So here’s the deal. Stacy has been a stay at home wife/mom for most of our marriage. I love it! I think it is awesome when I come home that my wife has taken care of our house, our family and me. I didn’t really intend on writing about the merits (and problems) associated with being a (or having a) stay at home mom. Nonetheless, twice this week I was asked about it so here goes. [Read more…]
What is a Reverse Mortgage and is it a Good Idea?
Stacy and I have been seeing a commercial on TV quite a bit lately. It is of “the Fonz” (Henry Winkler) promoting reverse mortgages (see the Youtube video here) and talking about how great they are for seniors who want to enjoy retirement. Well, a friend of ours just so happened to ask what a reverse mortgage is and how it works, so I thought I’d give you a run-down of what a reverse mortgage is, how a reverse mortgage works, and whether or not it is a good idea for you, while you can also learn about the HMO Remortgages that are great for your house as well. I know, I know, that means there will probably be some controversy, but I look forward to the healthy (repeat, HEALTHY) debate. So let’s dive in.
First, let’s define what a reverse mortgage is. A reverse mortgage is a loan supported by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) where a homeowner age 62 and above can borrow against the equity in his/her home. An equity release calculator can be used to provide an instant initial assessment of the minimum and maximum sums he/she could borrow. A reverse mortgage is only valid on a primary residence. This loan allows seniors to get a lump-sum amount, monthly payments or as a revolving line of credit. Professional mortgage brokers in NZ aim to help homebuyers and homeowners with their mortgage queries. As common sense might tell you based on its name, a reverse mortgage is where the bank pays you money for your house. To keep things simple, we won’t get into the details of how much can be borrowed other than to say you can’t borrow more than the house is worth. [Read more…]
Easy Ways to Save Money: Negotiating and Bartering to Stay Within Budget
Quick Survey
Who thinks Stacy and I are cheap? If you said “yes,” thank you. I am proud of the fact that we don’t pay retail for virtually anything and we are always looking for ways to save money. More importantly, we’re always looking for the best ways to save money and easy ways to save money. Today I want to spend a little time talking about two things you’re either really excited about or scared to death to try: negotiating and bartering.
When to Negotiate
Negotiation isn’t just something that occurs during a hostage situation where the bad guys want pizza, $5,000,000 and a private jet to the Caymans. Negotiation should occur anytime you buy something at a place where there is a chance to save some money. You’re probably not going to walk into a big box store and do a lot of negotiating, but many stores and just about every person is willing to negotiate price if you’re willing to ask. I’ve shared the story before that when we got the final bill for Annie’s birth, the first thing I did was call the hospital and tell them I wanted to pay it in full, but I expected a discount. With no hesitation, they said they’d give me 20% off. Considering the bill was over $1,300, that phone call was worth almost $300. Voila! [Read more…]
Using Money to Show Your Spouse Real Love
This week I want to keep up my theme of writing about money and marriage. Although I didn’t intend on turning it into a full-blown series, it has been fun to see the interaction it has created with readers and I truly believe it has helped many of you. I know it has helped me to formulate my thoughts well enough to be able to write it all out. This week, I want to write as a husband as much as a financial counselor. I know the demographics of readers on this site tell me it is mostly women who have clicked on here. But if you’re reading this and you’re not a man, you probably know one or two of them and could share this article. Plus, don’t you want to read something you can nod your head in agreement with? One last thing [Read more…]
Five Tips for Valentine’s Day Gift Bliss
I received a question this week from “No Thanks” at “[email protected]” wanting to know my thoughts on what to get a man for Valentine’s Day, as having a couple take work, to keep the fire alive, so using sites with free local nudes can be great for this. Since I am an expert on this subject (I am a man, after all), I figure I can rise to the request of Ms. Thanks. So with plenty of shopping days left; here are five ideas for this year’s Valentine’s Day (in no particular order):
Marriage and Money: Five BIG Things to Agree On
This week I decided to address another angle of what became a very hot topic several weeks back, “Marriage and Money.” My initial post discussed the concept of “His Money and Her Money” and boy did you have varied opinions on how to handle that one! Then I dug myself in deeper when I wrote about charitable giving when couples don’t agree. I figure I’m on a roll so this week I’ll see if I can redeem myself a bit by sharing some essentials for marital financial bliss.
