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Home Damage Caused by Vermin and How to Remedy the Sitauation
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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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The following is a guest post. Enjoy!
Home Damage Caused by Vermin and How to Remedy the Situation
How Can I Tell if I Have Vermin in My Home?
What Damage Will Vermin Cause in My Home?
Common Damage Caused by Vermin Is:
What Can I Do About Vermin in My Home?
How Home Insurance Can Help
How about you all? Have you ever had a pest infestation in your home? If so, what damage did it cause? Did you home insurance cover the removal?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/66/90/2669099_6db9bac5.jpg
Double Glazing Your Home Windows – Financial and Security Benefits
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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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- Double glazing: by fitting recognized, quality assured double glazing you may reduce the risk of home theft. Newly fitted, secure windows may be recognized by your home insurance company and help keep your insurance premium low.
- Opening mechanism: vulnerable windows, such as those on the ground floor or above an easily accessible flat roof, should have limited opening mechanism. You can choose windows which only open a fractional amount, whilst still letting the air in, so as not to make life easy for burglars.
- Locking mechanism: a secure, modern locking system is essential. You can have an easy locking device, which locks at the push of a button, but requires a key to open. Do not have all your windows in your home fitted with the same lock – as that makes for easy opening! You should also keep all window keys out of sight from the outside of your home.
- Breaking point: double glazed, anti-theft windows will usually resist breaking more easily than older windows. All a thief needs to do is put a foot through an old window to gain access to your property. Once they have access through the window, they would be able to open the door to their accomplices.
How about you all? Have you ever had any problems with theft in your home? What was the cause of the break in? Did your home insurance cover the damage and/or replace anything that was taken?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/88/74/887452_58db226d.jpg
Meeting Your Financial Obligations Despite Poor Credit Using Bad Credit Loans
It is a difficult challenge to make ends meet when you have poor credit. Fewer lenders are likely to give you the money that you need, and this will make it harder for you to get the money you need when you need it. You likely have many financial obligations that must be met every month. It is important to try and repair your credit rating and still pay the bills.
Pay Bills on Time
The best way to keep your credit in good standing or improve your credit is by making payments on time. If you start to fall behind in your payments, you could be sent to collections. When that process begins, you will likely be reported to the credit bureaus. This means that your credit score will go down, and you will have fewer opportunities to get the money that you need.
How to Meet Your Obligations
The best way to meet your obligations is by detailing exactly when all of your monthly payments are due. This will give you a strategy to pay everything on time. You can then make your income match your payment schedule. You need to be diligent and only pay what you need to according to the schedule. If you do not follow the schedule, you will have difficulty making the next set of payments. You may also find that this schedule may be difficult to pull off each month. If that is the case, you will need to play around with the payments periods. Many companies will offer you a grace period. You should check with the companies that you do business with to see the exact date that the bill is due before you are actually overdue. This may help you to meet your obligations with less stress.
Find More Income
Many people have discovered that the key to meeting their financial obligations is by finding some extra employment. You can do many things online that will help you to get more money each month. Many people have discovered the power of the internet to make extra cash. Online auction sites have really helped make people the money that they need. All that you need to do is sign-up and start selling. Some people have also found that they have some unique skills. People are creating homemade items and selling them online. Other people have discovered a love of freelance writing. This can be a profitable experience if you have the knack that it takes to write well. You can also put your skills onto an online marketplace. Many people are looking for people to do work around their home. Think about the skills that you can perform for other people. You may be able to do some painting, cleaning, or lawn mowing jobs.
Take Out a Loan
Still other people will take out a personal loan to help with the current financial problems. You may be able to secure some cash to help you get through your troubled time. Remember that all personal loans must be repaid. It is important to learn all that you can about the loan before you take it out.
Be a Wise Consumer
The final way to meet your obligations is by being a wise consumer. Look to purchase things as inexpensively as possible. Many stores offer generic items that are very similar. You also need to try and only buy what you need, rather than buying everything that you simply want.
How about you all? What key thing do you do each month to ensure that you meet your monthly obligations? Have you ever had trouble getting a loan when you needed one?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/44/30/2443013_dc85e2f0.jpg
4 Good Income Ideas Aimed At Web Based Workers
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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 $46.95 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is April 30th, 2012.
The following is a guest post from Missy Diaz, who owns Frugal Quack – a frugal blog dedicated to living more with less and creating self-styled web income opportunities. Enjoy!
