All posts by Jacob A Irwin
Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 3, Posts 27-30
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com.
Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as the competition.
How to Vote
You can vote for the two articles (one from each intermediate sprint) you’d like to see proceed in the Tour by commenting in the comments section below and telling which are your favorites.
I’ve listed a keyword after each post title to make it easy to vote (as a made-up example, you can just comment: Sprint 1: Mutual; Sprint 2: 401k, etc.) Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two! Criteria for the best article is completely up to you, but you can use these factors as a guide: 1) post of your favorite blogger, 2) most interesting post, 3) most thought-provoking post, 4) most unique post, or 5) most actionable post.
Here are today’s competitions:
Intermediate Sprint # 1
- 35 Ways to Make More Money (35 Ways): Even in the best of times, one of the most common questions asked is, “How do I make more money?” While an increase in income can ease the way things work in your personal economy, it won’t necessarily solve all your problems.
- Drop Your Cable Bill – Keep Your Shows (Cable):
Have you ever wanted to save hundreds of dollars a year on your cable bill? Would you like to pay for only the shows you watch instead of paying for hundreds of channels of crap? Do you want to see a really white guy rap? Yes, yes, and absolutely!
- Knowing When To Buy and Sell Stock (Stock): Buying and selling stock is a challenging idea. How do you know when a stock is undervalued or overvalued? How do you know if it will go up or go down? There are a few popular methods to making the best investing decisions, and you can learn how they work here.
- 24 Home-Based Business Ideas (Ideas): This article lists 24 opportunities that we can take advantage of from home to start making some extra income with a home-based business.
The race is going on right now! I’ll share a recap in the post later today.
***Photo courtesy of http://wafermaneuver.com/nick/img/photo/fireworks2.jpg
Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 2, Posts 31-34
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
————————————————————————————————————————
Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com.
Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as the competition.
How to Vote
You can vote for the two articles (one from each intermediate sprint) you’d like to see proceed in the Tour by commenting in the comments section below and telling which are your favorites.
I’ve listed a keyword after each post title to make it easy to vote (as a made-up example, you can just comment: Sprint 1: Mutual; Sprint 2: 401k, etc.) Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two! Criteria for the best article is completely up to you, but you can use these factors as a guide: 1) post of your favorite blogger, 2) most interesting post, 3) most thought-provoking post, 4) most unique post, or 5) most actionable post.
Here are today’s competitions:
- If I Had a Million Dollars, I’d Go Into Debt (Debt): What would I do if I won a million dollars? This post describes how I’d invest every last penny, scrutinizing tax benefits, risk, returns, real estate, and why I would go into debt — yes, I would go into debt — if I were a millionaire. And don’t just take my word for it: Einstein backs me up, and so does third-world poverty theory. Read this post to find out more.
- Do the Amish Pay Taxes? (Taxes): There is a lot of controversy and confusion surrounding the Amish and their tax payments. This is in part because they use some public services without paying for the consumption taxes that fund those services because their consumption habits are much different from the average American’s. Honestly, could you imagine a horse and buggy pulling through a highway toll booth, or an Amish person gambling in a casino?
Intermediate Sprint # 4
- Invest in Both Fitness and Finances (Fitness): Your health is a much more important investment than your personal finance life. Learn how to master both and you’re set for life!
- Building a Better Blog (Blogging): My online life started with finding the wide world of personal finance blogging and starting my first blog. Building up a blog is what brings advertisers knocking on your virtual door and it gives credibility for other online ventures like staff writing. Here is how I built up my site as quickly as possible.
Today was the Team Time Trial in the 2011 Tour de France. This is a special event because viewers get to watch a group of 10 riders power through at 55 kph around a course in flashy skin-suits and $12,000 bikes. Nice right?!
It is also a cool event because it tends to have a pretty significant impact on the outcome of the overall Tour de France race. In today’s race, the US based Garmin-Cervelo team won the stage and placed sprinter/overall hard-man Thor Husovd in the yellow jersey!
Of the favorites for overall victory at the end of the 3 week bike race, the best placed riders are Andy and Frank Schleck, Cadel Evans, and Bradley Wiggins. Alberto Contador is over a minute back. However, he is such a good climber that he’ll most likely be able to recover most of this lost time when the mountains start.
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/cthe/145144226/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 2, Posts 35-38
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
————————————————————————————————————————
Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com.
Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as the competition.
How to Vote
You can vote for the two articles (one from each intermediate sprint) you’d like to see proceed in the Tour by commenting in the comments section below and telling which are your favorites.
