Be Prepared

Around this time last year I really amped up my belief in the old Boy Scout motto to Always Be Prepared. My brother was among many other friends that were recently out of work, and I decided that I was going to prepare myself ahead of time for an unexpected lay off. Dave Ramsey was my new friend. Tonia and I didn’t quite use gazelle-like intensity, but we did really well in attacking our debt. By the time 2009 rolls around we’ll have paid off around $9,000 in debt (we both completely financed college, so this is a long road). We had already decided to step up our intensity this next year despite the addition of some new debt. Our goal is to pay off at least $15,000 in debt in 2009.

Those numbers look astronomical to me when put on paper, but it’s amazing how easy it is when it becomes your focus. I can’t recommend the snowball method enough, but really the best way to reduce your debt is to live on less. Consistently evaluate your spending and cut out what you can. I have been steadily increasing my savings deduction that comes out of my weekly check. In January I plan on increasing that another $25. You learn to adjust your spending to what you have available. It’s all a mind game, but it works.

I’ve said all that to say this, don’t wait until it’s too late to get your finances in order. Be prepared. I read a great article today on Get Rich Slowly with 10 Essential Steps to Take Before You Get Laid Off.

1. Update Your Skills
2. Reduce Your Household Burn Rate
3. Start a Blog
4. Expand Your Physical Network
5. Update Your LinkedIn Profile
6. Expand Your Virtual Network
7. Start Exercising
8. Learn to Use Social Media Effectively
9. Do Extracurricular Work That Showcases Your Abilities
10. Avoid Being Laid Off in the First Place

Read the entire article here.

Filed under: Debt, Money, Work

Thanks Sam

Didn’t quite use it to stimulate the economy though…

Filed under: America, Credit, Credit Cards, Dave Ramsey, Debt, Economic Stimulus Check, Economics, Economy, Government, Money, Recession, Spending, Uncle Sam

Free $25

Sounds like there’s a catch, but there isn’t one to be found.

A new online money service (think PayPal), Revolution Money Exchange, is encouraging people to create new accounts by giving them $25 when they sign up. That money can be transfered to your bank account or sent to you as a check in the mail. I have two friends that have done both options without a hitch.

And to further the excitement they are handing out $10 per referral. Please do me the honor of signing up for your own account and giving me 2.5 gallons of gas at the same time. Just click on the following link and follow the steps. It takes 3 minutes.

I believe the offer ends tomorrow, May 15, so act fast!

For more information read this article on USA Today.

**UPDATE**
1. You will have to enter your SS#, but that is standard operation procedure with financial institutions these days (thanks to the Patriot Act).

2. If you choose to “wait and see” and lose the $25, don’t say I didn’t tell you so.

3. Seriously, this is legit!

Filed under: Free, Money, PayPal, Revolution Money Exchange

My $300 Float

Five years ago my wife was pregnant so we started making plans for her to be off work for a bit. We’re a two income family by necessity not by choice (school loans suck), so we had to get a forbearance on some loans as well as put some money away into savings. Things went smoothly and Tonia was able to take 6 months off to spend with Tanner after he was born. It was invaluable.

As part of the savings process I wrote a check to myself for $300 that I never cashed. It simply sat in a drawer and was erased from our checking account balance. Virtually. In reality it was still in there.

So when Tonia went back to work, and our finances were back to normal, I still had a $300 check sitting in a drawer. I ripped it up and now have $300 in my checking account that doesn’t show up when I look at the bottom line of my register. I just love having that little security blanket in there when times are tight.

Do you have any financial quirks?

Filed under: Budget, Conservation, Economics, Finances, Money, Savings

Bad Math

Further evidence that times are tough: It now costs more than a penny to make a penny. And the cost of a nickel is more than 7½ cents.

Is this story funny or sad?

Filed under: Coins, Copper, Debt, Inflation, Money, National Debt, News, Nickel, Pennies, Zinc

Money Matters

I received a lot of traffic from my Get Rich Slowly post, so I thought you might be interested in a few more great money managing blogs. I suggest you throw all of these in your RSS.

» The Simple Dollar
» Lazy Man And Money
» Wise Bread
» Make Love Not Debt
» My Money Blog
» Five Cent Nickel
» No Credit Needed
» Mighty Bargain Hunter
» Free Money Finance

And with all of these, there are even more great links in their blogroll.

—

* The following is from Five Cent Nickel.

Money Magazine recently ran a sidebar outlining some handy little financial rules of thumb. Here are my favorites:

The Rule of 72
This is a useful rule for figuring out how quickly your investments will grow… Simply divide the expected rate of return into 72 and you’ll get an estimate of the number of years required to double your money. Earning 9%? Your money will double in 8 years.

The Future Value of Money
If you’re debating about whether or not to make a purchase, keep this little tidbit in mind: Adding zero to the end of the price gives you a quick and dirty estimate of how much of your (potential) retirement nestegg you’re giving up when you make a purchase. That’s the amount of money you’d have in 30 years if you invested the money at an 8% return instead of spending it.

Grooving on a shiny new 160 GB iPod? That’ll set you back close to $3500 down the road. Doesn’t sound quite as enticing now, does it?

Hourly Earnings
If you want to translate a salary into an hourly wage simply cut it in half and then divide by 1000. So if you make $50k/year, you’re earning roughly $25/hour. Conversely, you can get a rough estimate of your full time salary by doubling your hourly wage and adding three zeros to the end of it.