If you want to work from home and/or aspire to be a web-based worker, then I have a few good income ideas for you. However, do not think for one second that any of these fields are an easy or quick buck – as they are not.
To work from home requires an astounding amount of discipline, organization, and dedication. It’s not for everyone, and the best way to find out if it’s right for you is to simply try it out. If you’re currently unemployed, volunteer to work for someone you know that offers web-based work. Assuming you have skills that can translate to the web, this is what you would be initially offering. However, below, I have four additional ideas you can try on for size that can pay well if your skills are commensurate and you know how to market yourself.
1. Facebook Timeline Designer –
There’s no denying the power and reach of Facebook, and for these two reasons and more, businesses (of all size and scopes) are looking to establish, manage, and grow their Facebook profile. With this in mind, one of the primary areas of growth within this niche sector is the Facebook Timeline.
If you’re handy with Photoshop or any other web design software – you could make a killing, designing good Facebook Timeline covers. How well you do will depend on how creative and or clever you can design for businesses and how you well you convey the importance of your awesome service.
You can charge a flat fee for the cover, an additional smaller fee for the profile photo, and even add in extras like designing the custom image tabs. Or, you can create a special package such as this; Get A FREE Custom Profile Photo with Your Timeline Cover Design – all for $299, $49, $199 or whatever amount you wish to charge. Or, you can “Bundle It” such as this: For only $29 more, we will design all three of your Facebook Timeline elements; including a Custom Timeline Cover, Profile Photo and Custom Image Tabs.
2. Writing for Small Business Blogs Locally –
Many times, when we’re looking for clients or work, we think first to go online. But, why not reverse this and instead go offline? Your local business community needs you now more than ever. They need a website, they need a blog, they need writers, and so on. If you’re a writer, why not start a local blog writing service – wherein you update the blogs of businesses locally. This could be your local plumber, local restaurants, an accountant, dry cleaner, and so on.
You would have to pitch to the small business owner how you can take this load off their hands and how awesome it would be to direct this “saved time” on other aspects of their business. They key here is to have a laser focused approach and to not be a jack (or jane) of all trades, but instead specify how you write for LOCAL businesses in your area.
3. Social Media Manager –
Social media has completely exploded in 2012, and there’s no letting up anytime soon in this medium. Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus, and Pinterest are enough to make a small business owner hurl with confusion and dismay as he or she tries to keep up. There’s no way on Earth a successful and busy business owner can possibly keep up with all these social media accounts on a daily basis or any kind of a regular basis. That’s where YOU come in to take the load off and make it easy for them. Offer your services as a reliable, trustworthy, and competent social media manager. If you’re social media savvy in one or more of the platforms, then now is a great time to help out your small business owner friends. They need it.
4. Email Marketing Assistant –
This piggybacks off of social media marketing manager above, except it works with email marketing. There’s a certain science to online email marketing that is elusive to some business owners. So, if you have garnered an impressive email list of your own via your blog or website, this is prime fodder for reaching out to others who need this help. Whatever tricks you have learned or gleaned from your own successful email marketing campaigns can now be put to good use – as a profitable service to others. There’s a big (but quiet) revolution going on right now with web work and online income opportunities, that if you don’t wake up and smell the coffee – you won’t reap the rewards.
Hope this list has ignited a massive fire under your belly (and rump) and you see the potential that lies in front of you. Go stake your claim.
How about you all? What web-based ideas have you tried out to earn a little extra income?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of Missy from Frugal Quack.
Totally Money Blog Carnival – April 23rd, 2012 Edition
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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 $46.95 giveaway for a chance to win 5% of My Personal Finance Journey blog income and give another 5% to a charity of your choosing! Deadline to enter is April 30th, 2012.
Welcome personal finance fans to the 64th (April 23rd, 2012) edition of the Totally Money Blog Carnival, a weekly carnival that includes the top personal finance and money posts.
Listed below are the top 3 articles of this week’s submissions!
Top 3 Editor’s Picks
1. Emily presents The Slippery Slope of Separate Money posted at Evolving Personal Finance.
2. SFB presents Birth Control for the Financially Frugal posted at Simple Finance Blog.
3. Daisy presents Start Off On The Right Foot: Tips for Interns Or Newbies in General posted at Add Vodka.
Listed below are the best of the rest! Enjoy!
