Category Archives for Blogging

First Comment Sharing Your Favorite Charity Gets The Organization $34.84 – Community and Charity 10% Monthly Blog Income Give Back # 28 – January 2014 Edition

The 10% give back giveaway fun rolls on for the month of January. Can you believe we’re already in to a New Year?!

In case you missed the first 27 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 a summary of the results we’ve achieved together thus far through this give back effort:

• After each calendar month passes, I’ll tally up my net blog income and determine what Dollar value correlates to 10%.
• So far, I’ve been very happy with the success of the October 2011 – December 2013 give backs. Listed below is a summary of what we’ve accomplished so far with the give back effort.
  • Current total given to charity = $2,347
  • Current total given to blog readers = $1,078 

How to Give $34.84 to Your Favorite Charity Today!

Since business was a little slower in December with everyone getting ready to head out for the holidays, I’ve decided to throw a little variety in to how I do this month’s give back.

Instead of getting entries over a 2-3 week period, here’s how it will go:

The first person (and only the first person) to comment on this post stating the information below will have $34.84 donated to their favorite charity:

1) What their favorite charity is (my one requirement is that they have to accept online donations via PayPal or credit card), and

2) Why they like this charity

Let the fun begin!

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/a03575/3632344397/sizes/l/

Reader Profile – Emily from Urban Departures

Today, in the ongoing Reader Profile Series, we’re getting to know MPFJ.com reader and commenter, Emily, from the site, Urban Departures. Let’s all give Emily a big round of applause for sharing her life with us and listen to her story. Enjoy!

Also, if you’re interested in sharing your own financial story/journey with us in a reader profile of your own, just shoot me a quick email, and we can get the ball rolling!  

1. Please Tell Everyone a Little Bit About Yourself (Background, Education, Family Situation, etc).

Our story begins in our second year of university. A boy sat next to a girl in fluid mechanics class and asked to copy her homework. While I don’t recommend that as a pick-up line, it worked in this particular boy’s favor. A decade later, the girl and boy have been married for five years, traveled to over 17 countries together, and have a little toddler following them around.

Yours truly was born and raised in Toronto and a city girl through and through. Daniel was born raised in three countries but acts like he’s from a small town. I like fashion, art and design, and making the space around me pretty. He’s into all things geeky, like Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Battlestar. The little one likes cars, pasta and the Hokey Pokey.

We both grew up in modest middle class families who valued the importance of hard work. They sacrificed to support and provide the best for their families. We were taught to never spend more than what was earned, to live below our means, and to avoid debt like the plague. Their lessons were valuable and it paved the way for a better standard of living for us. We left university with a pair of engineering degrees. My parents paid for my education and I was debt free. Daniel, on the other hand, had $30K in student loans. With a frugal lifestyle, we paid off the loan within a couple years post-graduation, saved enough to cover our wedding and put a down payment on a condo. We both work at large firms and make decent salaries that allow for everything we need and more. Other than our mortgage, we have no outstanding loans.

Urban Departures was born of our desire to leave behind a consumer mentality and set our sights on pursuing things of personal importance. We live a blessed life, and we want to be better stewards of our money and learn to manage it wisely. We want to be able to save and spend in a way that aligned with our values: to live simply, serve a community and create memorable experiences.

2. Describe Your Current Financial Situation (Who Works in Your Family, How Your Income Is, Your Expenses, etc).

Daniel works in oil and gas industry while I’m in environmental consulting. We enjoy the work and find it rewarding despite working in the corporate world, confined to our cubicles.

We live in a big city by choice. We love the conveniences of the City- arts and culture within a public transportation ride away and a gazillion restaurants serving authentic ethnic food within walking distance- but the expenses add up quickly. 80% of our monthly budget goes towards our expenses with the majority going towards our mortgage and daycare (as a reference, daycare in the area averages $1600/month).

The arena of personal finance is chalk full of those diligently working their way out of debt and those further along in the journey skillfully balancing their portfolios. We’re right in the middle- out of debt but naught a clue when it comes to investing for the future- and looking to chart our path forward. We plan to educate ourselves in the area of personal finance and pass along our findings, successes and failures in our writing.

3. What Are the Current Financial Challenges You Are Facing (Saving, Paying Off Debt, Student Loans, Merging Finances After Being Married, etc)?

