tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11694395753689690442024-03-08T05:33:39.006-06:00Cheap Check Store BlogcheapcheckstoreCheapCheckStorehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10715218145147978233noreply@blogger.comBlogger209125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-83040099525338240832016-03-22T18:25:00.001-05:002016-03-22T18:25:38.264-05:00Why Aren't You Switching Careers?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By this point in your life, it’s pretty safe to say that you’ve heard every bit of financial “wisdom” out there, maybe tried to follow some of it, and likely failed to do so successfully. There are plenty of reasons that financial advice falls short in your personal life, not least of which is that for the most part, financial advice is garbage. it’s useless to 99% of the population because it’s trying to distill into snippets an overall theme of personal money management that just doesn’t take into account the very specific details of your personal financial situation. You might think it’s going a bit overboard to say that financial advice these days is garbage, but hear me out. When was the last time you took financial advice and always stuck with it? Right. Probably been a while.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First up is one of the biggest offenders going. It’s catchy, and sounds great, but simply doesn’t work for most people. For this reason alone, it has to die. This advice is to “Pay yourself first.” See? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it overlooks a bit of a life complication all together. Most people these days are up to their ears in debt, mired down in bills, and scraping to get by every month. In fact, about 76% of Americans today are living paycheck-to-paycheck, stuck with student loans, credit debt, and overpriced mortgages and car payments. With all this outstanding debt, if you pay yourself first, you’ll have collections agencies beating down your door in no time at all. Instead, try this out: Get your debts paid first. Pay what you owe, and pay it on time. Once your loans are paid, then start paying yourself first when you’re dealing with normal bills like utilities and insurance. That way, you’ll actually have money after you’ve paid yourself to pay your bills.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Next, we have to address the new car/ used car debate. Some people swear by new, others used. Either way, it’s garbage. There’s only one thing that should be taken into account when you’re buying a new or used car, and that’s mileage. A great deal on a used car doesn’t mean you’re getting a great car if it’s got 100,000 miles on it. Sure, it may have been taken care of, but it’s unlikely that it will get another 100,000 miles before it really starts costing you some serious money. Today’s cars a re chock-full of complicated electronics and sensors that are EXTREMELY expensive and cannot be serviced. Many times, units that used to be replaceable are built in such a way that they must be replaced along with other components. Take fuel pumps for example. As late as the early 2000s, fuel pumps were replaceable by themselves, and weren’t very expensive. Now, though, a fuel pump is often a unit along with the fuel filter, fuel level sensor, and other fuel line components, and must be replaced together, costing hundreds of dollars. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A new car, though, while more likely to last 250,000 miles if you take care of it and do the regular maintenance, seems an expensive proposition until you take this later repair cost into account. The truth is that it may cost you less per mile these days to buy a new car than a used car.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Clearly, these two examples aren’t the end-all of the garbage that financial professionals pass your way, but they can be pretty troublesome given that so many people believe them to be true. All you can really do, then, is do your best to figure out what’s best for you, and stick to what works.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-91484241445052763972016-03-20T16:00:00.000-05:002016-03-20T16:00:12.547-05:00Garbage Financial Advice That May Not Work For You!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>By this point in your life, it’s pretty safe to say that you’ve heard every bit of financial “wisdom” out there, maybe tried to follow some of it, and likely failed to do so successfully. There are plenty of reasons that financial advice falls short in your personal life, not least of which is that for the most part, financial advice is garbage. it’s useless to 99% of the population because it’s trying to distill into snippets an overall theme of personal money management that just doesn’t take into account the very specific details of your personal financial situation. You might think it’s going a bit overboard to say that financial advice these days is garbage, but hear me out. When was the last time you took financial advice and always stuck with it? Right. Probably been a while.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First up is one of the biggest offenders going. It’s catchy, and sounds great, but simply doesn’t work for most people. For this reason alone, it has to die. This advice is to “Pay yourself first.” See? Sounds good, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, it overlooks a bit of a life complication all together. Most people these days are up to their ears in debt, mired down in bills, and scraping to get by every month. In fact, about 76% of Americans today are living paycheck-to-paycheck, stuck with student loans, credit debt, and overpriced mortgages and car payments. With all this outstanding debt, if you pay yourself first, you’ll have collections agencies beating down your door in no time at all. Instead, try this out: Get your debts paid first. Pay what you owe, and pay it on time. Once your loans are paid, then start paying yourself first when you’re dealing with normal bills like utilities and insurance. That way, you’ll actually have money after you’ve paid yourself to pay your bills.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Next, we have to address the new car/ used car debate. Some people swear by new, others used. Either way, it’s garbage. There’s only one thing that should be taken into account when you’re buying a new or used car, and that’s mileage. A great deal on a used car doesn’t mean you’re getting a great car if it’s got 100,000 miles on it. Sure, it may have been taken care of, but it’s unlikely that it will get another 100,000 miles before it really starts costing you some serious money. Today’s cars a re chock-full of complicated electronics and sensors that are EXTREMELY expensive and cannot be serviced. Many times, units that used to be replaceable are built in such a way that they must be replaced along with other components. Take fuel pumps for example. As late as the early 2000s, fuel pumps were replaceable by themselves, and weren’t very expensive. Now, though, a fuel pump is often a unit along with the fuel filter, fuel level sensor, and other fuel line components, and must be replaced together, costing hundreds of dollars. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A new car, though, while more likely to last 250,000 miles if you take care of it and do the regular maintenance, seems an expensive proposition until you take this later repair cost into account. The truth is that it may cost you less per mile these days to buy a new car than a used car.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Clearly, these two examples aren’t the end-all of the garbage that financial professionals pass your way, but they can be pretty troublesome given that so many people believe them to be true. All you can really do, then, is do your best to figure out what’s best for you, and stick to what works.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-89924525204461292952016-03-16T21:45:00.000-05:002016-03-16T21:45:12.644-05:00You Won't Believe these Easy Tips for Cutting Electric Bills!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
