Friday, April 30, 2010

Fit in a Fun Friday - The Library

The library is an oasis for anybody looking for entertainment.  Readers can enjoy books, books on tape or CD's, and ebooks to our heart's content.  Movie lovers can browse the DVD's.  People who like to stay in-the-know could take a look at a variety of newspapers and magazines that would cost a personal fortune to have delivered.  They also have computer access with databases galore for anybody dying to go online or find research materials.

In short, the library offers a ton of free entertainment options that are pretty easy to enjoy.

In many cases, it's even easier than browsing the shelves or spending half an hour searching down the book you know they have.  Many libraries have a site online that you can use to find and request what you are looking for.  That can be used to request an item anywhere in the library system or even request an item from somewhere else.  Once the item reaches the location of your choice, you can pick it up right off a hold shelf, check it out, and be back to your car in less than 5-10 minutes.

Interlibary lending has allowed me to have access to over 100 paranormal fictions and murder mysteries in the past year that I would not have been able to get to as easily before.  It's also allowed my husband to save a couple of thousand dollars on books and materials he needed for his graduate school classes.  He's has had to read a couple of hundred children's books and teen novels in the past 8 months.  Those alone would have cost us at least $1000.  He's also used the library to get novels on CD's so he can take care of the "reading" part of assignments on his way to work or hobbies.

Yep, I'm a library lover.  How about you?  Do you use your local library?  Does your library have an online search and request site?  Do you use your library for something I forgot to list?

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Retirement Savings Mistakes Guest Post at Learn Save Invest

My guest post, Retirement Savings Mistakes, is up at Learn Save Invest today.  It's an overview of a retirement savings mistakes article and how we are stacking up.  Please take a look if you get a chance!

How to Save Up by Saving Energy

The following is a guest post.  Billeater writes about ways to save money on your bills. The site strives to find the not-so-obvious solutions to every day expenses. You can read about more energy saving tips  at www.billeater.com.

It may seem as old as sliced bread, but everyone looks for ways to save energy. Some are struggling to get by and need the money to pay bills. The lucky ones are saving money towards buying an iPad or their next vacation cruise package.

All told, Americans use an estimated $1 million worth of energy every single minute. Studies show that saving energy reduces the basic fossil fuels burned (such as natural gas, oil and coal). Burning fossil fuels results in air stagnation, pollutants and other contributors to global warming. The average American will produce over 35,000 pounds of CO2 emissions each year. The question is: what can you do as a consumer to lower these emissions of carbon dioxide (otherwise known as CO2)?

Well, as luck would have it, the things you do to improve the atmosphere also help you save money towards buying your favorite things.

By beginning with the biggest energy wasters, you save a good chunk of money right out of the gate. Begin with replacing your old appliances. Take advantage of government rebates and other incentives being offered by environmental programs.

The Kitchen

First, look at your refrigerator and freezer. The ideal temperature setting for your freezer is 2° to 4°, and between 35° and 38° for your refrigerator. This one appliance accounts for 25% of the entire home energy usage.

Since we’re in the kitchen anyway, let’s look at the dishwasher. The best way to save energy here is to refrain from using the hot drying cycle. Instead, open the dishwasher when the cycle ends and let the dishes air dry. Also, choose the shortest “time saver” cycle whenever possible to save additional energy.

Laundry Room

Choose front-loading washing machines whenever possible because they save up to 75% of hot water usage. Remember to look for the Energy Star Label, a sign that the appliance meets strict government standards for saving energy.

If you already have an Energy Star front loader, be sure you are using cold water whenever you can. Most of these machines default to warm. Check the settings and make sure you set both wash and rinse on cold water. Hang clothing to dry outside on sunny days and plan your laundry days around the weather to avoid using your dryer as much as possible.

Hot Water

Next, let’s go to the thermostat on your water heater, since this affects all the hot water usage in your home. The standard setting for most household hot water heater thermostats is usually 140°F. Turn the temperature down to between 110°F and 120°F. While you are at it, take time to inspect the insulation around your water heater to be sure you are not losing heat unnecessarily.

Heating and Cooling

When summer gets here, you’ll be eyeing that air conditioning unit or thermostat longingly. Do whatever you can to stay cool by other means. Try spending more time on the bottom floor of your house, and only use the AC when you absolutely must.

Before the heat sets in, check the filters and replace them if needed. This will prevent overworking the system and will save energy. Also, don’t forget to turn the heat off when the nights get over 60 degrees. During the winter, you should set the thermostat for 68 degrees during the day and 58 degrees at night.

Lights

If you just can’t get the kids to turn off the lights when they leave the room, consider investing in some auto-sensing switches. These switches turn off the lights after prolonged inactivity.

Of course, energy-efficient light bulbs are important as well. Check with your power company to see if you can get a special deal on equipping your house with these bulbs. Don’t wait for the energy-wasting bulbs to blow out. Install the energy savers right away to start saving immediately. The bulbs will cost three times more, but last 12 times longer. Some estimates put the energy savings for changing the light bulbs to as much as 68 percent!

Windows

The best way to deal with leaky windows and all the energy loss in your home for that matter, is to ask your electric company to come out and do an energy audit. If they do not provide the service, you can do it yourself with the help of Energy Star through their Home Energy Yardstick. For more specific recommendations, you may wish to hire a professional home energy auditor.

Be vigilant in your search for ways to save energy. Simple steps like unplugging appliances that you rarely, use and taking shorter showers, can save you heating and electricity costs. The more you save on energy, the more you’ll have saved towards your dream vacation next winter!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Retirement Savings

I hit on the main ways of diagnosing your financial health in this past post.  I'm going to use Wednesdays to go further in depth on each point since I truly believe that financial health leads to less stress and happier lives.

I have already covered the first two points, Spend Less Than You Earn and starting an Emergency Fund.  The third point was to save enough for retirement.  This means saving consistently to fully fund the years after you stop working full time.  Whether you choose to retire or simply age out, retirement savings is a truly important part of your fiscal life since you lose options with age.

