Category Archives for Saving Money & Frugal Living

Starting A Side Income Stream: Selling On Amazon With FBA

This is a post by staff writer Jeff. Jeff blogs about finances and going green at http://sustainablelifeblog.com and has started a new project detailing his efforts to earn money online at onlinesideincome.com

There are plenty of ways to earn extra money and a lot of ways to do it solely online as well. You may need it for more security, perhaps work from home to watch your child(ren) or some other reason. The reality is that no matter your situation, a little more income every month never hurt.

If you spend your time reading online a lot, you may have heard about various ways of making money on Amazon. There’s the popular Pat Flynn interview with Jessica Larew, talking about how she buys things at clearance sales in department stores and places like CVX/Walgreens and resells them on Amazon for a profit.

There’s another way, sometimes called “white labeling”, which essentially involves creating your very own product, having it produced in China and then selling it on Amazon FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon). While this takes a lot more capital than the other method, you “own” the buy box (meaning you’re not competing on price with anyone because your item is original) and you can decide the margins of your product. This is very much a capital-intensive business, but as you can see from these few posts about Amazon FBA, the potential for returns are huge.

If you’re interested, here’s what you’ll need to do.

First, you’ll want to select a product. This is without a doubt the most important step. You need something that you can buy in China (look on alibaba.com for suppliers) and sell for 3-4x on Amazon.com. You’ll need to make sure your product idea is profitable, which you can do with one of 3 tools: Primeseller.com, Unicorn Smasher, or Jungle Scout. With these tools, you can filter out some lower priced product and find something that you can sell on Amazon.

Second, you’ll need to find a supplier on Alibaba. I was lucky and had a group to reach out to and got a recommendation from someone who has been manufacturing in China and selling online for almost 10 years, so I greatly trusted his recommendation, and it did not disappoint. The product was high quality and made with high-quality materials, and I was very lucky. This probably took a few weeks off of my total product to Amazon time because many need to try out 2-3 suppliers to find one they like.

Once you’ve found a supplier and a product, you need to go through and look at competing products and see what other people who own the product like or do not like about it. There are plenty of reviews online (and on Amazon.com) and there are great ideas in there. For instance, one of my competing products did not have the ability to do something that I (and many others) thought was a requirement, so I easily adapted the product and added that feature. This differentiated my product from the others in the category and allowed me to charge a higher price point.

What’s important here is finding the right product and making your product better than what’s already on the market. If you can nail those 2 things, you should be fine with your product.

If you’re looking for a few more resources on Amazon FBA, this 17 part series is very through and helped me quite a bit when I got started.

Readers – are you interested in Amazon FBA as a side income source? Or would you prefer something else?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/emmajane/65585561/in/

Places to Earn A Little Extra Money in 2016

It’s hard to believe that we’re already almost finished with January 2016. Have you been able to lay out your financial resolutions and/or goals for the year?

Personally, I am a little bit behind on my financial planning and goal setting for the year, as my wife gave birth to our first child on January 7^th. However, I have put together a plan to contribute to our pre-tax accounts in order to lower our taxable income so that we’ll be in the 15% marginal tax bracket for 2016.

If you’re looking for some ideas on financial resolutions for 2016, a great place to start is to organize your finances to earn a little extra cash for a rainy day. To bring in the dollar bills in 2016, here are a few places/financial accounts available to help get you there:

1. Online Savings Accounts

You never know when a rainy day is going to hit, so setting aside money in a savings account is a great way to reserve your cash in case of an emergency. In my personal finances, an online savings account is one of the most important tools I use. I employ online savings accounts to park my emergency fund savings, as well as my savings for life values and dreams based financial planning.

2. Certificate of Deposits

Another place to earn a little extra money in 2016 (and beyond!) is with a CD, or certificate of deposit. Often, CDs have a few more restrictions/requirements than the online savings account discussed previously, such as a minimum opening balance and minimum investment term. However, if you have more flexibility in your finances, CDs can be a great way to earn slightly higher interest rates in a very secure manner.

3. Money Market Accounts

If you want to earn high yields but still have frequent access to your cash, then a money market account is for you.

4. Cash Back Credit Cards

Of the various types of rewards cards out on the market today, cash back rewards cards are my favorite. This is because I get cash back from my purchases, which of course, can be used in a variety of ways instead of being restricted to purchases from a single industry or vendor. When you are shopping around for a cash back card, it is good to have a minimum expectation for the cash back you receive. First, you should get a minimum of 1% cash back on ALL purchases, regardless of category. Second, in today’s competitive market, the card should have opportunities to earn a higher percent cash back either from a specific vendor or in rotating categories of purchases.

How about you all? What are your favorite ways to earn a little extra side money?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

How I’m Avoiding Lifestyle Inflation to Get out of Debt

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Chonce. You can read more articles by Chonce over at her personal blog, My Debt Epiphany. Enjoy! 

Graduating college and earning my degree was monumental for me. As a first generation college student, passing up the opportunity for higher education was always out of the question for me. I knew I was going to attend college and I knew I was going to graduate with flying colors.

When I did graduate, I enjoyed the day with all my friends and family and cherished the moment in my success. After that passed however, reality started to settle in and I realized the important milestone I reached came with a price to the tune of $31,000. That’s how much debt I was in after college. Just under $21,000 of that debt was student loans.