Amanda presents Mileage Deduction for Volunteering, Moving and Medical Expenses posted at My Dollar Plan.
Sandy presents 4th Annual Earth Day Is My Birthday Giveaway posted at Yes, I am Cheap.
Ashley Lennon presents Why Having Guts is Key to Saving Money posted at Skint in the City.
Roger the Amateur Financier presents Celebrating the End of Tax Season posted at The Amateur Financier.
Mike Collins presents Will Generation X Be Ready For Retirement? posted at Wealthy Turtle.
eemusings presents From checkout operator to NZ’s most eligible bachelor posted at Musings of an Abstract Aucklander.
Everything Finance presents 5 Ways to Pay Down Your Debt without Living Like a Monk posted at Everything Finance.
JB presents Mint Review posted at My University Money.
Glen Craig presents Do You Have to Pay Tax on Airline Miles? posted at Free From Broke.
Echo presents 10 Fees That Are Worth The Money posted at Boomer & Echo.
Cash Flow Mantra presents How to Make a Grand Per Month with a Home Daycare Business posted at Cash Flow Mantra.
Steve presents Frugal or Self-Sufficient? posted at Brip Blap.
Ray presents 10 Ways to Lower Your Water Bill posted at Squirrelers.
Jeremy presents Establishing Spending Priorities posted at Modest Money.
Philip Taylor presents 10 Alternative Online Job Search Sites posted at PT Money Personal Finance.
FMF presents The Two Ways To Track Financial Success posted at Free Money Finance.com.
Mike Piper presents How Much Do I Need to Save Per Year? posted at Oblivious Investor.
PK presents Mega Millions Expected Value Calculator posted at Don’t Quit Your Day Job.
Pam Whitlock presents Raising Charitable Kids & Teens posted at The MoneyTrail Blog.
SB presents Basics of Insurance: Why we Need Insurance? posted at One Cent at a Time.
Steve Zussino presents How to save money with Tankless Water Heaters posted at Canadian Personal Finance.
Miss T. presents It’s Harley Time, but Is It Worth the Cost? posted at Prairie Eco Thrifter.
Dan presents What Makes an ETF Tax Efficient? posted at ETF Base.
Jon the Saver presents Avoid Starbucks and Make your Own Gourmet Mocha Coffee! posted at Free Money Wisdom.
MR presents Are You Trying to Become Financially Independent? posted at Money Reasons.
Shaun presents 10 things Entrepreneurs can learn from watching Ghostbusters: Top Ten Family Finance Posts #6 posted at Smart Family Finance.
krantcents presents The 3 L’s of Success posted at KrantCents.
Jeffrey presents Famous Money Movie Moments and Lessons with Video! posted at Money Spruce.
101 Centavos presents Building Raised Garden Beds, Part 1 posted at 101 Centavos.
Ashley presents Ask the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau posted at Money Talks Coaching.
FG presents Why Are Environmentalists Against North American Oil & Gas? posted at Financial God.
Jen presents Having Only One Car Saves Us Money-Even Though it Sucks posted at Master the Art of Saving.
Jason presents Should I Sell My Wife’s Wedding Ring? posted at Work Save Live.
A Blinkin presents Should You Sell Your Timeshare? posted at Funancials.
Don presents Saving Money By Negotiating Health Care Costs posted at MoneySmartGuides.
Jeremy Waller presents 5 Reasons to Keep Your Credit Report Up To Date posted at Personal Finance Whiz.
Kyle presents It’s Raining Cash! We’re Giving Away $550 bucks…. posted at The Penny Hoarder.
Princess P presents Why Females are Better Investors posted at Portfolio Princess.
KT presents Save Hundreds of Dollars a Year by Making These Four Drinks at Home posted at Personal Finance Journey.
Daniel presents You’re Emancipated From Paying Taxes…At Least For A Few Days posted at Sweating the Big Stuff.
Tushar presents Types of Common Stocks posted at Start Investing Money.
YFS presents Stop paying your mortgage today!… and be a victim! posted at Your Finances Simplified.
Kevin presents What If I Don’t File My Taxes On Time? posted at Thousandaire.
Debt Guru presents Use Incentives to Pay off Debt posted at Debt Free Blog.
PITR presents Is Passive Income only for the Rich? posted at Passive Income To Retire.
