As most of you know, Stacy and I bought a house last May that needed some work. Cosmetically, things were in pretty good shape (minus the nasty wallpaper – YUCK!) but there were a lot of things we wanted to accomplish before moving in and after. We were also on a pretty tight budget, having just spent the majority of our money on the house itself. That being the case, we tried to do as much of the remodel work as possible ourselves, but for those projects that were a bit too complicated for us, like our roofing replacement, we had to hire professional roofing contractors like Carolina Home Specialists who can upgrade your roof in Kennett Square, PA. Since we’re getting into that season where winter has us all longing for some warmer weather and the planning of some good projects, I thought it might be good to share how we have gone through the process of determining when we can tackle something DIY and when to call a pro. [Read more…]
The Importance of Having Good Credit
You’ve heard the phrase “Bad Credit, No Credit, No Problem!” countless times, haven’t you? But I bet you never thought I’d agree that it is a true statement, did you? If you have bad credit or no credit, it really is no problem because you don’t need credit to survive. Your FICO Score does not define you. You are worth more than the money you can borrow. Don’t let your existence be like the schoolboy who passes FICO (his beloved sweetheart) a note to ask if she likes him. We aren’t in elementary school anymore. As Americans, we have been fed the lie that our self-worth is based on what we do for a living and how much stuff we can accumulate. Today I’m going to give a sermon encourage you as to why this is simply untrue. I wrote a post about this a while back, but I think there is much more to the discussion.
I want us to delve deeper into why having good credit, or any credit at all, is important. Beyond the convenience of easily borrowing money (which, in my opinion, might not always be advisable), there are only a few potentially valid reasons for being concerned about your credit score. For instance, it could be crucial when considering financial stability, securing favorable interest rates on loans, or even exploring financial tools like business credit cards. Learn more about this business credit card and its potential impact on your overall financial health.
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Letters to Your Past
Wouldn’t it be great to be able to write a letter today that you could send back in time to yourself ten years ago? What would you write? If I gave you 300 words to send back in time, what nuggets of wisdom or warning would you send? Before you dismiss this idea as silly, I want you to consider the full implications of going through this exercise. While we know we can’t travel in time (yet?), embracing this concept and drafting your own letter can help you set better goals, build stronger relationships and maybe even change the course of who you become in ten years. So here’s my letter. [Read more…]
Beware the Christmas Traps!
Post by Barry Myers
My busiest time of year as a financial counselor is the early spring. Why? People have overspent at Christmas; they’re anticipating a tax refund and have the New Year’s resolution of avoiding bankruptcy they’re trying to keep. There’s no good reason you can’t enjoy Christmas as a celebration of Christ’s birth (and be generous with gifts while you’re at it) and still maintain budgetary sanity as of 12/26. Today let’s talk about 5 big Christmas traps and how you can avoid them. [Read more…]
Automating Your Budget + Free Template Download
I preach the value of doing a new budget every single month and how important it is to get in the habit of planning every dollar that will come in. In doing so, I get a lot of feedback dominated by eye rolls and smirks. Apparently a lot of you don’t like to make a plan for your money on paper every month. And I can’t necessarily blame you.
It is hard, and it takes discipline. It also is IMPORTANT. So when you have to choose between the latest episode of your favorite TV show or doing your monthly budget after a long day of work, the budget is apt to lose every now and then.
That being said, I bet you’d appreciate it if I could give you an easier method to do your budget than pencil and paper. That’s what today’s post is all about, thanks to a question by a reader. Let’s learn to simplify the dreaded budget! [Read more…]
The Three Best Options for Backing Up Your Data Files
There’s a lot of important stuff on our computer. Pictures of Annie and Andy, blog post archives and photos, recipes, family stuff, etc. All of that is stored on one little hard drive, just waiting to die. That’s scary…like scarier than Halloween scary. So this week I wanted to talk about some of the options for keeping your data safe and backing it up so if (when) something goes wrong with your laptop (insert thought of toddler pouring milk on the keyboard just to see what happens) you won’t lose all your files – only your mind. By the way, some of this stuff will apply to your cell phone/iPhone, tablet/iPad as well. Since I’ve used several of these products and haven’t used several others, I’ll only give you the details on the three we use and I know work well. [Read more…]
What’s Your Plan for Retirement?
Written by The Husband: Barry Myers
This week at work we had someone in to discuss our retirement plan. He covered the basics of tax-deferred savings and company matching and all the other stuff you’d expect from a guy pitching a 401k. Good for him. But as I looked around the room and chatted with a few co-workers, I realized there are so many of us out there who want to retire eventually but have no plan. Because that gave me the shudders, I thought today I would share my take on some of the basic questions you need to answer to prepare for retirement and make sure I address a couple of the common excuses people give instead of taking action. Let’s dive in. [Read more…]
Best Ways to Negotiate
While I must bow to my wife as the true queen of frugality, I’ve learned quite a bit along the way about how to bargain to get the best prices out there on several things. I’ve bargained on medical bills, cars, appliances, furniture, electronics, advertising, job offers, and a ton of other things too. While bargaining doesn’t always equal saving money, it should most of the time. Similarly, if you are bargaining with someone who will have an ongoing relationship with you, it will set a precedent that you expect the best price and save you headache going forward, if you want to find more tips on how you can make a business grow fast, read this new post about business management in UAE. So what are some of the best ways to get a bargain? Here are a few tried-and-true methods:
- Remember that the first number loses – If you are interesting in buying something, make the person selling give you the price instead of providing them an offer. If you start with a number, they’re of course going to go higher. If you let them offer a number, you can either take it or offer lower. If you give the number first, you lose. Let me explain. When I was getting ready to purchase a car several years ago, I had cash in hand, but my budget was VERY limited. The asking price for the little car I liked was $5,995. They offered it to me at $5,000. I countered with $3,400 and ultimately got it for $3,800. I would have never dreamed I would have gotten the car (worth about $5,000) for that little and so if I’d made a reasonable offer, I would have offered $4,500 and probably paid $4,800. My guess is that forcing them to make me the offer saved me $1,000 or so. [Read more…]
Setting a Savings Goal
I never tire of seeing you guys meet your goals. As a financial counselor, I thrive on seeing people who have lost hope gain a new insight and ability to beat their debt. I love watching a family who has no clue what’s going on with their money decide to change and start to take control of their finances. I am energized by the man or woman who realizes it is more important to be debt free and have money in the bank than it is to have lots of unnecessary stuff. But the one question that I’m constantly asked is HOW? How do you accomplish freedom from debt? How do you save up and pay cash for a car? How do you go to college and avoid student loans? Almost no one asks why – they already know the why. So let’s talk about the how. [Read more…]
Five Ways to Get the Most Out of Your Bank
Post by Barry Myers
The banking industry has gotten a bad reputation, and it is mostly for good reason. If you choose the wrong bank, you’ll pay ridiculous fees and get very little in return. But that’s not how it ought to be. While I’ll stand up and bash a misbehaving bank right along with you, I want to spend a few minutes sharing five ways you can get the best out of your bank – or how you can evaluate your banking options with other companies if you aren’t so in love with the bank you’ve got now.
- How safe is my money? Banks are probably THE SAFEST place to put your money. You may not earn a lot of interest, but your money is pretty darn safe. In the U.S., the government guarantees up to $250,000 through the FDIC (banks) and NCUA (credit unions). So while you might be tempted to keep it under your mattress, your cash is a heck of a lot safer in your local bank, have a look at how can Favtechie help you learn to use the vest bank apps out right now. [Read more…]
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