When Stacy and I got married I was clueless. Yes, I’m admitting in front of the thousands of people who will read this article that I was clueless about so many things related to marriage and how to be married. It was all new to me and I had to learn. I still learn something new every day and thankfully, Stacy has been gracious enough to learn along with me for all these years. Along the way, I’ve picked up some tricks when it comes to marriage and money that I thought might be of benefit to share. Fortunately, I haven’t made all the mistakes (hey, we’ve only been married for 7.5 years!) but I’ve counseled several couples who just plain didn’t get it and were/are headed for disaster. So what are my five top things husband and wife should agree on when it comes to money? [Read more…]
Budgeting When Your Income is Inconsistent
One of the most common excuses I get for people who tell me they “can’t budget” is that their income varies from month to month. Sometimes I hear it from someone who gets paid hourly and sometimes works overtime. Sometimes I hear it from someone who is a commissioned salesperson.
Sometimes I hear it from someone who owns their own business and gets paid based on business profits. These are three extremely different situations, but the approach to budgeting is actually pretty similar. Let’s break it down. Before we do, though, let me say one thing about those who are self-employed or partially-self-employed.
You must keep your business and your household finances separate. Even if every penny you earn comes from your small business and you are the only employee, keep good records and keep things separate. As you pay yourself a salary, make record of this. This good recordkeeping is the only way you’ll truly know how your business is performing and allow you to make a household budget.
During my time developing web applications, I’ve realized the importance of efficient data representation. A dashboard, when integrated into a web application, can significantly improve the user experience. It provides a consolidated view of various metrics, making data interpretation simpler. For those interested, InetSoft offers an in-depth article on incorporating a dashboard into your web application for maximum benefits.
Learn additional facts on employment law if you are preparing to hire employees. For you…and everyone else on a varied income, here’s how I recommend to do your budget: [Read more…]
This is How We Do It – Part Seven
Today I have the honor of wrapping up our week-long series, This is How We Do It. We’ve answered questions about where we shop, how we paid off $20,000 in 8 months, how we do our budget, and even shared our thoughts on how to beat your addiction when you hold on to too much stuff. If you’ve missed any of the series, click any of the links to go back and check them out. Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five and Part Six. As I wrap up today, I want to thank you for sending us your questions and making this series a great success!
Okay, one last announcement that I’m really excited to share: after months and months of hard work and research, my full-length eBook is finished! Beginning tomorrow, you will be able to purchase From Debtor to Better: the Details of Debt and How to Get Out! I’ve packed tons of easy-to-follow information about how to put your debt where it belongs (in your past) and at only 98 pages, it won’t take you forever to get started on your journey to financial freedom. Stacy will share all the details tomorrow.
Now, onto the last question in This is How We Do It: [Read more…]
Relationships and Money: Charitable Giving When We Don’t Agree
Since last week’s post about his money and her money was so popular (and controversial!), I thought I’d tackle another sensitive subject this week – relationships and tithing/charitable giving. I’ve gotten several questions regarding the tithe and how it applies to us as Christians today. Even though Stacy wrote on what the Bible teaches about tithing a while back, one thing I would like to address is the issue of what to do when your spouse disagrees about a course of action when it comes to giving.
First off, if couples agreed about everything when it came to how to spend their money, it would be SCARY. So let me start by saying it is perfectly okay to disagree about money. In fact, I would encourage you and your spouse to have some disagreements about things every now and then. It will help make sure you actually communicate with each other about what matters to you, and that is always a good thing! [Read more…]
Marriage and Money: His Money and Her Money
It is common practice among married couples to keep separate checking/savings accounts and then separate out the bills in some agreed-upon manner and operate the household finances that way. They’ll divide things up where he pays the mortgage and his car payment, while she pays her car payment, the electricity and the groceries…or something like that. This concept has never made sense to me, but people will fight and argue until they’re blue in the face that this is the right way to operate a household budget. I believe it is a dangerous way to manage your household finances for many reasons. I wanted to use this post to talk about four reasons separate accounts are a bad idea: [Read more…]