Look at Your Options
You may be eligible for a 401k, 403b, IRA, Roth IRA, pension plan, etc.  We even plan on using our stock investments at Scottrade as retirement income down the road.

Out of all of these options, I'd first concentrate on the 401k to see if your employer matches any contributions.  If so, make sure to contribute as much as you need to in order to get the full employer contribution.  Otherwise, you are literally ignoring free money.  What other investment do you know of with a 50% - 100% rate of return? 

In our case, I get matched 100% up to 6% in my 401k.  We definitely contribute the entire 6%.

As for our other retirement accounts, my husband is also eligible for a full pension, so we keep an eye on that.  We also contribute to a Roth IRA since we believe we're in the lowest tax bracket of our lives right now (15%).  I want to be able to accumulate interest for the next 25 years and not have to pay anything to the IRS for it when we start taking withdrawals.  In fact, we're looking into starting another Roth IRA this year.

No matter what way you are able to contribute, the important part is to take action and start saving.

Set Your Goals
Using articles and online calculators, like the Roth IRA calculator or the 401k calaculator you see in this post, you will be able to determine your overall retirement needs.  In general, most people believe you will need at least 80% of your pre-retirement income, but I think there are quite a few factors involved. 

For example, we save about 40% of our joint income every month, which means we only live on 60%.  Should we still make sure to have at least 80% of our income throughout our retirement years?

Personally, I think we should plan on using as much as we use now.  We won't have a house payment, but we will have increased medical costs.  I also plan for our future as if the pension and retirement accounts will be our only source of income.  Sure, we hope to continue working hobby jobs and to receive Social Security benefits, but I rather plan conservatively. 

Our current goal is to have between $2-$3 million saved up along with my husband's pension.

Automatically Save
Once you have chosen your retirement account(s), set up an automatic way of contributing.  In our case, my 401k and my husband's pension plan contributions are automatically deducted from our paychecks before we even see our money.  We also have an automatic deduction set up monthly from our checking account into our Roth IRA. 

Automated contributions take out the guess work and ensure you'll have something saved regularly for your future.  Remember to continue this automated contribution plan for your whole working life...we are talking long-term.

Retirement savings is what's going to keep you going through the later years of your life.  Please plan accordingly.

Are you currently saving for retirement?  Are you happy with your contribution amounts?  Does anyone else know anyone that actually seems to be following the plan below?

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Feeling of Being Debt Free

The Simple Life in France posted Where Would You be Without Debt? and got me thinking.  Debt freedom has to feel amazing. In our case, it would open up a bunch of options and really boost our early retirement goal.

Right now, we have a total of two debts:

1.  Car Loan - $9,900 at 4.6%
2.  Mortgage - $72,700 at 5.375%

I am currently concentrating on paying off the car loan as soon as humanly possible.  My husband has even taken to this battle since he found out we wasted almost $700 on interest alone for the car in 2009.  If we successfully pay it off by August 2011 as planned, that will be at least an extra $500 a month to "play" with since the payment is $330 and we've been contributing extra that comes our way.

We might use that extra money to tackle the rest of the mortgage.  We are currently on schedule to have that paid off by December 2017, but I think it would be possible to move that up to 2015-2016 without hurting too much.

My only hesitation in any of this debt repayment is that it will be very difficult for us to open a second Roth IRA this year if we're pretty much channeling that money to the car loan instead.  We are going to try to do both, but I won't really know if that's on track until August or September 2010. 

Have I mentioned that I have no patience?  If not, I am not a patient person.  Ever.  Waiting sucks.

Anyway, that's where we stand.  Debt freedom is less than 7 years away.  I think it will feel like being surrounded by free candy and chocolate...I'd be oh-so-happy and would enjoy figuring out where to start.

How do you stand?  What's your debt freedom date?  How do you think it will feel?

Monday, April 26, 2010

Helpful Financial Lessons for Children

I was inspired by this article to give a proper shout out to my parents. Thank you Mom and Dad for everything you taught me from as far back as I can remember. You are the reason I love personal finance and have never had to deal with high interest debt.

Okay, no more mushy stuff, I promise. The article above has a great 15 item list, but I really honed in on these points:
  • Only spend what you earn.
  • Only allow yourself to spend 50% of that.
  • Guide and advise but don’t dictate your kids’ spending.
  • At some point, cut your kids off.
I’d also like to add these specific suggestions since they either helped me or people I know:

  • Help your kids open a banking account…having my own account spurred me to save.
  • Teach your kids how to balance a checkbook and what those numbers mean.
  • Have fun going over compound interest…I loved learning what my money could do.
  • Explain debt’s consequences…this works best if they already know about compound interest.
  • Introduce investment ideas…my mom went over CDs with me when I was 10. They help teach patience too.
  • Quickly highlight what credit scores are and what they’re good for.
I know my parents taught me way more than what’s listed above, but I honestly don’t think there’s enough memory space for all of it. What big points did I miss? Do you disagree with any of the points above?

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Yakezie Alexa Ranking Update - 455,774

BFS is a member of the Yakezie Alexa Ranking Challenge!  My ranking last week was 624,347.  Now it is 455,774!  Below the half million mark baby!

The ultimate goal is to be in the top 200,000.  I'm giving weekly rank updates in order to track our progress.  Not too shabby for a blog that started at 8,531,858 when it joined the challenge in March 2010!

I would like to sincerely thank all of my readers and the members of the Yakezie Challenge.  Obviously, this would be impossible without all of you.

In case you didn't know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar.  If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.

If you are a Yakezie member and don't see yourself on my member list, please send me an email or leave a comment here to be added, thanks!

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Weekly Favorites and Gratitude!

My Weekly Favorites
Blog Carnivals that Featured BFS
Thanks to all these carnival hosts!  I appreciate all the time you spent on the process.  It made my week to be chosen!

