Money Fit

Feed The Pig

2011-03-24T09:08:00.000-06:00

It seems like there are a number of people that I know lately either popping the question or popping a baby out (my wife included). So it is no question that this email I just received from FeedThePig.org came at perfect timing. If you are pregnant, getting married, or heck if you fall into both categories don't miss reading what they have to say at FeedThePig.org .

For richer or poorer. Each individual brings their own financial history, attitudes and habits (both good and bad) to a relationship. When you get married, personal finances become a joint effort. One of the most important steps before getting married is to define your goals as a couple. Developing a joint spending plan can help you achieve your goals, and determine your daily money management; for example, will you maintain your individual bank accounts, or set up joint accounts?

As with starting a career, you want to make sure that you're maximizing both of your employer benefits, including health insurance and retirement plans, that you have adequate life insurance coverage and that the investments you choose suit your goals, time frames and risk tolerance. For more information on financial planning when you get married, click here.

A bun in the oven. Having or adopting a child is one of the most joyous times of a parent's life. But a growing family means growing financial obligations. Make sure you take the time to sit down and reevaluate your current financial plan and goals. Even though you may be still putting together the crib, you need to adjust your budget to account for new expenses like baby food, diapers, clothing, child care, etc., in addition to thinking about saving for your child's education.

Having a child makes it that much more vital that you have adequate health insurance, life insurance and disability income insurance. It's also important that you establish or update your estate plan—including a will, health-care proxy and power of attorney—no matter how young you are. Click here for more financial tips for parenthood.

Because life changes can mean lots of excitement and stress we often times forget the financial impact of such decisions/events. Make sure that you think ahead so that those times that can be so exciting don't turn into times of financial stress or regret.

Bountiful Baskets

2011-03-21T21:53:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to eat better lately and I don't think it is any secret that eating healthy can get expensive. Not this week.

5 apples

6 tangerines

3 mangos

5 tomatoes

7 bananas

Cantaloupe melon

Bundle of broccoli

Bundle of asparagus

Head of Cauliflower

Bundle of Swiss chard

Celery

Cilantro

All that for only $16.50 Saturday morning at Bountiful Baskets, our local produce co-op. You should definitely sign up for this deal.

Free Tickets To Utah Money Watchers Conference

2011-03-16T15:54:00.001-06:00

I just received an email that AARP, a sponsor of the Utah Money Watchers conference is offering a limited number of scholarships to the conference I just blogged about. If you would like to go just email me and I will get you two tickets. Let me know soon!

Utah Money Watchers Conference: Money Well Spent

2011-03-16T15:35:00.003-06:00

There is a local event going on next Saturday, March 26th, that you may want to be a part of. Sponsored by KUED, it is called the Utah Money Watchers Conference. The event is all about how to be a Savvy consumer and make those hard earned dollars count. This will be all day at the Marriott Hotel in downtown SLC. There is a $15 charge that includes a number of different breakout sessions including an address from Governor Herbert and lunch! Topics such as securing a good financial future, seven steps to debt elimination and financial peace, and avoiding money scams and fraud will be covered.

For more information or to sign up just click on the picture to go to the link... I am getting some mad technology skills... don't deny it.

Driven

2011-02-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I started on a book that I have wanted to read for quite some time. FINALLY my turn came up at the library and my wifey went and checked the book out for me. The Book is called Driven, an autobiography on the life of Larry H. Miller, a very successful businessman and entrepreneur who passed away a few years back. I just wanted to share a little tidbit about some philosophies Larry had that I share and wholeheartedly support.

When Larry and Gail were first married they uncured a $3,000 medical debt and purchased a home shortly thereafter for around $25,000. They hated the draining slavery felt in servicing the debt, so they reduced their expenses as much as possible and then began to pay down the debt as aggressive as their circumstances would allow. Eventually Larry found a good deal on a Land Cruiser that he restored and sold to pay off their remaining debt. They both vowed at that moment that they would do anything possible to avoid getting into personal debt ever again. They then set another goal together as Larry received a wage increase. He didn't want to do as most and live up to that increase. Rather they went on with life as if it never occurred taking those extra dollars and saving them for the future. Larry and Gail didn't want money, they wanted security and it seems to me that they realized that no one was going to give that to them, rather they had to earn it themselves. Eventually Larry had accumulated $44,000 which he invested in a real estate deal where he was able to double his investment, gaining the initial funds to launch him into the car dealership business.

Larry was very modest in what he wore, drove, purchased, ect. He had the idea that he never wanted to let material things get the best of him. He had a love for Cobras, which he quite the collection of. In their ladder years they eventually built a home as Gail had always wanted to. But when Larry would have people over he apologized for the extravagance of their home, not wanting others to think of their family as boastful or vain. I have a guy from my church that said Larry was his Sunday School teacher as a teenager. He said he remembers Larry drove an old Firebird that he limped along till the day that it puked. From that point he just drove a modest car from one of his dealerships. He had potential for all that he ever wanted but wore the same leather banded wristwatch, simple gold wedding band, polo shirt and white tennis shoes (often times that were mailed to the players that they didn't want).

Larry beleived that his wealth was given to him as a stewardship from God and he wanted to do all the good he could with it. He was very generous in giving to his church among many local organizations, scholarships and individuals. One year he had written a goal that he would give so much to the local food bank that they would cry uncle.

I want to be like him...

Junior Achievement of Utah

2011-02-17T16:40:00.001-07:00

I am pretty excited today. This passed week, Valentines day to be exact, I found out about a local organization called Junior Achievement of Utah. They are a non profit organization that deals with financial and economic education in schools from elementary on up through high school.

I just met with Sandra, one of the local reps and signed up to volunteer a few times a month to go into our local high school and teach the financial literacy side of the course. Super excited out it! Stay tuned for updates on how the classes go!

Moola!