I’ve listed a keyword after each post title to make it easy to vote (as a made-up example, you can just comment: Sprint 1: Mutual; Sprint 2: 401k, etc.) Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two! Criteria for the best article is completely up to you, but you can use these factors as a guide: 1) post of your favorite blogger, 2) most interesting post, 3) most thought-provoking post, 4) most unique post, or 5) most actionable post.
Here are today’s competitions:
- I Refused To Pay Someone What I Was Charged (Refused): What do you do when the value of a service or product doesn’t match the price you were charged? In this personal finance story, you’ll find out how my situation played out (it may not be what you think) and what you can do if you find yourself in a similar situation.
- The College Student’s Guide to Investing (College):
: A step by step way to get starting investing for beginners, especially those just out of college!
Intermediate Sprint # 2
- How much money do you really need to retire with dividend stocks? (Dividend): My post discusses the fact that investors do not need one million dollars to retire. With the right dividend growth stocks that regularly raise distributions every year, investors could live off the dividend income stream and never have to touch the principal. The rising dividend payment would protect the income stream against inflation. The rising dividend payment will also make shares more valuable over time, leading to an increase in the value of these shares.
- Random Acts of Kindness Can Bring Riches of Happiness and Experience (Kindness): Quite naturally, many of us – including me – are focused on our own finances. That said, it’s often so profitable in a broader sense to practice kindness and generosity. This post shares a simple story of an encounter that brought me happiness in helping someone in need.
Today is the Team Time Trial. It is going on right now! All of the highest-placed teams have yet to finish, so I’ll share the complete recap/update in the Stage 2 competition post later today!
***Photo courtesy of http://images.cdn.fotopedia.com/flickr-3296070443-hd.jpg
Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 1, Posts 39-42
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com. The last day to enter the giveaway is July 4th!
Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as the competition.
How to Vote
You can vote for the two articles (one from each intermediate sprint) you’d like to see proceed in the Tour by commenting in the comments section below and telling which are your favorites.
I’ve listed a keyword after each post title to make it easy to vote (as a made-up example, you can just comment: Sprint 1: Mutual; Sprint 2: 401k, etc.) Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two! Criteria for the best article is completely up to you, but you can use these factors as a guide: 1) post of your favorite blogger, 2) most interesting post, 3) most thought-provoking post, 4) most unique post, or 5) most actionable post.
Here are today’s games (the posts from Sprints 1 and 2 were posted earlier today at the following link):
- My Brand New Car (Car): If you enjoy personal finance advice that challenges conventional thinking (i.e. always buy used), check out this post on why I bought a brand new car. I may have just had bad luck, but used vehicles don’t work for me. When I buy new, I know all the regular service is being done on a timely basis and I know how the car has been driven. I’m leery of cars being sold that are only one or two years old – what is the matter with them? You might think I’m an idiot, but ultimately my time and (especially) my peace of mind are much more important in this case than saving some money.
- What The Piano Tuner Taught Me (Piano): You can learn a lot from a person by their chosen profession even if that profession is not something you fully understand or are familiar with. Their passion, their spirit, their seemingly perfect fit with the intricate details involved – these things are clear when someone truly loves what they do. That and much more is what I learned from Howard the piano tuner. Read this article to learn more!
Intermediate Sprint # 4
- How I Make Money Blogging (Money): I enjoy blogging more than anything else I’ve ever done as a hobby or job in my life. My online community is one of the first things I look forward to in the morning and blogging is the last thing I do almost every night. This post covers how I made nearly $6000 between February and December 2010 doing what I love. I have since banked another $15,000 and am have started making $3000 or more every month. Check out how I am turning a hobby into my full time career!
- What Is Your Favorite Board Game To Teach Financial Literacy (Game): Many families recognize the bonding experiences possible, educational & entertainment value, and inexpensiveness of having a regular family game night at home. Playing family games that also teach financial concepts is an excellent way to have fun while helping your kids (and sometimes yourselves!) learn and practice financial concepts. This article analyzes five board games, telling you what the game can teach you and your family about finance; detailing little known facts about the game and sharing our personal experiences with the game.
Today was Stage 1 of the 2011 Tour de France. The race traveled from the Passage du Gois La Barre-de-Monts to the Mont des Alouettes Les Herbiers. It was supposed to be a flat stage to get us started in the 2011 race and not have much effect on the overall race.
However, at the end of the day, Philip Gilbert won the stage, and due to several late crashes, most of the main contenders for the overall (yellow jersey) classification lost anywhere between 1-2 minutes. This included last year’s winner and overall favorite, Alberto Contador, from Spain.
Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 1, Posts 43-46
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com. The giveaway entry period ends July 4th!
The brackets were finalized earlier today and can be found at the following link – Tour de Personal Finance 2011 Bracket.
Without further a due, here we go with the first Stage of the 2011 My Personal Finance Journey Tour de Personal Finance (to follow all of the action, click on the Tour de Personal Finance category link and scroll down to read all the posts involved in this subject).
Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as the competition.
How to Vote
You can vote for the two articles (one from each intermediate sprint) you’d like to see proceed in the Tour by commenting in the comments section below and telling which are your favorites.
I’ve listed a keyword after each post title to make it easy to vote (as a made-up example, you can just comment: Sprint 1: Mutual; Sprint 2: 401k, etc.) Be sure to comment which one you like the best out of each set of two! Criteria for the best article is completely up to you, but you can use these factors as a guide: 1) post of your favorite blogger, 2) most interesting post, 3) most thought-provoking post, 4) most unique post, or 5) most actionable post.
Here are today’s games:
Intermediate Sprint # 1
- How I Went From 30K To 100K in 5 Years (100K) I went from an admin clerk making 30K to a financial professional making over 100K in only 5 years. That’s the equivalent of getting annualized raises of 27% per year. How did I go from 30k to a 6 figure income in 5 years? Here’s my story!
- My 80-Year-Old Wedding Dress: Behold! (Dress) When Miss Thrifty planned her wedding, she wasn’t so much a Bridezilla as a Frugalzilla! Find out how the UK blogger found a 1920’s gown for just £25 ($40) and restored it in time for the Big Day.
Intermediate Sprint # 2
- 15 Things I look at Before Trading a Stock (Trading) : There are 15 key elements I look at before making a sound investing. The ones in this post have been very effective over time! Take a look.
- Income Multiples v Affordability (Income) Most borrowers looking for a mortgage have one main question when they speak to a mortgage advisor: ‘How much can I borrow?’ In past years, this would have been a pretty easy calculation to work out based on your income and outgoings, but these days the situation has come full circle. Instead of telling you how much you can borrow, a mortgage advisor will often ask you: ‘How much can you afford?’ In this article, I look at the move from ‘income multiples’ to ‘affordability’ in mortgage underwriting.
Today was Stage 1 of the 2011 Tour de France. The race traveled from the Passage du Gois La Barre-de-Monts to the Mont des Alouettes Les Herbiers. It was supposed to be a flat stage to get us started in the 2011 race and not have much effect on the overall race.
However, at the end of the day, Philip Gilbert won the stage, and due to several late crashes, most of the main contenders for the overall (yellow jersey) classification lost anywhere between 1-2 minutes. This included last year’s winner and overall favorite, Alberto Contador, from Spain.
***Photo courtesy of http://images.cdn.fotopedia.com/flickr-3292521102-hd.jpg
Tour de Personal Finance 2011 Brackets Finalized
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com.
Good afternoon personal finance fans!
Before I head out on a bike ride today, I wanted to do a quick post to let you all know that I have finalized the 2011 Tour de Personal Finance competition brackets.
The brackets can be downloaded/viewed at the Google Docs link below.
Tour de Personal Finance 2011 Brackets
For this being the first year we’re doing this, we had a very good turnout with a total of 46 entries!
The competition will begin later tonight with the first “Stages.”
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/romyarlyn/2713872305/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Interview at NarrowBridge.net – My Personal Finance Journey
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com.
Happy Saturday everyone! The Tour de France 2011 is now among us, as it officially started earlier today with Stage 1! I really enjoy this time of year.
Going along with the celebratory ambiance I am feeling today, I wanted to express my gratitude to Eric over at NarrowBridge.net for interviewing me about my experiences as a personal finance blogger so far.
You can view the complete interview at the link below.
Personal Finance Blogger Interview – Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey
A summary of the various topics/questions addressed in the interview can be found below:
1) How did you get started in personal finance blogging? What was your inspiration?
2) On your site, you mention that you hope to “Unravel some of the myths around investing and personal finance that are ever-present in today’s society”. What is the biggest myth you have found since you started blogging? What is the real deal behind the myth?
3) If you wish you knew one personal finance tip when you were 18, what would it be?
4) What is the biggest personal finance lesson you learned the hard way?
5) Outside of blogging, what has been the biggest change you made to your financial life that made a difference? (i.e. making more money, frugal changes, budgeting, investing)
Some other good personal finance blogger interviews can also be found at NarrowBridge.net at the links below! Enjoy!