Carnival hosts, If BFS is in a blog carnival that you are running, please email me the link so it can be added to this weekly list.  Thanks!

Guest Posts on BFS

I didn't have any guest posts this week, but if you would like to submit a guest post to BFS, please shoot me an idea or the actual post. I'd also appreciate a one or two sentence introduction for the piece. I'll get back to you quickly and will give you as much advance notice as possible on its posting date.

Other Info
  • Jackie at Money Crush is also hosting a $100 Contest until May 12th in honor of the debt snowball app she created.  Please take a look!

Feel free to email me if you have any suggestions.  I'd love to add a few more blogs to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts or contests.

As always, thanks to all the bloggers that teach me something new every day.  Thanks to all my commenters for making this blog the community I want it to be.  Thanks to all my lurkers too.  I hope everybody is enjoying this as much as I am!

Friday, April 23, 2010

Fit in a Fun Friday - Stuff We Don't Skimp On

My husband suggested this post and the idea caught my fancy. We skimp on a lot if there is a viable alternative EXCEPT the following:

Name Brands We Buy Regularly
  • Nature’s Own Honey Wheat (hubby was right, this is good bread)
  • Kroger Brand Brownies (taste better to us than the name brands)
  • Kroger Brand Real Mayo or Hellman’s (Miracle Whip makes me gag)
  • Kellogg’s Poptarts (my morning crack)
  • General Mills Honey Nut Cheerios (my other morning crack)
  • Kellogg’s Frosted Mini-Wheats (my I’m-not-eating-lunch-for-a-while option)
  • Dr. Pepper or Cherry Coca-Cola cans (yeah, yeah, I know. I wait for the 4 packs for $10 sales at Kroger and stock up...we try to keep the habit to a pack or less every three weeks)
  • Charmin Toilet Paper (hubby scoffs at Scott’s…this is soft, but it’s only tp)
  • Tide for regular clothes (hubby swears it’s better…I’ve decided this is a battle I’ll forfeit)
  • Oxyclean for grass and mud stains from sports officiating (it does work and saves freaking expensive reffing gear)
  • French’s Mustard (this is totally my hubby…I cannot taste a difference to save my life, but again, I choose to forfeit)
  • Wolfbrand Chili with no beans for hot dogs (smells like wet dog food, but it gets my hubby to eat hot dogs at home sometimes)
  • Foo-foo dog food like Nutro and allergy free stuff for the Pug (I have to have a dog food that's first ingredient is a meat or I feel taken advantage of)
Other Items We Have Splurged On
  • Tempurpedic mattress (my husband hasn’t had back pain since we got one a year ago...I think it’s too hot during the summer months)
  • Dream Fit Sheets (they fit and don’t come off when we toss around at night…plus they have lasted us 5 years already, which is good since they cost about $100 a set)
  • Miche Bag (I love the magnetic shells and I never have to move my stuff to a new purse)
  • Crocs (they aren’t all clown shoes anymore and feel great…you can also find big discounts online like my $60 leather work Crocs for $35 on Ebay)
There are probably a few more things I can’t think of right now, but you get the point. There are some things we have become loyal to…gladly we didn’t discover these addictions until we could afford them, but I sort of wish I never tasted the difference between $1 bread and Nature’s Own Honey Wheat...

What about you? Any favorite brands? Anything you refuse to skimp on?

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Please Tell Me You Take Advantage of Your 401k

According to this issue of the Employee Benefits Research Institute, 69% of eligible workers participate in their 401k plans in 2010. That means almost a third of eligible employees aren’t contributing anything at all.

Even if we take into account that some of these plans do not match contributions, millions of people are passing up free money!

This post is not to tell you the normal rules (don’t take out loans on your 401k, don’t cash your 401k out when you switch jobs, contribute as much of the $16,500 a year as possible, etc).

This post is to yell at everyone who is ignoring free money.

For the sake of all that is sacred to you, contribute the maximum that will be matched by your company. That is free money that is part of your benefit package. Not taking advantage of that is like handing back a paycheck and saying “no thanks”.

Don’t whine that you’ll miss that percentage of your paycheck…you won’t. I never notice the 6% that’s missing from mine. Unless you are truly starving, this is necessary.

I know that my readers probably already do this. I know I’m probably preaching to the choir.

BUT, if you are one of the eligible workers that aren’t snatching up your free money, I triple dog dare you to sign up today. Really, go do it now. Thanks.  :-)

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

The Emergency Fund

I hit on the main ways of diagnosing your financial health in this past post.  I'm going to use Wednesdays to go further in depth on each point since I truly believe that financial health leads to less stress and happier lives.

I covered the first point, Spend Less Than You Earn, last week.  The second point was to have a solid emergency fund.  This means that you need liquid reserves in order to cover unexpected circumstances.  Job loss is the most frequently mentioned reason for emergency funds that I have read so far.

Start a Separate Account
I'd suggest starting a separate account for your emergency fund so you'll be less likely to use the money if it's away from your normal accounts.  We recently chose to keep our emergency money at Smarty Pig since they currently have a 2.01% interest rate while ING is only at 1.1%.  I sometimes forget about our emergency fund account for weeks at a time.  It usually only pops into my head to check on it when I'm updating our monthly net worth.

If you don't like the idea of a separate account, I've also seen recommendations for starting a CD ladder, investing in a money market account, or buying bonds.  I personally would try a CD ladder instead of one main account once you have a couple of months of expenses saved up and CD's are paying more than the Smarty Pig basic rate since you should get a higher return for tying up your money.

Set Up an Automatic Deposit into this New Account
We automate almost everything in our fiscal lives to reduce the probability of human error and to take some emotion out of financial decisions.  If you automatically contribute to this separate emergency fund account, you won't be able to "forget" and it will be less of a hassle.  Start small if this idea scares you.  Simply contributing $50 a month is a start.  Once you realize that you really aren't missing that $50, raise it to $100.  Before too long, you'll be happy with your contribution level and can put the thinking aside.