2011-02-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

So there is this pretty cool app called Moola that I have become fond of. It is put out by Nefarious Monkey...Crazy name, I know, but the app is pretty cool. In essence, it is just a digital checkbook register but you can use it to track more than just checking. Plus, having it on my phone makes it so I don't have to lug one more thing around, and I don't have to sit and log everything at home long after I have forgotten details. Here are a few sweet moves the app has:

✔ Multiple accounts tracking ✔ A Bill tracker

✔ Customizable categories ✔ Recurring transactions

✔ Data import/export/backup

This app is not linked to your account and I prefer it that way. Call me old fashion but I like knowing real time what my finances look like. The light version is free and that is all I have used for quite some time. I suggest it for any android user that is even half as nerdy as I am about their finances.

Patience...

2010-10-09T21:32:00.003-06:00

I heard the following six months ago. I wish I knew all there was to know on the subject...

“In the 1960s, a professor at Stanford University began a modest experiment testing the willpower of four-year-old children. He placed before them a large marshmallow and then told them they could eat it right away or, if they waited for 15 minutes, they could have two marshmallows.

He then left the children alone and watched what happened behind a two-way mirror. Some of the children ate the marshmallow immediately; some could wait only a few minutes before giving in to temptation. Only 30 percent were able to wait.

It was a mildly interesting experiment, and the professor moved on to other areas of research, for, in his own words, “there are only so many things you can do with kids trying not to eat marshmallows.” But as time went on, he kept track of the children and began to notice an interesting correlation: the children who could not wait struggled later in life and had more behavioral problems, while those who waited tended to be more positive and better motivated, have higher grades and incomes, and have healthier relationships.

What started as a simple experiment with children and marshmallows became a landmark study suggesting that the ability to wait—to be patient—was a key character trait that might predict later success in life.

Waiting can be hard. Children know it, and so do adults. We live in a world offering fast food, instant messaging, on-demand movies, and immediate answers to the most trivial or profound questions. We don’t like to wait. Some even feel their blood pressure rise when their line at the grocery store moves slower than those around them.

Patience—the ability to put our desires on hold for a time—is a precious and rare virtue. We want what we want, and we want it now. Therefore, the very idea of patience may seem unpleasant and, at times, bitter.”

A few take-aways I have come out with after listening to this a half dozen times...

Patience is not just "passive resignation", it is an action... steady work
Being able to delay our short term wants for a bigger goal is a sign of maturity and self discipline.
Patience is accepting what we cannot change with courage and understanding, or even happiness.
Patience requires actively working toward worthwhile goals and not getting discouraged when results do not appear instantly or without effort.
Patience means resisting evil even when it appears to be making others rich.
Sometimes it is in the waiting rather than the receiving that we grow the most.

This is an excerpt from one of my church leaders Dieter F. Uchtdorf. No matter what faith you are this is wise cousel for all. If you want to read the full monte you can find it here. Or you can watch it here.Here is also a fun video on the very same subject...

2010-09-27T21:51:00.001-06:00

I found this on visualeconomics.com and thought it was worth sharing...

It is kind of crazy to see where we as a citizens are collectively spending our hard earned dollars.

Lunch and Learn

2010-09-21T12:19:00.003-06:00

Every so often my employer offers these workshops called Lunch and Learn, where we come in on our lunch breaks and they feed us and provide some type of educational seminar. Some nutritional, some motivational. They are a pretty cool thing. This week in lieu of National Preparedness Month, we had a meeting entirely focused on emergency preparedness and creating a disaster plan. I learned a few nuggets worth sharing.

Understand your vulnerabilities and where you are at risk. They mentioned this in reference to physical preparation but it also applies to our financial preparation.
Dominoes now serves sandwiches... and they deliver! That is what we had for lunch in case you are curious.
Make copies of critical documents and store them in a disaster proof container or location. If something bad happens, the loss of those documents could be a disaster in and of itself.
Be practical about what you are storing. If you cannot or do not eat it regularly why store it.
In an emergency, you will still need meds. If you are on any type of a prescription medicaion and it is critical to your survival, do your best to build up at least a few week supply.

National Preparedness Month

2010-09-15T15:36:00.002-06:00

In case you didn't already know September is National Emergency Preparedness Month. Kind of a big deal. In our neighborhood, the city has planned a big mock disaster to see how the emergency crews respond and how well we as individual citizens respond.

I was thinking it would be fun to creat a big mock financial disaster... then I realized there are a lot of us that are already unfortunately going through one! The recession has taken its toll and many were not prepared. Either way I think now is a great time for us to step back and think.

How ready are you for a financial emergency?

Preparedness is not something you can make-up over night. I would advise that every family should have at very minimum three to six months of expenses saved up in an account that is fairly liquid and fairly accessible. In addition, I suggest having proper insurances and back-up plans in place. I also suggest that everyone have a food storage of a minimum of three months of goods you will really eat, not just wheat and water.

Here are just a few questions to ask yourself to see how well prepared your familiy is for a financial disaster:

If you were to lose your job how long could you go without work and survive?
What would happen to your loved ones if you were injured and could not work?
What would happened if you died unexpectedly? I know it is morbid to think but really how would your loved ones provide for themselves?
What would happen if you or your loved ones were injured or came down with an illness?

Murphy's law says that anything that can go wrong will. I believe there is an equal opposite. When we are prepared for anything to go wrong it more than likely will not. I would rather be on my made-up side of Murphy's law than the other. And even it does go wrong you are prepared!

Stuck In A Rut

2010-09-07T17:13:00.005-06:00

The past few months have been crazy to say the least. First I made a job change, then had a family reunion, then high adventure with scouts, and a trek with our church. I was then out of town doing training for my new job for three weeks. I calculated that at one point I was out of town six of the eight weeks, from the end of June through the first Part of August. To top it off I have been working on another investment home we hope to have complete in the next few weeks in my limited spare time. By the way if any of you know someone looking for a hip place in Layton for $135k send them my way.

