Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 1/15

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Today is payday….and it’s my first paycheck reflecting the salary increase from my recent promotion. yes.  Yes. YES. I cannot deny I was a little excited to open up my online bank portal today.  On a similar note, as previously mentioned the promotion has led me down the path of resigning from a few of my freelance writing jobs.  Therefore, I don’t have any personal finance blog posts to shamelessly self-promote.  I do however, have another treat for you, EODNation.  I’ve started my very own BBQ website (purely for FUN!) to document my BBQ and grilling adventures.  I’ve linked to […] Read more »

Biggest Obstacles when Trying to Apply for Credit

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Whether you’re an individual or small business, the world of credit can be an unforgiving one. There are so many obstacles when applying for credit. It’s no longer a matter of driving to the bank and asking for a loan. The chances are you won’t get it. We’re going to show you some of the biggest obstacles when trying to apply for credit and how to overcome them. No Bank Account This is the first difficulty you will come up against. You may have recently started a company or you’re between banks. When you don’t have a bank account you […] Read more »

The Expectation of Spending Money

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Every Sunday evening, my wife and I recap our weekend spending, and then do any budget adjustments required  due to higher than expected spending. After the conclusion of this activity recently, I broke the good news that we had stayed well within our allocated weekend funds. As soon as the words left my mouth, they felt wrong. I was confused as to why they felt wrong, after all isn’t that the goal? Isn’t the goal to live within our means by creating a budget, allocating a finite amount of funds for bills and other activities, and then spend less than […] Read more »

How to Save for a House When You’re Still Paying Rent

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With the government’s development of the Help to Buy scheme, the prospect of owning a home is a slightly more feasible prospect for many people looking to invest in their first property. Whilst no longer throwing money away on rent and instead paying off a mortgage of your own is a satisfying step for most people, getting there can be a long, frustrating process. Trying to save for a house deposit whilst still paying your existing rent to keep a roof over your head is draining on your bank balance to say the least, but there are ways to make […] Read more »

Merchant Accounts: How Businesses Can Service Their Customers Securely

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Should you accept payments for your goods and services, or not? For many UK businesses, the issue isn’t as clear-cut at is seems. Here are just some of the important issues you face, and how you should think about them. How Cash-Only Is Dangerous As a Business Model Running a cash-only business seems like the cheapest, and safest, way to operate, but it’s not. Let’s start with the basics. The UK is the biggest credit card payments market in all of Europe. It accounts for over 70 per cent of the total credit card market and 30 pc of all […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 1/8

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I’ve been waiting for it, and it’s FINALLY going to happen.  The NFL season begins in September, when there’s still plenty of nice fall weather to take advantage of.  I feel bad sitting inside watching football when it’s so nice out.  Even when the weather turns colder, there’s fun stuff to do outside.  I long for weekends where the weather just begs you to stay inside. This weekend is that weekend. High temperatures will be in the single digits, wind chill readings way below zero.  It is the PERFECT weekend to whip up a pot of chilli, plop my hind […] Read more »

Smart Ways To Spend A Third Paycheck

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Happy New Year! This is a magical month for many – not because it’s the beginning of a brand new year but January 2016 has five Fridays in it. What does that mean? That means some of you will get paid three times this month. Those who get paid bi-weekly on Fridays will get three paychecks this month: January 1st, 15th and 29th. If your biweekly pay doesn’t fall on the first Friday in January then your turn will come in April (which, coincidentally, also has three Fridays on the 1st, 15th and 29th). A 3-paycheck month means you get […] Read more »

My Daughter, A Shopping Mall Trip, and A Scary Situation

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I had a scary situation with my teenaged daughter over the weekend with what happened during a shopping trip to the mall with her friends. It was touch and go for a few days, but I’m now confident that everything is going to be just fine. One of her friends asked her to go to the mall shopping on Friday afternoon. Between her allowance and Christmas gifts she had amassed a tidy sum of money.  She thought a shopping trip to get some new clothes would be a fun way to spend time with her friend. When she returned home […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 1/1

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Happy New Year, EOD Nation!  With a start of  a new year will come a lot of talk of starting over and wiping the slate clean.  While January 1st IS a great way to signify the starting point to achieve new goals and change your behavior, I encourage you to NOT forget the mistakes and the lessons learned in 2015 (and the years before that).  Take your experiences that have made you who you are, and use them as the foundation for a BETTER and IMPROVED you in 2016 in finances, health, or just flat out being a better person. […] Read more »

What A Blizzard Taught Me About Retirement Planning

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As I write this, I’m looking out the window watching it snow heavily.  A major winter storm is affecting southern Minnesota. The weather forecasters have us pegged for somewhere between 8 and 12 inches of snow by tomorrow afternoon, with strong winds resulting in near blizzard conditions. This winter storm has been in the forecast for the last week, and people went into complete panic mode to prepare. The grocery stores have been packed with people purchasing enough food to be trapped inside their homes for a month. Shovels, ice melt products, snow blowers and outdoor clothing have been flying […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like a Blogger Roundup – 12/25

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Merry Christmas, EOD Nation!  The Pizel family just completed the opening of gifts, and the kids are off trying on clothes, playing new games, and texting their friends sharing what was under the tree.  I hope you got everything you wanted this year, including some quality time with your family and friends. Fist Pump for Christmas!!! Posts That Make Me Fist Pump 16 Cheap Ways to Ring in the New Year from Young Adult Money 7 Reasons Why You Can’t Get Out of Debt from The Frugal Farmer Financially Stressed? Give Yourself This Gift from I Heart Budgets The Other […] Read more »

I Got Promoted! Now, What Should We Do With My Salary Increase?

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I’ve been very purposeful with my efforts over the last few years in my primary career as a software engineer. I’ve volunteered for roles, and taken advantage of opportunities that I felt would help further my career. Specifically, I’ve been aiming to be promoted to the next level. My efforts have finally come to fruition, as last Wednesday my manager informed me that I have been promoted. As you can imagine, I was extremely excited to hear the news that I have been promoted to Senior Software Engineer. My title promotion comes with a significant salary increase. Whenever our family’s […] Read more »

Fist Pump Friday: I Love You Like A Blogger Roundup – 12/18

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With one week to go until Christmas, I’d put our shopping at about 50% complete.  I sat down and ordered everything  I could online at the beginning of the week, and the packages are starting to roll in.  Vonnie and I will be finishing the rest over the weekend, and then next week is a short work week.  Two days of work, then I’m off until January 4th.  To add to that awesomeness, my birthday is the 28th.  Anyone want to take a guess at how old you think I am??? Fist pump for holidays, vacation, birthdays AND my favorite […] Read more »

Should I Save and Invest or Pay Off Debt?

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Ever since the recession a few years ago, many Americans have become adept savers. Like the Depression of the 1920s, the feeling of financial insecurity left consumers with an almost irreversible fear of experiencing that kind of stress and instability again. However, along with the need to save and invest came the need to pay down debt, as Americans had a record amount of personal debt. These opposing forces led to a dilemma – should you save or pay off debt? Or for some who didn’t want to earn a meager 0.05% from their savings account, should I invest or […] Read more »