When I landed my first job out of college, I decided that I wanted my debt gone ASAP. I wanted to live a life that didn’t involve me paying for the things I did or the choices I made years ago.

 

I Decided to Avoid Lifestyle Inflation

Lots of recent college grads are introduced to lifestyle inflation and temped to spend more. Lifestyle inflation is basically increasing your spending as your income increases or your financial situation improves.

For example, if you get a raise, a higher paying job, or graduate college and land your first job, you may have thoughts about all the things you can do with you money that you couldn’t do before. It can be very tempting to run out and treat yourself one too many times, buy a new car, upgrade your living situation, etc.

If you value things and temporary, instant gratification, you may not have a problem with lifestyle inflation. Waiting to treat yourself to certain things isn’t always fun, but I decided to avoid lifestyle inflation for the time being in order to get rid of my debt quicker.

My debt always seems like it’s holding me back and I know I can’t get to the place in life that I truly want to be at with it dragging behind me.

I’m currently avoiding lifestyle inflation to pay off my debt in several ways.

 

Cheap Housing

When I landed my first professional job out of college, I stayed in my current apartment in my college town for as long as I could and enjoyed the cheap rent. Moving back with my parents wasn’t an option for me, but if I could’ve done it comfortably, I probably would have.

After about a year of working at my job, I ended up getting an apartment closer to where I work to reduce my commute. Yet and still, I found something reasonable and only about $200 more than what I was paying at my college-town apartment.

Sure, I could get a townhouse, condo, or larger living space with walk-in closets, extra amenities and other features, but I can also put the money I save on housing by staying in my current apartment directly toward my debt.

 

Used Clothes

I’ve always loved fashion, and purchasing clothes has always been a guilty pleasure of mine. When I started avoiding lifestyle inflation to free up more money to pay off my debt, I went cold turkey on shopping for clothes and started making due with what I had.

This wasn’t a huge sacrifice since I had a decent amount of clothes to wear all year-round, but when something became unwearable, it ended up being a bit of a struggle. Nevertheless, I lasted about 9 months without buying any new clothing.

As a mom, I’m also responsible for clothing my young son but I stuck to second-hand clothes and hand-me-downs when he needed anything new and young kids certainly don’t mind what they wear.

 

Less Paid Entertainment

As a young person, I found it hard to cut back on my entertainment spending at first and tell my friends ‘no’ when they wanted to do something that was out of my budget. I knew that by saying no to certain opportunities, I would be saying yes to myself and my goal of becoming debt free.

I also believe that life is too short and should be enjoyed, so I didn’t want to have an absolutely dull social life either. Then, I discovered how wonderful free entertainment could be. I started looking online for free events and festivals in my neighborhood and inviting friends over for game nights.

I am always on-the-go with my son during the weekends and I never spend much money at all. We visit the library, go to the park, check out free museums and zoos and visit with friends. For date night with my fiancé, I found a historical theatre that plays classic movies for $1 each week. I still utilize paid entertainment and dine out occasionally, but I stick to my budget and use sites like Group and Living Social to lower the costs of activities.

I’ve secured raises at my job, but I’ve never made a ton of money overall (less than $40k). This means avoiding lifestyle inflation has been a crucial factor when it comes to paying down large amounts of my debt.

How about you all? How do you cope with lifestyle inflation?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/86530412@N02/8231671430

Smart Vacation Planning in 2016

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer,Laurie Blank.  Laurie is a wife, mother to 4 and homesteader who blogs about personal finance, self-sufficiency and life in general over at The Frugal Farmer. Part witty, part introspective and part silly, her goal in blogging is to help others find their way to financial freedom and to a simpler, more peaceful life.

The New Year is here, and it’s tough to think about the coming year without having an itch to plan a vacation getaway. The great thing about vacations is that they allow you to escape from the day-to-day mundane things in life. Although most of us love routine to a certain extent, we all love a break from the norm occasionally.

We took our first big family vacation last summer. The drive from Minnesota to Seattle – with a stop at Yellowstone National Park – was crazy-busy-packed, but doing something fun and different was, as they say, priceless. We still talk on a weekly basis about how fun that first big family vacation was, and we eagerly dream of when we’ll take our next big getaway.

A great vacation, however, begins with a smart vacation plan. Here are some tips that will help you plan wisely for your 2016 getaway.

How to Take a Great Vacation in 2016

 

Pick Your Vacation Destination

Where is it that you dream of going on vacation this year? A trip cross-country to spend time with family and/or friends? A winter getaway to a warm and sunny destination? Consider your options and think about what type of vacation destination would best suit the entire family. Be sure to consider cost and location options as you choose a vacation destination. For instance, a month-long trip to Europe might not be a great idea if funds are tight and paid vacation time is limited.

 

Estimate Your Vacation Expenses

It’s a good idea to put together a realistic estimate of your potential vacation costs before you plan your getaway. Ask yourself the following questions as you work to put together a vacation expense estimate:

• Where will we stay and how much will it cost?
• How will we get there and what mode of transportation will we use once we arrive?
• What will our meal plan be? Will we get an AirBNB locale and cook in-house? Eat out? What will our estimated meal costs be?
• How much money do we plan to spend on “extras” such as theme parks, museums and souvenirs?

