- 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 #
Check Your Bills
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?
Contact Me
Please email me at:
![Jason [at] LiveRealNow [dot] net](https://liverealnow.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/email.jpg "Jason [at] LiveRealNow [dot] net"){kind=small}
Or use the form below.
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The Library vs Amazon
A few weeks ago, I discovered the queue at my public library’s website. The process is simple: Select your books, wait a few days, then pick them up. They are available from any library in the county, delivered to my local library. That’s awesome. Much more convenient-and cheaper-than Amazon
So I moved a couple of pages of my Amazon wish-list into the library’s queue.
I must not have been thinking, because two days later, I got an email telling me that 19 books were ready to be picked up and 10 more were in transit.
In this county, each checkout is good for 21 days. For items that don’t have a waiting list, you can reserve 3 times. That’s 12 weeks for 29 books. Hopefully, I’m up to the challenge. Please keep in mind, I’m a father of three, two of whom are in diapers, and I’m married, and I have a full time job.
I have frugally blown every second of spare time for months.
Update: This was another post written in advance. When all of the books came in, I suspended my request list. Little did I realize, the suspension cancels itself after 30 days. That was 30 more books. Whee!
ING Rocks
I just got an email from INGDirect. To celebrate Independence Day, they are having a sweet, sweet sale.
You can:
- Open a checking account and get between $50 and $126 for doing so.
- Open a Sharebuilder account and get $76 to start buying stocks.
- Get $1776 knocked off the closing costs of a mortgage.
- Get $76 in a new IRA, to give you a little boost for retirement.
Take advantage of all of that and you’ll get $2054 in cash or discounts.
Seriously, this deal rocks. If you don’t have an INGDirect account, get one. There are no overdraft fees and no monthly fees.
The sale ends tomorrow at midnight, so hurry.
Nigerian Phishing Scams
phish·ing/ˈfiSHiNG/
Noun: The fraudulent practice of sending e-mails purporting to be from legitimate companies in order to induce individuals to reveal personal information, such as credit-card numbers, online.
Have you ever gotten an email from someone claiming to be a Nigerian prince trying to smuggle money out of the country, or the administrator of the South Sudanese lottery commission?
The emails tend to be similar. You’ve won the lottery, but need to pay the transfer fee and applicable taxes before the money can be sent, and by the way, they need your checking account information to transfer the money out of your account. Or, the elderly wife of the Reverend Saint Whateverhisnameis has the entireGDPof some small African country in her bank account that her dear, departed husband stole honestly, and she needs a trustworthy soul in the States to accept the transfer and your reputation proceeds you.
Yeah, people still fall for it. It’s called Financial Darwinism. Only the strong shall retire.
Yesterday(as of this writing, not as of your reading), I got my first-ever phishing phone call.
The conversation went something like this:
Worthless scum scammer: Hello, you’re schedule to receive a delivery at10:30 this morning and I need to verify your information.
Me: What delivery?
WSS: Is this Linda, L-I-N-D-A?
Me: Yes. (Please note, I am very much a guy and clearly sound like it.)
WSS: You buy international. I’m scheduling delivery. Are you at (lists house number correctly, but no street or city).
Me: What’s getting delivered?
WSS: A brand new Mercedes.
At this point, I wanted to play, but I had to get to work, so I hung up.
Worried that I may have made the wrong decision, I called my wife to see if she made a side trip to buy a luxury car while she was running errands last week, but she said she didn’t. I’m not sure I believe her. I think that it may have just slipped her mind.
It’s worrisome that some scammer call-center in Nigeria is buying lists of potential marks in theUS and calling them. I much prefer my scammers to send emails.
Have you ever gotten a 419 phone call?