I must confess that with the whirlwind that has hit me over the past few months I let myself get sidetracked on many of the good routines I had going in life. I stopped blogging, I haven’t been very committed to exercising on a daily routine, and I have eaten a lot of junk lately.

I have decided to do better. And sometimes that is all it takes.

Life is full of ruts. It seems like they are easy to fall in but try as we might they are difficult to escape.

I love to ride motorcycles. When I was a kid I used to be deathly afraid of ruts. Once I got in one I knew I was stuck and I was not strong enough or skilled enough at the time to finagle my way out. The good news is that over time I learned how to navigate through trails with deep ruts. I was able to see them coming and as I gained strenght and confidence I figured out how to escape them.

Whenever I fell into a rut on my motorcycle the first thing I knew to do was slow down, then depending on the depth of the rut I would have to slowly creep up the edge or make a sharp move up to get out. If all else fails there were a few times when I was little that I just had to stop my motorcycle and lift my front tire out of the rut so I could steer in a different direction.

The same is needed to get ourselves out of personal ruts. Sometimes it takes a little slowing down to evaluate the situation, sometimes all we need to make is a sharp move, and there may even be those times that we just have to stop and pull ourselves out. The key is either way it is going to require effort and courage.

Bake Sale

2010-06-08T11:56:00.001-06:00

As you know I am a BIG fan of giving wherever possible. That principle alone teaches us to be wise and be grateful with what we have. As usual my big sis is doing a great job of it by holding a bake sale for the Utah Schools for the Deaf where her two of her children go. If you are in the area please come on by or if you would like to you can also donate to the cause. For more info you can email her directly by clicking here.
...should be lots o fun!

Summer Fun… Rent or Buy?

2010-06-04T22:06:00.003-06:00

With the summer just getting started I thought now would be a great time to address a question I have had for a while… When recreating is it better to rent or buy? Where is the line? I have often talked back and forth with friends and family about whether or not to buy a trailer or rent one, to purchase a boat or rent one? There are obviously benefits to both but how do you know where the line is?
I took a little time to put together a couple hypothetical situations to help me weigh things out from my perspective. Hopefully this will help you when trying to figure things out on your own. After a little looking online I found that $12,000 could purchase a fairly nice and fairly new camping trailer that anyone would be happy to have, or for $20,000 you could get a nice boat that I would be proud to wakeboard behind. I also found out after a little looking that you could rent that same trailer for $95 a day or boat for about $300 a day. I then created a very simple grid with some costs off the top of my head that would be associated with both and came up with the following. For both examples,

Boat Rental		Owning a $20,000 Used Boat
Average Daily Rental rates	$300	Insurance (Monthly)	$30
		Maintenance (Monthly)	$42
		Monthly Finance/ opportunity cost	$377
Number of daily rentals annually before buying	18	Annual Ownership Costs	$5,393

Trailer Rental		Owning a $12,000 Used Trailer
Average Daily Rental rates	$90	Insurance (Monthly)	$20
		Maintenance (Monthly)	$25
		Monthly Finance/ opportunity cost	$226
Number of daily rentals annually before buying	34	Annual Ownership Costs	$3,257

As you can see I made the assumption that anyone purchasing a boat or trailer would be financing at 5% or sacrificing a 5% return on the money invested in the vehicle rather than in a secure investment. By the way I suggest that you never finance a toy… just my humble opinion. Beyond these simple numbers there are a few benefits to both sides that are not easily measured:
Owning:

Although it will have depreciated over time, in the end you will have an object of value that you would not otherwise have if rented.
If you own instead of rent you will have a much easier time planning outings on a short notice.
Convenience of always having your personal vehicle loaded.

Renting:

No hassle of maintenance or storage for the vehicle.
You will always have the opportunity to rent new, top of the line equipment.
No Guilt for not using your vehicle enough throughout the year.
Most rentals offer all the accessories included in the rental price, which you would have to pay for if you purchased the rec. vehicle.

Beyond all this you would have to have a lot more spare time than I do in order to justify buying over renting. I can barely get away for three days a year let alone 30! If you do decide to buy versus rent you could consider renting out your own recreational vehicle on the weekends you are not using it. This would increase your insurance and maintenance costs and could be a little bit of a headache but may be helpful for you to provide some income if you own it.

Social Experiment

2010-05-22T18:39:00.003-06:00

My little girl Nora loves to put money in the money jar. When I come home from work if I have change in my pocket I give it to her and she goes running to the jar gets all excited and pops the coin in the slot. I look at it as a fun little way to teach our almost two year old a basic financial skill of saving.

On Monday my wife Amanda and little Nora got to go shopping for undies... yup its that time. As Amanda was strategizing about how to motivate and reward little Nora in her potty training adventure I had an epiphany. Instead of rewarding her with candy for going potty in the toilet we are going to let her put coins in the money jar.

This all came about by the latest book I am reading on incentives and why we as a society do certain things the way we do and have the rewards that we do. As I was thinking about this I was reminded about a study in a nutrition class in college and thought back to how we as a culture reward ourselves with food (most times junk food). Not necessarily a good thing. I realized that Amanda and I are teaching our daughter this horrible habit at a very young age. That along with my desire to always teach our kiddos good moneysaving principles led me to this idea.

We are now three days into our social experiment and no accidents yesterday! It is exciting for me, I think we are going to have to try more experiments like this.

Way To Go Jessi!

2010-05-18T19:49:00.000-06:00

I want to give a shout out to my little sis who just paid off her car two years early! When she bought it I was nervous for her so we talked and I challenged her to pay it off early. She then responded that she would have it paid off in 3 years. So here we are thee years later with a paid off car! I am sure the stereo plays better and the car drives faster now...

Jessi by paying off your car early you saved just under $700 in interest, not to mention you can now sleep easy 24 extra months. Now time for your next challenge... Take the extra you were spending on that car payment and bank it! Invest it, or save it for school or for that house we are going to find for you!

