yep those are challenging words! :D Have you decided to be TOTALLY WEIRD by participating in such a thing? WARNING: Your friends may laugh at you. You may get called some names. Your actions may cause people to feel judged. If this happens to you, please tread carefully. Unpredictable behavior may ensue. I get it. It totally sucks to be the only person at work with a bagged lunch, but guess what? It also sucks to be broke and/or keeping yourself from reaching your goals. Read more »

Share Your Debt Free Bucket List. Win $500 towards Killing Off Your Debt!!

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Yep, you read that correctly! One of YOU is going to win $500!! Enemy of Debt and Life Insurance Finder have partnered up to help you reach your debt free goals. Life Insurance Finder is an Australian based company that allows you to compare and select the right life insurance for you and your family based on your needs. All you have to do to enter is tell us what's on your Debt Free Bucket List, plus if you want 10 EXTRA ENTRIES you can write about this giveaway on your blog. Don't have a blog? Not to worry because you'll have the chance to earn up to 5 EXTRA ENTRIES by tweeting about the giveaway. Please read and follow the instructions below to ensure your entry is accepted. Read more »

Three Ways to Decrease Your Car Insurance Payments

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This is a guest post provided by the folks at 21st Century Auto Insurance. Sick of paying high monthly costs for your auto insurance policy? According to CNNMoney, there are three ways in which you can lower your car insurance payments each month. 3 Ways to Save on Auto Insurance The source states one relatively new way to cut down on your auto insurance fees is to install a device in your vehicle which can monitor your driving habits, such as acceleration and breaking patterns, as well as how many miles you drive. But, before having one of these devices […] Read more »

Do You Rent or Own?

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And no, I’m not talking about houses here. I’m talking about your money. I’m talking about my money. Do you own your money? Or do you rent your money? For the past 19 years, I’ve been renting my money. For the past 19 years, I’ve been in debt in one way or another. Car loans, students loans, credit cards, mortgages, equity lines, business loans, and personal loans. For the past 19 years, I’ve been paying other people for the privilege (seriously makes me want to gag) to rent their money. Chase United Mileage Plus card offered me a deal to […] Read more »

I Hear the Secrets that you Keep…

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I do, I hear them; the denial, self talk, and the inevitable, “What am I going to do?” They are secrets you keep from everyone; your family, your friends, and even your significant other. You’re in debt. It doesn’t matter how it happened, what matters now is that you do something about it.  That’s where I come in. I am a certified credit counselor for CareOne Debt Relief Services and everyday I talk to people about their debt. Sometimes I am the first person they have admitted this to and they are scared, apprehensive, and skeptical. I would be too; […] Read more »

Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University Week 6

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This week's lesson is Buyer Beware which is mostly about advertising and marketing. It was interesting because it's easy to forget that almost every company, big and little, has at least one full time person whose only job in life is to figure out how to get your money. It's pretty incredible if you think about it. He started out by saying how we are living in the most marketed culture in the history of the world. Which I totally believe is true. Look back at TV from even 20 or 30 years ago. There is way less marketing built into shows and sports. Well, put it this way, how could it NOT be true. They certainly aren't marketing to us any less, that's for sure. Read more »

No Restaurants in November 2011

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Recently, I ran a poll about what challenges you the most about becoming debt free and I thought the results were great. There were 70 voters total and the results can be found here. Today, I want to talk about one of the TOP 5 challenges picked by you and am excited to bring back something I did last year that was very popular. Of course I’m talking about my No Restaurants in November challenge! According to my EOD Poll, 37% of you picked EATING OUT as one of the five things that challenged you the most about becoming debt […] Read more »

Personal Finance For A Nine Year Old

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A few weeks ago, one of my daughter’s friends got a new computer game, and the two have been playing it ever since. However, my daughter, Tori, cannot play it unless her friend brings it over to our house, or she goes down her her friend’s house. So, naturally she wants her own copy. She had recently spent all her saved allowance money, so she was starting from scratch saving up the $20 for the game. Last Friday afternoon, when she got home from school, she exploded through the front door, ran up to her room, and grabbed her piggy […] Read more »