Interview – Evan @ My Journey to Millions
Interview – Glen @ Free From Broke
***Photo courtesy of http://www.rumor.net/gallery//d/758-2/DSC04978.JPG
4 Ways to Save on Gas that Really Work
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com.
The following guest post comes to us from Jessica Bosari. Jessica writes for CarInsuranceQuotesComparison.com. The site helps consumers compare car insurance companies with tips, information, and advice.
As gas prices continue to rise, it seems that almost every website has new tips and tricks for how to save gasoline. However, not all of those tips are really accurate or useful. The following suggestions come directly from fueleconomy.gov, a trusted federal website designed to help consumers improve their gas mileage. These tips have been tested through government research, so you can feel confident that they will work.
1. Avoid Idling for Long Periods of Time
Idling in your car can use up more gasoline than actually driving on the road. If you idle for more than 10 seconds, you will use more gas than it takes to restart the car. When you idle with the air conditioner running, you burn fuel even faster.
Remember to shut your car off if it will be in one place for more than a few seconds. Restarting the vehicle several times can cause wear and tear on your starter, but it will save you money on gasoline. If you must idle, turn off the air conditioning until the car is in motion once more.
2. Keep Your Tires Properly Inflated
Driving with tires that do not have the right pressure can cost you up to 3% more in gasoline consumption. Manufacturers place a sticker on the inside of the driver’s door that tells you how much pressure your tires should hold under normal operating conditions. The proper inflation number should also be printed on the side of each tire.
If the air hose that you are using does not have a built in tire gauge, you can pick one up for a couple of dollars at any discount or automotive store. Keeping your tires properly inflated will save you money on gasoline and make your car safer to drive.
3. Find Alternatives for Your Daily Commute
Driving to and from work is how many people use the most gasoline. You can save money on your gas costs if you find an alternative to driving your own car even one day a week. Carpool with other employees who work in your building and live in your part of town. You can alternate drivers so that each of you only drives once or twice a week.
Look into your public transportation options to see if it would be feasible for you to take the bus or the train into work sometimes. If you live closer to work, you might be able to ride a bike or walk on nicer days. Driving less can also earn you a low-mileage discount.
4. Buy a More Fuel Efficient Vehicle
Auto manufacturers have realized that the driving public needs cars with better fuel mileage. Newer cars get much better gas mileage than cars that were produced just a few years ago. Choosing a car that gets better gas mileage will save you money on gas in just a few short weeks. If you find a car that gets 10mpg better than the car you are driving today, you could save almost $1,000 in the first year of driving the new car. The website fueleconomy.gov provides detailed mileage information for cars that were produced between 1984 and 2012.
How about you all? What strategies do you use to save on fuel? So far, have the higher fuel prices changed your driving behavior at all? If not, what price would gas need to be before you REALLY made serious changes to your driving patterns?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this article.
- @ Avoiding idling to save gas – I didn’t know about this one. However, it does make sense that it would be this way.
- Another reason to avoid idling is because frequent idling can be hard on your car’s motor (as well as burning gas quickly!).
- @ Keeping your tires properly inflated – I have to admit that I am guilty of not airing up my tires as often as I should. Ideally, I would like to check my tire air pressure before each drive I take that is longer than 2 hours. However, I often forget.
- Not only can having low air pressure in your tires cost you more in gas, but it can also cause the tires to overheat and blow out if you go fast enough. Best to avoid this situation!
- @ Alternatives to daily commute – Although it would be nice if everyone were able to either bike or walk to work like people do in Europe, for most areas of the United States (maybe with the exception of big cities), this simply is not possible.
- Why is this you might ask? Simple. In the US, the economy and city structure (for better or worse) is built upon the idea that everyone has a car.
- Additionally, two trends are becoming “the norm” in the US. First, in a family, it is most common to find the situation where both parents work. Since both parents work, it is tough to position the family geographically close to both persons’ jobs. Second, it is becoming more and more prevalent for an individual to change jobs upwards of 5-10 times during a career. Because of all of this change, it is nearly impossible to be able to move your family each time, often increasing the length of one’s commute.
- @ Buying a more fuel efficient car – I definitely agree that newer cars are much more fuel efficient than older ones. However, there are two important things to consider before jumping in to buying a new car..
