Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
Each new year, your excellent intentions are put to the test. You desperately want to escape from the ever-mounting pressure of your debt — and you resolve to do so. Unfortunately, the ability to stick to your resolutions eludes you.
With your resolution to save and budget better, you create a convoluted spreadsheet, including every dime you earn or spend. It’s as scary as it is complicated.
This spreadsheet means you must record every penny that passes through your hands. You have to keep every receipt. This system would make even the world’s best financial experts cringe.
But you stick to it. For about a week.
By the end of the second week, you’ve only tracked a third of your receipts, ruining the accuracy of your bottom line. You can’t remember which pair of pants you left them in, and you’ve lost two whole days worth of spending.
Now, you throw away all your best intentions, because you’re frustrated at yourself, your situation, and your hopelessly broken system.
Sound familiar?
If you had only considered the online financial tools available to help you, you could have avoided these horrible feelings and the downward spiral of financial blahs.
There are many wonderful online tools at your disposal, but I’m going to highlight three that will change the way you budget and save, as well as help you realize your intention to get out of debt.
During the holiday shopping season, many of us find ourselves spending more than we expected. As a result, it’s common to look for ways to offset some of that spending by earning a little extra money at this time of year.
While you could get a seasonal job to work on top of your day job, or you could jump through hoops associated with getting a rebate, there are some easier ways to make extra money this holiday season.
Here are 5 easy ways to make extra money before Christmas:
When winter hits here in Ohio, we have several months of what I call “brown sticks and mud season.” Then, the buckets of snow and freezing slush begin. The weather is predictably varied here, and we often experience freezing temps in the early mornings and above average “heat waves” in the same day. Such weather extremes can be rough on your vehicle.
As a baseball player, I have to work out a lot. Right now, I do so at a local college because I’m a volunteer assistant for their baseball team. When I’m staying at my parent’s house, I work out in their rec room. I also have friends who love going to their local gym. There are many options for staying in shape.
As of this writing, there’s a great deal of political wrangling occurring in regard to the so-called fiscal cliff. There’s a lot being said about how to fix the problem, which includes both tax increases and huge spending cuts. It’s going to be an interesting tax season — are you ready for it?
In order to avoid a situation in which everyone is unhappy, the compromise is likely to include some budget cuts — but not huge cuts — and some tax increases — but not on everybody. Any scenario, though, is likely to include higher taxes on investments.
While I’ve heard plenty in the news about the debt crisis in Europe, I have to admit that I haven’t paid a great deal of attention.
Not only are the roots of this crisis very difficult for a lay-person to understand, but it seems as though the economic woes in Europe are pretty far removed from my life.
But two months ago, the American company that employs my husband announced that it would require temporary layoffs among its workers — a reaction to the depressed market for the company’s products in Europe.
Admittedly, there are other factors influencing the financial troubles of my husband’s employer. But, the fact that our family would have to handle a temporary layoff, partially due to this crisis, made me realize that the financial problems across the pond can very much affect our finances in the United States.
Here’s what you need to understand about the European debt crisis’ potential effect on American businesses and finances:
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