Admit it, you’ve stomped around the house yourself, madly shutting off lights, turning down (or up) the thermostat, and asking “Who left the refrigerator door open?” at least once, more like once per day if you’re a parent. Electric bills aren’t pretty, regardless of how much you’re paying every month in comparison to everyone else you know. Maybe it’s because they’re so variable- during the autumn and spring, when temperatures are mild, electric bills are often not too bad. It’s when the air conditioner kicks on in the summer and the furnace gets used in the winter that those bills start feeling egregious. So how do you trim those bills down to size? As it happens, there are a couple of ways, and they aren’t all that hard to accomplish, taken a few at a time.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First up is one of the least obvious, but the most expensive energy waster, and thus, one you should take care of sooner than later. Insulating your home means more than rolling Owens-Corning in your attic (though that’s a pretty good first step if it isn’t already done…) It means making sure there aren’t any serious air gaps in your home. Check for drafts under the doors and around the windows. If necessary, seal the drafts up with expanding foam insulation in the cracks you find, and you can install draft shields to keep drafts out of doorways.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While sealing up drafts and insulating is the big fix that should cut your electric bill significantly every month, little fixes work as well. Take light bulbs for instance. While CFL’s can be a bit contentious and LED bulbs expensive compared with incandescent bulbs, they provide a significant savings that really adds up over time. Your best bet when switching to these more efficient, more expensive bulbs (especially LEDs) is to pay attention to when they go on sale from your local retailers. This will reduce your initial outlay of cash, and maximize their value. Using about 1/10th of the power of an incandescent bulb, though, they’ll pay for themselves eventually. Given that they last about 40x longer than a standard bulb, that’ll be long before they’re not any good any more.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another tip that’s easy to deal with for most people is to insulate yourself. Get to know sweaters and cozy bedroom slippers in the winter, and you’ll be able to crank down that thermostat by 5 or 10 degrees without too much trouble.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the future, renewable energy sources are destined to bring down electric prices, to the point that our great- grandchildren may well live in a world in which electrical power is seen as a fundamental human right that could be free to taxpayers in all the first world countries. Maybe. We’re almost on the point of calling internet access a basic right, so crazier things have happened, right? </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-19529574130347566662016-03-07T18:41:00.000-06:002016-03-07T18:41:16.205-06:00What is an IRA?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Sometimes, it just isn’t very easy to turn up easy to use financial information that you can use to make smart financial decisions in your own life. If anything, the internet should have made it easier to find that information, but strangely, the inverse is true. There’s so much information, that you end up searching for a needle in a haystack. Hopefully, you found this particular “needle” in good time before the deluge of people and corporations trying to sell you investment products got hold of you. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Individual Retirement Accounts, IRAs, have risen to a particular prominence in the investing world today. With the end of wide spread pension availability, and the moderately stagnant growth of many 401-k programs, IRAs offer a way to save for retirement above and beyond your employer-sponsored 401-k that you can easily self-direct.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What’s wrong with 401-k? </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Really, there’s nothing wrong with 401-k programs today for most investors. Most employers offer them with a little bit of matched contribution added on that kicks in after a set number of years worked, and unlike some other funds, you don’t have to deal with fees. That said, there is a point of diminishing returns in 401-k programs. For instance, if you max out your contribution, and your employer maxes theirs out, then the extra money you put in is doing you good in the long term, but could potentially be put to greater use elsewhere. an IRA is just such a place to park that extra money where you can, if you wish, more directly control what’s happening in your investments. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Why would I want an IRA to “Directly control my investments?”</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For the most part, 401-k plans invest directly into stock and bond funds, in the form of mutual funds. This means that one investment plan might contain a large number of stocks broken down into much smaller, manageable pieces that an individual investor might not be able to purchase readily. Berkshire Hathaway is one (expensive) example that simply isn’t efficient for many investors to purchase on a share-by-share basis. In this case, a 401-k might purchase .2% of Berkshire fund stock for your portfolio since they’ve likely got thousands of investors in that program, and can afford to spread out the cost of 500 to 1000 shares of an expensive stock like that over all their investors.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On the other hand, you might want to pick up some dividend stocks on your own. For individual stock purchases, you need to have an IRA set up, since you can’t pick individual stocks through a 401-k.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>To wrap up, IRA’s are a great idea for most investors for a wide variety of personal reasons, but as with any investment, you need to look before you leap. Check a few online brokerages before you invest, as these are typically the easiest way to get into an IRA unless you go through your local bank. Either way, good luck, and happy investing!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-55010787998652861992016-02-27T19:12:00.000-06:002016-02-27T19:12:09.132-06:00Best finance and business podcasts for you to listen to!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Podcasting has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years, to such point that there are literally podcasts for every interest, hobby, or pursuit under the sun, from from cheese enthusiast podcasts to podcasts about podcasts! They’re a great way to take in information on the sly, while you’re cleaning up the house, dealing with down time at work, or doing your workout, so they’re a perfect way to improve your understanding of money and personal finance. Check out these podcasts next time you’re hard up for something to listen to, and have budgeting on your mind!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Planet Money - This awesome NPR podcast turns the usually dry world of economics on its ear, explaining how the economy works, and why Econ 101 isn’t quite as easy as pundits would have us believe. Totally non-partisan in all respects, this great podcast is fun without explaining over people’s heads. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The Dave Ramsey Show - These days, it’s almost impossible to separate politics from money, but regardless of which side of the political spectrum you lean to, Dave Ramsey is a worthwhile go-to for getting your personal finances in order. Providing common-sense advice for everything from budgets to businesses, The occasional political rant is worth wading through to get at the good stuff- what is easily the best budgeting advice you’ll ever receive, bar none.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Freakonomics - Easily one of the best podcasts out now, Freakonomics takes you through the frankly weird world of oddball economics in topics like boycotts, predicting the future, and why you should be in a rock band. You’ll find yourself wishing that they could produce more than a few podcasts per month, but they’re definitely worth the wait!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>TED Talks Business - Covering a wide range of thought-provoking topics, TED Talks collects the most innovative thinkers in every field and gives them the stage to share their thoughts and passions with you. The result is some of the best ideas pushing society forward today. You might just find yourself keeping a few favorites on your player for regular rotation to keep you motivated in your own life!