One of our main challenges is saving for a bigger home- a house with enough yard for a small vegetable, please. We currently live in an 850sqft condo that suits our needs but will become a bit of a squeeze if a second little one decides to show. Housing in Toronto is as much as 85% overvalued when compared to rental rates; townhomes in our area, for example, start at $700k. We’ve reduced our mortgage amortization from 25 years to 10 years but will most likely be taking on more debt when we decide it’s time for an upgrade.

Our biggest financial difficulty is striking the right balance between spend and save. On one end of the scale we’re looking to cut expenses without eroding our current standard of living. On the other end, we want to increase our rate of savings to reach financial independence earlier. Part of our current solution is to use our allowances and to buying things at retail value.

4. What Are Your Plans for the Future (Retire Early, Build Your Career, etc)?

For the near future, we’re looking to further our careers. Our work stretches and challenges us and allows us to learn and grow. But as much as we find value in our careers, we hope to one day pursue other ambitions. If we play our cards right- be diligent with our savings and invest wisely- early “retirement” is certainly achievable.

I daydream about living in a small farmhouse in France and painting in my vegetable garden. Daniel wants to play soccer, make music and contribute to humanitarian efforts. Baby, even though he doesn’t know it yet, is training to be an astronaut surgeon, a real-life Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. We haven’t fully defined our plans- they seem to evolve as we grow- but we are set out to live an adventure. And travel, of course- we love to travel.

5. What’s Your Best Piece(s) of Financial Advice and/or Your General Philosophy on Personal Finances?

Define values. Identifying values gives clarity and focus. These values lay a foundation on which it’s possible to confidently make decisions and goals, including financial ones. Should I buy the Chanel lambskin quilted clutch or should I put the money towards a travel fund? Should you buy a 4 bedroom house for your family of 2 or settle for a smaller place and save more? Only you can decide what is important.

Make time. Life is busy. After a hard day at work and the endless rounds of singing “ye-wo suma-ween” (The Beatles), the last thing I want to do is read about portfolio diversification. But, in order to be good at anything, we need to first invest the time to develop the skills required to succeed. In short, spend the time to learn how to manage money; this will determine the steps needed to achieve your financial goals.

$98.40 Giveaway – Community and Charity 10% Monthly Blog Income Give Back # 27 – December 2013 Edition

The 10% give back giveaway fun rolls on for the month of December!

In case you missed the first 26 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 that winner will then select what charity they’d like to have 5% of my blog income sent to. 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, if possible.
• So far, I’ve been very happy with the success of the October 2011 – November 2013 give backs. Listed below is a summary of what we’ve accomplished so far with the give backs.
  • Current total given to charity = $2,298
  • Current total given to blog readers = $1,028 

Details of December 2013 10% Blog Income Giveaway

How to Enter the Giveaway – Deadline to Enter is 11:59 PM, December 31st, 2013

Like previous months, I’ve decided to use the RaffleCopter giveaway management tool to handle sign-up facilitation for this 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 10 entry points multiple times. You can also 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

Remember, the deadline for entries will end at 11:59 PM, December 31st, 2013 (a little over 3 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.

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/comedynose/9972164896/sizes/m/in/

Reader Profile – Robert from Beat the 9 to 5

Today, in the ongoing Reader Profile Series, we’re getting to know MPFJ.com reader and commenter, Robert, from the site, Beat the 9 to 5. Let’s all give Robert a big round of applause for sharing his life with us and listen to his story. Enjoy!

Also, if you’re interested in sharing your own financial story/journey with us in a reader profile of your own, just shoot me a quick email, and we can get the ball rolling!  

1. Please Tell Everyone a Little Bit About Yourself (Background, Education, Family Situation, etc).

My name is Robert Farrington and I’m the owner of The College Investor and Beat the 9 to 5.  I’m passionate about helping young people be smart about their finances, specifically when it comes to investing and getting out of student loan debt.  This really comes from my own situation.

I hustled through my undergraduate education by working full time and doing odd jobs.  This helped me avoid student loan debt.  I also went back to get my MBA, but only did it because my employer paid for it.

In my day job, I’m a retail manager.  I love my job and the people I work with, but being in retail is tough on my family.

I’m married and my wife and I just celebrated the birth of our first child.  This has led me to my next goal in life – beating my nine to five job to become a full time entrepreneur.

2. Describe Your Current Financial Situation (Who Works in Your Family, How Your Income Is, Your Expenses, etc).

I would describe our current financial situation as being in a massive saving phase to achieve two closely related financial goals.  Goal one is to make enough money for my wife to stay home with our baby.  Goal two is to have enough to retire by 35.  Not that we will retire, but we want to have enough to be able to.

