Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 9 – Side Hustle and Career Groups – Posts 1-8

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 9th Stage (the first Stage of the 2nd Round of the event, featuring posts from the “Side Hustle” and “Career” groups category of articles submitted) of the 2013 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).

We greatly appreciate Debt Free Direct for being the title partner of the 2013 event and for all their great support. If you’re interested in learning more about the help and advice Debt Free Direct offers to people in debt or their money-saving tips on how to prevent building up debt, click here.

A Quick Reminder On Prizes For The 2013 Competition

The 2013 edition of the Tour de PF will be doubly exciting because we have some very nice cash prizes to give away to the winner and also to charity to continue helping the community.

These will be as follows:

• Yellow Jersey (1st Place) Winner of the 2013 Tour de Personal Finance will receive $100 cash via PayPal.
• In addition, the Yellow Jersey Winner will also get to decide what charity they want me to donate $700 to in honor of their efforts/victory. 

To view the most up-to-date brackets of the competition, click the following link – 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket

Going along with Tour de France cycling tradition, I’ve listed each competition within each stage as an “intermediate sprint” (one post versus another) along with the description provided by the blog author when the post was submitted.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) 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:

Voting will continue until July 7th for this Stage!

Intermediate Sprint #1

• Earning Quick Cash – Ways to Earn $100 in a Day Legally Without Investment (Cash): Various tips to earn quick cash in a day without investment. This article is a compilation of bloggers feedback and lists ways to earn $100 in a day legally and without a single penny of investment.

VERSUS

• Think Like An Entrepreneur (Think): Having the mindset and thinking like an entrepreneur is the #1 key to success in life.

Intermediate Sprint # 2

• Confessions of a Professional Blogger: Why I Don’t Have High Paying Freelance Jobs (Confessions): I’ve been raising my rates, but I’m still not in the “big money” range as a professional blogger. Here’s why I don’t have high paying freelance jobs.

VERSUS

• How to Become Self-Employed Like These Top Bloggers (Bloggers): Everyone dreams of becoming self-employed sometimes.  These top bloggers did it!  Hear their stories and see how they set themselves up for financial success post-employment.

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continues today with Stage 6, a flat stage taking the riders 110 miles from Aix-en-Provence to Montpellier. I’ll be sure to bring an update on the race results once it finishes in the Sprints later tonight. Thanks!

***Photo courtesy of http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8127/8756035817_8df9a09690_o.jpg

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 8 – Lifestyle Group – Posts 61-64

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 8th Stage (featuring posts from the “Lifestyle” category of articles submitted) of the 2013 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).

We greatly appreciate Debt Free Direct for being the title partner of the 2013 event and for all their great support. If you’re interested in learning more about the help and advice Debt Free Direct offers to people in debt or their money-saving tips on how to prevent building up debt, click here.

A Quick Reminder On Prizes For The 2013 Competition

The 2013 edition of the Tour de PF will be doubly exciting because we have some very nice cash prizes to give away to the winner and also to charity to continue helping the community.

These will be as follows:

• Yellow Jersey (1st Place) Winner of the 2013 Tour de Personal Finance will receive $100 cash via PayPal.
• In addition, the Yellow Jersey Winner will also get to decide what charity they want me to donate $700 to in honor of their efforts/victory. 

To view the most up-to-date brackets of the competition, click the following link – 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket

Going along with Tour de France cycling tradition, I’ve listed each competition within each stage as an “intermediate sprint” (one post versus another) along with the description provided by the blog author when the post was submitted.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) 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:

Voting will continue until July 6th for this Stage!

Intermediate Sprint #1

• Is Money the Only Measure of Success? (Success): An all time favorite, this article reminds readers of what’s really important. Money offers freedom and the ability to buy things and experiences. Learn the secret to true wealth and grasp how to define what success is for you.

VERSUS

• 10 Wealth Creation Habits (Habits): Saving is great, and so is making money.  But the bottom line is creating WEALTH, and this post shares 10 tips on how to increase wealth.