Choosing To Say No

2010-05-15T20:40:00.002-06:00

Our culture has changed to have a tendency not want to wait for anything. If we want it we get it. It isn’t all our fault; Marketers are good at what they do and they teach us to not wait when we find something we want. Just in putting my thoughts together I Googled “Finances, say no” and the first line that popped up was an ad from Google Adwords that said

“Where to go when the bank says NO”, a tag line for loan.com

I thought it quite comical.

Choosing to say no to things we do not need or rather cannot afford is an idea that can be hard for someone who has never had to do without. It can also be quite gratifying to say no, knowing that you are really saying yes to achieving your goals for the future. For those of you that struggle with this concept of telling the world no when they want you to say yes I offer a few pointers that have helped me.

First, I am always asking myself “Is there a more economical way to accomplish this or to get that?” When I see an ad that temps me I think, “Am I really dumb enough to let this ad tell me that I want that?” Another great way to judge how much I want/need something is by putting it in terms of hours I would have to work to buy the item. In other words if I get $20 an hour by the time I pay tax, tithing and invest I am really only left with $10. Do I really want to waste an hour of my hard work on that lousy $10 hamburger? This helps me especially with high ticket items.

If you have tried everything imaginable and still think you need that “whateveritis” let me just say this. In the past when I have found something I just could not live without I have found ways to get creative. I recognize that we are here to enjoy life and I recognize that not everyone is the tight wad that I am. If you have something you cannot live without get creative. Sell something you don’t want or use any more to raise money for that which you want. Find a way to make your hobby profitable, work extra hard for a bonus. Your possibilities are endless.

The Small Things

2010-05-05T20:39:00.004-06:00

I knew a couple who owned a local ad agency whose niche was mailers such as Penny Saver or Hometown Values. One time in talking with them I learned a lesson that has stuck with me. They said, “If people can learn to watch the pennies the nickels watch themselves.”

I took this counsel to heart to the point that I will sit in the aisle at the store with my phone calculator comparing price per ounce for different products. When we were first married Amanda one time said, “I just don’t get you. You will debate over 30 cents and will not buy yourself lunch at school or a new shirt when you need it, but you won’t think twice about spending a few hundred dollars on an accessory for your motorcycle.”

She knows how I think now. Good or bad my philosophy is that if I watch the little things over time when the opportunity comes to be able to get something that I want or need I can do it for two simple reasons 1) I have the money to buy it because I have been frugal elsewhere and 2) I won’t have to feel guilty about doing so once in a while because I have saved in other areas.

The moral of the story: If we are watching the small things the big things take care of themselves.

Best Diet Ever Continued...

2010-04-30T21:37:00.004-06:00

Last week I posted a blog about my amazing teenage discovery to which my sister-in-law sent me the comical SNL skit.

I promised to delve further into the concept of living within our means, so ready or not you are going to get it! Over the next week you I will address the following topics:

Paying close attention to the small things.
Choosing to say no.
Staying in the right frame of mind.
Having a spending plan.

The overall concept, like most with money is a subject of behavior. And our everyday thoughts and actions lead to behavior. The four principles I will address are geared that we may be able to curve our thoughts and everyday actions in order to change our behavior. In this case make living within our means just a way of life, not an overwhelming task.

SNL; Don't Buy Stuff

2010-04-24T20:34:00.008-06:00

My sister-in-law sent me this SNL skit that I thought was funny and applicable to my last post. It is an oldie but a goodie. Thanks Tori!

SNL - Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford

By the way thank you Cherie for showing me how to embed this video! I for the life of me could not figure out how to embed hulu.

The Best Diet Ever!

2010-04-22T19:00:00.002-06:00

I was a sophomore in high school, in health class, when my teacher started telling us about the best diet strategy ever. If you have read my personal story you can guess that I was tuned in very clear to see what secret Mr. S. was about to reveal. “Forget Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers, even the miracle pill! This works and there are no side effects!” I was on the edge of my seat ready to hear the secret. “Eat fewer calories than you burn.”

“That’s all?” I thought to myself as I sat there somewhat disappointed. It took a while for it to sink in but eventually I realized all those other programs were strategies to help reduce calorie intake or increase calorie burning. “This truly is the secret. I just need to eat fewer calories than I burn!”

Today I have a strategy that is just as good but it applies to trimming financial fat. Spend less than you earn! This is rule number one for me. I truly believe that no matter how much or how little you make, you can and should learn to spend less than you earn or in other words learn to live within your means. Once you understand and live this principle you will be well on your way to being financially fit. For the next few posts I will elaborate on this concept, but really it is just as simple as it sounds. We just make it out to be difficult.

Pareto Principle

2010-04-16T22:42:00.003-06:00

Interesting story... In the early 1900’s Italian Economist Vilfredo Pareto made a few interesting observations. He noticed that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the people. Additionally he realized that in his own garden 20% of the pea pods produced 80% of the peas.

There are many other angles that illustrate Pareto’s discovery such as the fact that 80% of your sales usually come from 20% of your customers or 20% of your efforts. Additionally 20% of the world holds over 80% of the world’s wealth, and if you were to take the top 10 richest people in the world you would see that the top three own as much as the next seven.

In looking at my time I noticed that 20% really is the most productive and thus doing 80% of the work in getting me to my financial goals. Theoretically speaking if I could somehow find a way eliminate the other 80% that fills my time and double the most productive 20% I just could increase my income by 60% and reduce my work load by 60%. Pretty cool huh!

In short, the reason I share this is to help address the importance of prioritizing and time management. First, identify and focus on the 20% in your life that is really producing the results you want, then focus your energy on expanding in that area. When the nonessential urgent issues arise remind yourself where you need to be prioritizing your valuable time. If you need to change your schedule make sure it is promoting the 20% that will make the difference.

Tax Time Continued...

2010-04-14T21:28:00.002-06:00

So a few days back I posted my suggestions on what to do with your refund from Uncle Sam. I just want to add two disclaimers.

