Search Results for “slow-carb-diet-how-to-avoid-going-bat-crazy/medical-costs-and-choices/how-to-complain-the-squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease/debt-burnout/ignore-your-budget/travel-expenses-why-i-splurge” — Page 89

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-12-05

Guide to finding cheap airfare: http://su.pr/2pyOIq #
As part of my effort to improve every part of my life, I have decided to get back in shape. Twelve years ago, I wor… http://su.pr/6HO81g #
While jogging with my wife a few days ago, we had a conversation that we haven’t had in years. We discussed ou… http://su.pr/2n9hjj #
In April, my wife and I decided that debt was done. We have hopefully closed that chapter in our lives. I borrowed… http://su.pr/19j98f #
Arrrgh! Double-posts irritate me. Especially separated by 6 hours. #
My problem lies in reconciling my gross habits with my net income. ~Errol Flynn #
RT: @ScottATaylor: 11 Ways to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft | Business Pundit http://j.mp/5F7UNq #
They who are of the opinion that Money will do everything, may very well be suspected to do everything for Money. ~George Savile #
It is an unfortunate human failing that a full pocketbook often groans more loudly than an empty stomach. ~Franklin Delano Roosevelt #
The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money. ~Author Unknown #
The only reason [many] American families don't own an elephant is that they have never been offered an elephant for [a dollar down]~Mad Mag. #
I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money. ~Pablo Picasso #
Waste your money and you're only out of money, but waste your time and you've lost a part of your life. ~Michael Leboeuf #
We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs. ~Gloria Steinem #
There are people who have money and people who are rich. ~Coco Chanel #
It's good to have [things that money can buy], but…[make] sure that you haven't lost the things that money can't buy. ~George Lorimer #
The only thing that can console one for being poor is extravagance. ~Oscar Wilde #
Money will buy you a pretty good dog, but it won't buy the wag of his tail. ~Henry Wheeler Shaw #
I wish I'd said it first, and I don't even know who did: The only problems that money can solve are money problems. ~Mignon McLaughlin #
Mnemonic tricks. #
The Wilbur and Orville Wright Papers http://su.pr/4GAc52 #
Champagne primer: http://su.pr/1elMS9 #
Bank of Mom and Dad starts in 15 minutes. The only thing worth watching on SoapNet. http://su.pr/29OX7y #
@prosperousfool That's normal this time of year, all around the country. Tis the season for violence. Sad. in reply to prosperousfool #
In the old days a man who saved money was a miser; nowadays he's a wonder. ~Author Unknown #
Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that. ~Norman Vincent Peale #
RT @MattJabs: RT @fcn: What do the FTC disclosure rules mean for bloggers? And what constitutes an endorsement? – http://bit.ly/70DLkE #
Ordinary riches can be stolen; real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you. ~Oscar Wilde #
Today's quotes courtesy of the Quote Garden http://su.pr/7LK8aW #
RT: @ChristianPF: 5 Ways to Show Love to Your Kids Without Spending a Dollar http://bit.ly/6sNaPF #
FTC tips for buying, giving, and using gift cards. http://su.pr/1Yqu0S #
.gov insulation primer. Insulation is one of the easiest ways to save money in a house. http://su.pr/9ow4yX #
@krystalatwork It's primarily just chat and collaborative writing. I'm waiting for someone more innovative than I to make some stellar. in reply to krystalatwork #
What a worthless tweet that was. How to tie the perfect tie: http://su.pr/1GcTcB #
@WellHeeledBlog is giving away 5 copies of Get Financially Naked here http://bit.ly/5kRu44 #
RT: @BSimple: RT @arohan The 3 Most Neglected Aspects of Preparing for Retirement http://su.pr/2qj4dK #
RT: @bargainr: Unemployment FELL… 10.2% -> 10% http://bit.ly/5iGUdf #
RT: @moolanomy: How to Break Bad Money Habits http://bit.ly/7sNYvo (via @InvestorGuide) #
@ChristianPF is giving away a Lifetime Membership to Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University! RT to enter to win… http://su.pr/2lEXIT #
@The_Weakonomist At $1173, it's only lost 2 weeks. I'd call it popped when it drops back under $1k. in reply to The_Weakonomist #
@mymoneyshrugged It's worse than it looks. Less than 10% of Obama's Cabinet has ever been in the private sector. http://su.pr/93hspJ in reply to mymoneyshrugged #
RT: @ScottATaylor: 43 Things Actually Said in Job Interviews http://ff.im/-crKxp #
@ScottATaylor I'm following you and not being followed back. 🙁 in reply to ScottATaylor #