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are hundreds more personal finance and business podcasts out there, so pick a few, and find yourself looking forward to learning about finances and getting your money in shape today!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-41021178548035098192016-02-25T18:40:00.001-06:002016-02-25T18:40:09.981-06:00The Case for Local Businesses<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You’ve probably heard about the local foods movement, and I don’t doubt for a moment that the word “artisanal” has crossed your ears a time or two in the last few years. All of this is in response to a growing backlash against the culture of overlarge retail in the United States that flourished in the 1990s and 2000s. On the back of rising stock prices, retailers strove to cut costs wherever possible to maintain not just their market superiority, but also their bottom line. Consumers, in turn, grew to expect falling prices everywhere they went, a la “Wal-Mart,” and the iconic yellow smiley face glowing back at shoppers from low-price bargain bins worldwide. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Few, if anyone, envisioned the final outcome of this cost-cutting extravaganza, the resurgence of craft in the United States. Of course, to determine where this all started, we have to dig into politics, and trade negotiations, and ultimately, our own propensity to purchase stuff, whether we actually need it or not. Maybe it was when we faced this dilemma toe-to-toe that we finally came to grips with the fact that what was rampant consumerism was getting us nowhere. In that light, small businesses today should (and sometimes are) rightly seen as the saviors of not only our local economies, but of our faith in quality, as well. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The historical truth behind product quality is relative. Today, shoes cost many times what they did in the 1800s, but an average pair of shoes today easily outclasses any shoe produced then in terms of comfort and quality. Cars are the same way. We tend to look back at the early days of the automobile as halcyon days when cars were the ultimate expression of craftsmanship without remembering that cars often couldn’t be driven more than 20 miles or so without breaking down somehow, or could break your arms if you weren’t paying attention to what you were doing when you started one. They were rust buckets with obnoxious exhaust noise, drafty windows, and uncomfortable seating. The lowliest of today’s cars could beat the most powerful muscle cars of yesteryear on a drag strip all day long with the air conditioning running. Quality is relative to the time period in which it is being judged.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That’s what makes today’s craft industries and small retailers so impressive. Rather than receding in terms of quality in order to meet a profit goal, locals often produce superior quality products that are actually worth what you might pay for them. Sure, they’re foregoing selling through mass retailers like Wal-Mart, but the internet has much more easily leveled the playing field without small producers having to cut quality in order to meet price demands.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>These days, all you really need is an internet connection and a skill to make a living fighting the big retailers with high-quality goods. Throw in a good YouTube tutorial video, and you’ll be golden! From a consumer angle, though, there’s an obstacle to overcome, and that is price. There is an argument to be made that buying a $20 Indonesian-made wallet from the store will last every bit as long as a $75 handmade wallet from someone local. Maybe it will last just as long, be just as comfortable, and perform exactly the same, but ask yourself- what’s more important, supporting local business or huge multi-nationals on an item that will probably last long enough for you to forget how much you paid for it?</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-67081640433678147902016-02-17T18:28:00.000-06:002016-02-17T18:28:30.745-06:00Why is the best Wine Often Mid-Range Wine?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There’s an oft-considered but little heeded piece of advice among wine lovers that never really gets through to the real wine snobs out there today. Its a secret that plenty of people just don’t want you to know, because, as usual, it would cost money. The secret is that wine really only gets so good, and then you surpass the point at which you’re paying for a fancy label and a name. Expensive wine is very often no better to taste than mid-range, or even cheap wine. Whether by willful ignorance or by virtue of wanting to sound impressive, wine geeks will often go straight to the most expensive bottle on the menu, thinking that because it costs more, it should also taste better.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Chances are good that you’ve heard this argument before, and though you probably laughed it off and said to yourself, “Well of course, I could have told you that!” Think about the last time you bought wine, though- did you really look at the bottom shelf? If you were buying a bottle for a dinner party, you probably didn’t want to look like a cheapskate, so you likely shopped the upper shelves, even though a higher rated wine might just save you $10. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Marketers do this stuff on purpose, you know. Just as a “for instance,” Take the 2015 Consumer Wine Awards. One of the top wines was “3 Girls Cabernet,” which garnered a gold medal and “Best in Class” Cabernet Sauvignon award, with an MSRP of $14. By contrast, Ca’ Momi, a Napa Valley wine, costs $26, and only managed a silver medal in judging. It certainly wouldn’t be a terrible tasting wine, especially to a neophyte wine drinker, but with a $12 difference in price between the top rated wine and the most expensive wine, it just doesn’t make much sense to go with the more expensive wine. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, why do marketers do this? Simply put, it’s because it works. With auto parts, we know that price often increases as quality goes up. The same is true with clothes and shoes. Sometimes, food works the same way. Wine, though, doesn’t. A $200 bottle of french wine might be a feast for the eyes and the senses, but it may pack the same taste punch as a bottle of $5 wine from your local gas station. The price tag doesn’t make it taste any better, but the truth is that our perception of what that wine should taste like does color how we enjoy it. The world that we live in is all too interested in the material value of goods, as they are judged by the people who produce them. Much more important to you should be the question of what’s it worth to you? Is that sip of wine really worth $100 to you? </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-15288535201067195672016-02-11T10:31:00.000-06:002016-02-11T10:31:34.992-06:00How Autonomous Vehicles could Improve your Life!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
In part two of our series of thought-exercises on the benefits of autonomous vehicles, we’re going to look at the health aspects of letting your car drive you to work. It’s a relatively little-considered aspect of letting someone (or something) else drive for you, but it’s one worth noting just the same.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Think about your commute to and from work every day- the stress of getting into traffic if you’re one of the millions of Americans who are part of the rat race. It’s tedious, usually a waste of time that could be spent in more worthwhile pursuits. As a society, we bemoan the loss of family time, of recreational time, time to play games or take naps, to read books, and seriously, who really reads the newspaper cover-to-cover these days? That’s right, no one. There’s just no time for it. Commuting is a source of what is commonly considered “friction” in our society. It’s something we have to do in order to be able to do other things, and it drags on the efficiency of those “other things.” Think of it this way: Using a credit card is a friction in this sense- you have to take it out of your wallet, swipe it, punch in a bunch of numbers, collect a receipt, and so forth. You could think of it as lazy, but in the larger sense, that two minutes you spend is multiplied out over 300 million people pretty much every day. Two minutes times 300 million = 416,666 days lost swiping a credit card. Want to play with the numbers further? Multiply 300 million by the average annual commute time of 25.4 minutes, and take into consideration that that happens at least six days per week, and the loss of living that occurs is mind-boggling.