By putting together a realistic estimate of how much you’ll spend on your vacation, you can work to budget in the costs before you go on your trip.

 

Put Together a Payment Plan

Don’t allow yourself to be tempted to put your vacation expenses on credit unless you’ve got the cash to pay them off right away. Instead, put together a payment plan that will help ensure you’ve got the vacation paid for before you go. Here are some tips for creating a successful vacation payment plan:

1. Using the steps listed above, create a realistic estimate of your planned vacation costs.
2. Divide the estimated cost of the vacation by the number of paychecks you will receive until you go on vacation. For instance, if your vacation will cost an estimated $2,000, and you’ve got 14 paychecks until you go on vacation, you can allot $142.86 per paycheck to go into a vacation fund or other separate savings account toward vacation expenses.
3. If you use travel points, work to accrue points that will help you offset some of the costs of the vacation. Just be sure you don’t accumulate credit card debt in the process.
4. To bring in additional monies to help pay for your trip, consider selling items you no longer need on Craigslist or EBay, or consider getting a temporary second job or side hustle in order to bring more cash in to pay for vacation expenses.

Planning how you’re going to pay for your vacation ahead of time can help ensure you won’t be stuck with a vacation that costs twice as much as you’d estimated thanks to credit card interest payments.

By using the above tips to plan wisely for your upcoming vacation, you can maximize your fun and minimize the effort so that you can better enjoy your getaway destination. Happy vacationing!

***Photo courtesy of https://static.pexels.com/photos/6934/beach-vacation-water-summer.jpg

5 Real Ways To Increase Your Savings Rate This Year

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Chonce. You can read more articles by Chonce over at her personal blog, My Debt Epiphany. Enjoy! 

What will you do in the event of a true emergency or financial hardship?

Do you feel like your savings account is a scary joke? It’s likely that you’re not alone. According to CNN Money, more than half of Americans save next to nothing each month.

I used to be one of them. I was the person who thought things would be peachy keen until they weren’t and it was too late to prepare for the unexpected. Having enough funds saved up is important because sometimes, it will be all you’ll have to start from.

I did a great job meeting my goal to pay off a ton of debt last year, but the sad part is, after it was all said and done, I looked around and realized I still felt extremely trapped. Sure, I had less debt, but I had hardly anything saved up leaving me with even less control over my life. In my mind, I couldn’t really afford to save. But in reality, I couldn’t afford not to.

It’s important to manage your savings goals with your other financial goals and even prioritize them if you need to build up a suitable emergency fund. Most experts recommend saving up three to six months’ worth of expenses but how much you set aside is totally up to you and your specific needs.

If you’re looking to save more this year, but you’re wondering where the extra money will come from, here are five realistic ways to increase your savings rate.

 

1. Sell Items From Your Home

Have you ever wondered how much money is lying around your home in the form of unwanted things? With minimalism really trending lately, most people are eager to declutter and get rid of things that are just taking up space.

If you have old dishes, clothes, game consoles, furniture children’s toys, tools, bikes etc. that you no longer want or need, try selling them online or to others in person or through a garage sale and putting the money you receive directly into a savings account.

 

2. Create Rotating $0 Budget Categories

One of the best ways to save more money is to stop spending it period. To reduce your spending, try to cut a budget category out completely for a few weeks, then pocket the cash you save by not spending.

Creating and implementing $0 budget categories can sound intimidating at first, but it’s a liberating challenge that you can take your time with. Start by cutting out a non-necessity like entertainment or dining out. If your entertainment budget is usually $100 per month and you make it $0, that doesn’t mean you have to sit at home during your free time for the entire month and sleep or read books.

There are tons of free and fun activities you can do that won’t cost you a dime. These include: visiting  a museum, inviting friend over to watch a movie, attending a free festival or community event or hiking at a national park just to name a few. When the month is over, you can switch another non-necessity budget category to $0 and save the money you would have spent instead.

 

3. Lower Your Family’s Expectations

Lifestyle inflation can really put a damper on your savings rate. If you and your family are used to living above your means, you’ll need to lower your expectations in order to become more content with what you have and free up enough money to save.

For example, I think iPhones are wonderful, but I’ve never owned one and I have no desire to. Instead of paying over $100 each month to have a phone, I’d rather stick with my more practical smartphone with a lower monthly bill so I can save more money.

Sit down with your spouse and kids (if you have any) and find out what they really value and what they are willing to give up for the sake of financial stability.

 

4. Plan Your Meals

Food is reportedly the fourth biggest expense for American families and falls right behind, housing, transportation, and insurance. If you can manage you cut your food spending, you will be able to save quite a bit for hard times.

You can cut your food spending simply by creating detailed meal plans. Instead of just going to the grocery store with a rough idea of what you’d like to buy, try creating a detailed list of the meals you will eat each day and bring cash with you to ensure you stick to the budget. This will cut out impulse purchases and slash your food budget.

You can also cut back on work lunches by bringing your lunch to work each day and planning ahead to make sure you have enough items to pack for lunch. Bringing my lunch to work has easily saved me at least $1,000 during this past year.