A hefty tax return is not the goal. What it really means is that you just gave Uncle Sam an interest free loan for a year. Now that the stress of filing taxes are over with it may be a good time to evaluate your return and look to next year. If you received a large return I would suggest that you revisit your W-4 form to increase your dependents or decrease your withholding's.
The three suggestions may have to go by the way side if you are digging yourself out of debt. If that is the case you can still buy yourself something only now you should only spend around 10-20% of your return. You still need to give, and I suggest 10%. Finally you have 70-80% left that I suggest you use to pay down debts and build an emergency fund.

Now hurry and get your taxes done - They're due out tomorrow!

Tax Time

2010-04-10T18:05:00.003-06:00

Only one week remains before the dreaded due date for taxes. I assume most already have them done - If you haven't finished them yet I suggest you get on the stick!

For those of you that are in for a big tax return I have a few suggestions on how to maximize you money rather than racing down to your nearest auto dealer like so many of them advertise.

Buy yourself something. I know, gasp! I said it, buy yourself something. I suggest that you spend no more than 40% of your tax return and get you and your family something nice. We all have those needs/wants that are a little large and just don't fall into the budget. Here is the perfect opportunity to satisfy one.
Give a little. Like always I say a minimum of 10%. If you don't really have anything you want/need you would be wise to increase your giving. The good news is that our current economy makes it so you don't have to look very far to find opportunities to give to those less fortunate.
Invest. You have 50% of your refund left for this. Bottom line your number one investment goal is to make sure you and your family have a minimum of 3-6 months living expenses set aside for a rainy day. If you don't have that yet put it there. If you have a strong emergency fund there are a number of options to look into, of which I am not going to tell you what to do as you know better than I what your long term goal and objectives are. Just please don't put it under your pillow or in a low yielding savings account, which is almost as bad.

Learn To Appreciate Technology

2010-04-10T12:41:00.002-06:00

So I found this video while on another blog called Everybody Loves Your Money. Thought it was funny..

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Realize Your Savings

2010-04-02T17:30:00.000-06:00

So a few days back Amanda and I were talking and she was telling me about some goals she had for herself. One of them got me thinking. She said she wanted to be better about coupons and sales, and then using her savings there to continue to build our food storage. When she said this I got thinking about a book I read a few years back that touched on this subject. I can't remember the name of the book but the author called the concept "realizing our savings".

The idea is that when we go shopping especially for big ticket items we usually have a budget we have laid out for what we are willing to spend. When we find a deal that saves us from spending our full budgeted amount we should realize that savings by putting that money saved aside. In Amanda's case she is going to realize her savings through having a little more to spend on our food storage. It is a fun principle to think about. I am sure it could get exciting after a year or two to look back and see all that you saved as a result of realizing your savings.

Save Money & Your Girlfriend

2010-03-20T18:43:00.000-06:00

A good friend I have made in the area we live is a huge advocate of dating our spouses. He calls his wife his girlfriend and I have tried to pick up on it. But if you are going to have a girlfriend you have to treat her as one! Having a regular date night will strengthen marriage relationships. Those couples that do date on a regular basis are more likely to find friendship with their spouse and happiness at home.

Dating can get expensive especially if you get stuck in the rut of going out all the time. A few years ago Amanda and I made a commitment to be better about dating each other regularly. Recognizing that our resources were limited we came up with a fun way to plan some cheap, fun dates. Each of us was responsible to plan one date a month that we could do for less than $10. It was a great way for us to get creative and have a little fun. Below I have listed some fun ideas that you can skim through next time you want to take your girlfriend out on an inexpensive date.

County Fair
Go on a hike
Drive somewhere and watch the sunset
Drive to the hills and have a BBQ
Bonfire & S’mores
Go Star Gazing
Go window shopping. (Leave your wallets home.)
Feed the ducks at a park
Go to the zoo
Free concerts in the park
Visit Museums
Botanical Gardens
Have a Picnic in the Park
Stay home… send the kids out.
Go on a walk/jog
Go fishing
Take a TV into the mountains and watch a suspenseful movie.
Go Geocaching
Play a board game w/ friends
Go sledding/snowshoeing
Go to the airport to watch planes come and go
Find a hobby to do together
Redbox a movie and make some popcorn
Go on a motorcycle ride (one of my favorites)
Find a beach and take some books… read and watch the sunset
Paddle a canoe or small boat around a lake/pond.
Church activities/events (Free & Fun)
Fly a kite
Share a milkshake - better yet go get goodies and make make some milkshakes.

If you have any fun, inexpensive dates you have taken your lover on please share!

Lemons Anyone?

2010-03-13T19:26:00.000-07:00

For some it is pretty depressing to watch the news. You hear of all the turmoil going on in the financial markets, rising unemployment rates, home foreclosure numbers increasing, national or local governments being run in ways that many may disagree with, and so on. I meet so many people that are so upset about issues like these and I say so what! All these things we cannot fix, nor will all the ulcers in the world fix these issues. Instead of worrying about the problems of the world make the best of the situation. There is the saying, “When life gives you lemons make lemonade.” I say to heck with that… When life gives you lemons make lemon slush!

In every problem lies an opportunity. The current financial problems have led many families I know of to get away from expensive lifestyles and make some changes to go back to the things that are most important to them - their families, their faith, their relationships with others. I must say that is a pretty good trade. There are many ways to make the best of a bad situation.

I believe that you can also take lemons and make lemon slush that you can then sell! Don't let the current problems of the world dictate your life. I often hear varying figures about how many millionaires were made during the great depression. When the nation was in a slump those people found a way to be productive and provide a good living for their families.