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, what would you do with your extra time every day? Many people might do little more than play games on their smartphone, but there are also people out there who might use that time to mentally prepare themselves for the coming workday, pay bills, talk to their parents, or nap. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let’s address the nap situation, because there’s a lot there to think about. First off, one benefit of a fully autonomous vehicle would be the ability to grab an extra hour of so of sleep every day, an hour that many health professionals would say could use to be added into our lives. Extra sleep is known to reduce stress, improve mood and overall health, and boost energy levels through the day. It can also aid in recovering more quickly from illnesses, so don’t knock it! </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You’ve got stress reduction on the list? It should be on top of the list, because there’s a lot to like about not having to deal with driving. As was previously mentioned, autonomous cars would pave the way for vehicle subscription services, which might reduce stress by taking the idea of “vehicle maintenance” out of your vocabulary entirely. You would never have to deal with having to have an oil change done, replace a transmission, and you’d essentially be driving in a new car every day. You’d never have to buy a new car again, so no dealerships, monthly payments to huge vehicle loans, or other expenses would have to be dealt with. Just pay the subscription cost, and you’re good to go, stress-free.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Autonomous cars have got a way to go before they catch on, but in the end, it’s a pretty good bet that cars as we know them today will one day be a remnant of a long-dead past much like the horse and buggy is today. We may see them in museums, but on the road? People in the future may well rail against non-autonomous vehicles as being unsafe to use on the roads of the future.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-17436426800743527302016-02-09T10:28:00.000-06:002016-02-09T10:28:00.587-06:00How will Autonomous Vehicles benefit you?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
The idea of autonomous vehicles has got more than a few people on edge these days, and for good reason really. There are some downsides to be considered before we can really cut that technology loose in our everyday lives. Safety is certainly a consideration, and cost is yet another- of updating our infrastructure to support vehicles that drive themselves. Today, though, I’d like to address some of the advantages that not everyone is thinking about, or at least, the advantages that the smart people around us haven’t gotten around to making publicly, widely known yet. By themselves, they represent a great reason to let the technology in our lives, but amassed together, they could redefine one of the most important aspects of being human- our freedom of movement.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let us first address the largest issue, the safety issue, and then we’ll go from there. In the last ten years, the average fatal accident rate in the U.S. was between 32,000 and 37,000 per year. Fortunately, that represents a relatively tiny percentage of the driving public compared to the 1920’s and 1930’s, when the percentages of fatal crashes were much higher. Increasing safety systems in vehicles have gone a long way toward that reduction in percentage, in addition to better driver education and licensing, (and the actual existence of traffic laws and speed limits) but some would still say that it’s too high. I don’t think that there’s a parent out there who doesn’t remember what they were like as a teen and fret about putting their kids behind the wheel of a one-ton “death machine.” Autonomous vehicles, when fully implemented, could bring that fatal crash rate down to nil. Will it happen in our lifetimes? Probably not, but there’s already evidence piling up that today’s new generation of drivers are actually putting off purchasing cars until well into their twenties, and many who live in cities don’t drive at all.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Their values have changed, as ours did mid-way through this century, so when you say “I’m not giving up my freedom to drive,” keep in mind that in the 1980s, no one really needed to carry around a smartphone, in the 1970s, no one needed a personal computer. Our values changed. In the 1930s, not everyone had a car. In the 1920s, not everyone had an indoor bathroom, and in the 1910s, not everyone had electric lights. Who are you to say what the values of your great-grandchildren will be? </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>On the financial side, having autonomous vehicles opens the doorway to a whole new world of saving money. When these vehicles are on the road, chances are good not everyone will even own a car. We will be more likely to subscribe to vehicle subscription services similar to Uber, but without the whole “taxi” mentality. Imagine for a moment having an economy car to zip back and forth to work, a truck to haul stuff around on the weekend, an SUV to take your boat and your kids to the lake, a luxury car for vacation trips, and a sports car for the track. In essence, it is possible to “own” any car you might want or need with a subscription service, and you won’t have to actually “own” any of them. Gone will be the days of deflation, vehicle maintenance, dealerships, and, dare I say it, Insurance.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the next post, we’ll go over some of the other benefits of autonomous vehicles, so stay tuned next week, when we’ll look at how autonomous vehicles could improve your mood, your health, and your personal fulfillment, too!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-81244537061303292652016-02-07T09:27:00.001-06:002016-02-07T09:27:19.200-06:00Saving Gas When Gas is Cheap<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Saving gas always seems more important when it’s expensive. Often, when prices come back down, we return to our old ways of overusing gas without appreciating that oil, a commodity, fluctuates in price such that it can go up or down at any time. Look, for example, at how many analysts out there called this downward trend a bad thing. (betcha a quarter that their personal financial portfolios have taken a bit of hit in recent months because of this…) Sure, the stock market dips slightly in the short-term, but you should be more worried about asteroids crashing into Earth than that the market won’t recover from the dip. After all, the last time we had prices this low, the market wasn’t doing so badly, either.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So, for consumers, it’s a good thing when gas prices drop, but environmentally speaking, it’s a good idea not to lose our heads here. You know what I’m talking about, too. Everyone knows we love our trucks here in America, and there’s hardly anyone who doesn’t appreciate a vehicle they can spread out in a little bit. We love our SUV’s, our trucks, and our land yachts with big, powerful, and oh-so-smooth V8 engines purring under the hood. Admit it, chances are you’ve been annoyed by the less-than-capable nature of your small car at least once or twice, and pined for a bit bigger trunk to stash stuff into, and what guy out there hasn’t wanted for the ability to tow a trailer once or twice? </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The trouble is that as nice as they are, there’s just no getting around the fact that they simply aren’t efficient. While most have FINALLY made their way into double-digit fuel economy, you’d still be hard-pressed to find an SUV or large truck that manages more than low-teens fuel economy. The cars, by and large, are getting upward of 20-30mpg, but the vehicles we mostly gravitate to these days are still heavy, bulky, and while capable of amazing feats of towing prowess, are still expensive to feed. While lower gas prices can make fueling one of these trucks up less painful, you have to remember that gas prices are going to rise again eventually, and it may be the case that the prices go up to the point that you end up paying $5 or more per gallon, as was once predicted.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The high gas prices of the last ten years drove innovation in making cars and trucks more efficient. Lower prices will eventually make engineers lazy, and we, the buying public, complacent. If we aren’t careful, we could get caught up in yet another situation like we were in just a few years ago, paying hundreds of dollars to fill up vehicles that get low gas mileage, hoping for prices to go down again, or at worst, selling those expensive vehicles for cut-rate prices and losing a bundle of cash in the process. At this point, can we really afford not to look ahead to see what might be coming?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-66600821349853957982016-01-28T19:30:00.001-06:002016-01-28T19:30:31.797-06:00The Good and the Bad of In-app Purchases<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
