- RT @ScottATaylor: The Guys on "Pickers" should just follow the "Hoarders" teams around- perfect mashup #
- PI/PNK test: http://su.pr/2umNRQ #
- RT @punchdebt: When I get married this will be my marital slogan "Unity through Nudity" #
- http://su.pr/79idLn #
- RT @jeffrosecfp: Wow! RT @DanielLiterary:Stats show 80% of Americns want to write a book yet only 57% have read at least 1 bk in the last yr #
- @jeffrosecfp That's because everyone thinks their lives are unique and interesting. in reply to jeffrosecfp #
- @CarrieCheap Congrats! #CPA in reply to CarrieCheap #
- @prosperousfool I subscribe to my own feed in google reader. Auto backup for in between routine backups. Saved me when I got hacked. in reply to prosperousfool #
- @SuzeOrmanShow No more benefits? I bet the real unemployment rate goes down shortly thereafter. in reply to SuzeOrmanShow #
- Losing power really make me appreciate living in the future. #
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?
20 Happy Thoughts
Since I’ve been on a bit of a death theme lately, I thought I post something purely happy.
Here it is. In no particular order, twenty unequivocated things that make me happy.
- My three year old has the most beautiful blue/silver/gray eyes I have ever seen.
- In the past 32 months, I’ve reduced my total debt load by $42,859.70. That’s an average reduction of $1,339.37 per month.
- My insane work schedule is paying off. I’m more than halfway to making my day job’s income redundant.
- My preteen son is currently showing none of the signs of the horrible rebellion that I put my parents through.
- The world hasn’t imploded, exploded, or tilted its axis recently.
- My parents did a good job of raising me.
- I haven’t touched my overdraft line of credit in more than 2 years.
- My wife loves me.
- I love her.
- Wrestling season starts tomorrow, and Punk ended last season with real promise.
- I’ve dropped 12 pounds in the last 16 days.
- Bacon is good.
- Daughter #1 is starting kindergarten in September and excited about it.
- Our cars are paid off.
- This site helps me stay motivated to eliminate my debt.
- You rock.
- I may get out of debt just before the world ends.
- The Yakezie Network has helped get this blog to where it is. If you’ve got a finance blog, join today. You won’t regret it.
- FINCON 2012 is is Denver and I won’t be napping on my motorcycle on the way there, like I did the last time I went to Denver. It’s not something I recommend, but it makes a neat story.
- I have 20 things to be happy about. That’s a recursive happy-maker right there.
Deathbed Regrets
A friend recently pointed me to an article written by a hospice nurse. This nurse spent her career working with people who were dying, beyond recovery, and aware of it. Her job, primarily, was to provide comfort, whether that be physical or emotional.
During her conversations, she found several themes when her patients discussed their regrets and she lists the 5 most common regrets in her article.
I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
I don’t see this one being an issue for me. While I did buy in to a standard life template (college, wife, kids, suburbs, office, etc.), I am me. I am undeniably me.
I’d be delusional to think that I wasn’t a bit…different. I see things differently than a lot of other people, I react differently, and I’m vocal about it. That sometimes makes it hard to get close to me. I doubt anyone who is close to me would argue with that.
I also tend to do things. Most people talk about doing things, I try to make them happen. “I wish I were out of debt”, “Honey, I want to start a business”, “Let’s drop 40 pounds this year”, or “I want to build a trebuchet”. I think I know why my wife gets nervous when I say “I have an idea”.
I may not be running anyone else’s script, but at the end of the day, I’d regret not doing things more than I’d regret trying them.
I wish I didn’t work so hard.
This one is a personal struggle for me. I’m scared of missing my children grow up. I hate the idea of looking back and finding my children as adults, with few memories of how they got there.
At the same time, I’ve got a pile of debt I need to get rid of before I can dial back too far. I could quit my job tomorrow, but that wouldn’t be providing a good life for them.
My worry, and the worry of some people close to me, is that, once the debt is gone, I won’t be able to let go of my extreme work hours, even though I’m working so hard now to be able to work less later. “Later”, in this case, means a couple of years, not retirement.
I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
Ugh. Feelings. If this is a standard deathbed regret, I’m screwed. My loved ones know I love them, but other than that, I’m happy to be in control of myself.
I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
I do. It’s not always close contact, but it is contact.
I’m of the opinion that life’s too short to spend time with people you dislike, so some people have been relegated to the past. My friends, my family, my loved ones are a part of my life, even if it’s occasionally months between emails or years between visits.
I wish that I had let myself be happier.