As a kid my brother and I would constantly talk about how we wanted to invent something and make our whole family rich. I remember my dad counseling me that the way to do so is to find a need (aka a problem) and find something to fill that need. I believe this is true. The bigger the need you can fill or problem you can solve, the more potential you have for wealth. Think of it this way… If there were to be someone that could solve our current financial troubles with a snap of his fingers don’t you think he could make a great deal of wealth at that? I certainly do! Our government has already spent trillions of dollars just in failed attempts at fixing our economic problems.

In Short don’t let your troubles big or small set you back – instead go to the grocery store, buy some lemons, some sugar and a bag of ice, make a lemon slush, and think about what you are going to do to manipulate that problem for the benefit of you and your family. Remember, success is finding opportunity in every problem, not in finding problems in every opportunity.

Pretty Sweet Deal!

2010-03-04T19:47:00.000-07:00

I get excited when I find super good deals. like really excited... So I thought I would pass this one along.

Last week Amanda and I got a pepperoni pizza for $2.99 at 5 Buck Pizza. Not bad right? I was pretty excited. Dinner for three people for $3 is a pretty good deal even if it does contain no nutritional value whatsoever. Well the deal just got sweeter. On citydeals.com 5 Buck Pizza has a deal that you can buy a $25 gift card for only $15, a 40% savings. If you use this gift card on a Tuesday or Thursday you can get the 40% savings on a pizza that only costs $2.99. This means that your pizza only costs you roughly $1.80 plus tax. A pizza for $5 is an ok deal, $2.99 is a great deal, but $1.80 is insane! try it out...

Critical Elements of Finance

2010-02-26T21:33:00.000-07:00

Bottom line maintaining control of your finances can be hard. I believe there are a few critical elements that will help you win the battle. Hopefully sharing these elements will help you understand why I discuss some of the topics that I do on this site. So here we are; the critical elements of your finances:

Vision. You will not accomplish anything in life unless you have a vision for it. What better ways to define your vision and make sure you are working toward it than to set some goals. Set some finance goals for yourself and for your family. Big or small, having some goals in place will give you something to reach for and something to track.
Planned, controlled spending. I do my best not to use the B word. To me it is a six-letter swear word because it has come to have a negative meaning in our culture, which de-motivates me to do the very thing it is defines… Budget. What ever you want to call it you do need to make sure every dollar has a name, as Dave Ramsey says. Planning your spending helps build character and self control. It also helps to make sure you are in control of you money and your life.
Expand your earnings. 90% of us can live on the income that we have, we just need to learn some self control and how to manage ourselves better. Whether you need the extra cash or not, I am always a fan of increasing income. To me, that is where the fun is. There are many ways to do so through the work you do, but also through putting the money you have worked hard to save to good use. I hope to provide helpful tips for both in the future.
Savings. No matter how much you make, if you do not learn to put some aside you will never get ahead. Hence learning to save even just a little bit is a necessity. One of my favorite quotes is, “It is not how much money you make but how much you keep and how hard that money works for you.” ‘Nuff said.
Motivation and fun! Unless you are a super nerd like me this stuff can get boring. Find ways to make it fun. Having fun in whatever you do will make life enjoyable and will help you keep committed to that which you are doing. Any area of life that you are trying to improve can get discouraging no matter how good it will be in the end. There must be constant motivation and inspiration. That is why I am here… motivation and inspiration… and some fun.

So there you are. Each of the five elements has their own role. You will notice that most of that above is tied to your behavior more than it is to a dollar bill. Hopefully this will provide some insight for you in what to expect out of this blog and why I post what I post.

90-10 Rule

2010-02-15T16:48:00.000-07:00

I love the movie Hitch. It isn’t quite in my top ten but it is a fun movie to watch. One of my favorite parts is when Albert (Kevin James) is being coached by Hitch (Will Smith) on how to approach his girlfriend, Allegra on the step for a kiss. Hitch tells Albert to go 90% of the way in approaching her and let Allegra go the next 10%. In an awkward demonstration Hitch pretends to be Allegra and Albert, who must not know the difference between 90% and 100% leans forward and kisses Hitch…Its pretty funny. I have my own 90-10 rule but it has nothing to do with Hitch.

I read once that when trying to save that we should pay ourselves/invest 10% of our traditional income and live off 90%. Taking that a step farther we should invest 90% of our supplementary or side income while spending only 10%. I know it sounds pretty extreme but this is definitely something to try! I have been following this principle for the past few years and it has helped our finances immensely. We have been able to save money that we wouldn’t miss in the first place. Plus knowing that we are putting these amounts away helps me to relax about the other $$$ we are spending. You should try it!

Something to note:

I know that life can come at us hard sometimes. If things are a bit tight my rule turns to the 95-5 rule, investing only 5% of my income and possibly less of my supplementary income. The key is to get back on track when things start to ease up again. Either way keeping the principle of storing away a good majority of my side income and some of my primary income has been a great help.

No More Failed Resolutions

2010-01-02T10:27:00.000-07:00

I am going to get in shape, get a new job, get out of debt and quit smoking… Sounds familiar doesn’t it? So we all have those resolutions that we make at the beginning of the year. Some last a day, some last a week. If you are lucky yours will last 6 months, less than 46% do. The good thing is that you are making these resolutions, because if you weren’t you’d only have a 4% chance of reaching your goal (Don’t ask me how they made up that statistic). I found many studies, but overall 90-97% of New Years resolutions fail. Want to be one of the 3 in 100 that succeed in your resolutions? I have a few pointers to help you out in your lofty goal.

1. Write it down. Statistics show that people who write their goals down are 80% more likely to achieve them than those that do not write them down. In putting your goals on paper try to be specific. For instance rather than saying you are going to get in shape write what waist size, weight or strength you would like to achieve. Then set specific objectives to achieve that will get the end result. Specific goals are more achievable and you can track them better.

2.Make your own goal. I cannot say how many times I have made a goal for my wife. I can however honestly say that nearly every goal I made for her was never achieved. Surprise, surprise… Don't worry I don't blame her. If you really want to achieve a goal it has to be your own - not your bosses, not your parents, and not your spouses. You will only be totally driven to achieve a goal that you have earnestly bought into.

