Category Archives for Blogging

Yakezie Carnival – September 29th, 2013 Edition!

Welcome everyone to the September 29th, 2013 edition of the Yakezie Carnival!

About This Carnival

For those of you unfamiliar with the Yakezie Personal Finance Blog Network, it is the web’s largest, most involved, and most organized group of personal finance and lifestyle bloggers. Participants in the network collaborate multiple times throughout each day on the Yakezie forums and through other mediums. You can view all of the details at the “About Yakezie” page by clicking here.

Each week, the members and challengers of the Yakezie Network submit their best articles to be featured in the Yakezie Carnival. And, today, it is My Personal Finance Journey’s honor to be the host!

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Top Money Saving Tips for the Techy Generation – There are many money saving tips but with the changing of technology, new tips are commonplace. Here are a handful of money saving tips for the techies.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes Save on Entertainment Costs with Cable or Satellite – The price of everything is going up. Child care, groceries, transportation costs; you name it, you are paying more for it now than you have in the past.

Don @ Money Reasons writes Why Are Auto Insurance Rates Different In Some States? – You even wonder why auto insurance rates differ in some state dramatically than in others? Read more to find out why, and please comment on what you think!

LaTisha @ Young Finances writes Will I Have to Buy Health Insurance? – The Affordable Health Care for America Act was signed into law on March 23, 2010. The Supreme Court ruled that Obamacare is constitutional.

Ryan @ Cash Money Life writes Could a Splurge Be a Positive Thing? – Sometimes it is OK to splurge and spend a little extra on something fun or frivolous. But it’s important to know when to spend the money, and when not to.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes Financially Preparing for Future Goals – Life is expensive and meeting various financial demands often calls for early preparation. Maybe you’re planning an upcoming vacation. Or perhaps you want to save for your kid’s college education or plan your retirement. Regardless of your life goals, here are tips to prepare your finances.

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes Easing the Pain of Student Loan Debt – With tuition prices getting higher, debts are hard to pay off. Here are some things you can do to ease the pressure of student loan payments.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes How To Save Money On Your Mobile Phone Bill – Mobile phone bills can be a burden on anyone trying to live on a tight budget. But, you can save money on your mobile phone bill with these great tips.

Maria @ The Money Principle writes Smart driving can be cheap – Smart have introduced another car in their range that specially targets the 21 year olds. Driving with Smart can be cheap, stylish and trendy.

Eva Baker @ TeensGotCents writes Starbucks Coupons – Shopping With Sarah – Sarah has found a way to get a great deal on her favorite drink. Did you know that you can buy Starbucks coupons – all sorts of coupons – even gift cards?

Crystal @ Married (with Debt) writes I Don’t Care if My Wife Hits the Lottery – I am going to discuss the things that I evaluated when I purchased my term-life insurance policy with a death benefit of $2 million.

Cindy @ MidLife Finance writes 10 Travel Tips I Learned During Summer Vacation…So You Don’t Have To – We actually had many great trips this summer — but learned several things (and avoided some problems) through research, experience and some fancy footwork.

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes 5 Quirky Businesses Posting Growth in Difficult Climate For Retailers – Given how difficult it has been for many companies to get ahead, bosses and marketing teams have had to ensure that they come up with killer ideas in order to try and expand.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes 10 Truly Unusual Investments – A list of unusual investments, including collectibles, peer-to-peer, and crowdsourcing, as a means of diversifying investments and providing profits in the future.

Tushar Mathur @ Everything Finance writes Time Is Money So Invest It Wisely – Time is money, so invest it wisely. Do this by creating time to better yourself whether through reading, exercise or spending time with those you love most.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes How to Get Raise – If you want to earn more money, there are a number of things you should do.

Cindy @ MidLife Finance writes Flying Solo – Go when you want, and do what you please while you’re there. No arguing with someone else about food or pillows; if you’re in the mood for Mexican or an extra soft-top, you’ve got it.

Cat Alford @ Budget Blonde writes 5 Money Saving Tips for DIY and Design Projects – Want some money saving tips for DIY and design projects? Well, look no further than today’s post! I really miss doing DIY projects!