**UPDATE**
1. And this will blow your mind.

2. And subscribe to these already!!

Filed under: Budget, Business, Finance, Links, Money

Get Rich Slowly

I’ve been inspired lately by my brothers recent job loss. It caused me to look at my situation and see how I was prepared for something like that. Around the same time I started reading a blog called Get Rich Slowly. It’s pretty helpful, and inspiring. I’m very excited about some of the things I’m doing to free myself from the worry of money.

Below are a few of my personal tips.

1. Direct Deposit into savings each week. Each week I have a portion of my check directly deposited into a savings account. There is something about not seeing it on your paycheck that allows it to vanish from your mind, and helps you save. Start with a number you can afford at first. Then increase it once you get used to living on your reduced income. This will force you to live beneath your means while saving some dough. I just recently upped my amount $25. I am so stoked about raising it again soon!

2. Pay off smaller loans first. A seasoned financial planner will tell you to pay off your higher interest loans first, but paying of the small loans first gives you a psychological boost by seeing the debt disappear quickly. Pay everything you have to spare toward the lowest loan first (while only paying the minimum on the rest). Once that is payed off, take the money you were using on that loan and apply it toward the next lowest each month. Pretty soon you will be paying some huge payments toward your bigger loans. And your debt will disappear.

3. Don’t spend change. Save it all and cash it in for larger bills once a year. Instead of giving the cashier a dollar and a quarter for a $3.05 bill, give them $4.00 and pocket the change and put it in a jar. This is another forced savings method. And it works!!

4. Plan meals ahead. My wife and I just started getting back into this habit, and it rocks! We plan meals out for at least a week in advance. Then we prep for the next few days. This will limit the amount of time you settle for going out to eat, thus saving you some dough. We also plan our meals around different sales on food we find. Chicken on sale? We’re having chicken this week!

5. Buy used. It is so tempting to buy shiny new things, but if you simply bought the used stuff on amazon.com, or shopped at a second hand store, or even at T.J. Maxx, you could save yourself so much money. And 9 times out of 10 it’s practically as nice as a new one. Ebay would also be a nice option.

6. Borrow. I just saved myself $25 that I would have normally spent by borrowing a book from the library instead of buying it. I also borrowed another book from a friend. Need to plow your driveway? Borrow the snow blower from your neighbor. There is simply no need for everybody to own one of everything. On that note, please borrow my stuff. I have tons of stuff.

7. Credit Card = Emergencies Only. It’s so easy to just throw something on your credit card and convince yourself that you’ll pay it off immediately. I hardly ever do. And so the interest keeps adding up, and that $10 you saved on the power drill ends up costing you $43 more than the original price. I don’t recommend throwing them out completely because they are a very valuable safety net. But only view them as such, and you’ll be doing yourself a favor.

8. Conserve. This isn’t just a hippy tree-hugging thing. This also pads your pocketbook. Look for ways to conserve around your house. Insulate your hot water heater. Dial down the hot water heater 2°. Dial down your furnace or AC. Use less water. Turn off lights. Replace your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. Buy a Brita water filter jug instead of bottled water. Unplug things that you don’t use. The list is endless.

9. Learn more / Make yourself more marketable. Take every advantage offered to you by your employer to further your education in any and every subject. Learn something new. Read books. Go through tutorials. The more education and skills you have, the more marketable you are in life, translating into cash in your pocket.

10. Tithe and give away. Sounds counter-intuative, but this is the most important tip I can give you. The more you give away, the more that will come back to you. I learned an amazing object lesson about giving in Jr. High, and I have never looked back. As a direct result, God has blessed me with never EVER having to worry about money. But I warn you, don’t do it for the reward. Do it because your heart compels you. The person receiving the gift will know the difference, and you will not enjoy the blessing of peace in return.

What are your money saving tips?

Filed under: Budget, Conservation, Money, Savings

Debt Free Living

(ht: Get Rich Slowly)

Filed under: Cartoons, Debt, Humor, Money

Link Dump

Got a few fun random links backing up over here, as well as some blogs I don’t remember pimping. Please click through all of them because I get paid if you do. Not really, but every single one of these links will help you live your best life now!

RANDOM LINKS:
» Have Yourself A Non-Materialistic Christmas
» Find Free Music On The Web
» Jesus Hearts Darwin
» Saying Goodbye To Debt
» Construct A Killer Resume
» How To Hunt Bats
» Lessons In Not Sucking
» 10 Ways To Defeat Brain Drain
» Is The Creation Museum Worth It?

BLOGS:
» Life. Hope. Faith. Love.
» Salvo Noodle
» The Deloach
» More Fire
» Ordinary Radical
» Overactive Fork
» Billy Burnett
» Chris From Canada
» Driveby Media
» Echoes In Eternity
» Memphis Monster

Filed under: Bats, Blogosphere, Blogs, Brain Drain, Christmas, Creation, Darwin, Debt, Jesus, Lifehacker, Links, Marketing, Materialsim, Money, Music, Resumes, WIRED

It’s Payday!

I have the good fortune of being paid weekly. (There’s a joke in there I believe). Today happens to be the day our new insurance rates take effect. It made me sad to see just how little I take home compared to what I make. Here’s a breakdown of the robbery…

Insurance – 78.66
401K – 39.00
Life Insurance – 3.16
Federal Withholding – 61.51
OASDI- 43.48
Medicare – 10.17
State Withholding – 25.83

Total Deducted — $261.81

Every. Single. Week. Ugh. At least there’s always Johnny Kemp to cheer me up!

Just Got Paid — Johnny Kemp

Filed under: Insurance, Johnny Kemp, Money, Paychecks, Payday, Reality, Taxes