Video games have gone in what was many analyst’s eyes in a direction that was never expected. Surely all of us remember at some point or another shelling out $25-$70 for a new video game hot off the shelves, only to turn around after beating the game, trying to sell it, and being offered little more than pennies on the dollar for it. Even though this sort of issue is the responsibility of a third party, and not the video game developers themselves, there is a new way for the manufacturers of video games to turn a VERY hefty profit, and cut out that secondary market all together.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you’re not already familiar with in-app purchases, they work like this: You download a game onto your game system of choice, whether it be your smartphone or an actual video game system, and you are allowed to play within certain aspects of the game. A hugely popular way to do in-app purchases is to use two tiers of tokens or coins within the game. The first tier is relatively easy to earn within the game, but the second, “premium” token is much harder to find, unless you’re willing to shell out cash for it. The prices vary wildly for premium content in video games, but one thing is certain: Without the premium tokens, the game is vastly more difficult to complete.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>That might make you wonder why anyone would ever purchase such premium content. You wouldn’t be wrong to wonder, but there’s a good reason that many people do buy it. That is that the game, to begin with, is often free to download! This typically makes it much easier for players to justify buying just a few of the premium coins now and then.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So on the upside, the games are often free or at least really cheap to start out, which is cool! Basically, that means that the days of $70 video games and software are more or less over as this new business model takes over the old. The downside is that consumers may not necessarily realize just how much they might have spent. Take for instance the game “Real Racing 3.” For players wanting to play through the game quickly, using the gold coins can mean spending literally hundreds of dollars. Sure, the content is great, and it’s one of the best racing games ever developed, but at the same time, it’s simply not worth the price if you pay $300 worth of premium content to finish the game quickly. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Spending a few bucks on a great video game isn’t a bad thing. In fact, supporting the developers of those great games is the best way to ensure that the talented individuals behind those games keep making more of them. At the same time, however, it’s important to bear in mind that there’s a lot of money to be spent when gaming uses in-app purchases, so be aware of the costs, spend money wisely, and wherever possible, use other avenues that might be available to obtain free premium credits for your games. This might include viewing ads, looking into special offers, or completing surveys to earn a few coins here and there. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-5967459917100284412016-01-26T18:25:00.000-06:002016-01-26T18:25:07.080-06:00Killer Tips for making your move inexpensive and trouble-free!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
Moving can be either an incredibly expensive undertaking, or it can be just modestly expensive. Whether you’re moving from one state to another, or just across town, you can bet it’s going to cost you more than you expect.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The average professional household move these days clocks in at $12,230, an ugly price tag to behold when you’ve just paid off a real estate agent or dealt with negative equity on your mortgage. While it is possible to cut those costs somewhat, there’s really only so much you can cut. You’re going to need a moving truck, and you’re going to have to take time off work. Even if you don’t hire a professional moving crew to make the job easier for you, you still have loads of expenses to contend with. That doesn’t mean that you can’t save a few bucks here and there, though. You just have to be smart about planning for your move. With that in mind, here are some tips that might just minimize the damage to your wallet.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>1. Have a yard sale! Yard sales will help you out in two ways. First, a sale will earn you some cash to offset the cost of a move. The bright side is that the more you sell, the more you’ll make! While this isn’t necessarily a way to reduce the actual cost of a move in the traditional sense, it will help you avoid having to dip into savings to get on the road. Additionally, it might just reduce the cost of your move depending on how much you sell. For instance, if you sell your bedroom suite because you want a new one and most of the excess stuff that you’ve collected in your garage and don’t need, than you might just find that you don’t need as big a truck as you thought you would.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>2. Enlist your friends. Sure, this is easier said than done, because who really wants to help anyone move? If you’ve skipped out on helping a friend move, than you might be out of luck here, but if you’ve been a solid helper-outer through the years, call in those favors! Chances are good at least a few of your friends have trucks and trailers, so if you make it easy for them, and provide dinner and gas money, you might just be able to talk them into an evening’s work on the weekend.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>3. Shop around the moving companies. If you’re not going the move on your own, its a good idea to price out the moving companies and see what sort of deals might be available. Remember to ask about veteran’s or senior discounts, and don’t be afraid to ask a company you prefer to price match a competitor. They just might say yes.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>4. Move in the off-season. Lots of people move during the summer holiday, when the kids are going to be out of school. This doesn’t necessarily mean that all moving companies will be cheaper to move your stuff in the autumn, winter, and spring, but some might, and its definitely worth checking out.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Moving is an expensive deal, but it doesn’t have to break you. If you’ve got better opportunities elsewhere, and do your best to save some cash during your move, you might be surprised by how trouble-free your move can be!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-14730587986468980102016-01-25T21:06:00.001-06:002016-01-25T21:06:14.752-06:00The Problem with Free College Tuition<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>College training has long since become a necessity in our society, much to the joy of those involved in the business of providing post-secondary education financing, but if some politicians and special interest groups have their way, college could become free for all Americans graduating high school in the coming years. The arguments for and against free college tuition line up with various political agendas right along the lines you would expect them to, and it’s typically the same pundits saying the same stuff you hear all the time.