 

5. Get a Second Job or Side Hustle

If you want to save more, you can always earn more. You can get a temporary second job to maintain until you earn enough money to fully stock your emergency fund.

You can always turn one of your hobbies or talents into a money making side hustle. Whether you love to write, draw, design, create crafts, work on computers or play instruments, you can market your  talents to others in order to create a profitable side hustle that will generate enough income to significantly boost your savings rate.

If you know that you need to step up your savings this year, these are all strategies that you can implement immediately to obtain measureable results.

How about you all? What specific steps will you take to increase your savings rate over the next few months?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/76657755@N04/6881508144

How One Couple Got to $3.7 Million in Net Worth

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Marie. You can read more of Marie’s articles over at her own blog, Family Money Values. Enjoy! 

This is the saga of a Boomer couple (in their mid-sixties) who started married life with next to nothing and achieved several million in net worth.  If accumulating wealth is your goal, perhaps parts of this story will inspire or instruct you on your journey to millions.

First however, lets remember that net worth is all your assets minus all your liabilities.  Our Boomer couple keeps track of net worth on a monthly basis using Quicken and does so not only to know where they stand but also to anticipate the potential need for estate planning changes (might their estate grow enough to trigger those hefty taxes at the second’s death).

So, to track their net worth, the Boomers keep track not only of cash, bank account assets, stock and bond market investments, real estate and autos, but also of any death benefit amounts for life insurance they own, artwork and collections as well as an estimate of the market value of their aggregate household possessions (which at 60+ years there are many).

 

Lets begin at the beginning.

The couple married in 1972 and had assets of some savings bonds the wife’s parents gave her for college graduation (around $2000) and liabilities of a car loan for a car the husband bought prior to the marriage ($2000) and an obligation to pay premiums on a whole life policy purchased in college.  Neither had college (thanks to parents and scholarships ) or credit card debt.  Now, this isn’t as dire as it sounds because that $2000 in 1972 dollars is about $12,000 in 2015 dollars.  That is a lot more than many Millennials have what with their college loans and the Great Recession.

Mr. & Mrs. Boomer entered the job market while the US economy was headed for decline.  Having no trade (their college majors were Business and Liberal Arts), the couple had a hard time finding work that paid much.  Both took temporary jobs in retail sales to tide them over, making minimum wage ($1.60 per hour or so at the time). Almost immediately after the marriage, the spouse joined the US Army as a private making around $2000 annually).

In the Army now.

After basic, the husband was stationed in the US Midwest in an administrative job (for which the wife was very thankful as the Vietnam War was still in progress at the time).  The wife moved to join the husband and they lived in a rural area close to base, paying about $60 a month for rent for a tiny duplex.

Using the wife’s graduation bonds (most of them) as a down payment, the couple located and purchased (with a loan) 40 acres of raw land for $4000.  As it turned out, this was a good move and a bad move.  The good part was that it forced the couple to save to pay the loan and thus they eventually ended up with a 40 acres asset.  The bad part is that raw land is a pretty risky investment, with little guarantee of any income.  The couple kept this 40 acres for many years, eventually selling it for around $40,000.

Also during the Army years, the young couple (then in their early 20’s) decided to have a baby.  After all, the birth would be free at the Army hospital so no problem – right? OK, all you parents, stop snickering – the Boomers obviously didn’t think about the many thousands of dollars that child would cost over the next 20 years! The Boomers later counseled their offspring to WAIT before having kids, wait until you are established in a career and have some stability.

Because they lived in a rural area, opportunities for the wife to earn a salary were scarce, so the couple was primarily living on $2000 a year (she did work at Pizza Hut as a waitress until the baby came).

Each month, the husband would use a credit card to buy gasoline to drive to his job at the fort and at the end of each month when the credit card bill came, it ate up much of that months Army salary.  This was a huge lesson to the Boomers.  They learned that they didn’t like paying for something long after that something was used up.  Ever after, they used credit only when they already had the money to pay the bill.  This kept them safely out of credit card debt for a lifetime.  Lesson learned.

Feeling the pinch (rent, loan for land, gasoline, food, insurance, heat, telephone and etc) the two decided that the husband should not re-up when his initial enlistment was over, even though he was now earning about $4000 a year.

 

The jobless period.

In late 1973, the economy took a turn to the downside.  Looking for work after the Army in 1974 was even more difficult than finding work out of college.  But both studied hard to take the exam to get on with the US Government.  Hubby studied more, because wife was busy taking care of new baby.

Out of the Army with no income, the couple moved back in with the wife’s parents for several months.  That had to be fun for the recent empty nesters – not only did your kid come back, but she brought a man and a baby too!  Family comes first, but the Boomers didn’t want to impose any longer than needed.

Thankfully, the Federal Government soon offered the husband (who scored better on the test than the wife due to all that extra study) a job.  The two checked out of hotel Mom&Dad and moved across the state.  The $8000 a year salary was a gold mine to them after living on the Army salary for 2+ years.  They found a unit in a quadraplex for $125 a month – two bedrooms, a tiny, tiny kitchen, one bath and a living room.  After a few months the landlord decided they were hard workers and diligent rent payers and offered them a chance to work off some of the rent by tending to the building and trash.  The couple was grateful for the chance and very glad that they had taken great pains to be good renters and responsible adults – otherwise they might not have gotten the opportunity to reduce their rent payment.