Intermediate Sprint # 2

• 10 Things I Don’t Get (Things): Do you ever wonder why people do things that, to you, are the same as flushing money down the toilet? Here’s my list of ten time and money wasters.

VERSUS

•  Key to Saving Money is Controlling Impulse Spending (Impulse): Impulse spending can wreck your finances and prevent you from saving money for other things like retirement. By learning how to identify the triggers for impulse purchases you can limit their impact on your ability to save money!

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continued today with Stage 5, a flat stage taking the riders 142 miles from Cagnes-sur-Mer – Marseille. As expected, the Stage ended in a bunch sprint, with the number one sprinter in the world, Mark Cavendish, taking the win! Way to go Mark!

***Photo courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Mark_Cavendish_2011.jpg

Which Money-Saving Smart Phone Apps Do You Use?

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Kelly Gurnett. Kelly runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don’t matter and focus more on the things that do. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

In today’s world, there’s little our smartphones can’t do.

They help us stay on task, stay connected, and stay amused while waiting at the doctor’s office. (I don’t care how many times I’ve played Scramble With Friends; it’s still addicting!)

But, are you using your phone for all it’s worth? Is it saving you as much money as it’s saving you time and energy?

If not, you’ll want to check out these great apps that can help you cut back in all sorts of ways:

Shopping/Coupon Apps

Grocery iQ. (iPhone and Android). Turn your grocery list digital by searching for items or scanning the bar code of items currently in your pantry. Grocery iQ lets you arrange items by store layout for quicker shopping, save frequently bought items for easy addition to future lists, search for matching coupons, and synchronize lists across multiple devices. (Husband has just used the last of the milk? He can just update the list on his phone, and you’ll see it even as you head down the aisles!)

Grocery Pal. (Get iPhone version here and Android version here.) If you’re the sort that likes to make multi-store runs to snag whichever items are cheapest at different stores, this is the app for you. It scans local grocery stores and mass retailers for current specials. You can either shop by store or, if you already have a list prepared, see where each item on your list is the cheapest.

Apples2Oranges. (iPhone only.) One thing savvy shoppers know is that to find the best price for an item, you’ve gotta look at the unit price. That “value-sized” bottle of detergent may actually cost more per ounce than the smaller bottle that’s on sale. If you’re lucky, your store will put the unit price in the upper corner of the price card on the shelf. But if they don’t, this app’s got your back. (For a similar app for Android devices, try the A2A Unit Price Calculator.)

RedLaser. (iPhone and Android.) When your shopping consists not of food but of things like clothes, toys, and other goods, RedLaser helps you comparison shop much like Grocery Pal. Simply scan an item’s barcode, and you’ll see where you can find it at the best price (be it at a physical store or online). You’ll also see if any deals are currently available for the item.

CardStar. (Get iPhone version here and Android version here.) De-bulk your wallet by importing all of your store loyalty cards right into your phone. You can scan the cards’ barcodes with your camera and then have the cashier scan the bar code on your phone at checkout, instead of fumbling through stacks of rewards cards.

Dining Apps

Foursquare. (iPhone and Android.) Sure, it’s fun becoming the “mayor” of somewhere, but did you also know that Foursquare can snag you some good deals? The more you check in at your favorite places, the more deals and specials you’re likely to get, like a free appetizer at your local bar pub or a percent off coupon code.

KidsMealDeals. (iPhone and Android.) Let’s face it; eating out with kids can be expensive, even when they order off the kids’ menu. This handy app lets you check local restaurants for kids’ meal specials or kids eat free days based on the day of the week.

Happy Hours. (Get iPhone version here and Android version here.) For a more adult bent, this app shows you what food and drink specials are going on in your area and also gives you extra details to help you decide which place to choose: menus, amenities, and reviews by users who can vote for their favorite hot spots.

Dining Deals. (Android only.) Check out which area restaurants are currently offering deals, set up alerts for deals from your favorite places, even share deals with friends through text or email. (For a similar app for iPhone devices, try BiteHunter.)