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There’s a backlash growing against the idea of college being a necessity at all. With tuition costs skyrocketing and graduates having to take out more and more loan debt to get through college, it’s understandable that some high school seniors want another option. This, unfortunately, is where some people get a tad confused. After all, what is college? To many of us, it’s the traditional “Animal House” version of college, but frankly, that’s not the only wat to go these days. With the demise of the apprenticeship system, trade and technical schools had to pick up the slack, and since they are small, they typically aren’t the sort of schools that warrant state benefits. The truth of the matter, though, is that workers in the right blue collar fields can make really good livings without traditional college. A component of a free college tuition system could easily make it possible to bring back the skilled labor to our workforce that has leached out in the last forty years.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>So why not free college? The idea of free college tuition is one that isn’t new in society- it’s been thrown around as an idea for some time, actually. Numerous countries throughout the world today give their students free college educations, and we’re not talking about third world nations, either, giving high school students a free pass to a cut-rate college. Many support students through good programs leading to advanced degrees upon graduation. That in itself makes it seem that free tuition would work out great, wouldn’t it? Well, that’s there, and this is America, and the talking heads would just plain spin if such a thing were to actually come to pass on our shores.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>A lack of understanding for what free tuition could mean stands as perhaps the greatest barrier to its implementation. In today’s world, a bachelor’s degree is essentially equivalent to a high school diploma. An associate’s degree is analogous to what a GED was twenty years ago. It goes without question that these degrees now come with a lower standard of living. A program that supports free tuition would open up avenues in the trades that have until very recently gone unappreciated by most high school seniors. It could be used toward rebuilding our disintegrating blue collar labor force through advanced training programs in specialized equipment, or even used as an incentive to bring back the time-honored tradition of apprenticeship. Machining, Carpentry, Electrical work, telecommunications, forestry, and a host of other careers could all see a wellspring of new talent if we are brave enough to actually train those new hires.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you allow for the ability of such a program to be used flexibly, then the boost to the economy would be two-fold. For one, the lack of outrageous student debt would let new families have more disposable income that can be used toward housing and other living expenses. The other boost to the economy might just come in giving students the opportunity to start their own small businesses, which in turn could allow for yet more hiring opportunities for other new graduates. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The biggest problem with free college tuition (or trade school tuition, whichever you prefer) is simply that we have been conditioned to believe the very worst of it- that it’s yet another useless, expensive government program that people will waste and take advantage of. Essentially, it’s biggest problem is the talking heads planting ideas in the electorate that simply don’t mesh with the potential benefits that could come of such a program.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-75122201689433545622015-12-07T19:03:00.001-06:002015-12-07T19:03:08.497-06:00Staying safe on Facebook’s Yard Sale Sites<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Facebook has brought the world a certifiable cultural revolution. It connects people around the globe in ways that we never could have dreamed of just a few years ago. Sure, it has its detractors, but all in all, it’s hard to knock it when you use Facebook for what it was meant to be used for. One of the nice things to come about in Facebook in recent years has been the community yard sale groups, where you can buy, sell, and trade items within your neighborhood, town, or city. In light of all the negativity to be found on Craigslist these days, not to mention the somewhat sketchy posts that can usually be found, the yard sale sites on Facebook feel more open, and considerably more safe. Is that really the case, though? </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As with anything in life, an ounce of prevention is well worth a pound of cure, particularly where dealing with strangers is concerned. Just because someone is from your local area doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re trustworthy, or that they aren’t out to take advantage of you. Therefore, it’s important to make certain that whenever you’re making a deal on one of these groups, you keep your guard up, and make sure that you follow a few simple safety precautions.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First up, remember that deals that seem to be too good to be true probably are too good to be true. If a price is so low as to be crazy sounding, then there’s a chance that the seller may be trying to sell stolen items, and as I’m sure you know, receiving stolen property is as much a crime as is stealing the items in the first place.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the realm of personal security, once you’ve made the deal, there’s a time to meet and a time not to meet to complete the transaction, and a way to do it to make sure you stay safe. Always have a companion go with you, and never meet anyone after sundown. Pay attention to how inflexible the seller or buyer is with regards to meeting places and times. If they want to meet you in a darkened warehouse parking garage in the middle of the night, something’s up. If possible, meet in a police station parking lot (many departments are now allowing people to make trades there to prevent problems) Second best is at a busy parking lot or store.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Broken items are an issue you may come into contact with as well, and its important to prevent yourself from being taken advantage of in this way by trying out items before money changes hands. If the seller isn’t willing to turn the tablet or other electronic item on, be wary.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As with anything really, use your instincts when either buying or selling items on Facebook. The popularity has already spread, and has no doubt spread out to catch the attention of criminals. Always be aware of what’s going on around you, buy and sell carefully, and remember that no deal is too good not to walk away from. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-79189097389430992592015-11-24T18:41:00.001-06:002015-11-24T18:41:28.820-06:00Why you may be overspending at discount stores<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Retailers have got loads of tricks to get you to spend money. What’s more, they employ those tactics every day on every customer that comes through the door, regardless of how little or how much that customer intends to spend in that store. From the lighting to the ambient music (or lack thereof,) everything about a store is meant to separate you from your cash. Even deep-discount stores who really go overboard to reassure customers that they’re trying to save you money have got an angle. As a consumer, it is upon you to be aware of that angle, and do everything you can to fight back and retain your earnings. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Discount stores’ primary means of doing business is relatively straightforward. Rather than selling you just one thing and expecting to make money, they focus on volume. As such, the stores are laid out in such a way that typical items that you might drop in for (like milk) are conveniently kept in the back of the store so that you walk past lots and lots of end caps with sale items to get to that one item you want. Now, I do have to add a little extra bit to that, because as it turns out, the location of milk in a grocery store is serendipitous. It’s location isn’t specifically meant to draw you to the back of the store, it’s closest to where the loading dock for the store is, so that the “chain of refrigeration” remains as unbroken as possible, extending the product’s shelf life. It’s just a bit of a happy accident that it’s located where it is, and don’t be fooled into thinking that stores don’t take advantage of that.