I am working on getting my laptop fixed today. Another lesson on why it's not really any better to spend more on a laptop!
In the meantime, check out Bankrate.com for great banking interest rate availability. They also compare credit cards, and mortgage rates.
Another awesome site is Dinkytown. Funny name, awesome financial calculators.
Have a good day!
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Friday, November 6, 2009
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Avoiding overdraft fees
When I got my first bank account and started depositing my own paychecks and using an ATM/Debit card, I made some mistakes. I overdrafted twice, and realized I never wanted to do it again. I had a few fees taken out of my account, and I realized I didn't like that either.
The cure for overdrafting for me was a simple rule my wise grandmother helped me out with, always have at least $500 in your checking account. This was a tough rule when my paychecks from my first job were miniscule, but I have stuck with it since and it has served me well. I have bumped up the amount and currently try to keep right around $1000 in our checking account. This is a good amount for us, and let's us maintain our automatic deductions into our savings/investing accounts as well. These do not need to be huge automatic deductions, but making them automatic means we don't think about them on a day to day basis and then BAM! a few months later we see that we are making progress. That bam was for effect =D
If you have overdrafted, don't be afraid to ask the bank to waive the fee. Feel free to throw in that you have been a great customer/1st time you've made the mistake/anything that will help your case. Avoiding the overdraft fee for me was easy the first time, and took a little more effort the second time. I felt embarrased after I got hit with the fees, but after I put my pride aside I was sucessful in avoiding $70 worth of fees. In this case, the fees were a huge portion of my small take home pay at the time. Granted, I was a bit younger, and that may have been why the manager took pity on me, but it never hurts to ask your bank to waive a fee. If you find you are getting hit with fees all the time, maybe it's time to shop for a new bank.
The cure for overdrafting for me was a simple rule my wise grandmother helped me out with, always have at least $500 in your checking account. This was a tough rule when my paychecks from my first job were miniscule, but I have stuck with it since and it has served me well. I have bumped up the amount and currently try to keep right around $1000 in our checking account. This is a good amount for us, and let's us maintain our automatic deductions into our savings/investing accounts as well. These do not need to be huge automatic deductions, but making them automatic means we don't think about them on a day to day basis and then BAM! a few months later we see that we are making progress. That bam was for effect =D
If you have overdrafted, don't be afraid to ask the bank to waive the fee. Feel free to throw in that you have been a great customer/1st time you've made the mistake/anything that will help your case. Avoiding the overdraft fee for me was easy the first time, and took a little more effort the second time. I felt embarrased after I got hit with the fees, but after I put my pride aside I was sucessful in avoiding $70 worth of fees. In this case, the fees were a huge portion of my small take home pay at the time. Granted, I was a bit younger, and that may have been why the manager took pity on me, but it never hurts to ask your bank to waive a fee. If you find you are getting hit with fees all the time, maybe it's time to shop for a new bank.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
MSN Article with good advice
MSN Money has a fantastic article on very basic wealth building concepts.
While the entire article has great material, my favorite is the "Part-time millionaire" mentioned at the bottom.
This is a concept my wife and I try to take seriously by actively pursuing new ways to add to our income without over working ourselves.
The article also mentions the years from 18-30 being some of the most important years as far as wealth building is concerned. It doesn't really hit on the fact that this is the age range where many people are the least concerned about saving, until they are shown how important a few extra years of compound interest is!
While the entire article has great material, my favorite is the "Part-time millionaire" mentioned at the bottom.
This is a concept my wife and I try to take seriously by actively pursuing new ways to add to our income without over working ourselves.
The article also mentions the years from 18-30 being some of the most important years as far as wealth building is concerned. It doesn't really hit on the fact that this is the age range where many people are the least concerned about saving, until they are shown how important a few extra years of compound interest is!
Monday, November 2, 2009
No dessert with this post.
Everyday I try to highlight easy, relatively painless ways to save money on Future Think Dollars.
This post is not going to sugar coat it.
Trying to save money sucks!
It is incredibly hard to not think about everything you would rather be spending your money on than trying to set up that Roth IRA, or start your 401k, or get yourself out of debt. It is also incredibly hard when it seems all your friends/family/acquaintances want to help you spend your money. It is simply not the "coolest" thing to hang out and watch movies, play some old school board games, or catch a cheap sports event. Now it seems that anytime people get together, the goal is to go spend money. Spending money has been incredibly well marketed as buying happiness by everyone that stands to profit.