Miscellaneous

GoodRX. (Get iPhone version here and Android version here.) You may not have realized prescription drug costs can vary from pharmacy to pharmacy, but they can—and this app can help you find where your meds are the cheapest (even with insurance).

GasBuddy. (iPhone and Android.) Hate it when you fill up the tank only to discover the station down the road has gas for a lower price? This app helps avoid that frustration by showing you the current prices at various area pumps. (Prices are reported by users, and each time you report a price, you earn points towards prize giveaways.)

C*Mobile Craiglist Client. (Android only; iPhone version has recently been removed from iTunes.) Okay, so apps are great for retail shopping, but you’re on your own for your weekend garage sailing, right? Not necessarily. With this app, you can see local Craigslist listings, get directions, and even communicate with posters.

How about you all? What other money-saving apps are on your must-have list? Do you use any of the ones listed here?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of www.flickr.com/photos/54450095@N05/9070772122/in/photolist-ePy5wN-v8Qw2-e9EcFQ-HBv9b-4U21qC-b75Gxn

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 8 – Frugal Living and Lifestyle Groups – Posts 57-60

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 8th Stage (featuring posts from the “Frugal Living” and “Lifestyle” categories of articles submitted) of the 2013 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).

We greatly appreciate Debt Free Direct for being the title partner of the 2013 event and for all their great support. If you’re interested in learning more about the help and advice Debt Free Direct offers to people in debt or their money-saving tips on how to prevent building up debt, click here.

A Quick Reminder On Prizes For The 2013 Competition

The 2013 edition of the Tour de PF will be doubly exciting because we have some very nice cash prizes to give away to the winner and also to charity to continue helping the community.

These will be as follows:

• Yellow Jersey (1st Place) Winner of the 2013 Tour de Personal Finance will receive $100 cash via PayPal.
• In addition, the Yellow Jersey Winner will also get to decide what charity they want me to donate $700 to in honor of their efforts/victory. 

To view the most up-to-date brackets of the competition, click the following link – 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket

Going along with Tour de France cycling tradition, I’ve listed each competition within each stage as an “intermediate sprint” (one post versus another) along with the description provided by the blog author when the post was submitted.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) 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:

Voting will continue until July 6th for this Stage!

Intermediate Sprint #1

• 5 Ways to Save Money and Energy without Even Trying (Ways): This article is a grass-roots message reminder to all those who want to save energy AND money but who do not understand how fundamentally simple this can be. Some of these recommendations are so simple many do not realize the level of their efficacy. Key secrets to saving both energy and money include implementing the simple steps first and this is where most people fail. The importance of this article shines among many that confuse with verbose technicality. Our energy industry has made several advances that many folks simply have not had the time to catch up on.It is important when trying to relay strategies like these, not to bore at length, and give the people what they want and need, short concise actionable effective tips. We feel this article does precisely that!

VERSUS

• Wine Retail Price Dispersions: A Closer Look into Wine Economics in the United States (Wine): Have you ever gone to a store to purchase wine one day and it’s a certain price, then go to buy the same wine in a different store later and you notice it is a few dollars more expensive?  Why is it that wine prices are so variable from shop to shop in the United States? This post dissects recent research into what creates these differences and how price dispersion is able to persist in the US market.

Intermediate Sprint # 2

• Make Life Better For Yourself: Change Your Attitude (Attitude): Your life is pretty much a reflection of your attitude to it, so if your life isn’t going as well as you would like, it’s possibly time to check your attitude. Attitude determines how we view the world; so a bad attitude will make you see the problems in any situation, including ones that don’t exist. Have you noticed than when you feel good, the world around you seems good too? Conversely, when you feel low or in a bad mood, everything seems to go wrong with your day. This shows you how important your attitude is, in making your life better for yourself.

VERSUS

• 10 Simple Ways to Suck at Life (Life): Ever wanted to know exactly what you need to do to make sure you fail at everything? Ever wanted to know what do to the exact opposite of to succeed? It’s all right here, in these handy, easy to follow, steps.