John presents Debt Payoff Calculator – How to Use One posted at Married with Debt.
Sustainable PF presents Public Service Compensation – The Next Bubble? posted at Sustainable Personal Finance.
Steve presents Our Bangkok Budget posted at Money Infant.
Amanda L Grossman presents Guests are Coming: Does the Entertainment Book or CityPASS Offer More Savings? posted at Frugal Confessions.
Suba presents Give Yourself Financial Hope posted at Broke Professionals.
TRL presents Why Investing in Real Estate Takes Time posted at The Retired Landlord.
Crystal presents We Found Our Dream Home!!! posted at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff.
Wayne presents The Price of Being Organized posted at Young Family Finance.
Hank presents Benefits Of High Deductible Health Insurance Plans posted at Money Q&A.
The Planner presents What is Rich? What does it Mean? posted at Provident Plan.
Aloysa presents Save Money by Shopping in Pawn Shops posted at My Broken Coin.
Eddie presents Tools to Boost Small Business Growth posted at Finance Fox.
Sean presents Gym Memberships – Using Money to Motivate You posted at One Smart Dollar.
Lazy Man presents Money Rules by Jean Chatzky Reviewed posted at Lazy Man and Money.
Money Cone presents In Pursuit of the Most Rewarding Rewards Card posted at Money Cone.
MMD presents How to Buy an Index Fund posted at MyMoneyDesign.
Also, if you are interested in hosting an upcoming edition of the Carnival, take a quick look at the hosting schedule and requirements, and then click here to sign up for an open slot. It takes a little bit of work, but hosting carnivals is a great way to meet new people in the blogosphere! I’d highly recommend the process to all bloggers!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.lehmannmansion.com/uploads/dd/04/dd047d68df946ca2ef6b16fccf947902/from-Mary-Hill-BethMarkCar-in-Front.JPG
$46.95 Giveaway – Community and Charity 10% Monthly Blog Income Give Back # 7 – April 2012 Edition
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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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The 10% give back giveaway fun rolls on for the month of April!
In case you missed the first six editions of the 10% Blog Income Give Back, after doing some thinking at the beginning of October 2011 about what direction I want this blog to grow and evolve towards in the future, I decided that any income made from this blog would have more significance to me at a personal life values level if I knew that a portion were being given back to the following places:
- 1) The readers – Obviously, without you here to read my articles and interact with my ideas, there would be no blog in the first place (let alone blog income). As such, it is only fitting that you receive a portion of any blog income.
- 2) Charitable organizations – If you’ve read my blog before, you know that I’m a big believer in donating a portion of my money to charity. Each year, I donate between 5-10% of my income to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society as part of the Bike for MS fundraiser that I do. Beyond the good that is done by donating your money, getting used to contributing to charity is also a good practice to emulate the actions of affluent individuals (T. Harv Eker discusses this in his book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, which I would definitely recommend reading if you have a few hours).
Because of these considerations, I’ve decided that each month going forward, I’m going to give away 10% of my net (after-tax) blogging income/profit to My Personal Finance Journey readers (5%) and to charity (5%). Listed below is how the process will work:
- After each calendar month passes, I’ll tally up my net blog income and determine what Dollar value correlates to 10%.
- I’ll post the giveaway (similar to this post you’re reading now), and you’ll have approximately 2-3 weeks to enter.
- Once the giveaway is over, a grand prize winner will be announced, and then I’ll donate another 5% of my blog income to a charity. Once the giveaway entry window ends, I’ll send out the money to the blog reader winner(s) and personally drop off the charity donation.
- So far, I’ve been very happy with the success of the first 6 editions of the 10% income give back. Read on below for some of the details:
- In October, $205 total was given away, with $100 being donated to the charity, GreenPeace.
- In November, $201.40 total was given away, with $100 being donated to the charity, The Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. If you’re interested, you can view the details of me going to drop off the check at the Food Bank by clicking here.
- In December, $74.52 total was given away, with $38 given to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Blue Ridge. You can view the details of the donation drop by clicking here.
- In January, $196 total was given away, with $96 given to the Sexual Assault Resource Agency. You can view the details of the donation drop by clicking here.
- In February, $141.20 total was given away, with $70 given to the Blue Ridge Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
- In March, $64.51 total was given away, with $30 given to the Blue Ridge Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
- $46.95 total blog income to give away – $25 to a My Personal Finance Journey reader and $21.95 to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society – Blue Ridge Chapter.