Michelle @ The Shop My Closet Project writes One Month until FinCon13! So excited! – I bought a ticket for this conference. I’d never gone to a conference outside of work conferences and I’d barely gone to conferences for work. I had no idea what to expect. It was the best $100 I spent last year.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes Here’s Why Your Friends Are Going Broke – Most of the time when we talk about personal finance, topics including credit card debt, savings, investments, insurance, and coupons creep into the

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes The Art of Choosing Between An Experience And A Possession – So you have extra money – do you buy stuff with it or buy an experience with it? Here is my argument for the experience.

Michelle @ Diversified Finances writes My Emergency Fund Is Fully Funded – Our emergency fund is finally fully funded. WHEW! Since I am switching to full-time self-employment, we have been really focused on building it back up. A couple of months ago, I drained our emergency fund completely so that we could pay the ol’ student loans.

Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents writes Are you going to FinCon2013? Here are some fun things to do in St. Louis! – As some of you might know, the 2013 Financial Blogger Conference starts on October 17 (one month to go!). I am very excited, and it will be my first time meeting other bloggers, which still makes me sad that it’s been this long.

Emily @ Evolving Personal Finance writes How Much Effort Do You Put into Getting Rewards or Deals? – We went down a rabbit hole finding discounts for a department store purchase, but I’m not so sure it’s worth the time.

Kurt @ Money Counselor @ Money Counselor writes Buy a Foreclosed Home? – The U.S. home real estate market is recovering, but plenty of foreclosed homes remain on the market. Is now a good time to consider buying a foreclosure?

Anton Ivanov @ Dreams Cash True writes How to Get a Free Credit Score – Your credit score is just as important as your credit report. Our guide explains how to get a free credit score from Credit Sesame in just a few minutes.

Andrea @ So Over This writes Saving Up for a Down Payment by Yourself – As many potential homebuyers are quickly discovering, buying a house nowadays requires a down payment.

Buck @ Buck Inspire writes Backup Your Data Regularly To Prevent Data Loss Seth Brundle! – Last Labor Day, I had a delightful chat, for the podcast, with Benny Hsu of the Get Busy Living Blog and the creator of iPhone apps like Photo 365 and Gratitude 365. Ironically, he asked about my interview breaks and I told him how the Podcast Answer Man (Cliff Ravenscraft) freaked me out about using computers and software to do podcasts.

Monica @ Monica On Money writes Why You Don’t Need The iPhone 5S – Before I became frugal, I bought the iPhone 4, iPhone 4s, iPad, and Macbook Pro on the day that they were released! BUT, the iPhone 5S is different and you don’t need it.

Holly @ Club Thrifty writes Saying Goodbye To My Dream House – Even though we have the money, we cannot buy our dream house. Read more about the tragic details in this post.

Barbara Friedberg @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes Investing & The Fed: How Will My Portfolio Be Impacted? – The Feds actions are directly related to your investment portfolio. Learn what investing moves to make now.

Daniel @ Sweating The Big Stuff writes One Way Car Rentals Are Really Cheap – I rented a car from Boston to New York because it was significantly cheaper and more convenient than taking buses and shuttles to all the places I needed to go.

FI Pilgrim @ FI Journey writes How To Create A Strategic Plan For Your Finances – If you have ever been in business, you have probably been exposed to a strategic plan in some form. Here is how to create a strategic plan for yourself!

Ray @ Squirrelers writes International Diversification with Stocks – Diversification is often seen as important when considering asset classes for investments. But what about geographic diversification?

TTMK @ Tie the Money Knot writes What Should You Do if Your Spouse Can’t Quit Spending Money – Have a spouse that can’t control spending? This post discusses the topic and how people can approach different styles

Matt Becker @ Mom and Dad Money writes Buying a Car: How to Negotiate With the Dealers – Check out my exact step-by-step process for negotiating a killer price on your next car. The best part: it can all be done through email!

Robert @ The College Investor writes 3 Ways to Find More Money to Invest – If you’re looking to cut some costs so that you have more money to throw at your investments, here are three easy ways you can do just that

Robert @ Entrepreneurship Life writes Metrics to Measure Your Business Website – Every business today should have a website. Whether you run a restaurant, retail store, or service business, you should have a modern, functioning website. Here are some metrics to track to help you know if your website is making it to customer eyes and if it is meeting customer needs.

Mr. Utopia @ Personal Finance Utopia writes Are Frugal People Loners? – Does a frugal lifestyle inherently conflict with an active social life? Social activities can be expensive, so how does a frugal person stay on track?