A third goal, but not totally financial, is to be able for me to work from home on my entrepreneurial endeavors.

Right now, both my wife and I work full time, and I also side hustle.  You can find out more about my side hustle income by reading my Income Reports.

For our expenses, our biggest expense is our house, since we live in Southern California.  Beyond that, we enjoy dining out, and then the baby.  My biggest surprise in my expenses was that the baby was relatively cheap – so many bloggers talk about kids being expensive, but I haven’t found that to be the case.

3. What Are the Current Financial Challenges You Are Facing (Saving, Paying Off Debt, Student Loans, Merging Finances After Being Married, etc)?

The biggest challenge we’re currently facing financially is to make enough to support my wife not working.  The goal is to be able to live off of my income and my side hustle income so my wife can stay home.

A part of this is that we don’t want to cut expenses.  Instead, we want to grow our income.  So, the biggest thing that is going to define our success is whether I can continue to grow my side income.

4. What Are Your Plans for the Future (Retire Early, Build Your Career, etc)?

The key plan for the future is for my wife to stay home in the next 18 months.  Then, within 7 more years, be able to have enough to retire.  The way we are going about this is by maxing out our savings.

We max our IRAs and our 401ks each year, but we also invest in a taxable account.  The reason for this is that if we do retire early, we can’t really touch our retirement accounts without paying a penalty.  So it makes sense for us to stash money away in a traditional brokerage account as well.

5. What’s Your Best Piece(s) of Financial Advice and/or Your General Philosophy on Personal Finances?

My general philosophy on saving money and investing is that you have to pay yourself first, and you have to hustle.  Nobody in this world will take care of you better than you will take care of yourself.  This means saving a lot, being mindful of your expenses (but at the same time understanding the choices you make with your money and what you value), and being self-sufficient.

I don’t plan on anyone – a company, the government, etc. – to take care of me when I’m older.  We’re saving now to be well off later.  We have a lifestyle we want to live, and understand that this requires money.  We like a bigger house in Southern California.  We like to vacation in Hawaii.  We don’t want to change that.

Instead, we build our financial lives around achieving these goals and priorities.

Reader Profile – Dojo from Dojo Blog

Today, in the ongoing Reader Profile Series, we’re getting to know MPFJ.com reader and commenter, Dojo, from the sites, Dojo Blog and ByDojo. Let’s all give Dojo a big round of applause for sharing her life with us and listen to her story. Enjoy!

Also, if you’re interested in sharing your own financial story/journey with us in a reader profile of your own, just shoot me a quick email, and we can get the ball rolling!  

1. Please Tell Everyone a Little Bit About Yourself (Background, Education, Family Situation, etc).

I’m a 35 year old woman, who studied to become a teacher, worked for 10 years as a radio DJ and for the past 4 years is running her own business in web design (a passion that’s been consuming her since 2002). In my case, life proved that you won’t always end up as you planned, but you can still make it, if you’re open to change and willing to work.

On a personal level: I recently got married (we’ve been together for 11 years) and have been pregnant for 6 months, expecting a baby girl (which is exactly what I wanted, so it makes me feel happy and lucky at the same time).

2. Describe Your Current Financial Situation (Who Works in Your Family, How Your Income Is, Your Expenses, etc).

Back in 2009, both me and husband remained jobless.

I lost my job when the radio station closed down and he gave up his job, after seeing the work conditions weren’t as good as before and after getting sick and tired of having everybody take advantage of him. He’s a civil engineer and it’s been really hard for him lately with many construction sites and all the stress from such a job.

We relied on some of his savings, plus he sold some of his coins (he has a pretty nice collection), while I also started freelancing full time as a web designer and taking it more seriously than before. It wasn’t too easy, but we did manage it. I was also in debt (paying for my car), but the payments stopped in March 2012, when my car was paid off completely.

After 3 years of extensive travels (staying in NYC for 6 months at our friends), we decided to become ‘family people’ and he opened a business in the city (he’s doing the heating system’s mandatory 2 year checks – as they are here in Romania). It was pretty costly to set up (the gas analyzer and having him / the company certified cost us quite a lot), not to mention it’s slowly picking up speed, but it’s still OK.

We can live comfortably from my income and he’s also bringing money as much as he can. We’re both debt free and plan on keeping it that way.

Our income is around $30K/year, which is pretty OK for my country. We do pay a lot in business taxes and the regular expenses (mostly his side of the business, since he needs all kids of certifications), but are still left enough money to live comfortably and also save some money.