The wife took a low paying job delivering neighborhood newspapers with a baby strapped to her back in a pack to help with expenses.

 

Four years passed.

The urge to procreate was strong, the couple was nearing 30.  In 1977 the couple decided to go for a second kid.  They felt a bit more secure financially, the wife had taken a better paying job as a supervisor at a retail store (but they still weren’t really able to save).

Now, though, that small unit in the quadraplex seemed even smaller.  The new baby shared the Boomers bedroom and the 4 year old was growing like mad.  Time for a house of their own.

 

The housing mistakes.

By this time, the couple had sort of discovered that they had different tolerances for risk.  Hubby hated financial obligations (like a mortgage) but the wife saw the opportunity to build equity instead of paying rent.  To keep the loan as low as possible, the couple saved for a down payment instead of using a down payment free VA loan (mistake #1), and narrowed their search to a cheaper but declining neighborhood (mistake #2).

Luckily, it was a slow decline.  The couple stayed put for 10 years, during which time they were able to put aside small savings each month only to have to spend out at the end of the year.

Hubby got more and more stressed as his Federal Government job was not as lucrative as a private company job might have been and his aversion to risk kept him from looking for a better one.  Instead he took advantage of many many overtime hours.

Wife stayed home raising kids and working on the run down home – stripping old paint, painting, scrubbing and maintaining, but not enhancing.

 

The turning point.

Eventually, the couple imploded.  Tensions were high, finances were tight what with kids growing more expense and college funds and added life insurance, taxes and etc.  Neither one of the couple talked about the issues.  The Boomers didn’t talk money.  Years later they realized what a huge mistake this was and  began those discussions. 

Mrs. Boomer decided it was time to go back to work to try to alleviate the situation.  Besides, if a divorce was in the future, she would need a way to support the kids.

But, instead of going after a low paying easily obtained job, Mrs Boomer researched the job market at the time to see what jobs she could train for that would pay big bucks.  She found that computer programmers were in high demand.  She researched classes to learn programming and decided she could do this.  Instead of putting further strain on the marriage to pay for the classes, she opted to open a licensed day care home and save the money earned to go back to school.  She started her own at home business.

After two years she had enough money, quit the day care business and went to school full time.  On graduation, she started a job paying $18,000 a year (about $42 K in 2015 dollars).  In just a few years, hopping jobs for more and bigger opportunities, she was making more than hubby.

With more income, they decided to get out of the declining neighborhood.  Their timing was fortuitous and they were able to sell their $25,000 home for $45,000.  They had learned their real estate lesson and choose a home in a growing and desirable neighborhood this time.  Unfortunately, interest rates were near all time highs when they decided to leave that first home.

 

The march upward in networth.

The Boomers continued to live off of Mr. Boomers salary and saved every penny Mrs. Boomer earned.  They didn’t increase their lifestyle, and so they were able to greatly increase their savings. Mrs. Boomers career took off, offering opportunities for stock options, bonuses, employee stock into a retirement fund and ever increasing responsibility and income.  Mr. Boomer finally advance in his long held Federal Government job, paying in each payday to an actual for-real pension fund.

Soon their college funds were full, their offspring graduated and out in the world on their own and their net worth grew.  Mrs. Boomer played catch up with retirement savings in a 401K.  They paid off their mortgage early,saving years of interest payments.

It seemed that the money just kept rolling in.  Once they had enough saved for yearly expenses and emergency reserves, they began to invest in stocks, bonds and mutual funds.  They reinvested all dividends and capital gains and put new money into the market using dollar cost averaging.  All the while, they worked on getting to their target asset allocation – typically using new money instead of selling and buying.

 

Fast forward to now.

The Boomers are retired, living off Mr. Boomers Federal Government pension (and feeling pretty lucky to have one of the few pensions still around).  Their assets continue to grow (and sometimes shrink) with the market, and their net worth has continued to grow even without salaries to pump into it.

 

So, what did they do right?

• They gratefully accepted help from their parents to get an education (and scholarships) so they had no college debt.
• They learned not to load up with expensive credit card debt early in life.
• They were forced to learn to save (and yes their parents did drill it in as well) just to meet expenses and it became a lifelong habit.
• They (eventually) looked for career opportunities that not only were interesting but also paid well.
• They did not raise their standard of living when new money came into the household.
• They worked hard and smart at their careers to advance and earn more.
• They (eventually) made good decisions about retirement savings.
• They bought real property to build equity.
• They didn’t continually upgrade their real property, but did maintain it.
• They saved and saved and save.
• They didn’t risk current finances to fund new schooling.
• They found a way to maximize income for the wife at home with a business.
• They learned how to invest in the markets and did so with a plan and regularity.

And what did they do wrong?

• They didn’t pick college majors (initially) that would provide good income.
• They were impulsive in life choices (such as joining the Army and having babies early), instead of laying down goals and agreeing to them together.
• They didn’t do their research when embarking on their first home buying experience.
• They waited too long to buy their first home.
• They didn’t take advantage of home buying financing on their first home.
• They stayed in a less than desirable neighborhood too long and bought in a better neighborhood when interest rates were double digit.
• They saved for college for kids before retirement for themselves.