3. Baby steps. Set up small checkpoints along the road. This will help you track progress. And as you see that progress it will create excitement and a desire to work even harder to achieve the goals.

4. Tell the world. Ok maybe not the entire world, but just about! I say this for tree reasons, first telling friends and family subconsciously reaffirms you. Now that your friends know your goal they will be watching you and you won’t want to let them down. Second reason to tell a friend is “When performance is measured, performance improves (Hence write it down and take baby steps). When performance is measured and reported, the rate of improvement accelerates.” Telling your friends in effect gives you a coach of sorts. Someone to report to on your progress. My final reason to tell someone is really just out of maintaining your own motivation. Tell someone you know will be a support to you. Encouragement is just as important as the progress when working through struggles or trying to achieve a goal. If you want to take this a step farther find someone in your peer group who has the same goal. It makes things much easier.

5. Celebrate. Achieving a goal is a big deal no matter how small the goal set, so celebrate that success. I suggest you give yourselves mini rewards along the path of achievements and a reward a little bigger upon achieving the goal. For instance; I go exercise right before lunch a few days a week and I go running before breakfast. My mini reward is that I get lunch [or breakfast] after exercising. The keyword is mini. It would be very counter productive to go on a family vacation costing $3,000 after paying off $1,500 in debt. On the other hand if you and your family just reached the goal of paying off $45,000 in debt and had the cash to do the family vacation then the family vacation would be very justifiable.

6. Have Fun! The hardest part about achieving goals is getting stuck in the monotony and getting bored/distracted. Whether through a game or humor or just excitement make the path fun. It is critical to your success.

So that is the Recipe. Follow it and you will be one of the 3 in 100. If you do have room for improvement the new year does bring an opportunity to make a change. A few goals I suggest for all are: 1) Kick your consumer debt to the curb. 2) A six month financial reserve at minimum, 3) Set a goal of how much you would like to make... or better yet how much you would like to give. These are a few good starts, but remember it has you be your goal, not mine. If you would like please share what your resolution is.

Happy New Year!

Jason

O Grandioso Giving

2009-12-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

Christmastime brings a wonderful excitement and atmosphere, twinkling lights, seasonal music, crazy people getting trampled in stores at 3am… This year the Christmas excitement has been different for me. I want to give, like a lot!

So often I fall into the trap of looking out for #1, excited about the latest gadget I want or what fun activities my family will be doing for the holiday. This year I have done my best to avoid that school of thought. In the spring and summertime I read a few books that inspired me to be a more generous person with my finances and time. Looking back my motives may have been somewhat selfish, but either way I was inspired and acted. My wife and I have tried to give more to our church, we have both tried to see needs of those around us and fill them. Just in the past few weeks my family and I have had some fun opportunities to give. It is so fun! So gratifying!

Just today I came out of a work party with a gift (you know those ones from the gift exchange that are nice but you don’t really need) I was excited to get but didn’t really need it. The gift rode by my side in my pickup for a few hours till I went out to meet a guy that would be installing one of our real estate signs. I asked him if he was excited for Christmas and he shrugged and said yes, I then asked if he had gifts all picked out for his little girls when again he answered yes. I then had the thought “What about your wife? Did you get her something?” When he said no the pieces instantly fell together in my little head. I lit up and hurried back to my travel companion, the gift from earlier and pulled it out. “I opened it just this morning, but put some tape over the seal and wrap it up good and she’ll never know.” At this point as you can imagine I was beaming. It is such a wonderful feeling! I saw that gentleman, very polite but not very often to show emotion smile a mile wide as he cleared a spot in his pickup for his wife’s new gift.

At this time of year it seems that there is always a special feeling of generosity and of need. We all see the food drives, the bell dingers from the Salvation Army, Sub for Santa ads and so on. I challenge you to find somewhere to give. The excitement and love you will feel is the best! If you don’t have, give of your time!

There is a secret I have learned with this which you may doubt at first but I promise you it works. The gratifying feelings that come with giving are not the only blessings that come as a result. I promise you that the more you give the more you receive! I call it a blessing from the man upstairs. You can call it whatever you want to but it does work. This holiday season give. But don’t let it end there either. Find opportunities to give all year long and you will start to see where you are being returned upon double. Try it! Only good comes of doing good.

A bit of motivation...

2009-11-20T14:11:00.000-07:00

I recently learned of this story and was very inspired. In light of many challenges in the current world I found it very inspiring...

On September 15, 2001 Alex Zanardi was coming out of a pit stop at the American Memorial 500 - a Formula One Car race. Leading the race with only 13 laps to go Alex was pulling out of the pit onto the fray with cold tires when he was hit by another driver at 180 miles per hour. his car was quite literally cut in two.

Within seconds the emergency crew was at his aid, saving his life. unfortunatel y the accident took both his legs just above the knee - what most would think of as a catastrophic fate. Not for Zanardi.

In 2005 he won his first Kart race since the accident in a custom modified car. In 2007 he took 4th place in the New York City Marathon handcycling division. In 2009 he won the Venice Marathon handcycling division. He truly conquered his challenges. In his road to recovery Alex said:

"... the desire to go back to racing will grow inside me so much that I'll work very hard toward it. It will be bloody difficult, but life is a fight, and I'm always fighting. I never say never."

I am so inspired by stories like this. It is amazing to me to see the resilient nature we have as human beings, but even more amazing to see those that not only meet challenges, but overcome them beyond what most would imagine.

Did you know...

2009-11-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

Did you know that the average family is only two weeks from being homeless? pretty scary... Can I say this just makes me grateful that my wife and I have worked so hard to build up a cushion in our savings separate from my investment accounts. That way if we need anything in a hurry we have it. This also helps me sleep good at night!