3. What Are the Current Financial Challenges You Are Facing (Saving, Paying Off Debt, Student Loans, Merging Finances After Being Married, etc)?

The biggest challenge now is to have our girl come to this world (I’m paying for my birth at a private clinic and it’s pretty expensive for the regular income here) and be well prepared for her. We also wouldn’t want to stop traveling (even if not for 6 months at a time) and need to save money for immediate emergencies and also for our retirement.

The retirement/pension system here is almost ‘dead’, so we’ll probably live on the money we saved only. Not such a great perspective, but we’ll make it.

I’m not 100% thrilled with our savings at this moment, but it’s true we did have many things to take care of. My pregnancy also cost us quite some money, but it will be soon over and we can get back to a more predictable budget.

4. What Are Your Plans for the Future (Retire Early, Build Your Career, etc)?

In both our cases, the goal is now to grow our small businesses. He needs to get more clients (which fortunately started happening after 8 months of pretty small income), while I’m constantly working on building my portfolio and client base for my web design business.

I’m also trying to develop my blog and start earning some ‘residual’ income from it, too.

We’re clearly far from being able to retire, which is still OK, since we’re not that old anyway. I’d love to be able to work for many years (even after hitting the retirement age), since I love my ‘job’ a lot and don’t feel it like ‘work’ anyway. We’ll see … There’s a lot between now and those years, especially having to raise our daughter and try to provide her with a good life and education.

5. What’s Your Best Piece(s) of Financial Advice and/or Your General Philosophy on Personal Finances?

What really worked for us was to find out which things make us truly happy. For these, we always paid good money (travels come to mind), while we could save money from other things that are not important to us. We’re frugal in many aspects, but know what makes us happy and pay for it.

We also want to remain debt free and save for anything we want to own. It’s not a very easy thing to do, but with consistency and drive, we’ll make it.

One of the most important advice we can give would be to live bellow your means and NOT feel bad about it. We constantly have people tell us that  with the money we earn, we should dress like this and do that. We both have similar goals in our lives and don’t care about how ‘cool’ we look or not in other people’s eyes. What matters most for us is to build a strong financial foundation, not keep up with the Joneses.

Reader Profile – Michelle from Making Sense of Cents

Today, in the ongoing Reader Profile Series, we’re getting to know MPFJ.com reader and commenter, Michelle, from the site, Making Sense of Cents. Let’s all give Michelle a big round of applause for sharing her life with us and listen to her story. Enjoy!

Also, if you’re interested in sharing your own financial story/journey with us in a reader profile of your own, just shoot me a quick email, and we can get the ball rolling!  

1. Please Tell Everyone a Little Bit About Yourself (Background, Education, Family Situation, etc).

Hey! My name is Michelle. I am 24 and I live in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. I have undergraduate degrees in Business and Management, and I earned my Finance MBA in August of 2012. In July of 2013, I paid off $40,000 in student loans from my three degrees, and it felt awesome!

I recently left my day job, and now I completely focus on my online business. I worked as a financial analyst for over three years, and I originally thought it was for me. However, I started reading personal finance blogs and became increasingly interested in financial independence and being an entrepreneur.

Now that I am able to work from anywhere (all I need is my laptop), I have had a major travel itch. We are in the midst of planning a two month trip for 2014, and we hope to increase that in the future even more.

I live with my significant other, Wes, and we have lived together going on seven years next Spring. We have two awesome fur-children who I would do anything for.

2. Describe Your Current Financial Situation (Who Works in Your Family, How Your Income Is, Your Expenses, etc).

Most of our income comes from my business. We used to both work day jobs, but both left them this Fall so that we could start doing some extensive travel and focusing on the business. Wes plans on going back to college in 2014, and has a side job flipping classic cars for the time being.

We both used to work a ton, and definitely made a good living working as much as we did. However, we came to the realization that life does not need to be all about money. We found ourselves spending more because we were making more, and it was just a viscous cycle that we were stuck in.

Our expenses are fairly low. They are around 30% of our total income, so we are saving a good amount each month. That is good though because with freelancing you never know when you will have a bad month.

Just a few years ago, our mortgage was around 30% of our total income each month, and now it is under 10%!

3. What Are the Current Financial Challenges You Are Facing (Saving, Paying Off Debt, Student Loans, Merging Finances After Being Married, etc)?

Our current financial challenge is making sure that the business has stable or increasing income each month. With freelancing, you just never know what may happen. We are trying to save as much as we can (without sacrificing having fun in life), so that we can be prepared for anything.