Christopher @ This That and The MBA writes The Best Financial Lesson I Ever Learned – My bond funds have returned about 7% per year and my stock funds have returned about 4% per year. During the craziness of 2008, when the market crashed again, my colleagues were in a panic because they lost 40% of their money.

Mr. MWD @ My Wealth Desire writes 13 Ways to Solve Not Having Enough Money to Live on – I prefer making more rather than spending less, but I try to do both. Keeping bills low is certainly part of my financial plan.

Brian @ Luke1428 writes Plan Your Budget Around These 5 Expenses – Knowing how to allocate money to all your budget categories can be overwhelming. So for starters, begin your budget by looking at the Big Five expenses.

Little House @ Little House in the Valley writes Prefab Method Homes – Recently I found Method Homes, a prefab home company that has reasonable priced homes and great designs.

John S @ Frugal Rules writes Christmas Shopping That Won’t Break the Bank – It may a bit early to think of Christmas as it’s a little over four months away, but by planning out your spending you have a much better chance of buying gifts everyone will love and still be frugal and thus not busting your budget.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes 5 Ways to Cope with Moving Back Home – Here are 5 ways to help you cope with moving back home.

Deacon @ Well Kept Wallet writes Getting Out of Debt: 5 Steps to Eliminate Your Debt Quickly – When your are looking to accomplish something, it is a lot easier to make progress when you have some steps to take. Otherwise it can be challenging to even figure out where to start. You also don’t want to have too many steps, you want to keep it simple so that you don’t get frustrated in the process.

Pauline @ Reach Financial Independence writes Interview with Jason Hull, a $397 money course and $25 Amazon gift card giveaway! – Today I am delighted to welcome Jason Hull from Hull Financial Planning. I’ll let him introduce himself and his new Winning with Money course.

Pauline @ Make Money Your Way writes How to make money as a TV/Movies extra – Tonya shares how she made money as a TV extra and how it really is behind the scenes.

KK @ Student Debt Survivor writes Please Seat Us in the Happy Hour Section – Half price drinks taste so much sweeter. Sitting in the bar might save you, just ask your hostess before you sit down.

Anton Ivanov @ Dreams Cash True writes Portfolio Planning Basics – Opening Appropriate Investment Accounts – Learn about the different types of investment accounts, including retirement, taxable, Traditional, Roth, 401k Plan and IRA accounts.

Jessica Moorhouse @ Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses writes For Love & Money Friday – Financial Topics Every Couple Should Discuss – In order to get our finances all organized, my husband and I have decided to get together every Friday to discuss a new money topic. Here are just a few topics we’ve planned on discussing in the coming weeks.

Well, that wraps up this week’s Yakezie Carnival. Next week’s edition will be hosted by Jen @ The Happy Homeowner. You can submit your post entries at Blogger Carnivals.

Until next time!

-Jacob

Reverse Mortgage – What Is It And Can It Help You?

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.

You’ve undoubtedly seen the ads on TV for reverse mortgages – former Tennessee State Sen. Fred Thompson is doing one of the more common commercials right now. It seems like a made to order situation for a senior citizen who is struggling with finances but doesn’t want to sell their home.

Reverse mortgages have their advocates – and no small number of critics too. But all of the hype aside, what is a reverse mortgage, and how can it help you or a loved one?

 

How does a reverse mortgage work?

Reverse mortgages are available from several different sources, but by far the most common is the US Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) mortgage arm, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). They offer federally insured reverse mortgages in the form of Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM).

Reverse mortgages work in opposite fashion from traditional mortgages. Instead of you paying the lender for the loan on a monthly basis, the lender makes monthly payments to you, as the borrower. As it does, the amount of your mortgage increases. And unlike a traditional mortgage, you do not have to repay the loan until you die, sell the house or move from it as your primary residence.

You have to be 62 years old or older, and use the money as an extra source of income, to make home improvements, or to pay for medical expenses. In order to do this, you have to either own the home free and clear, or have a very small remaining mortgage balance left.

The proceeds of the loan are tax-free, and there are no income restrictions for qualification purposes. The amount of the mortgage you can borrow is determined by the value of your home, your age (the older you are the more you can borrow), and of course the rate of interest. HUD has a reverse mortgage calculator that will help you to determine the amount you can borrow under the program.