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continues today with Stage 5, a flat stage taking the riders 142 miles from Cagnes-sur-Mer – Marseille. I expect it to end up with a bunch sprint at the finish line. The Stage is going on right now, so I’ll be sure to bring everyone an update when the last of the 1st Round posts go live later tonight. Thanks!

***Photo courtesy of http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8503/8407195687_c54d338a8d_b.jpg

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 7 – Frugal Living Group – Posts 53-56

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 7th Stage (featuring posts from the “Frugal Living” category of articles submitted) of the 2013 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).

We greatly appreciate Debt Free Direct for being the title partner of the 2013 event and for all their great support. If you’re interested in learning more about the help and advice Debt Free Direct offers to people in debt or their money-saving tips on how to prevent building up debt, click here.

A Quick Reminder On Prizes For The 2013 Competition

The 2013 edition of the Tour de PF will be doubly exciting because we have some very nice cash prizes to give away to the winner and also to charity to continue helping the community.

These will be as follows:

• Yellow Jersey (1st Place) Winner of the 2013 Tour de Personal Finance will receive $100 cash via PayPal.
• In addition, the Yellow Jersey Winner will also get to decide what charity they want me to donate $700 to in honor of their efforts/victory. 

To view the most up-to-date brackets of the competition, click the following link – 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket

Going along with Tour de France cycling tradition, I’ve listed each competition within each stage as an “intermediate sprint” (one post versus another) along with the description provided by the blog author when the post was submitted.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) 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:

Voting will continue until July 5th for this Stage!

Intermediate Sprint #1

•  Financial Lessons Learned from The Bachelor (Bachelor): I’m a fan of the TV show, The Bachelor, on ABC. After a few episodes, I realized that  not only is the show about finding love, it can teach us about investing, debt and general personal finance as well. So what financial lessons has The Bachelor taught you?

VERSUS

• Five Sneaky Ways To Save Hundreds When Selling Your Car (Car): We all typically understand negotiating tactics needed to sell your car for the most money possible. But, there are also other more sneaky ways to save money when selling your car such as delaying maintenance, delaying your next loan payment, or even showing up with an empty gas tank. How far will you go to get the most out of your old car when it is time to sell it?

Intermediate Sprint # 2

• I Make $100,000 And Live Paycheck To Paycheck (Paycheck): It’s hard to make $100,000.   What’s even harder is figuring out how to manage it so you keep more of what you make.   More and more, the lifestyles of American families tend to expand to match their incomes.  This is why although we have highest average wage earners in the history of our country, we have more and more people who make six figures and sadly spend it all.   How has it become so difficult to live on what used to be considered a wealthy income family.  Find out more . . . .

VERSUS

• Why It May Cost You More When It’s Free (Free): We’re all dazzled by the word “free,” but have you ever stopped to think about the costs tied to getting something for free? Free shipping or free items when your purchase reaches a certain dollar amount is great–if you’re already planning to spend that amount of money, but when you’re not? And what about all of the extra “free” stuff you’re collecting that you really don’t need? There’s psychology behind our strong urge to get something for free–even if we don’t need it–and there are ways we can combat our irrational thinking.

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continued today with Stage 4, the team time trial. It was a very short event at only 15 miles, and due to a strong head-wind, there weren’t any real dramatic gaps or surprises. The Orica Greenedge Team pulled out a 1 second gap in the end over the Quick Step team to win the stage. Because the time gaps were so close going in to the Stage, the winner of yesterday’s Stage, Austrailian Simmon Gerrans of Orica Greenedge, got to pull on the Yellow Jersey!

Early Retirement Risks – And How to Prepare for Them

The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, Kevin Mercadante, who is a professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of his own personal finance blog, OutOfYourRut.com. He has backgrounds in both accounting and the mortgage industry.

Millions of people hope to enjoy the benefits of early retirement.