If you do not have an emergency account I suggest you start today building one up! Here are a few pointers I have on building an account, because really it is much easier than you think:

1. Look out for #1. Most of the time we get a pay check and think. "Ok I owe the bank $1,000, Comcast $63, American Family Insurance $145, and so on." I challenge you to change your thinking. Put yourself first! Pay yourself before you pay the bills. Don't pay yourself to go out to dinner or to buy the latest Transformers - that will just get you into even bigger trouble! Pay your savings and investment accounts first. You may have to stretch for the first little while, but after a few months I promise you will never miss that money.

2. Out of site out of mind. Don't keep your savings $$$ in a place that you will be tempted to spend them. I keep mine in an Orange Savings account through ING Direct. This is an online savings account linked to my bank account. The greatest part about the account other than it isn't visible on my bank account statement is that anytime I want transfer money out there is a two day delay. Sounds like a bad thing right? It isn't. Two days is just long enough and difficult enough to get to that I really don't like to transfer $$$ over.

2. Get on Auto Pilot. Referring to pointer number one an easy way to force a painless payment to yourself before everyone else gets their cut is by setting up automatic withdrawals. I have mine setup for the day after I get paid. By the time I get on to balance things out with my payroll the deposit has already been taken out and I don't even miss a thing.

These are three things that have worked to help us build up a great security blanket. If you have any others please share. I love new ideas.

What a rip off!!!

2009-10-22T23:01:00.000-06:00

In Case you didn't know I sell homes for a living. Recently the company I work for has been advertising to mobile home parks. It is actually a great deal. We buy the trailer that these people are upside down in and get them into a home that has potential to go up in value rather than go down. I have been helping a single mom out in the process. She is going from a double wide trailer to a nice 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 car garage home with a full basement. In the process we recently paid off her trailer so she could qualify for the financing on her new home. I was completely shocked at what I saw this poor lady was paying for her mobile home.

She had financed $54,766 at an APR of 14.64% for 360 months (30 years)for a monthly payment (including MIP)of a whopping $732.74. In case you didn't do the math $732 a month for 30 years is $263,786! And that doesn't include lot rent fees of about $425 a month and climbing!If you add that to the mix she would be paying $416,786 for dirt she would never own and a trailer that will be worth nothing in a matter of 15 years.

When I saw these numbers I was appalled! someone had literally robbed her and they were getting away with it! The good news is that we are helping her to get out of a mess. Instead of paying $1,157 a month for dirt she'll never own and a trailer that will be worthless in 15 years she is now paying $1,200 and some change for a home that she can take pride in. With grass her kids can call their own, a garage to park her car in, and the good news is when she pays it off in 30 years it will be worth all those payments she made. Another added bonus she'll have through this is tax savings in the amount of a few hundred bucks a month, and her home will be more energy efficient so she'll pay less for heating and A/C.

Moral of the story; don't fall prey to the crooks that finance and sell these mobile homes. They are literally capitalizing on the ignorance of others.

If you ever do consider financing anything there are a few key elements to look at before taking the plunge. First find out the APR and APY. The closer these two numbers are together, the better deal you got on the upfront loan costs. Obviously the lower both of those rates are, the better for you because you are borrowing money for a low cost.

For me the greatest way judge whether or not to ever think about financing anything is to take the monthly payment and multiply it by the number of months I will have to pay it (ex:60 months x $350 = $21,000). That number is the actual cost paid for the item. If it disgusts you it is then a good time to rethink buying whatever it is you are getting - especially if it is a depreciating asset or consumer good. In fact I recommend never financing either. That is just a recipe for disaster!

Finances From The Fat Kid

2009-09-19T11:13:00.000-06:00

For those of you that don’t know me I was a fairly portly kid growing up. At about 14 years old I remember going to the doctors and stepping onto the scale and into a great depression. I was only 5’3” at the time and had a very squeaky voice. In Jr. High I was labeled the fat kid. The boys from church were way too cool for me and kids at school labeled me Ralph Wiggum like as in Ralph from the Simpson’s because of my portly stature and my terribly squeaky voice.

The peak of my embarrassment as I recall was in gym class at the beginning of my sophomore year when as a class, we were being called to the front one by one to do pull-ups for a physical fitness test while everyone looked on. “BICKLEY”, Coach Johnson yelled out. I cringed and mopily walked to the front of the class for my turn at the pull-up bar. I climbed up to the dreaded pull-up bar and with all the effort I had in me completed not one, not two, but ZERO pull-ups! As if my lack of ability wasn’t bad enough Coach Johnson yelled out for me to get back up there and try again. And yet again I completed an amazing ZERO pull-ups. Then I had to turn around and face my walk of shame; left, right, left, right, left, as I walked back through the crowd of my classmates, hearing their whispers of ridicule and their looks of both disgust and even pity - the chubby kid that couldn’t even do a pull-up.

I decided that something had to change. I started to take my time in gym class very seriously. My work ethic at our family-owned grocery store started to improve. I watched my skinny older brother working hard, fast and lifting lots of cases of groceries. I started mimicking him and started to see results and got excited. The next year I added an extra gym class so that I was working out daily. I made good friends of my gym coach and asked his advice, started eating healthier, and started doing more active activities. There were even many times when my coach cleared out the weight room and while the other kids went back to shower I would go out and run some more around the track before going to work.

Why am I admitting all this to you? Because when I decided I didn’t want to be the fat kid anymore, I realized I couldn’t take a pill or just snap my fingers to get in shape. I needed to make a lifestyle change. And so I did! I still have to be aware of what I am eating - in fact I have not had a drink of soda since I was in high school, and I still exercise regularly.

As it was with me to get physically fit, the same is needed to be financially fit. It is a lifestyle decision. If I want to be physically fit I have to live a certain lifestyle. If you want to be financially fit you have to live a certain lifestyle. And that is why I am here. Getting financially fit isn’t easy. I have designed this blog to be an aid for those of us that would like to overcome our financial weakness, to obtain financial fitness.