According to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, you can select from five payment plans:

1. Tenure – equal monthly payments as long as at least one borrower lives and continues to occupy the property as a principal residence.
2. Term – equal monthly payments for a fixed period of months selected.
3. Line of Credit – unscheduled payments or in installments, at times and in an amount of your choosing until the line of credit is exhausted.
4. Modified Tenure – combination of line of credit and scheduled monthly payments for as long as you remain in the home.
5. Modified Term – combination of line of credit plus monthly payments for a fixed period of months selected by the borrower.

Should you or a loved one take a reverse mortgage? Let’s take a look at both sides of that question…

The case for a reverse mortgage

Given the right combination of circumstances, a reverse mortgage can be worth considering. Some of the many advantages include:

• It gives you access to the equity in your home to pay for living expenses.
• It can allow you to stay in your home if you don’t have enough money otherwise.
• The proceeds can be used to repair the home or cover medical expenses
• You are not required to verify income.
• No monthly payments are required – the program pays you based on the payment plan you select (see the list of five payment plans above).
• In the HECM program, a borrower can live in a nursing home or other medical facility for up to 12 consecutive months before the loan must be repaid.

A reverse mortgage may work best if the purpose is to pay for home improvements, or to satisfy medical expenses, and in the smallest loan amount possible. This will avoid the complete stripping out of equity that a large loan amount will result in, or the ultimate destruction of equity that could result from the need for a steady income for many years.

The case against a reverse mortgage

Unfortunately, there are at least as many reasons to avoid reverse mortgages. Some of the more significant negatives include:

• You will have to pay mortgage insurance on the loan.
• The loan will ultimately cause you to lose equity in your home.
• If you change residences (other than the above mentioned move to a nursing home for up to 12 months) you will have to repay the loan.
• The amount you can borrow against the house will be less than what you will get on an outright sale of the property.
• You will have to pay origination fees in order to obtain the loan.
• If the equity is drained and you still can’t afford the house, you will have to sell, but with less equity coming out of the sale
• The loan will leave less money in your estate for your heirs.
• There are lenders who prey on the elderly and are less than reputable; the Federal Trade Commission offers some warnings and guidelines on this issue.

As a general consideration, if a senior citizen is in a position of not being able to afford to keep his or her home, it may be best to sell the property and avoid the reverse mortgage altogether. The sale of the home will result in a greater amount of proceeds, as well as avoiding the restrictions that come with a reverse mortgage.

How about you all? Have you taken a reverse mortgage, or do you know of anyone who has? Do you believe that it is an option worth taking – or disaster in the making?

Share your experiences by commenting below!  

Carnival of Personal Finance #425 – Price of Tour de France Bikes – August 5th, 2013 Edition

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance 2013 Post-Race Show – $1,400 Ceremony, Race Recap, and Goals for the 2014 Tour

On June 25th, I announced the coming arrival of the 3rd annual Tour de Personal Finance with an introductory post laying out several goals I had for the event.

Over one month later, the 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance has ended, a winner has been crowned, $1,400 in prizes has been dished out, and I can decisively say that the 2013 edition of the event has been a great success! The success could not have been possible without tremendous support from the participants and readers/voters. A big round of applause is in order for all of you! **Cheers fill the streets!**

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.

 

Awards Ceremony and Charity Selections

In the Tour de France, there are 4 main winners’ jerseys that are fiercely contested. These include the Yellow Jersey (overall winner), Green Jersey (best sprinter), Polka-Dot Jersey (King of the Mountains), and White Jersey (best-placed young cyclist).

As such, along with crowning the overall winner with the Yellow Jersey and the 2nd and 3rd podium placements, the Tour de Personal Finance will recognize 3 additional winners, as described below:

• Yellow Jersey – Winner of overall competition. Article voted “best” by readers. Way to go!
  • The Yellow Jersey winner for 2013 is John from Frugal Rules with his article entitled, “Is it Time to Get Out of the Stock Market?” (from the Savings / Investing group of articles). A brief description of the article is shown below:
    • “Whenever we see highs or lows in the stock market we see an increasing number of talking heads telling us what we should do with our portfolios. The problem with listening to them is they have no idea of your personal situation. That said, these are great times to analyze your portfolio while remembering the importance of maintaining a long-term view of your investing.”
  • As the Yellow Jersey winner, John received $100 cash via Paypal. Thanks so much for all your hard-work, John, throughout the month of July.
• Yellow Jersey Charity Selection – As the Yellow Jersey winner, John also decides which charity he wants to have receive the $700 charity give back amount.
  • John elected for the $700 to be donated to the Trisomy 18 Foundation in memory of his son, Isaac Joseph Schmoll, who they lost to the Trisomy 18 genetic disorder. 
  • This disease is caused by the presence of an extra 18th chromosome (so 3 instead of the normal 2).
  • It is my honor to be able to donate to a charity/cause that is very near and dear to John and his family’s hearts. Great stuff! 🙂
  • In addition to this, I donated an extra $200 to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society for this event.
• Podium Placings – The 2nd and 3rd placed articles that are on the podium with John are shown below. Congrats for making it so far in to the competition!
  • 2nd Place – Crystal from Budgeting in the Fun Stuff with her article entitled, “My Husband is Now WORKING FROM HOME WITH ME!!!” A short description of his article is shown below: 
    • “It’s important to work out a plan before leaping into self-employment.  It’s even more important when that entrepreneurial spirit hits both of the income earners of the household.  But after running the numbers, looking at worst case scenarios, and mulling the idea over…it was time for us to put on our big girl panties and jump in.     Here’s the post about the excitement and fear when we officially put all of our financial eggs in one basket and happily skipped away into the unknown…”
    • At first, I wasn’t planning on doing any prizes for the 2nd place podium finisher. However, Crystal did such an inspirational job in the event, that I felt something was due to honor that excellent performance.
    • As such, as the 2nd place podium finisher, I donated $200 to the charity chosen by Crystal (the Houston SPCA). In addition, she matched this contribution with another $200, so $400 total went to the Houston SPCA to help their mission to save pet lives. Great stuff! 
  • 3rd Place – Boomer and Echo with their article entitled, “How My Retirement Plans Got Derailed – Big Time!”  A brief description is as follows:
    • “I left my secure job at a major bank to open a small retail store with my husband.  We struggled along for three years, using up almost all our savings and making the terrible mistake of financing the business with our many credit cards. Eventually we gave up and closed the store.  With no money and over $100,000 in credit card debt, we sank to our lowest point of despair.”
  • A hearty applause to all our podium finishers!!! 🙂
• White Jersey – Goes to highest placing, new blog (blog that was started less than one year ago).
  • The White Jersey winner for 2013 is Matt Becker from Mom and Dad Money. His article (“My Life Insurance Mistake“) made it to the 4th Round of the competition, which is NO SMALL FEAT. Nice work Matt! I’m sure we’ll see some great things from in the future!
• Green Jersey – Goes to the blog whose article wins a single stage “the fastest.” In other words, the Green Jersey goes to the blog who wins a single stage by the biggest margin against their competitor.
  • The Green Jersey winner for 2013 is David from Marotta on Money. His article entitled, “How Much Should I Save Toward Retirement If I’m Starting Late?,” won one of the Stages in which it was competing by 12 votes over his competitor! Quite impressive! Nice work David! The sprinters of the Tour de France (such as Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish) would be proud of you! Your next goal will have to be to win 6 stages like Cavendish did in the 2011 Tour de France! 
• Polka-Dot Jersey – Goes to the best placing blog article entered which details information on “climbing” out of the debt “mountain”.
  • The Polka-Dot Jersey winner for 2013 is J Money from Budgets Are Sexy with his article entitled, ”Which Is Harder: Paying off Debt or Saving Money?”  J’s post made it to the 4th Round of competition. Nice work J Money!

 

Race Recap

The 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance began on June 26th (a few days before the start of the first Stage of the 2013 Tour de France) with a full complement of 64 participants/blogs (up from 52 in 2012!).

In order to start and finish in the same approximate time period as the actual Tour de France, the competition proceeded quickly through the first round with 8 blogs (4 intermediate sprints) per day. Each sprint was given 3 days for voting to occur throughout the competition.

You can view the complete story of how each Stage played out by viewing the 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de PF Bracket.