It’s opportunity to change the course of your life, from a career focus to one is based on taking on new challenges while kicking back a bit. But, early retirement is not a risk-free proposition. Below are some of the risks you could face in early retirement, plus some strategies to help you deal with them.

A major stock market decline

Since 2000, we’ve had two major stock market declines, so this is more than just a remote possibility. If you retire sometime in your 50’s, the likelihood of a major decline or even a crash is even higher since your retirement portfolio will need to cover more years.

Diversify your investments. The best protection against a major decline in stock prices is to have at least some of your money invested outside the market. This will become even more important as you get older. If 50% of your money is in stocks, and the other 50% is in fixed income investments, and the market sustains a 50% drop, your portfolio will only lose 25% of its value (50% of the half is invested in stocks).

Keep some non-retirement investments. What can really hurt retirees in a major stock market decline are the twin siphons of falling equity values, and withdrawing money from your portfolio for living expenses. You should have some investments held outside of your primary retirement portfolio that you can tap during a major market decline. Not only will that keep you from drawing down on a declining portfolio, but it will also prevent you from having to sell off positions at the bottom of the market.

Have backup job or business skills to fall back on. At the extreme, you may need to spend some time earning a living in order to offset the losses you have taken in your portfolio, particularly if they have been severe. And you can also use employment income to help you avoid taking withdrawals from your retirement plan during the market decline.

Inflation

Inflation is a major threat to retirement, particularly for an early retiree. We all know what inflation has done over the past 30 years, now imagine that you retire at 55 and will need to provide for yourself for the next 30 years. It can get messy.

The “seek withdrawal rate”. Loose theories have shown that if you withdraw no more than 4% per year of a portfolio that is invested largely in the stock market, then you’ll never run out of money. This is because the average annual rate of return on stocks has been in the 8% range for the past 100 years.

Continue investing in stocks. Since inflation will always be a threat to your portfolio, you will not have the luxury of moving all or even most of your money into fixed income investments. Even as you move into your 60’s and 70’s, you’ll need to have a substantial amount of your portfolio invested in stocks. Long-term, growth is the best remedy for inflation.

Look to inflation sensitive investments. There are certain investment classes that tend to thrive in periods of high inflation. Stocks related to energy and precious metals are the historic front-runners. These will merit consideration in the event inflation begins to heat up.

Health insurance before you’re old enough for Medicare

If you retire prior to age 65, health insurance will be an issue. You’ll become eligible for Medicare when you turn 65, but you’ll need to provide for your own health insurance if you retire at an earlier age.

The Affordable Care Act is taking effect right now, and though the details are unclear, there is some evidence that the bill will go a long way toward helping people over 50 obtain more affordable health insurance. There is even an alleged breaking point at age 57 – that is the age at which you get the price benefit that will be paid by younger contributors to the system.

But, since we don’t know yet how the Affordable Care Act will play out, you have to consider other options.

Take a catastrophic health plan. This will keep your monthly premiums to a minimum. You might take a deductible of say $10,000, which you can offset by having an equal amount of liquid assets. The important thing is that you will have coverage for medical disasters that might threaten your financial position.

Take a part-time job with health insurance coverage. There are companies (Starbucks and Target among them) that offer health insurance for part-time employees. But another benefit of the Affordable Care Act is that under the law, employers will have to provide health insurance coverage for any employee who works a minimum of 30 hours per week. This is not a perfect solution to the health insurance dilemma, but it can be an option if maintaining a private plan will be too expensive.

How about you all? If you are planning for early retirement, have you considered any of the above risks? If so, what are you doing to address them?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/7027606047/

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 7 – Frugal Living Group – Posts 49-52

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 7th Stage (featuring posts from the “Frugal Living” category of articles submitted) of the 2013 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).

We greatly appreciate Debt Free Direct for being the title partner of the 2013 event and for all their great support. If you’re interested in learning more about the help and advice Debt Free Direct offers to people in debt or their money-saving tips on how to prevent building up debt, click here.