Another financial challenge is saving for long-term travel. We are going on a two month trip in 2014, but we would like to do an even longer trip eventually. Traveling is expensive since we do need to pay for someone to watch our home and our dogs. I still like having a home-base.

4. What Are Your Plans for the Future (Retire Early, Build Your Career, etc)?

My plans for the future are to reach financial independence, grow my business and to have a family. I never see myself fully retiring, but I would like the option to do truly meaningful work that I care about and when I want to.

My business has been growing great as well, and I can’t wait to see where I am this time next year. We also want to have a family, although we have don’t know when. Possibly within the next few years though!

5. What’s Your Best Piece(s) of Financial Advice and/or Your General Philosophy on Personal Finances?

My best piece of financial advice would be to not give up on your goals. I know that sometimes you may feel like you will never get ahead, it may feel like you are drowning in debt, and so on. However, I do think that with hard work and a solid plan, that you can improve yourself and be better with your finances. Be realistic with your financial goals and you should be able to reach them.

Carnival of Personal Finance #438 – November 11th, 2013 Edition

$50.75 Giveaway – Community and Charity 10% Monthly Blog Income Give Back # 26 – November 2013 Edition

The 10% give back giveaway fun rolls on for the month of November!

In case you missed the first 25 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 that winner will then select what charity they’d like to have 5% of my blog income sent to. 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, if possible.
• So far, I’ve been very happy with the success of the October 2011 – October 2013 give backs. Listed below is a summary of what we’ve accomplished so far with the give backs.
  • Current total given to charity = $2,273
  • Current total given to blog readers = $1,002 

Details of November 2013 10% Blog Income Giveaway

How to Enter the Giveaway – Deadline to Enter is 11:59 PM, November 30th, 2013

Like previous months, I’ve decided to use the RaffleCopter giveaway management tool to handle sign-up facilitation for this 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 10 entry points multiple times. You can also 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

Remember, the deadline for entries will end at 11:59 PM, November 30th, 2013 (a little over 3 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.

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/50177865@N00/815

Carnival of Financial Independence – 32nd – October 12th, 2013 Edition

Welcome to the 32nd edition of the Carnival of Financial Independence, a selection of the best articles related to Financial Independence this week. If you would like to be included next week, please submit your post via Blogger Carnivals.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the great reads!

Travel and Lifestyle

Pauline @ Reach Financial Independence writes I can’t complain – I realize that I have complained a lot lately about how slow things have been and how frustrating it is to deal with Guatemalan bureaucracy and the red tape. But really, there are many reasons why I can’t complain

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes How to Get Ready (Financially) For a Baby – Now that you got the good news and are eagerly awaiting the arrival of your bundle of joy, you will soon realize that the nine month long period is never enough to be fully ready for a baby.

Mike @ Personal Finance Journey writes The Financial Benefits of Sharing a House – How sharing a house or apartment can benefit you financially and save money for bills rates and repayments.

Christopher @ This That and The MBA writes 3 Money Mistakes I’ve Made and How to Avoid Them – If y’all remember my first post here, I confessed that while I’ve never been in debt, until recently I had absolutely no credit history. While I consider that my most major money mistake, I’ve made a few more that I’m sure others could learn from.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes The Heat and the Home: Why Solar Panels Are a Good Idea – By installing a solar panel over your home, you and your family will be making a wise and morally responsible decision to be symbiotic with the natural world.

Amy @ Money Mishaps writes Are you Throwing Money Away? If You do These 3 Things, Yes – Science magazine just published a study that found that, if you are poor and also mismanage your money, it is possible that you might be able to make good financial decisions but more than likely you have trapped yourself into a vicious circle and cannot.

Lisa E. @ Lisa Vs. The Loans writes The Future You – Are you making life easier or more difficult for Future You? What things do you need to sacrifice in order for Future You to be content?

Harry Campbell @ Your PF Pro writes Is Going Green Worth It? – I’m not sure what’s so attractive about farmer’s markets but I love going just to check out all the cool vendors, sample food and of course I usually end up buying a ton of stuff. Farmer’s markets in my area have evolved from selling just groceries to all different types of products like cheeses, butter, nuts and even restaurants are getting in on the action now.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes How Denim Can Be Bad for the Environment – How we spend our money on consumable goods should match the things we are concerned about in life. The environment is one of my biggest concerns, and as such I want to do what I can to help keep it healthy. Buying well-made, American-made denim jeans is one way I can make a difference, and hopefully you can too.