Money Hacks Carnival #105: The All Government, All the Time Edition

Welcome to the 105th edition of the Money Hacks Carnival: The All Government, All the Time Edition. Deep in the bowels of tax season, it’s not surprising that tax- and government-related articles are popular.

Editor’s Picks

LeanLifeCoach presents What Is Your Learning Style? This is an important lesson for anyone trying to teach. My main side hustle involves teaching. We try to address each learning style to engage all of our students. I’m a visual learner. In school, I always read ahead and I’ve never been able to focus while someone reads to me.

Consumer Boomer presents The Best IRA for You. Holy Educational Post, Batman! Be careful, you’ll learn something if you read this post.

PT presents How to Find Free Stuff Online Without Getting Spammed. I like free things. I hate spam. I’m a part of the target audience of this post. I use an active Gmail account for getting freebies. The spam filter can’t be beat.

Fanny Seto presents 5 Tips on How to Get a Job in this Economy. I’m glad I haven’t had to deal with this recently. If you’re unemployed, take the opportunity to develop a hobby or explore other opportunities. You may be out of work, but that means you have the one thing you can’t replace: time. Use it wisely.

Taxes or Feeding the Monster

Jeff Rose presents How to File Taxes with Your 1099s. All you’ve ever wanted to know (and more!) about the 1099.

Paul Williams presents Deduct Haiti Earthquake Relief Donations on Your 2009 Tax Return. If you itemize, make sure you include any donations to Haiti relief.

freefrombroke presents TurboTax Online 2009 Overview. I love TurboTax. I use it every year and have done so since I discovered I wasn’t capable of figuring out the Earned Income Credit.

Four Pillars presents What Happens If You Lose Your W2 Form?. Keeping track of your tax documents is always important, but what do you do if that doesn’t work?

Matthew Paulson presents Troublesome Tax Myths. Taxes aren’t optional. Ask Wesley Snipes.

Working for a Living or Earning the Monster’s Feed

Darwin presents 10 Highest Paying Degrees 2010 – Best Majors in Demand Now. The part that doesn’t surprise me is that the hard sciences pay well. Art-as-science comes with a smaller paycheck. Hmm….

J. Money presents Life in Grad School Doesn’t Have to Suck…All Your Money. I’ve didn’t make it to grad school, but I did work my way through college with a small baby. It’s good to have a support network.

The Financial Blogger presents Getting Ready for Another Purchase!. I’ve never given any thought to buying a blog. It’s a fascinating read. Make sure you read the related posts to get the full value.

Banking, Credit, and Investing or He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune

GLBL presents What to Expect From Mortgage Rate Trends for 2010. I learn something every day. Define “intraday”.

pkamp3 presents Cutting Up the Card. It may be caused by a down economy, but less consumer debt isn’t a bad thing.

D4L presents 20 Dividend Stocks Riding The Tsunami Of Dividend Increases. My first dividend-paying stock paid me 16 cents once. Stocks kind of scare me. In my mind, they’re not much different than a slot machine, so I don’t buy much. I think I had 20 shares of that first stock.

Personal Finance or The Government Doesn’t Have to Be Involved

Matt_SF presents Personal Finance Equations You Should Know: the Cash Flow Equation. If equations make you smile, this is the post for you.

Craig Ford presents 101 Ways To Improve Your Marriage Money Relationship. This goes beyond finance and dips firmly into happy relationship territory.