- $25 in the form of one prize available to one reader as follows –
- 1) Grand Prize = $25 Amazon Gift Card or $25 cash via PayPal.
- It’s been very fulfilling developing a relationship with the local chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society through the MS150 fundraising bike ride I do each year.Click here to see the details for the 2012 edition of the ride I’ll be doing! I look forward to continuing to raise money for their efforts.
How to Enter the Giveaway – Deadline to Enter is Midnight, April 30th, 2012
Like last month, I’ve decided to use the RaffleCopter giveaway management tool to handle sign-up facilitation for the April giveaway, so simply go through the steps listed in the widget below to enter the running for the prize and accumulate entry points.
There is no limit to the amount of points you can earn. If you refer 10 subscribers – your name will have accumulated 170 entry points! Or, if you link to the giveaway more than once, you can accumulate those 7 entry points multiple times. You can also retweet the giveaway and/or share other My Personal Finance Journey articles via social media sites once per day. In the event of a tie, I will be using a random number generator to select the winner.
Important instructions: After you complete an entry method, make sure to click and fill out the “I Did This” or “Enter” button in the widget so that I have a record of your points.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
<a href=”http://rafl.es/enable-js”>You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway</a>.Remember, the deadline for entries will end at midnight on April 30th, 2012 (about 2 weeks from today – the start of the give back). Good luck to you all! Please contact me if you have any questions. After the deadline for entries passes, the winner (one with the most points accumulated) will be contacted via email to receive their prize.
Don’t Fall For These Scams
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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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The following is a guest post. Enjoy!
Telemarketing Scams
Identity Theft
Advanced Fee Scams
To protect yourself from this, make sure you know the business you’re dealing with is reputable, and that you fully understand the agreement you are getting into. Be wary of dealing with people you’ve just met, or are online and you can’t verify them for sure. A good resource for this is the Better Business Bureau, which can help you identify legitimate and illegitimate organizations.
How about you all? Have you ever been a victim of any of these scam artists? If so, what happened? If not, what steps do you take to protect yourself?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://s0.geograph.org.uk/photos/17/85/178556_c5fe07d0.jpg
How to Live a Frugal Life Without Being Cheap
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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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The following is a guest post by Andrew Schrage. Andrew lives frugally in Chicago and runs Money Crashers Personal Finance, where he works to spread the message of financial fitness to readers. Enjoy!
When people think of “frugality,” the word cheap automatically comes to mind. They envision uncomfortable households with no lights on, no TV, and barren of all creature comforts. In reality, that’s just not true. With the current state of the economy, being frugal is actually very much en vogue.
In fact, there are a variety of ways to save money every day that don’t involve a change in lifestyle, taking out payday loans, and won’t make you look cheap in front of your friends:
1. Electricity
There are plenty of ways to save on utilities without setting your thermostat at 80 degrees in the middle of summer. For example, whenever you leave a room, there’s often no good reason to leave the light on. And if no one is watching television, why is it still on?
Finally, if you have a guest bedroom that is only used sparingly, why are the alarm clock, television, and table lamp plugged in? Even turned off, but plugged in, these devices drain electricity and increase your bill. In a nutshell, you can cut costs just by changing simple everyday habits around the house.
2. Water
When you’re brushing your teeth or shaving, is the water wastefully running down the drain? Turn it off and rinse with a cup. Do you water your garden or flowers in the middle of the afternoon? If you switch to early morning or late at night, you won’t have to water as much. Do you drink lots of bottled water? Get a water filter instead. It’s more convenient and better for the environment.
3. Television
If you currently have a TV package that includes three movie channels and you consistently watch movies on each one, then by all means, don’t change a thing. However, if you can eliminate at least one, do it. Next, analyze your viewing habits. There are probably 10-15 channels you watch on a consistent basis. Look into all available channel packages and see if you can go down a notch or two. Better yet, take a look at these reasons to cancel cable and stop watching TV altogether, and see if they resonate with you.
4. Gas
Whenever I drive my usual routes, I pass close to six gas stations. A few years back, I surveyed these gas stations and found that the price differential in a gallon of gas was almost fifteen cents. So if I drive 15,000 miles per year and the car I drive gets 20 MPG, I can save more than $100 just by changing where I get gas. Of course, this approach only makes the most sense if you don’t have to go out of your way – thereby wasting time and gas money – to get cheaper gas.