A Quick Reminder On Prizes For The 2013 Competition

The 2013 edition of the Tour de PF will be doubly exciting because we have some very nice cash prizes to give away to the winner and also to charity to continue helping the community.

These will be as follows:

• Yellow Jersey (1st Place) Winner of the 2013 Tour de Personal Finance will receive $100 cash via PayPal.
• In addition, the Yellow Jersey Winner will also get to decide what charity they want me to donate $700 to in honor of their efforts/victory. 

To view the most up-to-date brackets of the competition, click the following link – 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket

Going along with Tour de France cycling tradition, I’ve listed each competition within each stage as an “intermediate sprint” (one post versus another) along with the description provided by the blog author when the post was submitted.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) 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:

Voting will continue until July 5th for this Stage!

Intermediate Sprint #1

•  It Pays to Have Your Small Claims Case on a Court Television Show (Television): Court reality television shows love to arbitrate stereotypical cases to get their paid audience members in an uproar (like the snot-nosed teenager who takes his friend’s car for a joyride and crashes or the girlfriend who cheated on her boyfriend and his credit card). It turns out that these people we love to giggle at might just be smarter than the rest of us. If you are willing to have your case tried in front of a national audience (not to mention people like Judge Judy), then read on to find out the rewards that await you.

VERSUS

• 8 Ways to Save Money While Saving the Earth (Earth): There are few things more important to the future than saving money, except for saving the planet.  Luckily for all of us, it’s not always a choice between spending more money or doing more damage to Earth.  Sometimes, it’s possible to save money and the planet at the same time, without even adding any further stress to your life.  This blog entry provides several techniques to do just that, getting a start on living a frugal, eco-friendly lifestyle with just eight easy methods.

Intermediate Sprint # 2

• Americans Think You Need How Much Money To Get By?!? (Think): Apparently, Americans think a family of four NEEDS $58,000 to get by in today’s world, and I think that is outrageous. Why? Americans have lost sight of what is a need versus what is a want. Granted, everyone will strive for nicer versions of needs, but those nicer versions are wants. The base model is the need. People are out of touch.

VERSUS

• Could You Live on Minimum Wage? (Wage): 4.4 Americans live on minimum wage. SPENT is a game designed to show the tough choices made everyday by the working poor.

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continues today with Stage 4, the team time trial! It should be the first big challenge for the contenders for overall victory.

I’ve really been enjoying my “all access” subscription to viewing the Tour de France on NBC Sports. It was only $29.99, and has already provided me with HOURS of entertainment! haha You can watch the Stages live as they happen, or go back and view completed Stages if you missed something!

***Photo courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/61/1984_Olympics_-_100k_Team_Time_Trial_(USA_team).jpg

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 6 – Saving and Psychology Groups – Posts 45-48

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 6th Stage (featuring posts from the “Saving/Investing” and “Psychology of Money” categories of articles submitted) of the 2013 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).

We greatly appreciate Debt Free Direct for being the title partner of the 2013 event and for all their great support. If you’re interested in learning more about the help and advice Debt Free Direct offers to people in debt or their money-saving tips on how to prevent building up debt, click here.

A Quick Reminder On Prizes For The 2013 Competition

The 2013 edition of the Tour de PF will be doubly exciting because we have some very nice cash prizes to give away to the winner and also to charity to continue helping the community.

These will be as follows:

• Yellow Jersey (1st Place) Winner of the 2013 Tour de Personal Finance will receive $100 cash via PayPal.
• In addition, the Yellow Jersey Winner will also get to decide what charity they want me to donate $700 to in honor of their efforts/victory. 

To view the most up-to-date brackets of the competition, click the following link – 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket

Going along with Tour de France cycling tradition, I’ve listed each competition within each stage as an “intermediate sprint” (one post versus another) along with the description provided by the blog author when the post was submitted.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) 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 3: Mutual; Sprint 4: 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:

Voting will continue until July 4th for this Stage!

