Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
It’s not enough to teach your children the basics of personal finance. Nobody will deny that it’s crucial that young people be taught how to manage their money and resources, however it’s also important to nurture their creativity and emotional intelligence to help them grow up to be creative, resilient adults who can weather any storm.
Exposure to the fine and performing arts is important for all children, not just those who show signs of being artistically gifted. All of these experiences will add to your child’s bank of inner resources and help them grow emotionally and intellectually.
The good news is that even parents on a tight budget can provide a childhood full of the arts with a bit of planning. Here are a ten suggestions: [ continue reading… ]
Some of my best memories as a child are family road trips, as we regularly took trips to Michigan, Chicago and New York. As a constantly busy family we had to find the right time of year to make trips. We also rarely had enough money to take extravagant trips to exotic locations.
Looking back now I am glad we didn’t, because we would have missed out on a lot of time together in the friendly confines of a minivan had we flown to warm places for our family vacations.
My friends recently drove over to catch a few of my games after they finished their finals at school. Like any college age kids, they wanted to enjoy themselves on a dime. Four 20-somethings packed into a compact car and took the five hour trip to the town where I play.
They saved money by finding savings on meals and by staying at the cheapest hotel in town. Four guys in a $50 a night room. This was right for them, but the same itinerary might not be right for you (unless you are of the same demographic).
So, how can you enjoy your road trip, while saving on unnecessary costs?
Like you, I read many articles on the topic of personal finance. And more often than not, I come across tips on how we can save and earn more money.
The article will say something like “do this and you will become rich.” Some of these article may be from someone you trust, while others make so much sense that you want to try the tactic even if you don’t know who wrote it.
Some of the articles are so persuasive that you might even dream about becoming rich after you read them.
But what happens after a week?
Half the time, we forget about the tips all together. The other half of the time, we either try the money tip and assume it doesn’t work because we didn’t see any results immediately, or remind ourselves that we will never have time to try it.
Don’t worry. You are not alone since we are all like this.
That’s right! I bought my car for one price, drove it around for five years and then sold it for the exact same price! The good news for you is that nothing I did took incredible effort. Rather, it was more an application of a few tricks anyone could do themselves. So if you want to drive a free car, keep reading.
Finding the Car
There’s a saying among car traders, “You make the money when you buy the car.” What that means is that if you buy the car for a low enough price, selling it for a profit won’t be hard. Since our goal is just to sell it for the same price, we don’t need to get an absolute screaming deal. We just need a price that’s lower than someone else would pay years from now. That person can be our buyer later on.
To find the car, I prefer using Craigslist and eBay. Other decent options are Cars.com and Autotrader.com.
The reason I like Craigslist and eBay is because that’s where the best deals are found. It’s probably because it’s free to list cars on each site. This means sellers who are short on cash tend to list their vehicles there. When sellers are short on cash, you can get a good deal and help them out quickly. [ continue reading… ]
I’m going to make a confession here. My house is full of toys that don’t get played with very often. Between my five boys, a mountain of toys comes in every Christmas and birthday. While they do appreciate every toy when they open it, only a few are actually played with more than once or twice.
Over the years, I learned to be more savvy with my choices through experiences with toys that prove to be a good value for the money. Here are a few suggestions to help you spend your toy dollars wisely. [ continue reading… ]
We don’t always know when the unexpected will happen. That doesn’t mean we can’t plan for it though.
In fact, one of the best things you can do for your finances is to look ahead and prepare for the inevitable emergency. Here are four tips you can use for your plan:
Get started even if you feel like you can’t set aside a ton. Every little bit helps. Set aside money each week that can be used for a rainy day.
This also includes paying attention to what’s happening with your expenses. While things do happen unexpectedly, the truth is that we often get clues that something is about to break down. The washing machine behaves erratically, or you notice something about the fridge. Once those signs appear, start setting money aside. [ continue reading… ]
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