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another tactic beyond having “grab and go” items at the back of a store is using large-volume shopping carts. Smaller carts fill up quicker, and give you the idea that you’ve spent lots of money. On the other hand, large carts don’t fill up particularly quickly, and so you can put more in them without really realizing how much you’ve spent. Further, the idea of “shopping baskets” is another thing you may not see much outside of grocery stores. The reason for this? The heavier the basket, the less you’ll put in it. It takes less effort to push a shopping cart around, so you’re more likely to linger in the store and spend more money!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s all a mental game for discount stores, and savvy consumers are wise to be on top of their game as much as possible so as not to be taken advantage of. Be aware of sales on items that aren’t really sales, and buy-one-get one specials that aren’t as great a deal as they might seem. If you’re careful, you might just turn the table on discount stores, and actually get a great deal next time you go shopping!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-40229674417205358102015-11-17T19:42:00.000-06:002015-11-17T19:42:00.218-06:00Tips for socking away $1,000<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
Saving up a thousand dollars is one of those things that to many Americans, seems like a pie-in-the-sky ideal that’s just too good to be true. It seems like an impossible mission, given the extent of debt that many of us are dealing with on a daily basis. The thing is, just about every personal financial advisor you talk to suggests that before you focus on getting debt paid off, you should lay aside at least $1,000 to use as an emergency fund. So, how do you do it? With all the other bills to deal with, how is that possible? Actually, you might be surprised how you can make it happen. It isn’t easy, but at the same time, it isn’t impossible, either. Here are a few tips you can put to use to lay aside that $1,000 before spring!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Grocery stores suck down a remarkable amount of disposable income, and I’m sure you are well aware of the impact of your food bill every month on your ability to save. At the same time, this is one of the more difficult ways to trim your budget, because it has more to do with habit than with actual need. That means it is by turns more difficult to deal with, and the most substantive way to make cuts. First off, make a budget for the next few months by looking at your current grocery bill and cutting away all the unnecessary things that you THINK you need, or that you consider your “right” “privilege” or something you have “earned.” While it’s true that you probably have, these are little more than behaviors that enable your poor spending habits in the grocery store. As such, avoid deli meats, expensive cuts of meat, ice cream, candy, soda, snacks, and health foods. Stick to standard fruits, vegetables, and common cuts of meat, and you’ll be surprised by how much cash you’ll save over the course of a few months. It could be on the order of hundreds of dollars per month.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gas expense is one of those things that many consumers take to be a fixed expense, but in reality it varies tremendously from month to month. Sure, there’s the typical back-and-forth to work driving you have to do, but in order to trim your gas expense, you really have to carefully account for where you’re going, why, and how you can combine trips. Are you driving thirty miles to walk around a mall for no particular reason? That would be a signifiant waste of fuel- typically about four gallons’ worth, depending on your fuel economy, which can cost between $8 and $12 depending on your current prices locally. Do that a couple of times per month, and you’re looking at a savings of around $50 per month or so. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Avoiding restaurants at all costs is one of the best ways to save up that $1,000, particularly if you tend to frequent restaurants more than once per week. Usually, what you would spend at a restaurant could equate to four or more meals at home, so cutting out the restaurants, along with trimming the grocery budget, is a great way to go. Doing this will give your finances a new lease on life, and are likely to help bring you back from the brink, as so many people are today.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-59142545285023058172015-11-16T18:40:00.000-06:002015-11-16T18:40:05.064-06:00Are Expensive Shoes Worthwhile?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While for some, the decision to buy expensive shoes rather than cheap shoes is one of maintaining a fashionable look, for others it is one of practicality, comfort, and affordability. Paying over $100 for a pair of shoes just seems outrageous to some, but is it? Often, you hear about people who pay much, much more for shoes, insisting that they get better longevity from them, that they are more comfortable, and look better. All these are good points to consider in our society in which we typically get into the habit of buying something cheap, using it up, and throwing it out. How many of us today have really visited a cobbler to have shoes repaired? Very, very few, if my guess is correct.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Expensive shoes are all a matter of perspective, and before you begin thinking that all expensive shoes are fantastic, it has to be said that more often than not, a sneaker is a sneaker. Paying for rarity, popularity, or fashion is counterproductive when you’re trying to get the most value for your shoes. Sure, there are $200 sneakers that are insanely comfortable, but they typically aren’t produced by the major manufacturers. They are instead produced by companies that operate on a slightly smaller scale. Do they still operate factories overseas? Yes. Often, shoe manufacturers use the same factories to produce their goods. That does not mean they are of similar quality, though. Every aspect of the production process is strictly controlled, so one assembler may produce an inferior quality shoe one day to meet a price point, and the next day produce a higher quality shoe. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>High quality shoes and boots have a few hallmarks that set them apart, aside from just the price tag. They often don’t use much, if any glue in their construction, and have removable foot pads that allow you to replace them when they wear out without throwing out the shoe all together. Beneath this foot pad (on boots,) you will often find the heel tacked to the bottom of the shoe. The leather is often thicker, but not always softer- top-grain hide takes a while to break in, but when it does, it molds nicely to the foot, providing more support and a better fit. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Athletic shoes are one thing, but work shoes and dress shoes are two categories in which cheap shoes are not ideal. After all, if you spend $40 on shoes that wear out in three months because you’re spending your day walking on concrete floors, you’re not really doing yourself any favors. Additionally, its safe to say that your dress shoes are typically going to be a classic style that will be around for ten or more years, if not longer still. If this is the case, then why go cheap? For starters, good shoes are an investment, and you don’t want to have to make that investment very often. If they’re comfortable, then you’ll be more likely to want to wear them. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Through it all, high-quality shoes do more than look great and last longer. They can help prevent aches and pains associated with standing at work all day or walking long distances. If you’re more comfortable, more productive, and better able to handle the stress of the day, then simply put: why not wear top-quality shoes? The benefit to your health and well-being is well worth it!