Intermediate Sprint #3

•  Build Your Own Berkshire with Dividend Paying Stocks (Dividend): Warren Buffett is the greatest investor of all times. Few realize that he is a closet dividend investor, because he buys assets that produce excess cash flows. These excess cash flows provide him with the capital to invest in more income generating assets, thus snowballing his net worth exponentially. Dividend stocks deliver a rising stream of rising passive income, which makes them ideal for investors who need to live off their portfolios and for those who want to emulate Buffett’s success in investing.

VERSUS

• My Life Insurance Mistake (Mistake): Get an inside look at my encounter with the seedy underbelly of the life insurance sales world. Learn from my mistakes so that when the time comes you can avoid getting suckered into a bad deal.

Intermediate Sprint # 4

• 7 Habits of Wealthy People (Habits): Have you ever wondered what it takes to be wealthy? If you want to be rich then you need to imitate successful people. Here are 7 habits of wealthy people that will help you start building wealth today!

VERSUS

• Why Your Mind Wants To Make Bad Financial Decisions (Decisions): There is actually a psychological trigger that motivates you to make bad financial decisions, and everyone is affected. In this post, we brought in psychological expert Sophia Dembling to get a better idea of the trigger that actually suppresses logic and reason, and pushes you in the wrong direction.

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continued today with Stage 3, taking the riders 146 km from Ajaccio to Calvi on the island of Corsica.  It was another medium-mountains stage, with a 60-rider peleton coming to the finish line together. Sprinter Simon Gerrans took the Stage’s sprint only a half-wheel ahead of famous sprinter Peter Sagan to win the Stage. Since the whole peleton came in together, the winner of yesterday’s Stage, Jan Bakelants, holds on the Yellow Jersey in to the team time trial tomorrow around Nice. Should be fun!

I’ve really been enjoying my “all access” subscription to viewing the Tour de France on NBC Sports. It was only $29.99, and has already provided me with HOURS of entertainment! haha You can watch the Stages live as they happen, or go back and view completed Stages if you missed something!

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 6 – Saving-Investing Group – Posts 41-44

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 6th Stage (featuring posts from the “Saving/Investing” category of articles submitted) of the 2013 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).

We greatly appreciate Debt Free Direct for being the title partner of the 2013 event and for all their great support. If you’re interested in learning more about the help and advice Debt Free Direct offers to people in debt or their money-saving tips on how to prevent building up debt, click here.

A Quick Reminder On Prizes For The 2013 Competition

The 2013 edition of the Tour de PF will be doubly exciting because we have some very nice cash prizes to give away to the winner and also to charity to continue helping the community.

These will be as follows:

• Yellow Jersey (1st Place) Winner of the 2013 Tour de Personal Finance will receive $100 cash via PayPal.
• In addition, the Yellow Jersey Winner will also get to decide what charity they want me to donate $700 to in honor of their efforts/victory. 

To view the most up-to-date brackets of the competition, click the following link – 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket

Going along with Tour de France cycling tradition, I’ve listed each competition within each stage as an “intermediate sprint” (one post versus another) along with the description provided by the blog author when the post was submitted.

Also, if applicable, I will give a brief description of the stage of the Tour de France that took place the same day as (or that has happened since the previous Stage of) 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:

Voting will continue until July 4th for this Stage!

Intermediate Sprint #1

• Why an Early Start Makes All the Difference  (Early): I started to work, save and invest early, and it has allowed me to retire from the corporate world at age 29. This post shows how important it is to get an early start in your finances, and how much it would cost you to get to the same point if you start 5 or 10 years later. If you are off to a late start and should have started yesterday, it is not too late to get on track, but today is the best day to take control of your finances.

VERSUS

• What I Learned From a Lost Purse (Purse): Have you ever lost anything important? Recently my wife lost her purse and it was a brief nightmare for us! I believe that you can learn useful things from basically anything, so these are the lessons I learned from that lost purse.