When all was said and done, the ~ 1 month-long event featured the following statistics:

• 22 total Stages
• 36 blog posts, up from 32 in 2012.
• 1,111 total comments/votes – Wow! That is an awesome amount of participation (greater than 2x  the 544 from 2012)! Thanks to everyone involved!
• 3,081 page views of Tour de Personal Finance Stages and posts, almost 2x the 1,798 from last year.
• 2,176 unique visitors to Tour de Personal Finance Stages and posts, up from 1,500 last year .

 

2013 Reflections and Goals for 2014 Tour de Personal Finance

I think that overall, the 2013 edition of this event was finally to the point of being “almost perfect.” I had learned quite a bit in how to host this event by doing it twice before, which was good to draw on in this, the third edition. (Third time’s a charm, right?!)

Listed below are the things that I very much enjoyed about this event the past month/went well:

• It’s enabled me to interact and get to know many new bloggers and readers.
• I’ve learned a lot by reading some of the best articles from each blogger’s site that have participated in this competition.
• I liked how the start and end of the race stages more or less coincided with the start and finish of the 2013 Tour de France (even though we had to start a few days early due to the large number of articles competing).
• Due to a great suggestion by Lance @ Money Life and More from last year, this year, I organized all of the posts by subject matter and grouped them together for the first round. That worked pretty nicely, and I’ll keep that going forward for next year!
• We did a great job this year at increasing awareness of the prizes and charity donations on offer to the winners of the competition.
  • To do this, we included the prize information on pretty much every stage post article and also on each and every notification email sent out the participants. Even though this probably seemed like a broken record after a while, I do think that the repetition helped, so I’ll be looking to repeat that in coming years (which all hinges on needing to finalize the prizes early on).
• We were able to get a larger number of blogs involved in the event this year (64 vs. 52 blogs/articles last year). This was really great since it enabled all of the brackets to be nice and rounded out! Super stuff!
  • I figured out that the key to getting the target number of 64 is to start early.
  • This year, I started opening up submissions the first week of June and just barely got in a couple by the deadline for the event to start because of summer vacations and all.
  • As such, I think that next year, I’ll start opening up submissions in mid May for the July event start date.
• We were able to get several sponsor partners on board this year.
  • Again, the key here was getting an early start.
  • I started sending out the details for this the first week of May for the July start to the event. I think that timing worked just about right, and will be looking to repeat that next year!
  • A big thanks to all our supporters this year!

Listed below are some things that I see as areas for improvement:

• Spreading the competition’s prizes out a little more among the podium finishers (and maybe even the other Jersey winners if feasible).
  • This year, as you might have noticed, it was sort of “all of nothing” when it came to the prizes in the competition since the Yellow Jersey was the only podium placing I planned on giving awards to.
  • However, due to the amount of work it can take to get to 2nd or 3rd place in the competition, it definitely makes things jive a little better to spread out the prizes a little more between the top winners. I’ll be looking to incorporate in to the 2014 event from the very beginning instead of adding it in on the backside.

How about you all? What did you think of the 2013 Tour de PF? What would you like to see the different or the same for next year’s event? 

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy of http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Tour_de_Romandie_2013_2013_-_Stage_5_-_Christopher_Froome.jpg

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance 2013 – Final Championship Sprint on the “Parisian Champs-Élysées” of Personal Finance

The 2013 Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance has been an absolute 100% success (far beyond anything I could have imagined!). A big thanks goes out to everyone that has participated in the Stages and to the hundreds of voters who have stopped by to support their favorite authors/articles.

Later this upcoming week, I’ll write up a Tour de Personal Finance recap, post-race show, and awards ceremony to talk about what happened this year and how I envision the event growing in the coming years. But, that’s enough of that commentary for now!

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the Final Championship Sprint 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 is 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 article  you’d like to see win 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 24th for this Stage!

 

Championship Sprint

• My Husband is Now WORKING FROM HOME WITH ME!!! (Husband): It’s important to work out a plan before leaping into self-employment.  It’s even more important when that entrepreneurial spirit hits both of the income earners of the household.  But after running the numbers, looking at worst case scenarios, and mulling the idea over…it was time for us to put on our big girl panties and jump in.     Here’s the post about the excitement and fear when we officially put all of our financial eggs in one basket and happily skipped away into the unknown…

VERSUS

• Is it Time to Get Out of the Stock Market? (Time): Whenever we see highs or lows in the stock market we see an increasing number of talking heads telling us what we should do with our portfolios. The problem with listening to them is they have no idea of your personal situation. That said, these are great times to analyze your portfolio while remembering the importance of maintaining a long-term view of your investing.