5. Clothes
When it comes to clothing, I’m typically looking for two things: quality and price. You most definitely can save in this area, and you won’t look silly during your next night out. Consider discount clothing retailers, such as Ross or Kohl’s, pay attention to seasonal sales, and watch the savings roll in. These stores and others like them offer a variety of mid- to high-level clothing lines at rock bottom prices. And, if you time their coupons with their in-store sales, typical of extreme couponing, you can multiply the savings even further.
6. Groceries
If you don’t like the thought of having your friends and family see a fridge full of generic food items, don’t worry. There are lots of ways to save without going generic (although that is a great idea). The next time you’re entertaining, rather than pick up a pre-made cheese and veggie tray, do the work yourself. And find other low-cost recipes that you can serve as well.
I am always more impressed by freshly prepared food at a party than the pre-made variety – it tastes better and I can tell that my friends put more thought into their spread. Plus, switching to a fresher diet in general allows you to save more money on groceries, and you’ll live a healthier lifestyle as well.
Final Thoughts
With any monthly household expense, such as gas, cable TV, cell phone, or Internet, you should always do one thing: Investigate the competition. In most of these industries, competition is high, and there are often great teaser deals out there just waiting for you.
But in order to do this, you’ll need to stay free and clear of all contracts. I try to jump from one provider to the other regularly, and most transitions are seamless and have little to no effect on my daily life. But if that seems like too much effort, simply employ a few of the strategies above and save yourself hundreds of dollars annually. Chances are, you won’t notice a thing.
How about you all? What are some other strategies you employ to save money without sacrificing your lifestyle?
Share your experiences by commenting below!
***Photo courtesy of http://www.public-domain-image.com/cache/objects-public-domain-images-pictures/money-bills-public-domain-images-pictures/money-coins-pictures/penny-cents-copper-lincoln-coin-macro_w725_h544.jpg
Biggest Threats to Getting Out of Debt
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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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The following is a guest post written by Eliza Collins. Enjoy!
Coming Up With the Money
Discouragement
Your Family’s More Immediate Wants and Needs
Lack of Support From Friends
***Photo courtesy of http://s0.geograph.org.uk/geophotos/02/08/74/2087496_4db93dd0.jpg
Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #230 – March 30, 2012
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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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Carnival of Financial Planning – Edition #230 – March 30, 2012
Welcome to the March 30, 2012 Edition #230 of the Carnival of Financial Planning!
The Carnival of Financial Planning takes a long-term view of personal financial planning for individuals and families. The focus is on efficient and sustainable personal financial planning practices that can lead to lifetime financial security.
This edition is arranged by subject heading, so that you can browse efficiently.
Enjoy!
Budgeting and Economics
Justin presents What Should You Try Before You Take Out a Loan? posted at Budget Snob, saying, There are some situations in which taking out a loan is appropriate, such as buying a house or a car. However, in other situations, loans may not be the best choice. Before you take out a loan, its important to look at your options.
Chris presents The Recession Generation posted at Experiglot, saying, We really are the recession generation.
Tim presents 5 Business Lessons Learned from Monopoly posted at Faith and Finance, saying, Monopoly is good family fun and all, but its also a crash course in business. Here are 5 business takeaways you can learn from the old game Monopoly.
Janet presents Living expense tracking methods posted at Independent Financial Planner , saying, ” Many people do not track their living expenses and do not understand the magnitude of their consumption. Failure to monitor your consumption expenditures means that they are flying blindly regarding their future finances. “
Darwin presents The REAL Inflation Rate posted at Darwin’s Money , saying, Most Americans feel the government inflation numbers aren’t representative of the real inflation they see year to year. Here’s your solution.
Financial Planning
Craig Ford presents The Unpopular Truth About the Dangers of a Dave Ramsey Only Approach to Christian Finances posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, “Christians should consider paying attention to other financial authors as well.”
Jeffrey presents Can We Stop Gushing Over Our Self-Affirming Financial Bull? posted at Money Spruce, saying, Did the title make you uncomfortable or defensive? Good, it’s probably not new news to you that everything likes to read things that simply back up what they already think and do. Finances are no different. We like to have all the answers, and we like to be on the right track. Sure, there are little tweaks here and there but not too much to rock the boat.