And how did they get lucky?

Any one may be beset by unfortunate circumstances outside of their immediate control.  The Boomers were lucky in that:

• Their parents provided college funding and some financial assistance.
• Their parents taught them the value of saving and hard work.
• They were both healthy.
• Their children were born healthy and had no serious health issues.
• Neither lost their jobs.
• Technological advances provided a lucrative career opportunity for the wife with minimal need for retraining.
• The stock market rallied after they started investing in it.

How about you all? What did (or would) you do differently than the Boomers?

Share your experiences by commenting below! 

***Photo courtesy of https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&q=net%20worth&tbs=sur:fmc#tbs=sur:fmc&tbm=isch&q=money&imgrc=vN2V0qwbyYhNnM%3A

Change Your Life One Year, One Goal, at a Time

The following post is by MPFJ staff writer, Melissa Batai.  Melissa is a freelance writer who covers topics ranging from personal finance to business to organics to food.  She blogs at Mom’s Plans where she shares her family’s journey to healthier living and paying down debt.

If you’re like most people, you likely may have overindulged this holiday season. You may have had a few too many drinks, ate a few too many sweets, had a few too many glasses of egg nog.

Your budget may have suffered, too, as you bought additional gifts for people who weren’t initially on your list or you forgot how much expenses can balloon in December.

Now that the rush of the holiday season is over, like most people, you want to face the new year ready to make some changes. Maybe you want to lose some weight, pay off some debt, improve yourself.

But, let’s be honest, change is hard. If it wasn’t, we wouldn’t get stuck in negative ruts as we all sometimes do. It’s hard to give up old habits, especially if you overwhelm yourself with a big list of New Year’s Resolutions.

This year, try a different approach.

Find ONE thing that you want to change. ONE thing that will improve your life, and make changing that ONE behavior your goal for 2016.

Yep, just ONE thing.

But more importantly, take the steps necessary to prepare to change your life before you make the change.

My Life Change

Three years ago, I was a total soda addict. I started drinking Mountain Dew (yes, I know, it makes me cringe now to think about it) when I was 16. I didn’t stop drinking it until I was 32.

I thought everything would be fine once I finally gave up Mountain Dew, but instead, I switched to Pepsi. At first, I drank Pepsi in moderation, but then I started drinking two 24-ounce bottles a day. I was almost as hooked on Pepsi as I had previously been on Mountain Dew.

One day, I looked at my infant daughter and realized I would be leaving her a terrible legacy. If I didn’t kick the soda habit, she’d likely grow up drinking soda, and perhaps becoming addicted, as I was.

By consuming so many liquid sugar calories, I was literally drinking my way to diabetes. I was also making it very difficult on myself to lose weight.

I decided that since I couldn’t manage my soda consumption, I should give it up completely.

And I did.

I won’t say it was easy. In fact, for about six months, I always wanted to drink a soda, especially when we went out to eat. But then, after I got through those difficult months, I found that I didn’t even want to drink soda. Not even a taste. I have been completely off soda for three years now, and I know I’ll never go back to drinking it.

Changing a bad habit is hard, but if you can see the cravings through, you can make a lifelong change that will very likely improve the quality of your life. The key is to devote yourself to ONE change at a time.

How to Make a Permanent Change

Don’t automatically assume the perfect time to change your life is when the calendar turns to the new year. Instead, the best time is after you’ve taken the proper preliminary steps.

The following is what you’ll want to consider as you prepare to change your life:

What do you want to change?

The first step is to determine which behavior you most want to change.

Why do you want to change?

Then, you must give yourself valid reasons WHY you want to change. This is important because our natural inclination, when faced with a challenge, is to fall back on our old behaviors. A list of solid reasons why you want to change can help you fight this tendency.

Psychology Today explains, “If you aren’t sure why you’re changing, don’t fully believe you’re making the right choice, or question whether what you’re doing will work, you’re likely to settle back on your automatic behaviors. That’s why self-efficacy—the belief that you can make a change and overcome obstacles—is one of the best predictors of successful change.”

What routines cause you to partake in the behavior?

Another important task is to realize what routines are associated with the behavior. I had certain times when I wanted to drink a soda—at dinner time, with an afternoon snack, for an afternoon pick me up. In other words, I had made soda a natural part of my routine. After I gave up soda, if I ate a less healthy snack like popcorn or chips, I found myself wanting soda. So, I changed to healthier snacks like bananas and apples, which broke the association of a snack being soda and a salty treat.

What triggers cause you to partake in the behavior?

You may find that you have triggers that cause the behavior. For instance, maybe if you fight with your children, you find yourself reaching for a sweet treat to soothe yourself. Or, maybe you find yourself shopping online more than you should, especially after a rough day at work.

Know the ingrained habits and triggers that cause the behavior BEFORE you try to change your behavior. Then, when a craving is particularly strong, you’ll be able to determine what is causing the craving and fight it off.

Make access more difficult.