Choose a Target Amount
Now that you have started an account, you can sit down and figure out how much you are aiming for overall.  Almost everyone agrees that you will need at least 3 months of living expenses saved up to breath easy.  Most people also have raised that goal to 6 months to a year in these unstable economic times.  I personally suggest saving as much as you need to not worry. 

My husband and I only have 3-4 months of expenses set aside right now, but we are raising that to 6 months by the end of this year since that is the new average time that it takes to find a job if you are laid off from your old one.  Some of my readers suggest having 9 months to a full year set aside.  It's definitely a personal decision that needs to be based on your circumstances. 

How many incomes does your family live on?  How stable is your job?  How much would you be able to cut from your budget if you lost your job?  Do you have kids depending on you as well?  These questions can help you decide what you'd like to save for your peace of mind.

Save Consistently Until You Reach Your Goal
This part will come naturally if you are automatically contributing to your new account.  Your biggest worry once you hit your goal will hopefully be what to do with your monthly contribution after that.  Believe me, that would be a great problem to have.

What do you think?  Do you have an Emergency Fund?  What amount are you aiming for or already have set aside?

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Facebook Friends Could Ruin Your Credit!

This article at PC World, Skeptical Shopper: Can Your Online Life Ruin Your Credit, brings up something I hadn’t thought of before. Apparently, credit issuers are starting to judge a person based on their online community.

This worries me a little since I’m not picky on who I “friend” on Facebook. I also don’t run a credit check on my friends…I’m sure most of them would come back with major issues. My only saving grace is that I do not actually participate in online social networks much at all. I get emailed when someone sends me a direct message…that’s about as techy as I get.

I also wonder how intelligent this kind of credit check makes the banks. Obviously, not all of my friends and family are going to be in the same financial boat as myself. Wouldn’t it be weird to find that someone only surrounds themselves with people exactly like themselves?

Also, does having my own financial blog count in my favor? If you lose so many points for a “deadbeat” friend, can you earn them back by posting fiscally responsible blogs?

Okay, now I’m just getting silly, but I think that creditors who use this method are pretty silly too.

How would you fare if you were judged based on your online social network? My “Excellent” rating would fall a level or two…

Monday, April 19, 2010

Overlooked Costs of Home Ownership

Yahoo had this article about the 12 Hidden Costs of Homeownership that reminded me of the many times I had to take a deep breath when we were buying our home.  Here's a quick summary of their list:

1.  Home inspection - $300 or more
2.  Pest Inspection - $50-$200
3.  Appraisal Fees - $350-$400
4.  Closing Costs - 2%-3% of the mortgage loan amount
5.  Moving Expenses - Variable
6.  Furniture - Variable
7.  Property Taxes and Homeowners Insurance - $3000 or more and 0.5%-1% of the loan respectively
8.  Supplemental Insurance - $240 a year
9.  Homeowners Association/Condo Fees - Variable but could be more than $1200 a year
10.  Utilities - Variable
11.  Ongoing Maintenance - Variable
12.  Repairs - Variable

Here's how we have fared so far:

1.  Home inspection - $200
2.  Pest Inspection - $50
3.  Appraisal Fees - $250
4.  Closing Costs - 2.2% mortgage loan amount or about $2000 total since we had a $91,200 mortgage.
5.  Moving Expenses - $400 since we packed our stuff and hired a company to simply bring the boxes and furniture to our new house.
6.  Furniture - So far we still use family hand-me-downs for almost everything, but we did spend $6000 last year for a new bedroom set and Tempurpedic mattress.
7.  Property Taxes and Homeowners Insurance - $2200 and 0.9% of the loan respectively...again, we have lower costs than a bunch of people around us since we bought a very nice foreclosure for $114,000 and put 20% down.
8.  Supplemental Insurance - $260 for flood insurance in the Houston area.
9.  Homeowners Association/Condo Fees - None since we're not part of a homeowners association.
10.  Utilities - $80-$180 for electricity and $30 for water...we don't have a gas line or a home phone line.
11.  Ongoing Maintenance - We pay about $2000 a year between our yard guy, housekeeper, and miscellaneous costs like cleaning supplies.
12.  Repairs - So far, we've only paid about $300 for repairs in 3 years ($100 for an A/C compressor, $150 for a water heater problem, and about $50 for supplies for minor problems on a toilet and guest bathtub).  We have an account that is building up while we wait for something big to break.

In short, there are a bunch of expenses that kind of sneak up on you when you buy and live in your own home.  My husband and I were aware of these costs before we started the whole process, but it's still not the easiest pill to swallow. 

We've kept our costs lower than the other homeowners that we know by buying an affordable, newer house that is in great condition and by handling minor issues ourselves.  We'd save even more if we handled our own lawn care and chores, but where's the fun in that?

How do your home costs look?  Did you expect them or were they a pretty rude shock?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Yakezie Alexa Ranking Update - 624,347

BFS is a member of the Yakezie Alexa Ranking Challenge!  My ranking last week was 966,708.  Now it is 624,347!  Nice!

The ultimate goal is to be in the top 200,000.  I'm giving weekly rank updates in order to track our progress.  Not too shabby for a blog that started at 8,531,858 when it joined the challenge in March 2010...

I would like to sincerely thank all of my readers and the members of the Yakezie Challenge.  Obviously, this would be impossible without all of you.

In case you didn't know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar.  If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.

If you are a Yakezie member and don't see yourself on my member list, please send me an email or leave a comment here to be added, thanks!

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Weekly Favorites and Gratitude!

My Weekly Favorites
Guest Posts that Featured BFS
For those who don't know, allowing less-known bloggers to post on better-known sites benefits the newbie way more than the well-established.  This newbie says thank you again!

Guest Posts on BFS

Car Negotiation Coach posted Did You Know Car Financing is Negotiable?

Guest posts introduce different points of view, bring in additonal readers, and allow me to take a day off.  Thank you.