Lauren @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes Budgeting an Irregular Income – How We Make It Work – Budgeting an irregular income doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems. Here are some tips for keeping it easy for you and your family.

Crystal @ Married (with Debt) writes 7 Money “Things” I’m Thankful For – Lately I’ve been bummed/stressed/anxious about money. That’s because we just finished up our first month living on only one income. My wife is/was a teacher, which means she can be paid over twelve months for work done over nine.

Eva Baker @ TeensGotCents writes Ted Talks and Ignite – Influence Your Community – Spark an idea – but make it quick! Ignite is a shorter version of the TED talk and is a great way to share ideas and influence your community!

Wealth and Passive Income

CAPI @ Creating a Passive Income writes The Importance of Knowing Your Net Worth – Most people may not necessarily know what their net worth is. Your net worth is the difference between the value of what you own and what you owe.

SBB @ Simple Budget Blog writes Balancing Act – Why Reconciling Your Bank Accounts is so Important – Balancing your bank accounts is an important part of your budget. Don’t believe us? Read here to learn why it can help you.

Matt @ Budget Snob writes Guard Your Retirement Income with these Comprehensive Tips – One sad fact that all people nearing or already in retirement have to deal with today is that income during retirement is lower than it has ever been in the last 60 years.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Why You Should NOT Calculate Retirement Income off based on Income – When calculating how much you need in retirement, you should not use your current income. Find out what you should use to be prepared.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes The 3 to 6 Month Emergency Fund – The 3 to 6 Month Emergency Fund

Jon @ Novel Investor writes Roth IRA Rules: Everything You Need To Know – The Roth IRA has its advantages. But is it a good fit for you? This guide covers everything you need to know about the Roth IRA rules and more.

JC @ Passive-Income-Pursuit writes Dividend Update – September 2013 – It was a record month of dividends that ended up covering over 27% of my monthly expenses. Building up a passive income stream is great as it just continues to build month after month and will eventually lead to that all important FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE!

Ben Luthi @ The Wealth Gospel writes How Giving Can Make Your Richer – Cites a study showing that those who give, whether money or with other means, tend to be more successful and earn more money

Anton Ivanov @ Dreams Cash True writes The Best Finance Books of All Time – This list of the best finance books is a great place to start learning more about personal finance and investing. There is so much to learn from these 10 awesome books!

Daniel @ Make Money Make Cents writes The Boom in Posh Pawnbrokers – If you watch any TV at all you have probably at least glanced at some of the myriad Pawn reality shows that have become so popular as of late. Cash poor but asset rich Americans are turning to pawn brokers for short-term loans, something that has been dubbed “high-class pawn brokering.”

Real Estate and Investing

Mrs. Accountability @ Out of Debt Again writes 6 Common Mistakes to Avoid with Annuities – Annuities are one of the most popular investments made by investors under 44 years of age.

Chuck @ The Tortoise Banker writes Protect Your ASSets and Income – Generating meaningful wealth is tough enough, doing it more than once is enough to break anyone. Follow these important tips to assure you put a buffer between the world and your income and assets.

Monica @ Monica On Money writes Government Shutdown: Everyone Needs An Emergency Fund – At this point, we all know about the Government Shutdown and how much it affects us directly and indirectly. But for now, on the positive side, this is a reminder to reflect on our own personal finances.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes The Best Ways to Start Investing While Still in College – It is never too late to start investing so you may as well start while in college; still have to do it right.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes 6 Investment Strategies to Generate Retirement Income – A guide to methods to generate retirement income with the money that you save during your life, covering things like regular withdrawals, interest, and annuities.

Holly @ Club Thrifty writes And……We’re Renting a Home – We have not found a house we want to buy….we were renting a home instead.

Brian @ Luke1428 @ Luke1428 writes Our Nightmare on Rental Street: Evicting a Tenant – Rental real estate investing offers tremendous financial benefits. One of its darker issues is dealing with tenants that refuse to pay the rent. Here are some lessons I learned by going through such an experience.

Daisy @ Suburban Finance writes Buying Your First Home – Home buying advice for buyers to follow for a successful purchase of a home.

Rich @ Growing Money Smart writes What is a Stock? – What is a stock, is one of the first financial lessons I taught my kids!

Mr. Frenzy @ Frenzied Finances writes Moving Out: When You’re Ready to Buy a Home – Home-owning can quickly turn into a nightmare when not prepared. There are several factors to consider when deciding when you’re ready to buy a home.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Mortgage Hunters: How to Find an Affordable Mortgage – Are you looking for ways to secure an affordable mortgage? It may seem daunting, but it is actually quite attainable, so long as you know where to start.