Once you’ve completed all of the above steps, make access to the item more difficult. For instance, once I decided to give up soda forever, I stopped buying it. I didn’t bring it in the house. (Luckily my husband does not drink soda, so it was easy to keep it out of the house.) If you spend too much money shopping on Amazon, for instance, change your notifications so they go to your spouse’s e-mail. Your spouse will know immediately if you’ve spent more than you agreed to spend.

Make your resolve public.

Many people find that telling others about the behavior they want to change helps them accomplish their goal. A friend I know recently gave up gluten and dairy for health reasons. As gluten products made up a large portion of her diet, this was quite difficult for her. She recently posted that she has now gone six days without either gluten or dairy. Sharing publicly like this helps her keep her resolve, and she also gets encouragement from all of her friends cheering her on.

Michael Hyatt, blogger and author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, states, “When I decided to run my first half marathon, I decided to announce it on my blog. For me, this was like Cortez burning his ships off the Veracruz coast. Once I did it, there was no turning back. I was committed, and I was going to follow-through. It’s probably just pride, but ‘going public’ has proven to be a great lever in moving me toward my goals.”

This strategy may not work, however, if you’re largely surrounded by people who hope you don’t accomplish your goal. (Sadly, that is the case for some people.)

However, keep in mind that you have to find the strategies that work best for you. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of NIH’s National Institute of Drug Abuse notes, “There’s no single effective way to break bad habits. One approach is to become more aware of unhealthy habits, then develop strategies to counteract them: avoid walking halls where there’s a candy machine; avoid places where you’ve usually smoked; stay away from friends and situations linked to problem drinking or drug use.”

Resolve this New Year to change one habit and improve your life. Just remember that you don’t have to start on January 1^st. Instead, take the time to first understand your bad habit and why it exists. You’ll likely be more successful. Good luck!

How about you all? Have you kicked a bad habit? If so, what approach worked for you?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

 

Five Steps to Recover from Holiday (Financial) Overindulgence

The following is a post by MPFJ staff writer, CJ, who blogs at thesingledollar.com about personal finance, budgeting, frugality, and debt repayment.

I don’t know about you, but I woke up on December 26 to a budget bursting at the seams. At Christmas 2014 I was finishing up a year of debt payoff and I was very strict about buying presents, going out to brunch, and so on. But I got a little too relaxed this year; I bought gifts for more people, went out several times with friends, and generally had a hard time saying “no” to myself.

Luckily, I have a plan for what to do next. Just like after you eat too many Christmas cookies (I may have done that too this week, not saying!), recovery and restabilization is key.

Assess the Situation

Just how bad is it? Did you go into debt, or did you just spend all your “slush” money? This isn’t the time for regrets; even if you bought too many presents for your kids, or spent $30 on a meal out that wasn’t delicious, you can’t undo it now. Just make a list of any debts you have to pay off (credit card balances, money you borrowed from relatives or friends…) and prioritize them. If you don’t have debt, heave a sigh of relief and list your upcoming expenses.

Raise Cash/Store Credit

You’ll need to find some spare cash. You may have received gift cards or cash, or you can do some quick freelance work at sites like Swagbucks, Fiverr, or Usertesting. But one of my favorite ways to get back on track is to return unwise purchases to stores. If you bought presents for yourself (guilty!), do you still have the receipt and is the item unworn/unopened? Go get that money back! If you were given gifts that you won’t use, that can also be helpful. If you can tell where it came from (for example, a sweater from a specific retailer) then you can often take it back for store credit which you can use for things you really need. It’s nice if this is Target or Walmart so you can use the store credit for groceries.

Slim Down (Your Budget)

If you overindulged at Christmas, you’ll have to spend the next month or two tightening your belt. Look for places that you can cut back. The easiest way for me to do this is to cut down on food purchases: either I don’t go out as much, or I focus on making very cheap meals at home. If your family eats a lot of meat normally, try eating more pasta, rice, and beans. Or skip going to the movies and watch DVDs you already have. There are lots of places you can cut back a little for a month or two.

Follow Through

This step is simple: take the money you recoup from steps #2 and #3, and use it for the priorities you came up with in step #1. Pay off debts in order of importance, and pay necessary bills. Cross each item off your list as you pay it, as a great motivational tactic. When everything is crossed off, you’re back on your feet.

Plan For Next Year

Once you and your bank accounts are back on your feet, make sure you don’t make the same mistake again. Open a sub-account or a new line in your budget and name it “holiday.” Then set aside a pre-determined amount every month — say, $25 or $50. When December comes again, you’ll be able to have a good time without the yearly regret-filled reckoning.

How about you all? How did you do financially over the holidays? Any good tips for pulling yourself back together?

Share your experiences by commenting below!

***Photo courtesy https://pixabay.com/en/savings-bank-christmas-savings-pig-919859/

5 Money Saving Tips That Might Actually Cost You More (And 3 That Don’t)

The following is a guest post. Enjoy!

Who doesn’t love to save money? It’s not only nice to keep extra cash in your pocket, but there is always something thrilling about getting a great deal.

In fact, the thrill of the deal is what drives many shoppers to go to extremes, spending hours clipping and sorting coupons, researching bargains, and driving all over town to get the best prices. Do the extremes really pay off, though? Do these drastic measures actually save money?