If you would like to submit a guest post to BFS, please shoot me an idea or the actual post.  I'd also appreciate a one or two sentence introduction for the piece.  I'll get back to you quickly and will give you as much advance notice as possible on its posting date.

Blog Carnivals that Featured BFS
Carnival hosts, If BFS is in a blog carnival that you are running, please email me the link so it can be added to this weekly list.  Thanks!

Other Info
  • Jackie at Money Crush is also hosting a $100 Contest until May 12th in honor of the debt snowball app she created.  Please take a look!

Feel free to email me if you have any suggestions.  I'd love to add a few more blogs to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts or contests.

As always, thanks to all the bloggers that teach me something new every day.  Thanks to all my commenters for making this blog the community I want it to be.  Thanks to all my lurkers too.  I hope everybody is enjoying this as much as I am!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Fit in a Fun Friday – Make Your Own Art

I know, you might think you are like me...not craftsy at all.  But you can make awesome art anyway.

Our favorite artwork is a three piece set that we created ourselves for less than $25.

We bought five yards of burlap in three pieces, multiple colors of spray paint, and three cheap wooden frames used to stretch fabric.

Then we went outside, scrunched up the burlap, and spray painted like crazy with one color.  After that, we unscrunched, rescrunched, and sprayed like madmen with a different color. We just repeated that process for 45 minutes until we were really happy with the outcome.

Once they dried, it was easy to staple them onto their soft wood frames.

Even though we have spent a couple of thousand of dollars on other cool art by artists much better than us, those colored burlap pieces are still our favorite.

Here's what we enjoy...says a lot about my insane mind, huh?  Can you imagine what you'd make?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Did You Know Car Financing is Negotiable?

Today we have a guest post from the Car Negotiation Coach offering advice on car financing. The Coach’s blog provides people with practical negotiation strategies and financial advice on car purchases.

Whenever one of my friends buys a new car, I always ask them what interest rate they got on their loan. And it always surprises me how little effort they put into finding a competitive rate. It’s often a percent or two above the best rates available at the time. They devote time and effort to researching car prices, driving around to several dealerships, and trying to drive a hard bargain with salesmen. But once they get what they believe is a good price, they put down their guard and consider the deal done. When they walk into the Finance office, they just take whatever rate the Finance Manager offers them.

What most people don’t realize is that shaving off a couple of percentage points of interest can make a huge difference.

For example, a $15,000 loan with a rate of 7.5% paid over 5 years results in a monthly payment of $300. That same loan with a rate of 9.5% would have monthly payments of $315 - a cost of $900 over the life of the loan.

So how can you get competitive car financing?

First off, there is nothing that says you have to get a loan from the dealership. It pays to shop for rates before buying a car. Check with your bank, credit union, or on the Internet for good rates. You can get pre-approved for a loan and get a blank lender check (up to a predetermined amount) to pay for a vehicle. Take this check or documentation of a rate quote with you to the dealership when you are ready to buy.

Once you get to the Finance office at the dealership, ask the Finance Manager for his best rate. If he gives you a rate that’s higher than your online quote, show him the quote and give him a chance to beat it. Most people don’t realize that car financing is negotiable! Loans are a big source of margin for dealerships and they will often try to win your business. Don’t be surprised if they are able to beat your best quote. But if the Finance Manager is unable or unwilling to beat or match your outside lending quote then just use the pre-approved blank check to pay for the car.

Summary
Don’t assume the price of a car is the only aspect of a car purchase that is negotiable. Get competitive offers before going to the dealership and see if the Finance Manager will beat them. Check out my website if you want more car financing tips.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

BFS has a Guest Post about Recurring Expenses at Free From Broke

Free From Broke was kind enough to let me guest post today with Recurring Expenses Will Kill Your Budget-Choose Wisely

It's my personal take on prioritizing recurring monthly expenses.  What's on the top of your list?

Spending Less Than You Earn

I hit on the main ways of diagnosing your financial health in this past post.  I'm going to use Wednesdays to go further in depth on each point since I truly believe that financial health leads to less stress and happier lives.

The first point was to spend less than you earn.  This means that the money you have going out needs to be less (hopefully a lot less) than the money you have coming in.  Constant, overwhelming debt is not healthy for you or your future.

List Your Income and Expenses
In order to spend less than you earn, you need to know how much you earn and how much you spend.  I'd suggest writing down your known monthly income and expenses first.  Then spend a whole month adding anything you missed to that list.  Not only will this be a definitive picture of your spending and salary, but it will give you a great start on beginning a budget as well.

Ways to Widen the Gap
If you are not where you want to be once you've seen this list, you do have options:

1)  Decrease your spending.
2)  Get a better paying job.
3)  Find other income sources.

Decrease Spending
To decrease your spending, I'd suggest first cancelling or discontinuing any expenses that you really don't want or need.  Don't go crazy or be regretful...simply cut the fat.  I was surprised at some expenses I forgot about when we started tracking our spending.  It was easy to cut out an $8 monthly online game membership fee and a $25 a month gym membership since we had stopped using both of those.

If that doesn't solve your problems, then look to cut expenses that you might want, but don't really need.  Luxury expenses can wait until your income increases.  I'd consider internet and a cell phone as almost-necessities, but cable isn't.  I'm sorry since I love cable, but if you aren't making more than you spend, it has got to go.

Income Ideas
If you still aren't there yet after getting back to the basics, then you need to look at increasing your income. 

Obviously, only you know you well enough to get a better-paying job.  Other income sources are also a personal matter.  I worked for a book store for $7 an hour for 3 months in order to make a little part-time cash.  I've also babysat and taken care of pets.  I've most recently started a blog, although I wouldn't consider this a great way to make fast money (I've made about $10 in 2 months).  My husband is a contract sports official for middle school and high school football and basketball.  He can also tutor.  What sounds good to you?

