Sharing insights since 2007 on carefully saving money, investing, frugal living, coupons, promo codes because the little things matter in achieving financial freedom!
Recently, I had the opportunity to publish a guest post on managing tricky gift situations in families on the wonderful Frugal Dad’s blog. I was impressed by the insights given in the comments section. One comment regarding family pressure to “figure out” Christmas well in advance by setting guidelines such as limits or exchanging names gave me a lot of food for thought. I’d always thought that such arrangements were a positive thing to help make things less stressful and more fair, but that comment made me realize that there are cons to these sorts of arrangements.
Even though the holidays are several months away, many people start planning for the holidays and talking about them well in advance of the season so now is a good time to start thinking about what you’ll do, if anything, to manage gift giving in your family or circle of friends. This list of common gift exchange rules/arrangements is meant to help you think about whether this kind of arrangement will work for you when deciding if you’ll want to suggest or participate in one this year.
A note: Although it’s tempting to dismiss a lot of concerns as being immature, I believe it’s human nature to want things to be fair and to get your share. Sometimes life doesn’t work out that way and it’s certainly better to handle it with grace and a positive attitude, but I don’t think there is anything necessarily wrong with addressing these kinds of concerns. And let’s be honest, we can’t always choose every person in our life and doing what we can to appease difficult people is sometimes necessary. [ continue reading… ]
Whether you are running a small business or simply want to set up a home office, saving some money on office supplies can be important. In a business, every penny counts, and the same holds true for a household budget. Purchasing your supplies at a regular office store is about the most expensive choice you can make when stocking up, yet that’s what most people do. Try these tips, and you may find that your money does go a bit further.
Saving Money on Office Supplies at Superstores
Although you might think that no one could possibly go through a pack of 25 pens or a full box of printer paper, most do, given time. While the initial investment in getting a large supply of something non-perishable may be more, in the end it pays off.
Note though that too many people lose their pens well before the ink runs out. If buying a huge pack “helps” you forget more often, then buy them one at a time even if it seems more expensive at first. [ continue reading… ]
During a time when we are still plagued by unemployment and an under performing housing market, is it practical to believe in a world of financial abundance? I sure hope so, as the positive mindset is a key factor for achieving significant wealth.
Don’t Lose Hope
This could be difficult, but do not allow a fear-mongering media to determine your economic outlook. A thousand planes will land safely, but only the one that doesn’t will make the news. News programs are in the business of sensationalism because that’s what sells. But just because a topic is garnering mass media attention doesn’t make the viewpoints shared correct, even if there are economic pundits doing the speaking. Consider how late the media was to catch on to the fact that we were in recession. In fact, brilliant and controversial economist Art Laffer was emphatic that we were not in a recession and later apologized for getting such a significant call wrong. By the time we officially declared that the economy was in a recession, we had been in it for well over a year. [ continue reading… ]
We used to take it for granted: young people go to college, get an education that would enable them to land a good job, then start their careers. Over the course of forty years, if you’re smart and frugal and make good money at your work, you accumulate enough money to retire comfortably at the age of 65.
Some feel that this scenario has never been a good one, that it means people sacrifice their “good” years to build that nest egg. In fact, I read more and more Y-generation people saying that they refuse to work the 9-to-5, refuse to sit in a cubical or even in an office for 8 or more hours each day. More and more young people are rebelling and are trying to succeed on their own terms, hence the huge success of books like The Four Hour Workweek.
For Many Americans, Retirement is Slipping Away
But even if you accept that this is the way things are supposed to be – even if this is your dream – to work for 40 years, accumulate a nice nest egg, then retire, for a growing number of Americans the recession means that this dream is slipping away. [ continue reading… ]
When I walk into my bank, whether I’m making a deposit or there to actually speak with a banker, I see several people I can talk to by name. Growing up, I thought that was the case with everyone: my parents and my grandparents know all of their bankers by name and even something as simple as filling out a deposit slip is accompanied by asking about one another’s kids and other catching up. That sort of relationship can make a difference in your personal finances in any number of ways.
I’ve seen it play out numerous ways: My grandfather is in real estate and has taken out any number of loans from his bank. He typically pays them back very quickly, to the point that he’s built a reputation for it beyond his credit score. So when he had a deal that he needed to move quickly on, his bank was willing to expedite a loan to the point that they had him sign a boiler-plate form, cut him a check and told him to come back after the deal was done to finish the rest of the paperwork. [ continue reading… ]
Not too long ago, I filled out a survey about my consumer habits. One of the questions, just before the demographic information, asked about my home. I was asked to choose between Rent and Own (and Other). As I checked the box next to Own, it occurred to me that I don’t actually own my home.
If I’m going to get really technical about it, the bank owns my home. I have a mortgage on my home, and since I bought my house with borrowed money, the bank actually has the first right to my home. If I stopped making my mortgage payments, the bank would be well within its rights to have me evicted. While it is true that I have some rights (the bank can’t just kick me out as long as I am making my mortgage payments), the reality is that I do not think that I actually “own” my home in the sense that it is truly mine. I will not truly own it, in my mind, until the mortgage is paid off and the bank no longer has the right to take it away from me. [ continue reading… ]
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