Dave presents Passive Investing – Active Investing – Alpha Returns posted at Wall Street Nerds , saying, ” The Old Testament of indexing is Burton Malkiel’s classic A Random Walk Down Wall Street, first published in 1973 by W.W. Norton and now in its ninth edition. For typical individual investors, without special access to information, it offers what is likely the best financial advice they will ever get: It is hard to consistently beat the market, especially after fees. A passive strategy will do better in the long run. “
Philip Taylor presents We Finally Completed Our Last Will and Testament, Living Will, and Durable Power of Attorney posted at PT Money Personal Finance, saying, Discusses our personal estate planning, as well as our choice to pay a lawyer versus using a website such as Legal Zoom.
Jen presents Make Money While Drinking Beer? posted at Master the Art of Saving, saying, I started thinking about it – can you really make money while drinking beer? Yep, I’ve decided that it is quite possible for somebody to make money while drinking beer– though most of these things can also been done by sober people.
Shaun presents What to Do If You are in a Car Accident posted at Smart Family Finance, saying, While being a party to a car accident might be outside your control, knowing what to do after a car accident will help keep you safe and potentially avoid you legal headaches down the road.
TSI presents Where’s Waldo? – The illusion of superior professional mutual fund manager performance. posted at Skilled Investor Blog , saying, ” If investment mutual fund managers were truly skilled at beating the market, then you would expect mutual fund manager performance prowess to persist over time. Unfortunately, the evidence indicates that superior past professional performance among mutual fund managers tends not to persist. Past superior mutual fund performance is simply not a predictor of future superior mutual fund performance. “
Everything Finance presents 7 Fun Ways to Teach Children to Save posted at Everything Finance, saying, Creativity is a child’s bread and butter, so why not use that to your advantage to teach them about saving money? These clever tips are ideal for teaching your child how to make smart money decisions.
Kevin presents Would You Destroy An Entire Industry? posted at Thousandaire, saying, If you invented something that would benefit consumers immensely but would destroy an entire industry at the same time, would you release your product?
Eddie presents How Do We Measure Success? posted at Finance Fox, saying, Here’s my two cents. Singularly education, money, cars and the circle of friends do not measure ones success. Success is measured with a combo of all the above four.
Income
Corey presents How To Make A Killing As A Bar Server posted at Bar Whiz Blog, saying, Although a tight fitting tank top and a pair of orange short-shorts won’t hurt, showing skin is not the only way to make a killing as a server. Following these “tips”, anyone can make a surprising long-term income from serving.
John presents Wage Slavery and Money Myths posted at Married with Debt, saying, Wage slavery, for some, is an everyday reality. For others, there’s no such thing and work is a pleasure.
MR presents Can A Side Blogging Business Help You At Your Primary Job posted at Money Reasons, saying, Can working at a blogging side business help you at your employed day job? I think so and here is my story.
Daniel presents Salary vs Commission: Which Do You Prefer? posted at Sweating the Big Stuff, saying, Do you like working for commission? Do you prefer a salary? There are several compensation options and each has it’s own advantages and disadvantages.
Insurance and Risk
Paul Vachon presents Saving Money on Home Insurance posted at The Frugal Toad, saying, There really are no secrets to saving money on home insurance. The trick is to include evaluating your insurance needs as a part of your yearly financial review. Most individuals don’t do this and are losing out on potential savings. Here are some of the best ways to save money on home insurance:
Investing
Kanwal presents The Biggest Investment Mistakes Canadians Are Making posted at Simply Investing, saying, I was recently interviewed for this article by Cindy Waxer she writes for publications including Technology Review, The Economist, TIME, Fortune Small Business, and CNNMoney.com. Have a look. ManyCanadians are falling short of their investing goals.
Boomer presents Pros and Cons of Holding Your Mortgage in Your RRSP posted at Boomer & Echo, saying, One investment that is eligible to be held in your RRSP is your mortgage. You need to have enough cash, or assets that can be converted to cash, and hold your mortgage in a self-directed RRSP. You then make your mortgage payments to the RRSP instead of a financial institution.
Bobby Boughton presents Is it Better to Invest or Pay off Debt? posted at ReadyForZero Blog, saying, Ah the age old question: Is it better to invest or pay off debt? This article goes through a few scenarios and helps you decide which is the better route to go.