In short, you need to spend less than you earn to stay fiscally sane.  I prefer to spend much less than we earn since we have an early retirement goal.  Look at your situation and access your options to make this happen.  Good luck.

Are you spending less than you earn?  If so, are you happy with your position?  If not, did this article help?  Does anybody else have any suggestions on this point?

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

5 Tax Myth Article Seemed Wrong To Me

The Washington Post had this article, 5 Myths about your taxes, and it seemed somehow wrong to me.  Here's their list of 5 Tax Myths and a summary of their explanations:

1.  The poorest and the richest Americans pay no taxes. - 45% of the populations pays no federal income tax but they get taxed elsewhere (Social Security, Medicare, sales tax, and property taxes).

2.  Americans are overtaxed. - We pay what boils down to $13,000 for every American but other developed countries pay more.  *I'll definitely come back to this*

3.  Higher taxes could eliminate the federal deficit. - According to a study they cite, taxes would have to be raised 40% to reduce the deficit to 3% of GDP.

4.  Most people's tax returns are way too complicated. - Two-thirds of Americans don't itemize anything and can use a simple form.

5.  You should aim for a big tax refund. - It's your money and you shouldn't lend it for free.

I understand their points, but here's my take:

1.  Okay, 45% of taxpayers pay other kinds of taxes, but they don't pay federal income taxes.  Since this article is about federal income taxes, what does that have to do with it?  I'm not trying to be flippant, but 45% aren't paying any federal income tax...

2.  $13,000 per American with 45% of the taxpayers not paying federal income taxes means that the other 55% is picking up that tab.  That sounds like a freaking lot to me.  Also, I honestly don't care about tax rates of other countries...aren't we a country that hates to be comparable to others?

3.  Okay, so if higher tax rates won't solve the problem, how can we convince the government to stick to an actual budget?  Like every person in debt, you have to stop the constant drain before you can work your way out, right?

4.  Complicated is a matter of perspective...that's all I have to say about that.

5.  I agree but I also budget really well and plan to pay in April...I think this needs to be a personal decision.  People know themselves...if they can't put away money for taxes throughout the year, they should make sure that they pay enough or more than enough.  Just please understand that a refund is simply getting your own money back...keep that in mind when you choose what to do with it.  :-)

What do you think?

Monday, April 12, 2010

BFS has a Guest Post about the Average Middle Class at Funny about Money

Funny about Money was kind enough to let me guest post today with How Middle Class Are You? 

It's a summary of an article about the average middle class and how my husband and I stack up...aren't comparisons fun?

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Yakezie Alexa Ranking Update - 966,708

BFS is a member of the Yakezie Alexa Ranking Challenge!  My ranking last week was 1,514,672.  Now it is 966,708!  Woot!  We're under 1 million!

The ultimate goal is to be in the top 200,000.  I'm giving weekly rank updates in order to track our progress.

I would like to sincerely thank my readers and the members of the Yakezie Challenge

In case you didn't know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar.  If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.

If you are a Yakezie member and don't see yourself on my member list, please send me an email or leave a comment here to be added, thanks!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Weekly Favorites and Gratitude!

 Here's my favorite posts for this week:
*Jackie at Money Crush is also hosting a $100 Contest in honor of the debt snowball app she created.  Feel free to take a look!

I would also like to thank Personal Finance Journey and Funny about Money for inviting me to guest post Deal or Frill: Angel Food Ministries and Can Minimizing Go Too Far?

And thanks to Mr Credit Card for his guest post at BFS, The Fun Stuff in My Budget.  He obviously put a lot of thought into the guest post for this specific site.  Thanks!
For those who don't know, allowing less-known bloggers to post on better-known sites benefits the newbie way more than the well-established.  This newbie says thank you again!

If you have a blog or just really like a specific blog, feel free to email me your suggestion.  I'd love to add a few more to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts.

As always, thanks to all the bloggers that teach me something new every day!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Money Crush $100 Give Away!!!

Please take a look at Jackie's Money Crush $100 Contest.

Jackie, a regular reader and commenter here on BFS, has created a debt snowball app.  Take a look at her give away page and become a Facebook fan or Tweet a certain phrase for a chance to win $100!

Thanks Jackie!

BFS has a Guest Post about Minimizing at Funny about Money

Funny about Money was kind enough to let me guest post today with Can Minimizing Go Too Far?.  Take a look when you can, thanks!

Fit in a Fun Friday - Expensive Dreams

My friend Desiree is an astronomy addict. She and her husband, Mitch, were the ones who took me to the George Observatory a few weeks ago to take my first real look at Saturn. She also found out that she could do way more star-gazing for free if she joined a few astronomy clubs in and around our area.

At her first meeting, they showed her a close-up of the moon like she had never seen before on a 42” screen attached to a Takahashi telescope. She’s now jonesing for this $18,000 astronomy machine…

The weird thing is, even though I’m a frugal, money-hoarding squirrel, I think she should get one if it would truly enhance her happiness.

I greatly value happiness. I also believe that money can be used as a tool to achieve greater contentment. Being in the poor house doesn’t lead to peace of mind, so I also highly value budgeting.

So, I suggest saving for a HUGE splurge the same way you’d save for anything else. Set aside a certain amount of money from every paycheck for the item of your dream.

Desiree could be the proud owner of a Takahashi in 5 years or less (depending on interest) by setting aside $300 a month. If that is too steep, she could put aside $150 a month for 10 years and take advantage of technological advancement while she waits. As newer models come out, the older models are bound to be marked down.

In the meantime, she can happily use the impressive telescopes that the clubs provide. She may discover that she doesn’t even want to buy her own at all…although I saw the awe in her eyes when she was simply using a lesser telescope. I see a Takahashi in her future.

What are you saving up for? Anything crazy in your future?

I know my husband wanted his own pinball machine for a while, but now I see him developing dreams around Curling. I personally have aspirations for an Alaskan cruise.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

BFS has a Guest Post about Angel Food Ministries at Personal Finance Journey

Lakita at Personal Finance Journey was kind enough to let me guest post today with Deal or Frill Angel Food Ministries.  Take a look when you can, thanks!