Michelle @ Diversified Finances writes Renting Out A Spare Room For Money – Have you ever thought about renting out a room in your house? We have thought about it and we currently do rent out a room in our home.

Danielle @ Saving Without a Budget writes Buying a Home? These Tips will make it Easier – Even though it is a bigger dream than ever before, home ownership is still a dream for many Americans.

Lenny @ Best Money Saving Blog writes Investments That Aren’t Really A Very Good Investment – Everyone wants to make as much money as possible with as little effort. That is not always possible of course and, when it comes to financial planning, you need to be aware that all investments are definitely not created equal.

Hadley @ Epic Finances writes As stocks approach record highs, the market is looking rather complacent – As the market nears a historic high on the S&P 500 some analysts are concerned that it is looking a bit complacent. Maybe even bored.

Lily @ Paying Debt Down writes How to Invest like an Old Pro (even if you’re a Young Amateur). – Something that your Wall Street broker never wants you to find out is that investing like a Pro is actually pretty easy. The fact is, practically anyone can put together a portfolio that’s well diversified with stocks, bonds and other investments with only a small amount of effort.

Self employment and Career

Grayson @ Debt Roundup writes When Opportunity Knocks – I had an opportunity to score a new to me Jeep Wrangler. I thought about it and ended up getting a used auto loan. There are some reasons why and I lay them out here.

Don @ Money Reasons writes Was the Removal of the Uptick Rule Stupid? – The “Uptick Rule” was removed back in 2007 after a pilot study said that no manipulations occurred.This is what the pilot study found “The general consensus from these analyses and the roundtable was that the Commission should remove price test restrictions because they modestly reduce liquidity and do not appear necessary to prevent manipulation.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes 7 Steps For Financial Success To Build A Solid Future – Achieving financial success is a great part of the American dream, but it’s not easy to do if you aren’t focused on the goal. Real financial security doesn’t come about by accident. These careful steps for financial success will help you build a solid financial future.

Jon Haver @ Pay My Student Loans writes 3 Biggest Money Mistakes Recent Graduates Make – Your student loan is the most important thing you have to worry about. It’s the worst debt you can have. Why? Because it’s non-forgivable. If you run into trouble, become unemployed or have your wages garnished for some reason, the student loan stays right where it is, and even accrues more interest, making your life even more miserable.

Lazy Man @ Lazy Man and Money writes Government Shutdown – Emergency Fund Win! – For our family a prolonged government shutdown is more financially dangerous . My wife’s military status means she has to work to pick up the slack from the government workers who are prohibited from working in a shutdown. Because the government can’t pay people in a shutdown, she’ll get IOUs from the government.

Sam @ Grad Money Matters writes Making Money on Etsy – Thinking about who your target customers is very important when thinking about how you will make money on Etsy. Advertising on young women’s blogs but your target market is grandparents is not exactly the wisest thing to do. This is most likely just wasted money since your target market most likely will never see your advertisements.

Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents writes $12,334 in September Side Income – Time for Self-Employment – I definitely reached my September goal and passed it by a good amount. September was a great month for income, and I was able to add a few new clients, and there are also a couple of new services that I am offering as well.

Natalie @ Debt and the Girl writes Building my Brand in Freelance Writing – I consider myself extremely lucky. I have had this blog for over a year and its finally a place that it making money.

Alexa @ Single Moms Income writes How to Write a Blog Post in Twenty Minutes – As a freelance blogger one of your big income factors is your speed. If you charge $20 for a blog post and it takes you an hour to complete it you’ll only make $20 an hour. If you can complete two or more blog posts in an hour you’ll easily be able to make $40 an hour or more.

Harry Campbell @ The Four Hour Work Day writes “Unpaid Vacation vs. Regular Vacation “ – One of the perks of having a day job is getting paid when you go on vacation. Most companies start employees off by giving them 2 weeks of vacation plus holidays but that never seems to be enough. A lot of employers(especially in my field: engineering) are actually starting to give an extra week around Christmas time to New Years since not much work gets done during that time anyways. So that’s about 3-4 weeks of combined vacation and holidays for the average worker.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes What Would You Do With a Financial Windfall? – As a freelance writer, I occasionally end up with what might be considered a windfall. A large project might fall in my lap, or a rush job that I can charge a premium for.

Tushar @ Earn More and Save writes 5 Ways to Earn Money on the Side – You’re busy. I get it. You want to earn extra money but don’t have enough time to dig through a pile of ideas to find the perfect one. Luckily, choosing a side job doesn’t have to be hard. You can and should do something you enjoy to bring in money on the side.

