- I miss electricity. #
- @prosperousfool Do you still need a dropbox referral? in reply to prosperousfool #
- @prosperousfool Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/referrals/NTE1Mjk2OTU5 in reply to prosperousfool #
- Don't let anyone tell you otherwise: Electricity is the bee's knees, the wasp's nipples and lots of other insect erogenous zones. #
- @prosperousfool Throw in a Truecrypt partition and the PortableApps launcher and it gets really neat. in reply to prosperousfool #
- @prosperousfool Universal accessibility. I put an encrypted partition on it so any receipts or credit card info or login info would be safe in reply to prosperousfool #
- RT @untemplater: RT @jenny_blake: Deep thought of the day: "How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours." -Wayne Dyer #quote #
- @FARNOOSH So what's happening to the one good show on SOAPNet? in reply to FARNOOSH #
- RT @flexo: RT @mainstr: 1 million Americans have been swindled in an elaborate credit card scam and they may not know http://bit.ly/cr8DNK #
Carnival Roundup
I spent this week in my home town with my family: my parents, brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces, nephews, kids, uncles, aunts, and some cousins from Tennessee that I don’t see often.
In the evenings, after the kids were put to bed, we played Cards Against Humanity: A Party Game For Horrible People.
If you are a horrible, dirty-minded person, with a sense of humor that would make your grandmother blush–and you have friends to match–get this game. Then play it where you can’t wake up the neighbors. Seriously, it’s more fun than a super soaker filled with cat pee.
Live Real, Now was included in the following carnivals recently:
Yakezie Carnival hosted by Write and Get Paid
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by I Am 1 Percent
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #39 hosted by My University Money
Carnival of Retirement #26 hosted by Write and Get Paid
Totally Money Carnival #72 hosted by MammaSaver
Festival of Frugality #342 hosted by Help Me to Save
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Simple Finance Blog
Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #38 hosted by My University Money
Yakezie Carnival – Summer Vacation Edition hosted by One Cent at a Time
Carnival of Retirement #24 hosted by Making Sense of Cents
Yakezie Carnival – Arachnophobia Edition hosted by See Debt Run
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Broke Professionals
Totally Money Carnival #70 hosted by Young Adult Finances
Yakezie Carnival – Sushi Edition hosted by Free Ticket to Japan
Festival of Frugality #340 hosted by See Debt Run
Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Financial Product Reviews
Yakezie Carnival – Birthday Edition hosted by 20’s Finances
Festival of Frugality #339 hosted by The Frugal Toad (My post was chosen as an editor’s pick!)
Thanks for including my posts.
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Saturday Roundup
First, the shameless self-promotion:
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Next, for the part you’re here for…
The Cute War.
Budgeting In the Fun Stuff guest-posted here a few days ago. The post was about her dog. Nicole asserted that her kittens were cuter than BFS’s pug. There is some personal risk involved for me, but my pets are cuter. The proof:
The Best Posts of the Week:
Frugal Dad discusses What to Do When Your Beneficiaries are Minors. We settled this by not making our minor children the beneficiaries. If we both leap off the mortal coil at once, my Dad gets the money. I trust him to take care of my kids with it. No, Dad, you can not work on my brakes.
Marko found a fascinating photo series of WWII war photos overlaying modern pictures of the same location. It’s kind of creepy in places.
My favorite dinosaur has a child has been reclassified as a child itself, not an actual dinosaur. That makes youthful me very sad.
Finally, a list of the carnivals I’ve participated in:
Both the Carnival of Personal Finance and the Yakezie Carnival included Selling Your Home: For Sale by Owner.
The Festival of Frugality has It’s Better to Buy a House than Rent.
If I missed a carnival, please let me know.
3 Questions to Ask in a Spending Crisis
- Image by ExecGifts via Flickr
Having a well-funded emergency fund is one of the foundation blocks for almost every saving or debt-repayment plan. The theory is that you’ll be better able to weather a financial storm if you don’t have to raid your budget or beat on your credit card every time an unexpected expense rears its ugly head. The number varies based on your pundit and your stage of life, but generally ranges from $1000 to 8 months of your expenses. The money needs to go in a liquid account, so it can be accessed when necessary, but it needs to be completely ignored otherwise. What good is an emergency fund that has been spent?
Now that you have your emergency fund, you are set, right? But what happens when something comes up? When is it okay to spend that money? Emergencies can take so many forms: medical emergencies, car repairs, accidents, a good sale. Wait. What was the last one? What actually constitutes an emergency that is worth shredding your security blanket?