Hedy presents My Better Business Bureau experience. I’ve found that the sincere threat of a Better Business Bureau complaint can be effective, too.

2 Cents presents Economics: Your Personal Finance Weather Forecast. As a sci-fi junkie, I love the quote at the beginning of the article.

Dodging Taxes and Anarchism

Nope. No submissions in this category.

That’s all. While you’re here, don’t forget to subscribe to my rss feed and follow me on twitter.

Investing Basics

Finance

If you’ve got your debt paid off, or at least paid down enough to start thinking about using your money for the future instead of the past, it’s time to consider investing your money. If you invest your money, it can grow and start building wealth for you, preferably without your active intervention. Passive income is the best income.

Before you invest in anything, you need to understand the investment completely. In the words of Dave Ramsey, you need to own the investment. There are some questions to ask to get to that level of understanding.

What kind of return can you expect? Will the income come from renters, dividends, or interest? Is the income reliable?

How risky is the investment? Generally, more risk comes with the potential for more income, but that is merely potential. It’s called risk for a reason. If your renters leave, can you make the payments on the property? Will you be financially devastated if the investment tanks? Companies like Standard & Poor’s rate the risk of corporate and municipal bonds.

How liquid is it? How hard will it be to get your money out of the investment? Stocks and bonds can usually be sold at will, but CDs and IRAs almost always come with restrictions. Property requires a seller before you can get your money back out.

Is there a tax advantage? Some investments, like U.S. Savings bonds and municipal bonds, are exempt from varying levels of taxes. Others, such as some IRAs, allow your wealth to grow tax-deferred and can, in some cases, be withdrawn tax-free. Other investments, like a 401k paid out of pre-tax income, can lower your taxable income and actually increase your take-home pay while building your retirement fund. Do you understand the 401k alternatives?

When you are looking at an investment vehicle, make sure it is legitimate. Don’t believe get-rich-quick promises and always back away from high-pressure sales tactics. Always take the time to investigate your investments.

Check Your Bills

Finance

Today, I discovered our AOL billing information. Turns out we’ve been paying for dial-up via automatic bill paying that we thought we cancelled in 2000. $1,800 later, we called to cancel. Customer service congratulated us on being loyal members for over 13 years. FML -Jay

: Image by roberthuffstutter via Flickr

I am a huge fan of automating my finances. My paycheck is direct-deposited. My savings are automatically transferred from my checking account to my savings account. Almost every bill I receive regularly is set up as an automatic payment in my bank’s bill-pay system. I even have my debt snowball automated.

The only question left is whether it’s possible to automate too far. Can you automate past the point of benefit, straight into detriment? The primary benefit of automation is knowing that you can’t forget a payment. The other benefit is freeing up your attention. You don’t have to give any focus to paying your bills, freeing you to worry about other things.

The problem with the second benefit is the same as the benefit. If you don’t give your bills any attention, how do you know if there is a problem? If something changes–an extra fee or a mis-keyed payment–you won’t notice because you haven’t been giving the bills any focus.

Sometimes, this means you are paying an extra fee without noticing it. Sometimes, if your due date changes, it can mean late fees. Even if nothing goes wrong, you are missing the opportunity to review what you are paying to ensure your needs are being met as efficiently as possible.

What can you do about it? I put a reminder on my Life Calendar to check my bills each month. I pick one bill each month and try to find a way to save money on it. I review the services to make sure they are what I need and if that doesn’t help, I call and ask for a lower price. If it’s a credit card, I ask for a lower interest rate. For the cable company, I ask if they will match whatever deal they have for new customers.

Every company can do something to keep a loyal customer happy. All you have to do is ask.

Do you automate anything? How do you keep track of it all?

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Search Results for: slow-carb-diet-how-to-avoid-going-bat-crazy/medical-costs-and-choices/how-to-complain-the-squeaky-wheel-gets-the-grease/debt-burnout/ignore-your-budget/travel-expenses-why-i-splurge