The truth is, not always. In fact, many of the money saving “tips” that get repeated over and over again don’t save the average shopper all that much. In fact, if you follow these ideas, you might actually end up spending more in the long run.

1. Only Using Coupons on Items You Need or Use Regularly

On the one hand, this advice makes perfect sense: There’s no value in buying an item that costs more than your usual brand just because you have a coupon, or buying something you wouldn’t otherwise, just to use the coupon. However, if you score a high value coupon on an item that happens to be on sale, that’s a good opportunity to try something new without wasting money.

2. Buying in Bulk

Again, there are times when this makes sense. However, all too often shoppers score an incredible bargain, only to find that they have to toss some (or even most) of their purchase because it’s past the expiration date or no longer fresh. It might seem wasteful not to take advantage of a great deal, but it will be even more wasteful when you have to throw away the stuff you bought.

3. Only Shopping Where You Can Double and Triple Coupons

If you’ve got a high-value coupon, getting it doubled or even tripled at the checkout is a great deal. However, just because a store doesn’t increase the value of coupons doesn’t mean you can’t get a great deal. Using the same coupon at a store that has lower prices or sales on that item can save you just as much, if not more. So if you avoid certain stores because they don’t double coupons, take another look.

4. Only Paying Cash

Consumers are often told to avoid using credit cards, but using a credit card and then paying it off right away can actually be an effective savings technique. Many cards offer rewards, including cash back, points, or airline miles, that can save money on later purchases. Not to mention, the purchase protection offered by many cards is usually superior to store protection plans, meaning you don’t have to pay extra to cover a big purchase. So don’t discount credit cards entirely, but use them intelligently and save money.

5. Shopping Only at Discount or Dollar Stores

Discount and dollar stores are great if you are looking for trinkets to keep the kids busy, party supplies, or gift wrap. They aren’t so great for deals on groceries or health and beauty items. Not only is the quality often questionable, but most discount stores don’t have the same deals as other stores or allow customers to use coupons or take advantage of rebates. In many cases, you’ll end up paying just as much or more as you would anywhere else.

Three Tips That Will Save You Money

For all of the bad advice out there, some common money saving tips will actually keep your cash in your wallet. Remember these pointers when you’re shopping:

1. Look for coupon codes when shopping online. If there is a place to enter a code at checkout, there is probably a code somewhere online that can save you money. Search for “store name coupon code” online or visit a website that lists codes and deals to find money-saving offers.
2. Borrow or barter when you can. Need an expensive tool to complete a project or a particular type of pot to cook Christmas dinner? Ask your friends and family if they have one you can borrow. Don’t buy items you won’t use more than once if you don’t have to. Also, try bartering for things you need. For example, try offering your contractor your expertise in Web design in exchange for some work on your home. You might not get the whole bill covered, but you can save some money.
3. Monitor sales. Certain items traditionally go on sale during certain times of the year. Do your research, and time your purchases so you can score the lowest possible prices.

Saving money does require some legwork, but you don’t have to be an “extreme couponer.” Pay attention to prices, use coupons intelligently, and look for alternatives, and you’ll still enjoy the thrill of the deal.

Where is All My Money Going?

The following is a guest post. Enjoy! 

“Where is All My Money Going?”

If the title looked at all familiar, you’ve struggled with the all too familiar problem of making ends meet. Most people live in this state at one time or another. There’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is, some people live this way their entire lives, which should be avoided if at all possible. Some of the conditions which lead to this lifestyle are unavoidable. But most, I’m sorry to say, just aren’t. If you don’t know where all of your money goes, it’s time, my friends, to make a budget.

A budget is all about active money management. Management isn’t easy for everyone. It can be hard to tell other people what to do, and to make consequences happen if they don’t or don’t want to. But it’s even harder for most people to manage themselves. It’s an uncomfortable task to look at one’s own life and identify personal behaviors which are creating problems for yourself and others. Creating a budget is an exercise in doing just that. And even though it’s not fun for most, it’s important and it’s the only way you’ll get ahead in your financial life.

Before you start a spreadsheet, it’s important to look closely at your bank statements from the last couple of months. Go over them with a fine toothed comb, and take note of any unexpected events. See any surprises? If you’re not used to looking at your finances on the regular, you’ll probably find at least a few. The first surprise is a payment that you make that you didn’t know you’re making. PPI is an example: a kind of insurance that was tacked onto mortgage applications in the UK. People paid for it for years before they found out they were doing so, in many cases. Other people will have automated payments for services they no longer use, or for subscriptions they’ve forgotten about. First things first, kill off all these unnecessary payments.

Now look at everything you’ve spent over the previous month for food, entertainment, housing, and other important categories. Be merciless and give yourself a specific total figure. This can be painful, because most people spend a lot more for things like food than they previously thought. You don’t want to spend more than 20-30% of your monthly income on food. If you’re way over that amount (as many people are), you’ve got to make some changes.

For the next couple of months, keep your spending to levels which are well beneath that which you bring in from salary and other earning opportunities. Keep up this behavior for a long time and you’ll find that your money isn’t so tight after all. But to begin this process, it’s essential to look at these behaviors closely. Without close scrutiny, you’ll only have a general idea of what you’re spending and where, at best. If you don’t get specific you won’t be able to ask the question in our title, not really.