Here are three questions to ask yourself before you spend that money:
- Is the expense necessary? If it’s a voluntary expense, you should create a savings goal and wait to buy it until you can actually afford it. Emergency funds are meant for emergencies, not whims. A good sale is never an emergency.
- Is it important? When my motorcycle breaks down, it gets parked until I can afford to pay for the repairs. When my car breaks down, I need to get it fixed so I can get the kids to daycare and myself to work.
- Is it urgent? Is this an expense that can be postponed until next month, when you have a chance to sell something you don’t need, or rearrange some items in your budget to “find” the necessary cash? If it doesn’t need to be paid right now, it may be best to put it off. In the case of medical bills, you can usually get on a payment plan with no penalties, if you ask. That can change an expensive obligation to a manageable monthly bill.
Your emergency fund should only be used on things that are important, necessary, and urgent. Anything else should get postponed until you can afford to pay it using your on-budget expense items. As the wise man once said: “Lack of planning does not constitute an emergency.” Of course, if you are in a financially stable situation and willing to take a small risk for a short time, eliminating an entire debt item to save the interest can be the right decision.
What would you be willing to spend your emergency fund on?
8 painless ways to save money
I saw this list on US News and thought I’d give my take on it.
- Get healthy. They are right. It is cheaper to be healthy…in the long run. Short-term, eating crap food is cheaper and obesity doesn’t get expensive until you are older. But remember, long-term planning is important. I intend to enjoy my old age, so I am working on losing weight and exercising. Fat and lazy is easy, but it won’t be in 50 years.
- Rethink your auto insurance. I don’t have an argument here. When I established my initial emergency fund, I set my deductibles to match it. We regularly review our policies to make sure they match what we need.
- Improve your credit scores. I don’t know what they were thinking with this one. If you’ve got lousy credit, it’s hardly painless to improve it. Digging out of a pit of debt hurts.
- Invest on the cheap. This is another one that’s hard to argue with. Low-fee funds are, by definition, cheaper. Will you get a better return on a fund with higher fees? It’s worth checking the historical return to see if the fee is justified.
- Think triple play. They recommend bundling your internet, TV, and phone. It is cheaper, but I don’t recommend it. I don’t like putting all of my eggs in one basket. If the cable goes down, or the the power goes out, I’d still like to be able to make a phone call, if I have to. My landline is independently powered, and I always make sure there is a corded phone plugged in somewhere. My basic landline only runs $35/month, so a bundle won’t save anything for me, anyway.
- Go prepaid with your cell phone. I have a coworker who pays, on average, $5/month for his cell phone. I use mine far more than he does. If you don’t talk much and don’t use data or texting, this can work out well for you.
- Shop online. I do shop online for a lot. I even buy my toilet paper online. For some things, I prefer to shop locally. When a store owner gets to know you, he can get you some fantastic deals, and give you advice that can save you a ton of money.
- Get cash back. I have a couple of decent cash-back credit cards, but I won’t use them. Until all of our credit card debt is paid, I won’t consider making regular use of any form of credit. Your mileage may vary, but that’s the condition I had to set on myself to make our debt plan work.
How many of these ideas do you use?
Carnival of Personal Finance #270, the Elvis is Dead Edition
- Image via Wikipedia
Today is the 33rd anniversary of the death of Elvis, so I’m bringing you the “Elvis is Dead” edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance.
What can the King teach us about finance? The immediate lesson is, of course, to not let success destroy you or your life. Always remember what is important.
“Adversity is sometimes hard upon a man; but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that will stand adversity.” -Elvis Presley
Before we get into the carnival, please take a moment to subscribe, either by rss or by email. If you are on twitter, please follow me at @LiveRealNow.
Editor’s Picks
“When I was a child, ladies and gentlemen, I was a dreamer. I read comic books, and I was the hero of the comic book. I saw movies, and I was the hero in the movie. So every dream I ever dreamed has come true a hundred times…I learned very early in life that: ‘Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain’t got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend – without a song.’ So I keep singing a song. Goodnight. Thank you.”
-From his acceptance speech for the 1970 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Nation Award. Given at a ceremony on January 16, 1971
Craig Ford from Money Help For Christians presents How to Buy Cars With Cash. This is great advice. My car will be paid off in the next few months and I will be doing exactly this.
FMF from Free Money Finance presents Are Tattoos at Work Really That Acceptable? Do tattoos limit your career? I reference this graphic when thinking about a tattoo.
Pop from Pop Economics presents Getting a raise: The negotiation. It’s always best to raise your top line as high as possible. Bringing in more money is far more effective that simply reducing your expenses.