- First, new cars can depreciate up to 30% in value by the mere act of driving the car off of the new car lot. As I discovered in my analysis last year in the post, Buying a New Car vs. a Used Car, new cars typically lose about 20% of their value in the first year of ownership and about 65% of their value in 5 years. Because of this steep depreciation curve that occurs with new cars, the amount of money saved by having a newer, more fuel-efficient car may not be financially justified overall vs. a used one. Always remember to do your homework and check this math out before buying!
- Second, it is tempting in this day and age to want to buy a “green” hybrid car (such as a Prius, etc) due to the savings in gas you will achieve and the lower environmental footprint. However, as we saw in the post, Does Being Green Make Economic Sense – Green and Hybrid Vehicles, these hybrid “green” cars come at a very high premium, and it can take up to 7 years to break even on your initial purchase from the fuel savings you experience.
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/schill/2570639630/sizes/l/in/photostream/
Online Shopping – The Risks, Benefits, and How to Stay Safe
The following is a guest post. Enjoy!
Online Shopping Statistics
Online shopping has been the retailing revolution of the 21st century and is still increasing in popularity. Statistics produced by Forrester Research Inc. suggest that 60% of consumers shop online at least quarterly.
By 2015, over 200 million consumers will shop online, according to eMarketer. The increase is due to the many benefits of online shopping, although according to statistics from the Lieberman Research Group, 51% of users are concerned about internet security.
How to Stay Safe While Shopping Online
There are many ways to reduce the risks of shopping online and staying safe in the process. There are many advantages to purchasing online, including convenience, speed, pricing and access to the best financial products available.
For instance, there are numerous sites that will give honest reviews on a range of consumer products.
Gone are the days when consumers had to fit in a trip to the shops or carry home heavy shopping. With a click of the mouse, you can have any product delivered from anywhere in the world. And, a lot of the time, the products purchased online will be cheaper than those in local stores!
Types of Scams to Watch Out For
This quick and easy process has also unfortunately encouraged fraudsters to use the internet for their criminal activities. Many different types of scams are used by these individuals.
A frequent scam is to set up a web store offering designer goods at seemingly bargain prices. The consumer, hoping for a good price, may be tempted to purchase from here. By purchasing from this store, the consumer will, in essence, hand his or her financial information to the criminals behind it. Within moments, the consumer’s bank account will be cleared of funds by the criminals.
How to Evade These Scams
There are many ways to avoid falling victim to this trap. Firstly, only purchase from stores that appear reputable. Check online to see if any comments have been made about the store to verify its authenticity. Always keep updated with the latest version of your browser as it may contain an Extended Validation SSL Certificate. This technology will turn the address bar green to show you are visiting a secure site. Then, look at the URL address bar when you begin your purchase. A secure site will begin with the letters HTTPS, rather than just HTTP and may also show a locked padlock icon.
Always pay with a credit card rather than a debit card, so that if information is obtained by criminals, they will only be able to spend the credit card limit. Whereas with a debit card, criminals can access your bank account too and cause greater damage. Both banks and credit card providers are constantly alert for signs of fraud.
Due to monitoring accounts to check for suspicious activity, do not be surprised if you are asked for the three or four card digit on the back of your card. The reasoning is that criminals may possess your name and the card number but they are unlikely to have the card in front of them, so will not be able to answer this question.
Always create difficult-to-guess passwords, so do not include family names or dates of birth. Use a different password for each site you visit and combine letters and numbers to make it harder to crack.
Finally, trust your instincts. If something does not feel right, shut the site down immediately. Purchasing online is easy and convenient, and with these hints, you can be safe too.
How about you all? How do you protect your security online?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this article.
- @ Statistic showing 60% of shoppers shop online each quarter – I’m surprised this isn’t more! I probably shop online (especially Amazon – which is the most buyer friendler out of the Amazon/eBay pair) more than shopping at a brick-and-mortar mall.
- @ Secure sites beginning with HTTPS:// – I actually didn’t know this was what https stood for! You learn something new every day. I’ll know to watch out for this going forward.
- How I Stay Safe Shopping Online – This is a great article over a topic which I think is relevant to us all. The main way that I stay safe online is to always use either 1) PayPal or 2) my credit card for online purchases (not my debit card, bank account direct transfer, or Western Union). Both PayPal and your credit card enable you to dispute any fraudulent charges and get your money back if you feel you’ve been scammed. By doing this, I feel pretty comfortable purchasing things online!
