Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
Having visitors in your home is both exciting and stressful. It’s great to see your family or friends, but it’s stressful making sure everything is ready for them. My parents are coming to visit my wife and me soon, and we feel like we’ve prepared pretty well. Here are the areas we focused on.
Sleeping
Getting a room ready for your visitors is a must. Washing the sheets, vacuuming, and giving everything a homey feel are important. Since my parents are staying in our den, which has French doors, we purchased a sheet and hung it over the glass part of the door. This will give them the privacy they need and will stop unwanted light from entering the room early in the morning.
If you don’t have a guest bedroom available for visitors, don’t worry. Find some creative solutions — and just remember that keeping your guests as comfortable as possible is the key. Having some privacy and adequate space for their belongings is good, too. [ continue reading… ]
Lots of money is proof of a good work ethic. If you don’t have the job you want, with the pay you want, you’re supposed to work harder, and you’ll eventually be rewarded.
While hard work is indeed something admirable, and while hard work can result in more opportunities, the reality is that sometimes hard work just isn’t enough.
My Husband’s Experience with Hard Work
During the last three years, I’ve had some rather interesting experiences with hard work. Rather, I’ve watched, with interest, my husband’s experiences with hard work. My husband works very hard, and he gives his all to his work. In fact, he often goes above and beyond.
But, once upon a time, people relied on their in-person networks to find love and romance. They had to wait on their cousin to introduce them to a coworker. Or they went to clubs and bars, where they met not-so nice guys and got frustrated.
Then, along came online dating sites, which set people up via profile matches and interest lists. Online dating evolved from something strange and unusual to the normal way of business.
After the dating sites, forums then grew into popular meeting spots.
People who shared a love of animals got to know each other by exchanging anecdotes about their childhood pets or offering advice on housebreaking a puppy. They began to build comfort in the online arena, as well as true and trustworthy relationships.
Friendships Evolved into Romances
People hung out online for a while. Then they may have found it wouldn’t work and moved on to the next forum.
Online dating was no longer an alien concept and many people found true love, married and raised families.
With so many concerns over sending your kids to public school, many parents are looking for educational alternatives. No matter what your specific gripe about public education is, you can find a solution for your family that fits into your budget.
When it comes to alternative educational options, it’s important to remember that the entire family will need to make sacrifices so that a better education is the priority. From tuition to home schooling, private education will take a large chunk out of the family budget one way or another. Many families, however, are willing to make sacrifices to gain the benefits of an alternative education.
Frugal Alternatives to Public School
1. Private Schools
Though the most expensive schooling option, private schools are still a good fit for many families. Most have smaller class sizes, more structured frameworks, and themed goals — such as religious or military teaching — integrated into the main curriculum.
To make private schools more affordable, you can look into scholarships or discounts for paying cash or an entire year’s tuition up front. You can also see if your private school of choice offers discounts if you or your spouse put in a certain number of volunteer hours at the school. [ continue reading… ]
One of the problems many investors face is that they don’t really know themselves. If you want to find better success as an investor, you need to take some time to understand your wants and needs.
When you invest without self-knowledge, and without a plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Know Your Goals
First of all, you need to know what you want to accomplish with your investment portfolio. The desired end result has a lot to do with with the plan you create. While it can sometimes be enough to start early and invest often, other goals require a different approach. [ continue reading… ]
You’ve built up your nest egg, and your retirement is set just as you’re leaving the work force. But what are you planning to do with that egg? You’ve sat on it for years now; do you simply crack it open and see what spills out?
You spent your entire career working and stashing dollars, because Social Security isn’t enough to support your quality of life after retirement. It isn’t enough to help you buy groceries or pay your bills, so you had to do something to continue the life you’re accustomed to — even after you quit working.
It was hard. More than simply adding to a fund or savings each month, diligent squirreling meant going without — years of sacrificing to make sure your cash went where you needed it most for your future. The many exotic vacations you missed will now pay off, because you have enough money put away to make your golden years truly golden.
Properly spending your savings in your retirement years takes planning.
You didn’t skimp on planning when it came time to build your stash, so you certainly don’t want to skimp when it comes to using it.
You built your savings because you knew you’d need it to survive. If you don’t spend it wisely, you could run out.
Using these three strategies, you can help ensure that you don’t run out of money during retirement. [ continue reading… ]
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