 

Tour de France Daily Recap

Peter Sagan has pretty much clinched the green jersey competition, and the first-timer Colombian rider, Nairo Quintana has won the White Jersey Young Rider’s competition as well as the King of the Mountains Jersey as well! So, those jerseys are pretty much wrapped up, and there shouldn’t be too many surprises on today’s Stage.

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/peter-trimming/7692579848/

Reader Profile – Christine from The Pursuit of Green

Today, in the ongoing Reader Profile Series, we’re getting to know MPFJ.com reader and commenter, Christine, from the site, The Pursuit of Green. Let’s all give Christine 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).

Hi, I’m Christine! I’m an Ohioan who was born and raised there, then transplanted to Los Angeles after college. My parents are considered middle class now, but that wasn’t always the case. Growing up, I learned how to be frugal and make the best of what you have. It’s helped me a lot after I moved out to Los Angeles where the cost of living and rent is so much higher than in Ohio.

I went to school for digital design, which encompasses basically anything you do on a computer. I’ve been building up my career and last year decided to become self-employed.

Along the way, I started learning about personal finance to figure out the best way to manage the income I was earning. I also focused my time on doing more to be earth-friendly, minimizing my impact on the earth with every step I take. These two things have melded in the last few years as I found that a lot of times they go hand in hand. Many times I’ll do something to be earth-friendly and find that it saves money, and vice versa.

Earlier this year, I had a big party otherwise known as a wedding. It was a challenge for sure to keep from spending too much!

 

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

My income has been fluctuating ever since I became self-employed. In my industry, the holidays are extremely slow times. I’ve had a few months where I haven’t found any work and months where I’m extremely busy. It’s definitely an eye opener to be your own boss. My hours are flexible, but there’s always that unknown of whether or not I’ll have work. I’ve also learned a lot in the last year about taxes. Paying your own taxes really does make you aware of how hard you work and how much goes toward the government.

Luckily, my husband has a steady full-time job. It helps to offset the unsteady aspect of self-employment and gives us assurance. We’ve worked out our finances so that we are able to live well under his income only. Any income I bring in every month is extra!

We’ve cut out a lot of expenses to reach our goals. That includes a lot of eating out. We both love food and that is one of the hardest expenses we’ve had to cut. Restaurants simply add up too much. We’ve also taken other measures such as canceling our cable, cutting his hair at home, and buying less clothing and unnecessary items. We’ve kept some of the cheaper items as indulgences; for example, my chocolate and the occasional dinner out at a reasonably priced place.

 

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

We’re still figuring out the finer points of merging finances. We have the same goals overall, but the way we get there is a bit different for both of us. My husband is in favor of throwing everything towards one goal. I like a more balanced approach where we have one main goal but also work towards longer term goals. We’re both learning to talk more about our financial goals together and compromise on how to get there.

Currently, we’re really trying to focus on saving up for a down payment on a house. We live in Los Angeles and the house prices here are insane. Just saving up for a down payment itself is pretty daunting, and we’ve been plugging away at it for two years now. Of course, buying a house will be another challenge to come!

Another goal we are working towards is making ourselves as ready as possible to start a family. Buying our own home is one thing that helps us there. The other is living off one income.

 

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

It would be wonderful to be able to retire early! It’s something that I dream about but am not sure if it will happen. I’m steadily saving for retirement, but it’s hard to say anything. Most likely I will “retire,” but keep working in some form or another because I enjoy it.

Currently I am trying to build up my career so that I have a good portfolio where I can be self-employed with steady work. The traditional work place is definitely changing, so I am trying to be more flexible in the way I think about work. I mostly work on a computer and information is exchanged online, so it’s entirely possible to be self-employed doing this kind of job.

Eventually if everything goes well, then we’ll have fully funded retirement accounts, savings, a paid-off house, paid-off cars, and investments that create spending money.

 

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

While there are many financial goals that you should be working towards, remember to sit back and enjoy the present. I want to be happy when I retire, but I also want to be able to live life when I am young enough to not have creaky bones. The things you do today don’t have to be expensive or lavish, but it can still be fun and enjoyable. Live life in the present, but plan for the future. It’s all a matter of keeping everything in balance.