***Photo courtesy of http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/22/99/229953_59d4b5e6.jpg
Top 10 Money Saving Tips
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Welcome to My Personal Finance Journey! If you are new here, please read the “About” or “First-Time Visitor” pages to find out more about us. If you would like to receive free updates on articles like this by email, then sign up here or you can subscribe to the RSS feed. Also, check us out on Twitter or Facebook. Thanks for visiting! Keep on learning!
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Click here to enter my free giveaway for 3 sets of 500 business cards from AllBusinessCards.com.
The following is a guest post from Joe Lewis. Enjoy!
1. Cut the price of your fuel bills
It’s no secret that fuel prices are getting more and more expensive. But that doesn’t mean you have to pay ridiculously high energy bills. That’s why it’s so important for you to keep an eye out for cheaper energy suppliers and compare gas and electricity prices – meaning you pay less!
2. Home DIY
Before spending sky-high prices on home extensions and builder’s fees, turn your creative hand to DIY tasks and save yourself a small fortune!
3. Consider generic goods
Buying supermarket brand-name food can become very expensive, so why not turn your attention to economy foods and cut your weekly shopping budget down to size.
4. Compost your waste
If you’re a keen gardener, you’ll know all too well about the high cost of soil additives. To save money on soil additives, go green and collect all your garden and food waste in a biodegradable box outside your home. Wait a few months and let Mother Nature take its course. You’ll have nutrient rich matter you can use in your garden or vegetable beds for free!
5. Replace your bulbs with CFLs –
It’s no secret that many eco-friendly experts are suggesting that you should change conventional bulbs for CFLs to save on both energy and cost. What you waiting for?
6. Use ceiling fans in the winter
Believe it or not, ceiling fans can be used not only in the summer but also when you have the heat on. Simply, set the fans to move clockwise and turn them on at a low setting. Hot air rises, so the fans help to push down and circulate that air you paid to have heated.
7. Get cheaper broadband deals
Keep your eyes peeled for the cheapest broadband deals available. There are some great deals available, so make sure you don’t miss out on the latest offers. It really does pay to shop around and secure that fantastic broadband package!
8. Consider renting equipment instead of buying
Renting equipment is a great way of saving money! If you can’t afford something then why not rent it and save yourself a small fortune?
9. Late shopping
Get down to your local supermarket and purchase food with “sell by” dates for that day. The reductions are labelled in yellow and you can pick up food for nearly three quarters of the original price!
10. Farmer’s markets
Nothing tastes nicer than scrumptious local produce. With this in mind, buy fresh organic fruit and vegetables at your local farmer’s market that are a lot cheaper than those found in your large corporate supermarket chains and save some serious money.
How about you all? What are the main ways you use money? Have you successfully been able to incorporate any of the tactics mentioned above in to your personal finances?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
Jacob’s Thoughts – Listed below are my random thoughts as I was reading this article.
- @ Keeping an eye out for cheaper energy suppliers – This is a good idea, but for most people, I don’t believe it’s possible. This is due to the fact that most of the time, when you move in to a place, the energy supplier is fixed. So, you simply cannot just change. Prices are regulated by the government to prevent price gauging stemming from the “necessary monopoly” the energy companies have.
- @ Home DIY – Also a very good idea! However, it’s important to know when to draw the line when it comes to your expertise (or lack of in my case) around the house.
- For little things though like fixing a light or recaulking something in the bathroom, it can save money to do it yourself.
- However, if you were to fix something and find out that you did it wrong and that it will cost $10000 to repair, most likely, it would have been cheaper to pay a professional for the job.
- @ Generic goods – This is one of my favorite ways to save money! I am a big Wal-Mart shopping fan, and I have probably saved thousands of Dollars over the years by buying Great Value brand items. The quality has gotten surprisingly good over the past few years! You should also give them a try!
- @ Replacing bulbs with CFL’s – Great idea here, and also something that I need to work on.
- Currently, about half of the bulbs in my house are CFL’s. They work perfectly well and never burn out it seems!
- The ones that are the “old type” I’m just waiting to burn out so that they can be replaced.
- @ Cheaper broadband Internet deals – This is also a good idea, in theory. However, in most of the areas I’ve lived, a specific neighborhood (especially apartment complexes) will have a deal set up for one company to be the sole supplier of Internet and TV/cable. But, it can’t hurt to compare prices to be able to bargain for a better deal with your current supplier!
- @ Late shopping – I’ve scored some killer deals on bread this way. It works well for me since I buy a lot of bread at once and freeze it for an extended period of time before using it to make sandwiches for lunch at work. It’s not rare to find the prices marked down 50%!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/acrider/4337122047/sizes/l/in/photostream/