The Fun Stuff in My Budget

Today, Mr Credit Card from www.askmrcreditcard.com is going to talk about the fun things in his budget. He has also compiled his thoughts on the best credit cards offers available today if you looking for one. Hope you enjoy this post

Your budget serves many purposes. The most obvious one is to plan how much you intend to spend your money on different things. Budgeting is such a useful tool to know where your money goes and helps you decide where to put your limited resources to good use. However, very often, budgeting feels like to drag especially if you are looking to reduce debt or squeezing every cent to make ends meet. But as the title of this blog suggest, budgeting can be fun too! So in this post, I would like to touch on some of the fun things that I budget and plan for in our household's budget.

Saving For Vacation - This one is a biggie for us. We take a couple of family vacations every year. And we try to see different places each year. Our budgets for vacation vary every year depending on the circumstances. Normally, we have to save for airline tickets and hotel bills plus the usual meals and attractions if we intend to do the "Disney type stuff". Since vacations can be "relatively big ticket items", we do a few things to try to save money. For example we earn airline miles with our airline credit card. We book any airline tickets months in advance. We are also constantly searching for deals (which I guess is the fun part).

Budgeting for kids extra cirricular activities - We have three kids. All play baseball (softball for the girl). All play soccer. So there is always costs like new gears (cos they outgrow what they wore last year) and equipment. Our daughter also takes ballet lessons which she loves and two of our kids take piano lessons.

Sports Tickets - This year, we are going to get some season tickets for the Phillies and our new soccer team, the Philadelphia Union. I find that taking my kids to games is a really good bonding sessions. The kids really enjoy it too. I have found that getting season tickets is cheaper than just buying them before the game.

Gifts for Mrs Credit Card - Birthday, Anniversary, Christmas - Too be honest, buying gifts for Mrs Credit Card can be fun but stressful (hey, you know what I mean). I find that anniversary and birthday presents are most stressful. But yet at the same time, Mrs Credit Card does not like surprises. So she normally tells me what she wants. And we actually end up debating if it is a good buy and then put it in the budget!

Gadget purchases - I find that every year, I always buy some form of gadgets. Four years ago, I got Mrs Credit Card an iPod for her birthday (this one was a total surprise). Then the year after that, I got her an iPhone. Then last year, I got myself an iPhone. This year, we got the business a laptop. And we've got a couple of computer the last couple of years for the business as well.

The fun part of budgeting for these is that we actually do research on the stuff we intend to buy. That means spending time surfing the net for information (or you could call that time wasting). This year, we are thinking of getting a TV for the bedroom (perhaps 3D Plasma!!). I know most folks say it is a bad idea, but Mrs Credit Card and myself really like to veg out in front of the TV after putting the kids to bed.

House Renovations - This is not an annual thing. But for anyone that has bought an older home, or even a new home that was not really done up properly, you will know that there always seems to be a project to work on. Whether it is painting the walls, installing a new bathtub, changing curtains, or simply landscaping the garden, it costs money - and sometimes lots of it. But budgeting for these things can be fun too. After all, most of us take great pride in our homes. This year, we will not have any projects on the house. But the previous years, we had a deck installed and had our driveway repaved and extended.

What Are the Fun Stuff In Your Budget? - So there you have it - some stuff in my budget. What are some the stuff you have fun planning in your budget? Though I do spend quite a bit on these things, they are things I enjoy doing or in my opinion are worth spending on (ok - perhaps the house renovation is something I do not really enjoy!)

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The BFS Way to Diagnose Your Financial Health

There seems to be all sorts of ways to measure your financial health, but here’s the list of points I'd keep an eye on:

1)  Am I spending significantly less than I earn? If I’m not, I’d take a look at my spending, make a budget, and cut the unnecessary expenses. If that didn’t fix it, I’d look into getting a better-paying job or at other income sources.

2)  Do I have a solid emergency fund? If I have at least 3 months of expenses (preferably 6 months or more), I’d move on. Otherwise, I’d start funneling cash into an emergency account. Even starting with $50 a month is better than no backup fund at all.

3)  Am I saving enough for retirement? I’d take a look at a few retirement suggestions and figure out if I’m on track. If I’m not, I’d look into my options. Do I have a 401k, IRA, or a Roth IRA? Would one of these work for me?

4)  What kind of debt do I have? If I do have some, I’d make a little list and see what I could eliminate. I’d start paying off high interest debt like credit cards before attacking car loans and mortgages.

5)  Are my investments diversified? If all of my retirement savings is tied to one stock (like my company), I’d DIVERSIFY. I don’t want my entire future to rest on the back of one company.

6)  Am I insured correctly? If I have health insurance, car insurance, short-term disability, long-term disability, and life insurance, I can move on. If I’m missing any of those, I’d look into my options. I don’t want to be at the mercy of anyone if I get into a car accident and can’t work. I also don’t want to die and leave my spouse with a financial mountain to climb while he’s grieving (he better be grieving…)

7)  Do I have estate planning in place?  If not, I need to set it up for the same reasons I need life insurance.

8)  Am I happy? If I’m not happy with my fiscal life, I need to figure out why and make some changes. For example, I didn’t think we had a good enough plan a few years ago. We came up with a system that made my husband and me happy.

I'll be posting further about each one of these points in the coming weeks to flesh out the ideas.

How’s your financial health? Do you think I missed anything important?

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Personal Income is Still Low but Consumer Spending is Rising Again

According to this article, personal income fell in 42 states in 2009. Yet, according to this article, consumer spending is back on the rise and looks to be sustainable.  We have record unemployment but the consumer market is getting better…huh.

This tells me that some people have not taken their new situation into account or the lucky ones aren’t preparing for the worst.