Dividend Growth Investor presents Does entry price matter to dividend investors? posted at Dividend Growth Investor, saying, “The reason for the lost decade in stocks is that many otherwise quality companies were overvalued in the early 2000s. For example Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) was trading at 29.30 times earnings in early 2000, whereas McDonald’s (MCD) traded at 26.90 times earnings. Even some of the best dividend stocks are not worth paying more than 20 times forward earnings.”
Teacher Man presents ETF Investing Low Maintenance and Stellar Returns posted at My University Money, saying, So the big day is finally here and we are ready to unveil our eBook the world. A huge thanks goes out to all of the great help Ive had building and marketing the eBook! Without further ado.
Mike presents What You Need To Know About ETF Investing posted at The Dividend Guy Blog, saying, Everything you need to know on the topic.
Managing Debt
Steve presents 10 Things You Can Do to Get Out of Debt Starting Today posted at Money Infant, saying, Are you always wondering why you can’t get off the debt treadmill and live a satisfying life without constant money worries? 10 things to help get out of debt
Martin presents Do You Know Who Has Your Credit Card Number? posted at Studenomics, saying, The scary possibility of credit card fraud.
Real Estate
A Blinkin presents Should Homeownership Still Be The American Dream? posted at Funancials, saying, This was initially a guest post I wrote for Sam at Financial Samurai. Let me know what you think. There have been numerous studies performed over the years which clearly outline the social benefits of homeownership. In the mid-2000’s it was nearly impossible to argue against the advantages of owning a home.
Little House presents Are Homeowners Really More Credit Worthy than Renters? posted at Little House in the Valley, saying, Aren’t I, the renter, the more stable consumer than the homeowner who couldn’t afford a home to begin with?! Don’t my years of rental payments count for something! Why is it that rental payments aren’t factored into credit worthiness and therefore counted towards my score?
Glen Craig presents What is Mortgage Amortization and How Does it Work? posted at Free From Broke, saying, People get confused when they hear the term Mortgage Amortization. Don’t be. It’s not that confusing. See what mortgage amortization is and how it works.
Retirement
FMF presents Determine Your Retirement Number posted at Free Money Finance, saying, The first step in determining how much money you will need to save for retirement is to answer a few basic questions about your future. If you can answer these six questions accurately then your retirement savings number will also be accurate.
Madison presents Unveiling The Retirement Myth: Book Review posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, There are so many books about saving, investing, and building your portfolio, that it is rare to find a good book about spending down your portfolio, or the distribution stage. The book Unveiling The Retirement Myth by Jim Otar does a great job on explaining the distribution stage, in detail, with actual numbers.
Savings
N.W. Journey presents Start Planning and Saving for the Holidays Now posted at Networth Journey, saying, “Discover why now is the best time to save for the holidays.”
Ashley presents Saving For College; How to do it and why you shouldn’t feel guilty for not posted at Money Talks Coaching, saying, Saving for college is a huge task. Not only does the cost rise faster than inflation you have a very short time frame in which to save.
Kyle presents How to Save 10 Percent on Your Grocery Bill Without Cutting a Single Coupon posted at The Penny Hoarder, saying, If you’re someone who won’t use coupons or you’re somebody who uses coupons, but wants to save even more, I’ve got an unconventional way to cut the grocery bill.
Taxes
Cash Flow Mantra presents Update on Income Tax Situation posted at Cash Flow Mantra, saying, For those of you who might be unfamiliar with this part of my financial life, I owe some money to the IRS, and it is not just a little bit. I had to come up with another plan which involved borrowing money from individuals so I could avoid paying more taxes plus a nasty penalty on funds withdrawn from a retirement account. Yes, I am a little like Greece and kicking the can down the road, but I think that things will be getting better.
Money Cone presents Handling Royalty Trusts in Turbo Tax posted at Money Cone, saying, If you own Royalty Trusts in a tax-deferred account, you can skip the tax preparation step and unlike MLPs, owning Royalty Trusts in your 401K or IRAs wont trigger the dreaded UBTI. But if you happen to own them in a taxable account, be prepared to spend some time doing the tax math for each Royalty Trust you own.
Super Saver presents Where’s My Refund? posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Despite getting a refund this year, I have not filed and therefore know why I haven’t received a refund. However, for many that have filed, their refunds have been delayed.”
That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Financial Planning using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.