The goal of this post is not to stop spending all money. Although that would be fantastic for your savings, it would be horrible for your life.
Instead, this is meant to encourage some reflection upon whether those nights out on the town, or shopping trips, or major purchases are indeed making you happy.
Don't spend money just to spend money, because you are only delaying the start of your financial life. This is your life, and you should be thinking about where you want to be in 5, 10, 20, 30 years. I don't think you will really wish to be back at the age you are now buying all of the things that are literally costing you a fortune over that time frame.
Some of the best days of my life have included days where I spent a decent amount of money.
Many of the best days of my life have been days where I only realized afterwards that we'd spent a pittance compared to the good times we had with a great group of people.
This post is not going to sugar coat it.
Trying to save money sucks!
It is incredibly hard to not think about everything you would rather be spending your money on than trying to set up that Roth IRA, or start your 401k, or get yourself out of debt. It is also incredibly hard when it seems all your friends/family/acquaintances want to help you spend your money. It is simply not the "coolest" thing to hang out and watch movies, play some old school board games, or catch a cheap sports event. Now it seems that anytime people get together, the goal is to go spend money. Spending money has been incredibly well marketed as buying happiness by everyone that stands to profit.
The goal of this post is not to stop spending all money. Although that would be fantastic for your savings, it would be horrible for your life.
Instead, this is meant to encourage some reflection upon whether those nights out on the town, or shopping trips, or major purchases are indeed making you happy.
Don't spend money just to spend money, because you are only delaying the start of your financial life. This is your life, and you should be thinking about where you want to be in 5, 10, 20, 30 years. I don't think you will really wish to be back at the age you are now buying all of the things that are literally costing you a fortune over that time frame.
Some of the best days of my life have included days where I spent a decent amount of money.
Many of the best days of my life have been days where I only realized afterwards that we'd spent a pittance compared to the good times we had with a great group of people.
Cut your own hair.
This post may be a lot easier for my male readers to take action on, but could be useful to anyone willing to give it a shot.
How much do you spend on a haircut?
These clippers probably cost a couple haircuts or less...and you can use them until they melt. I have had no issues with this set of clippers.
Take that figure (15-50 x 12) and this is how much you could potentially save in the first year alone. This assumes once per month plus tips
I used to get my hair cut at Supercuts for around 15 bucks plus a few dollars tip. Then one day the nice lady cutting my hair mentioned "Really? You could just do that yourself..." when I asked for my normal short haircut. Talk about killing your market lady! But she had a great point, and she was right.
I didn't realize for some time that my haircut is incredibly easy and I was shooting myself in the savings foot, and this was when I was younger and just saving up for the Friday night movies. Now I have much different savings goals for the wife and I, and we find ourselves stretching to meet those goals.
This method alone can easily save the average guy $200 a year. That's a lot of cash for taking the fifteen minutes to do it yourself! As long as you don't make to bad a hack job of it, at most you are just going to need to try again a bit shorter, and more carefully. After a cut or two, you will be pretty decent at it!
Did I mention you also saved all the time you used to spend just driving to, waiting for, and driving back from a haircut? That's wear and tear and gas for your vehicle, and the "cost" for your time too!
How much do you spend on a haircut?
These clippers probably cost a couple haircuts or less...and you can use them until they melt. I have had no issues with this set of clippers.
Take that figure (15-50 x 12) and this is how much you could potentially save in the first year alone. This assumes once per month plus tips
I used to get my hair cut at Supercuts for around 15 bucks plus a few dollars tip. Then one day the nice lady cutting my hair mentioned "Really? You could just do that yourself..." when I asked for my normal short haircut. Talk about killing your market lady! But she had a great point, and she was right.
I didn't realize for some time that my haircut is incredibly easy and I was shooting myself in the savings foot, and this was when I was younger and just saving up for the Friday night movies. Now I have much different savings goals for the wife and I, and we find ourselves stretching to meet those goals.