Intermediate Sprint # 2

• My Best Financial Tip (Tip): The best financial tip I received was given to me by my father.  In his teens, my father worked long hours after school and on weekends to help support his parents and family.  Without any formal financial training my father learned the value of a dollar very early on because funds were so scarce.  When you grow up with more brothers and sisters than digits on both hands you learn how to be frugal faster than most.  Read on to learn about the greatest financial tip I ever got and how it can be essential for your financial future.

VERSUS

• Are We Headed For Another Great Depression? (Depression): America’s economy has been struggling for nearly five years now, and there’s a division among experts and laypeople alike as to whether this is a crisis that we’re on our way out of, or if the worst is yet to come.  Are we headed for the 21st century version of the Great Depression?  How would we know if we were?  What are the warning signs?  And what would happen to America if another large scale depression hit our shores?

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continues today with Stage 3, taking the riders 146 km from Ajaccio to Calvi on the island of Corsica.  It’s another medium-mountains stage today, so it should be exciting! I’ll be sure to bring an update on the completed action when the other Stage 6 sprints go live later tonight.

Mid-Year 2013 Blogging and Personal Goal Setting Check-In and Progress Update

Back in January of this year, I laid out some personal goals for my life in general and blogging goals for My Personal Finance Journey for the 2013 year.

As I experienced in 2012, (click the following link to view my 2012 blogging goals and year-end progress updates) by tracking these goals periodically, it provides me with more accountability and visibility to what I am doing and where I want to go with this community/blog and in my life. As such, the purpose of this post is to review how I’ve been doing so far in 2013 in reaching the aims I set up for myself.

As far as life goes from a personal and blogging perspective, the first half of 2013 has been very successful in my opinion. As usual, graduate school has taken quite a bit of time/effort, and as such I wasn’t able to spend quite as much time on my blog (and we’ll most likely see this reflected by a good number of Not on track status updates below). But, such is life I suppose, so I’m not too disappointed about it all!

I’ve really been glad during the times that I’ve gotten busy with graduate school to have a solid group of staff writers to continue producing top-notch content. However, in the madness of it all, I have had some time to do around 5-10 back-test/historical pricing analyses to analyze the various asset allocation components that I employ.

So, here goes! An update on my progress so far in 2013 for my blogging and personal goals, with updates highlighted in bold text below. This should be fun!   

The blogging goals for 2013 were as follows:

• Get to bed at midnight or earlier.
  • On track. Been doing very well at this! I don’t seem to have the energy to stay up until 2am every night anymore! haha
• Take 1 day off per week (Saturday or Sunday) completely from doing work on my blog or from my graduate research job to keep my mind feeling more “fresh.”
  • More or less on track.
  • Instead of taking an entire day off each weekend, I’ve been focusing on getting out and doing a big bike ride once per weekend. Afterwards, I generally am pretty tired, so even though I might answer a few blogging emails or do a few things, I don’t work all that much. 
• Become better at following the Getting Things Done email/work flow management system to focus my time and energy on high value projects first and avoid distractions.
  • On track. 
• Hike or bike ride 1 time per week with a group.
  • On track. I’ve been doing quite a few 4-5+ hour rides recently on the weekend! 
• Do a bike race if my Achilles starts to feel better.
  • My Achilles has been feeling better, but I haven’t felt the need to do a real bike race yet. I’ve just been enjoying doing it recreationally on the weekend. 
• Hike more with the Charlottesville Hiking Group.
  • I have not been doing this very much since I’ve been biking a lot.
• Read one personal finance book per month.
  • On track. 
• Go backpacking one time per month in warmer months.
  • Now that it’s summer, I’ve started to think about doing this soon! 
• Take a trip out-of-town 1 time per month. Visit sister’s new home in Raleigh. Visit one of the beaches in Virginia.
  • Not on track. As usual with the biological/cell-based nature of my experiments in graduate school, it’s been hard to get totally out of town during the weekends.
• Learn how to build a group speaking business.
  • Have not done. 

How about you all? How have you been progressing on your personal/professional goals you set for yourself in 2013?