I think I do pretty well on this front, too. Happiness is a choice. I could worry about all of the things that aren’t perfect, or I could enjoy the things I have. I choose to enjoy what I’ve got, even while trying to improve the rest.
In the words of Denis Leary : “Happiness comes in small doses folks. It’s a cigarette, or a chocolate cookie, or a five second orgasm. That’s it, ok! [You] eat the cookie, you smoke the butt, you go to sleep, you get up in the morning and go to…work, ok!? That is it!”
Happiness isn’t a hobby farm, a new job, or a dream vacation. Happiness is a date with my wife, or cuddling with my kids to Saturday morning cartoons, or taking my son to the range.
Happiness is the things I’m doing now, not the dreams I’m hoping for someday.
Can Bad Credit Cost You Your Job?
Did you know that having a bad credit history could cost you your job? An increasing number of American employers have turned to running credit checks to screen job
applicants. Some companies even evaluate existing employees on a regular basis by checking their credit reports. If you have outstanding debts, you might consider getting one of those credit cards for bad credit to clean up your report before you apply for your dream job.
Not all companies run your credit history when you apply for a position. However, if you’re applying for a job that entails working with money or valuables, it’s a safe bet that they’ll be checking your credit history. Financial institutions, brokerage companies and jewelry manufacturers all run credit checks, as do hotels, accounting firms, human resource departments and government agencies.
Companies run credit checks because they want to hire employees who won’t be tempted to embezzle company funds to pay off large debts. Some companies fear that employees who carry large debt loads are susceptible to blackmail or bribery. The federal government carries this concern even further, indicating that citizens who owe large debts are considered national security risks.
Many companies feel that your credit report gives them a sneak peak at your true character. Having a good credit history indicates that you are a responsible person with excellent character. Having a bad credit history means that you are an unreliable person of poor character. True or not and fairly or not, this is the current belief running throughout company hiring departments.
Unfortunately, you can’t relax about your credit report even after you’ve been hired for a position. Once you’ve given a company written permission to check your credit report, they can recheck it at a later date. Government and financial organizations often run periodic credit checks on all of their employees. Some companies only recheck your credit history if you are up for a promotion. It’s a good idea, therefore, to keep your credit history squeaky clean.
Keep in mind that having a couple of late payments probably won’t kill your chances of employment or promotion. Most employers look for the really big issues, such as high credit card balances, defaulted student loans, repossessions and foreclosures. Some companies also look for charge-offs and consistent late payments as well.
Steps You Can Take
Financial experts suggest checking your credit report before you start your job search. Read your credit report carefully and make sure that all of the information is accurate. If your report contains incorrect details or any unauthorized charges, dispute these errors immediately and have them corrected to raise your credit score.
If you have a host of unpaid bills, find a way to settle those debts to improve your credit history before applying for jobs. Many people turn to credit cards for bad credit consumers. These cards allow you to consolidate all of your debts into a single debt. Just don’t forget to make the payments on this card.
Be upfront with potential employers about any negative marks on your credit history. Just tell them that you have had past issues with your credit and are now working to clear up all of your debt. There’s no need to go into explicit detail.
Once you have a job, be sure that you check your credit report at least every six months to ensure it contains only correct information. Pay all of your creditors on time. Never take out any new lines of credit unless you are absolutely positive that you can pay it back in a timely manner.
Post by Moneysupermarket
Net Worth Update – September 2014
It’s time for my irregular-but-usually-quarterly net worth update. It’s boring, but I like to keep track of how we’re doing. Frankly, I was a bit worried when I started this because we’ve been overspending this summer and Linda was off work for the season.
But, all in all, we didn’t do too bad.
Some highlights:
- Both of our properties lost around $3000 in value. I’m not worried, because we are keeping them both for the long haul. The rental is basically on auto-pilot, so that’s free money every month.
- We sold a boat that appraised for much less I had estimated in the last few updates. I had it listed for $5000, but it was worth $2000.
- I do have a credit card balance at the moment, but that goes away as soon as my expense check clears the bank, which will be in a day or two.
- We’re in the home stretch with the mortgage. There is $11,407 left to go, and we’ve paid down $9105 in the last year. By this time next year, I want that gone, gone, gone.
I can’t say I’m upset with our progress. We’ve paid down $6000 in debt in 2014, including 3 months with 1 income. We aren’t maxing our retirement accounts, yet, but I’d like to be completely debt free before I do that. It’s bad math, but having all of my debt gone will give me such a warm fuzzy feeling, I can’t not do it.
My immediate goal is to hit a $600,000 net worth by my next update in January. I’m only about $7000 off.
Time to hit the casino. Err, I mean, time to up my 401k contribution from 5% to 7%.