My husband and I are the “lucky ones” since our income didn’t fall. Neither one of us got raises, but we also didn’t get cuts. We have a solid emergency fund and several savings accounts in case the worst happens, but so far, we’re okay. But we haven’t increased our spending in the last 2 years either.

So, we are obviously not contributing to the stats of either article.

Since we know friends that have had pay cuts or gone through job losses, it’s easy for me to understand that personal incomes as a whole have fallen. I just don’t understand how consumer spending is rising…

Do you know anyone who’s started spending more than they were over the last 2 years?

Oh well, at least the economy will be puttering along pretty well by the end of 2010. Maybe some jobs will open up and personal income levels will rise as well.

Monday, April 5, 2010

How Would You Proceed?

My husband and I are approaching a small financial crossroads. We make his final graduate school payment in June, he graduates in August, and that will bring a small automatic raise (about $1000 a school year minimum). That means that we will have an extra $750 a month starting in August. We’re wondering what we should do with it since we have several options. I know, it’s a good problem to have, but I have a personal finance blog for a reason (I over-think money)…

Here’s the info we’re working with:
  • We’re in our mid-20s and want to retire at age 52.
  • Our current emergency fund has 3-4 months of expenses in it and our jobs are VERY stable.
  • Our mortgage has about $73,300 left at 5.375% and is already on track to be paid off by the end of 2017 instead of 2022.
  • Hubby’s car loan has about $10,700 left at 4.6% and is already on track to be paid off by the end of 2011 instead of 2013.
  • We contribute 6% to my 401k, which is matched up to 6%.
  • We fully fund one Roth IRA ($5000 a year).
  • We put about $200 a month into our Scottrade account.
  • We put $250 a month into our vacation account.
  • We each get $75 a month in “fun” money.
  • We also put $200 a month into a home and auto maintenance account.
Mr. BFS and I agree on a couple of things and are wondering about a few other options, so he suggested I ask you. What would you do with an extra $750 a month in our position? Do you need to know anything else in order to decide?

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Yakezie Alexa Ranking Update - 1,514,672

BFS is a member of the Yakezie Alexa Ranking Challenge!  The beginning ranking with my own domain 10 days ago was 8,531,858.  Now it is 1,514,672.  Yay!

The ultimate goal is to be in the top 200,000, but I'm very proud on how far we've come already.  I'm going to give weekly updates from this point on...it'll be like a BFS net worth update.  :-)

I would like to sincerely thank my readers and the members of the Yakezie Challenge.  I truly look forward to this blog every day because of you.

BFS Guest Post at Little House in the Valley - How Much House is Enough House?

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to Little House in the Valley for letting me guest post!

Feel free to take a look at the article, How Much House is Enough House?, to see my take on my own home.

Thanks again!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Weekly Favorites and Gratitude!

Here's my favorite posts for this week:

I would also like to thank Daniel at Sweating the Big Stuff again for inviting me to guest post, How Much Do You Need for Retirement?  For those who don't know, allowing less-known bloggers to post on better-known sites benefits the newbie way more than the well-established.  This newbie says thank you!

If you blog or just really like a specific blog you think I should check out, feel free to email me your suggestion.  I'd love to add a few more to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts.

As always, thanks to all the bloggers I read!

BFS is in Festival of Frugality #223

BFS is in Festival of Frugality #223: The Silve Edition!  You can check out my article, Fit in a Fun Friday - State Parks, and the other winners at Frugal for Life.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Fit in a Fun Friday - Sea Monkeys

If the title didn’t make you smile, you’ve never had Sea Monkeys. They bring up so many fun memories from my childhood that I thought I’d remind you too.

For those of you that haven’t heard of Sea Monkeys, they are miniature Brine Shrimp that are suspended in their hatching process until they are introduced into the correct environment. In this case, that environment is a little plastic aquarium that has the correct packets added to it a few days in advance.

Honestly, the waiting is the hardest part. Even after you successfully wait to add the “Instant Life Eggs”, you then have to wait until the little guys hatch and become visible under the magnifying bubbles on the side of the tank. I don’t know how many times my mother reminded me to have some patience.

I know that tiny shrimp may not sound like fun, but the whole process makes me giddy. It’s fun to create a tiny world. It’s also interesting to watch them stutter around the tank. I can’t swear I learned anything deep from the whole process, but I really do have fond memories of my first real pets. Yes, we had a dog and a hamster, but Sea Moneys were the first animals I actually took care of myself.

They are also affordable…the whole setup can be bought for less than $10 at Amazon right now. I might be buying the little set of magical packets pretty soon again as well. I think they might make fun office pets.

Have you ever had Sea Monkeys? Did they make you smile too?

Out of Town

Hey everybody!  I'll be out of town Friday-Sunday, so my replies will be a little behind.  I'll be sure to get back to everyone as soon as I can.

I hope you enjoy today's Fit in a Fun Friday post and tomorrow's Weekly Favorites!  Have a great weekend!  :-)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

March 2010 Net Worth

Our net worth has hit $3 million and we're retiring this week. 

April Fool's!  Sorry, but I felt like I had to make at least a lame attempt...it's tradition...

To get serious, we calculate our net worth as listed below.  We don't include the value of our possessions, we round down to the nearest hundred for assets, and we round up to the nearest hundred for liabilities.

Assets
1. Cash - $24,500
2. Stocks - $12,400
3. Retirement - $34,500
4. Home - $130,000
5. Cars - $16,000

Liabilities
1. Home - $73,300
2. Car - $10,700  (We made an extra $1000 principal payment in mid-March, woot!)

Total Net Worth = $133,400
Increase/Decrease = Up $5300 from last month

I base the value of our home on two things: comparables selling in our neighborhood and the estimated appraisal by Chase Home Value Estimator.  I will always estimate low.

I base the value of our cars on Kelley Blue Book's Private Party Value of our vehicles in "Good" condition truncated down to the nearest $1000.  For example, if my car is valued at $4600, I'd calculate that as $4000.

Please feel free to visit the archive to see our past net worths.