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 21 – Round 5, Posts 33-64

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 21th Stage (there are only 4 blogs left the 2013 event) 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 20th for this Stage!

 

Intermediate Sprint

• Is it Time to Get Out of the Stock Market? (Time): Whenever we see highs or lows in the stock market we see an increasing number of talking heads telling us what we should do with our portfolios. The problem with listening to them is they have no idea of your personal situation. That said, these are great times to analyze your portfolio while remembering the importance of maintaining a long-term view of your investing.

VERSUS

• 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?

 

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continues today with a mountain time trial of 32 km. The favorite today has to be Chris Froome, who seems to be both time trialing and climbing the best of the overall contenders. Should be exciting!

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 20 – Round 5, Posts 1-32

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 20th Stage (there are only 4 blogs left the 2013 event) 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 19th for this Stage!

 

Intermediate Sprint

• My Husband is Now WORKING FROM HOME WITH ME!!! (Husband): It’s important to work out a plan before leaping into self-employment.  It’s even more important when that entrepreneurial spirit hits both of the income earners of the household.  But after running the numbers, looking at worst case scenarios, and mulling the idea over…it was time for us to put on our big girl panties and jump in.     Here’s the post about the excitement and fear when we officially put all of our financial eggs in one basket and happily skipped away into the unknown…

VERSUS

• How My Retirement Plans Got Derailed – Big Time! (Derailed): I left my secure job at a major bank to open a small retail store with my husband.  We struggled along for three years, using up almost all our savings and making the terrible mistake of financing the business with our many credit cards. Eventually we gave up and closed the store.  With no money and over $100,000 in credit card debt, we sank to our lowest point of despair.

 

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continues today after a rest day yesterday with a medium-mountains Stage taking the riders 168 km from Vaison-la-Romaine to Gap. There shouldn’t be too many big changes today in the overall standings, but you never know these days now that most of the riders are clean of drugs! It makes the thing a little more unpredictable! haha 🙂

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/28149760@N04/9274241979/in/photolist-f8wV2M-cQzHuy

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 19 – Round 4, Posts 33-64

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 19th Stage (the last Stage of the 4th Round of the event) 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 17th for this Stage!

 

Intermediate Sprint #1

• Is it Time to Get Out of the Stock Market? (Time): Whenever we see highs or lows in the stock market we see an increasing number of talking heads telling us what we should do with our portfolios. The problem with listening to them is they have no idea of your personal situation. That said, these are great times to analyze your portfolio while remembering the importance of maintaining a long-term view of your 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 #2

• 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

• 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 continued today with a brutal finish at the top of what is often termed the hardest climb in the world, Mont Ventoux. In the end, Chris Froome demolished the field and took the win. He also extended his overall lead to more than 4 minutes.

Debt Free Direct Tour de Personal Finance, Stage 18 – Round 4, Posts 17-32

Without further ado, let’s continue on with the 18th Stage (now the 4th Round of the event) 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 16th for this Stage!

 

Intermediate Sprint

• Which Is Harder: Paying off Debt or Saving Money? (Harder): Every week, I get asked whether someone should pay off their debt first or save instead, and every week I pretty much say the same thing: Go with whichever one makes you feel better. I often wonder afterwards, though, which side – indeed –  IS the easiest to accomplish? Is it debt cuz you hate it so much and there’s an absolute number attached to it? Or is it savings cuz having tons of money in the bank is sexy as hell??

VERSUS

• How My Retirement Plans Got Derailed – Big Time! (Derailed): I left my secure job at a major bank to open a small retail store with my husband.  We struggled along for three years, using up almost all our savings and making the terrible mistake of financing the business with our many credit cards. Eventually we gave up and closed the store.  With no money and over $100,000 in credit card debt, we sank to our lowest point of despair.

 

Tour de France Daily Recap

The Tour de France in real life continued today again with Stage 14, a medium-mountains race taking the riders 191 km from Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule to Lyon. A big breakaway of around 20 riders stayed away from the peleton. In the end, the win was taken out by Quick Step rider, Matteo Trentin, with a beautifully-timed “mini-sprint” from the breakaway group.

***Photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/marsupilami92/6927557694/sizes/m/in/photostream/