This method alone can easily save the average guy $200 a year. That's a lot of cash for taking the fifteen minutes to do it yourself! As long as you don't make to bad a hack job of it, at most you are just going to need to try again a bit shorter, and more carefully. After a cut or two, you will be pretty decent at it!
Did I mention you also saved all the time you used to spend just driving to, waiting for, and driving back from a haircut? That's wear and tear and gas for your vehicle, and the "cost" for your time too!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Consider Subscribing!
If you enjoy Future Think Dollars consider clicking on the subscribe button. This let's you know everytime there is a new post.
I use Google Reader to keep track of sites/blogs I like to read. There are many other options out there as well, and you may find you like not having to type/click on seventeen different links to check the websites you like to check.
Give it a shot, it will probably save you time and sanity!
Thanks to reader Alix for educating me on Google Reader, I've been using it ever since!
I use Google Reader to keep track of sites/blogs I like to read. There are many other options out there as well, and you may find you like not having to type/click on seventeen different links to check the websites you like to check.
Give it a shot, it will probably save you time and sanity!
Thanks to reader Alix for educating me on Google Reader, I've been using it ever since!
Rent vs Buy Housing Calculator
Which is a better idea for your situation? Are you in a spot to take advantage of the lower home prices we have been seeing for some time now? Perhaps you are wondering if your cheap rent would be beaten by a home purchase in terms of long term costs.
The short answer is "yes" but how many years will it take to break even?
There are many things that factor into that calculation, and there are indeed sometimes when it makes less sense to buy a home. This calculator is very useful in doing some calculations of your own, with your situation. Try playing with the advanced settings for buying, renting, and general. Keep in mind that first time home buyers tend to underestimate maintenance and upkeep, as well as furnishings and increased utility bills.
The common sense knowledge passed on by nearly everyone is "buy a home as soon as you can." This is based on the housing market pre 2007-now. Buying a home for your family is a fantastic idea as long as you do not see it as an investment, but a place to raise a family. Unfortunately, too many saw their homes as ATM's (and took out Home Equity Line Of Credit loans, or HELOC) and many people are facing tough decisions right now. Many very intelligent people did not see anything wrong with home values, and had the mind that if they did not get in NOW they would never be able to buy.
My philosophy on this is a bit different. I rent a small apartment, in not the greatest area, but I am within walking distance to a lot of fun stuff. We could never afford to live in this area and still be able to take care of our priorities. My wife and I agree that we are in no rush to buy a home, and that we see our "need" for a home coinciding with having a child. We're just not there yet, and we figure, why rush it? Another reason that is not pointed out often is that there is no opportunity for compound interest in real estate. Compound interest is exactly what we are trying to go after at a younger age as opposed to later on in life because it is so much more powerful with even a few extra years to work. Contrarians, but it works pretty well for us, and that is the bottom line.
What's your view?
The short answer is "yes" but how many years will it take to break even?
There are many things that factor into that calculation, and there are indeed sometimes when it makes less sense to buy a home. This calculator is very useful in doing some calculations of your own, with your situation. Try playing with the advanced settings for buying, renting, and general. Keep in mind that first time home buyers tend to underestimate maintenance and upkeep, as well as furnishings and increased utility bills.
The common sense knowledge passed on by nearly everyone is "buy a home as soon as you can." This is based on the housing market pre 2007-now. Buying a home for your family is a fantastic idea as long as you do not see it as an investment, but a place to raise a family. Unfortunately, too many saw their homes as ATM's (and took out Home Equity Line Of Credit loans, or HELOC) and many people are facing tough decisions right now. Many very intelligent people did not see anything wrong with home values, and had the mind that if they did not get in NOW they would never be able to buy.
My philosophy on this is a bit different. I rent a small apartment, in not the greatest area, but I am within walking distance to a lot of fun stuff. We could never afford to live in this area and still be able to take care of our priorities. My wife and I agree that we are in no rush to buy a home, and that we see our "need" for a home coinciding with having a child. We're just not there yet, and we figure, why rush it? Another reason that is not pointed out often is that there is no opportunity for compound interest in real estate. Compound interest is exactly what we are trying to go after at a younger age as opposed to later on in life because it is so much more powerful with even a few extra years to work. Contrarians, but it works pretty well for us, and that is the bottom line.
What's your view?
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