Bargain Babe @ BargainBabe.com writes Is Living at Home After College Better Than Paying Rent? – Is Living at Home After College Better Than Paying Rent? offers tips on saving money every day.

Dollar @ Easy Extra Dollar writes Start An Online Business – A successful an rewarding business can really be a dream, giving you both the ability to work from home and an income. However just like any other business, beginning an online business that will show success is going to take some effort and planning.

Cat Alford @ Budget Blonde writes The Government Shutdown and The Extreme Importantance of Emergency Funds – If you’ve been reading my blog for a few years, you might know that I was a United States park ranger before I moved to Grenada. I was an interpretive ranger, which meant that I worked at numerous sites around Richmond, Virginia creating history programs and giving battlefield tours. It was really awesome.

Saving and Simple Living

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Saving Money and Saving the Environment – Regardless of whether you feel that the global warming phenomenon is real or made up, you cannot argue that we throw away and waste a lot of stuff.

Marissa @ Finance Triggers writes Saving Money on Gluten Free Products – Gluten is wreaking havoc on diets these days. Most people think that this is a new trendy diet, and while it is not really a new ailment, but one that has been plaguing people for years.

Andrea @ So Over This writes 3 Tips for Saving Money on Your Internet – Anyone who pays for Internet knows how costly it can be to stay on top of the bills each month, especially in a society that leaves a lot of web surfing to be desired.

Bob @ Dwindling Debt writes Is there a Money Wasting Hole in your Budget? – The possibility that you have flaws or holes in your budget is actually quite high and, sort of like a leak under your sink that you do not know is there until you start smelling the stink of rotting plywood, you probably haven’t even noticed them.

Stuart Laing @ Daily Money Bucket writes The Easiest Way To Get Started Saving – Despite your best intentions, it’s really easy to delay the time when you start saving. So here’s the easiest way to get out of the rut and start saving.

Tushar Mathur @ Everything Finance writes Ideas for Cheap Halloween Costumes – Whether you’re thinking of putting together a cheap Halloween costume for your company potluck or needs some ideas for Halloween costumes for your children

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Money Doesn’t Grow On Trees: What to Do When You Need More Cash – It’s a horrible feeling when you’re short on cash but still have the household bills to pay. You’re probably starting to worry about how you are going to afford them, as skipping payments could cause irreparable damage to your credit rating. Unfortunately, money doesn’t grow on trees – but there are a few things you can do to get more cash and make it through your monthly bill cycle.

Connie @ Savvy With Saving writes How To Save At Starbucks – If I have one vice when it comes to money, it is coffee. While I try to be frugal, I still need my morning cup (or two) of coffee everyday.

Kurt @ Money Counselor writes Add $100,000 to Your Nest Egg AND Indulge Your Taste for Lattes! – I’ve discovered a way you can boost your nest egg by $100,000 over 40 years without denying yourself a single thing you can pay for with cash. A scam? Nope.

Mr.CBB @ canadianbudgetbinder writes Bust our Budget: September 2013 Budget update: Canadian Budget Binder Budget Spreadshee – Get a copy of our free excel budget spreadsheet that we use in the CBB family. Although a budget is not meant for everyone if you are serious about getting your finances back on track and want to use a simple budgeting system to get you there check this one out and see if it’s right for you. In September we spent more than we earned. Come find out why and how we handled the situation. Happy Budgeting.

Thank you for reading, have a great weekend!

-Jacob

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/zeevveez/8451896693/sizes/m/in

$109.82 Giveaway – Community and Charity 10% Monthly Blog Income Give Back # 25 – October 2013 Edition

The 10% give back giveaway fun rolls on for the month of October!

In case you missed the first 24 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 that winner will then select what charity they’d like to have 5% of my blog income sent to. 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, if possible.
• So far, I’ve been very happy with the success of the October 2011 – September 2013 give backs. Listed below is a summary of what we’ve accomplished so far with the give backs.
  • Current total given to charity = $2,218
  • Current total given to blog readers = $947 

Details of October 2013 10% Blog Income Giveaway

How to Enter the Giveaway – Deadline to Enter is 11:59 PM, October 31st, 2013

Like previous months, I’ve decided to use the RaffleCopter giveaway management tool to handle sign-up facilitation for this 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 10 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

Remember, the deadline for entries will end at 11:59 PM, October 31st, 2013 (a little over 3 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.