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-46070115034958920072015-11-08T22:28:00.001-06:002015-11-08T22:30:42.445-06:00How Micro Industry May Save America<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px; line-height: normal;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are times when gloom and doom are all you hear about in the financial sector. There are plenty of times when people talk about how bad the economy is, and how important it is to make sure our nationwide manufacturing capability is maintained. I won’t disagree with this, but on a smaller level, the level at which Americans live and work, that “big corporate” mentality isn’t always the cure-all for all the problems that come up. After all, if a company has to lay off 100 employees in order to remain profitable, those hundred employees are now stuck. Remaining on unemployment isn’t going to get you anywhere, and there’s plenty of political dogma out there these days that tells you that if you got laid off, it’s your fault, and you’re a slacker for being out of work.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you’ve ever spent any time on Etsy, browsing through the millions of craft products available there, then you may have some idea for just how big the craft industry has gotten in America. Far from being solely macrame and wood burning, craft in this sense refers to the industry of hand-made. Quilts, afghans, jewelry, glasswork, furniture making, tools and baked goods are all great examples, and done right, home-based businesses can make a very good living producing, marketing, and selling high-quality craft items right out of their garage.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I mentioned that this might actually save America. While that might sound like a bit of an outlandish statement, let me clarify what I’m claiming here. Craft industry might well drag us all out of the frying pan and the fire. All it takes is finding a niche and exploiting it. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This year, <a href="http://bankrate.com/">bankrate.com</a> released a staggeringly troubling statistic- that as many as 76% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, without putting money into an emergency savings account. This is backed up by the equalling troubling reality that finds most people still unable to save money or pay off debt in spite of having been awarded a raise at work or a job that provides additional pay. Typically, that extra money just funnels back into day-to-day expenses. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Handicrafts can offset that lack of saving, providing a steady stream of income to get bills paid off, and even, provided that the venture is successful enough, replace your primary income with something you really do love to do. If this is the track you’d like to try, its important to remember that you don’t have to go all-in right away. You can go small at first, selling what you make on Etsy or at local farmer’s markets until you’re comfortable in increasing your investment. This also gives you the opportunity to make sure there really is a market for what you want to sell. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Eventually, we might live in a world where craft is the only way to do business. We may all have machines in our garages or basements one day, enabling us to work from home at our own pace on a variety of consumer goods. The final result could well be the elimination of carbon-spewing daily commutes, decreased stress, decreased workplace violence, and a far more acute sense of personal involvement in the manufacturing process, increasing yields, quality, and satisfaction, all while avoiding having to send jobs overseas for companies to earn money to satisfy their shareholders. It’s possible, if we let it be possible. Of course, if you prefer going to work every day…</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-10678271778406654292015-08-27T16:29:00.000-05:002015-08-27T16:29:00.056-05:00Finding time for budgeting in your life<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It’s safe to say that everyone knows the importance of budgeting by now. If not, then chances are good that you’re just getting into high school and just haven’t had to think about budgeting yet. Or, you might be living under a rock. Either way, budgeting is critically important. Without it, we would never know what we spend on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. The difficulty is usually found in sticking to the budget, which requires us to take an active role in the budget process, rather than seeing it happen for us.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although our smartphones and computers these days are amazing machines capable of more than even the inventors of the personal computer envisioned back in the day, they are devices that tend to make us lazy. Budgeting is one of those aspects of life where you just can’t be lazy. If every dime you spent was tracked for you, chances are you’d just end up ignoring it anyway. On the other hand, if you force yourself to note down all your budget items every month, you’ll eventually become so adept at doing it, that it becomes second nature. That’s the eventual goal: To lock yourself into a set level of spending that’s well within your means, and avoid unnecessary expenses that tend to bust your budget. So how do you find time for that?</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Potentially the easiest way to find time for budgeting is to get back into the habit of using a check ledger. Stores hate them, because they hold up checkout lines, and customers don’t like them for the same reason. Ask yourself what’s more important, though- holding up a checkout line for an additional 15 seconds to make a note of your checkout total, or getting the people behind you out of the store and into their cars 15 seconds faster. I would argue that your budget is more important, as is theirs. They should be doing the same, and if they are not, then shame on them. Set a positive example, and hold up that line!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Checking itself is conducive to budgeting- much more so than debit cards and credit cards, so don’t be afraid to write out checks, as well. Since so many stores these days don’t even tell you what your total is (did you notice? Grocery stores are particularly adept at small-talking their way around your total bill, hoping you’ll swipe that credit card without a second thought. Then, you might even get your receipt stuffed unceremoniously into a bag, where you can only retrieve it later to determine whether you got the sale price on all the items you bought.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Basically, it just boils down to making time. It only takes a moment to note your expenses in a small note pad, so make sure that you do it! It could make the difference between a successful budget and a busted budget!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-82284136526661252062015-08-26T17:06:00.000-05:002015-08-26T17:06:00.269-05:00Is it Worthwhile to Buy a Car with more than 100,000 miles?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was a time in the not-so-distant past, when a vehicle with more than 100,000 miles was considered ready for a future as a mailbox, if it wasn’t already nothing more than a heap of rolling rust. This problem was especially prominent in the north, where hard winters stripped vehicles of their longevity, and made them useless and unsafe. Fortunately, those days are gone, and most of the cars and trucks that somehow survived into the 2000s have now met their final destination. You may be holding pieces of a recycled Ford Pinto in your hand right now as you read this, but are cars still any more reliable than they used to be? Sure, the rust issue has largely been settled, but what about the engine? The transmission? </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Many of the problems that tend to plague today’s vehicles are a direct result of owner neglect. There’s no real way around it but to say it, i’m afraid. Skipping oil changes, putting off recommended service, and avoiding washing and waxing a vehicle are a sure way to keep it from running over 100,000 miles, so that’s what you’re fighting against when you consider purchasing a car with in excess of 100,000 miles on the odometer. You have to ask yourself whether the car’s previous owner was the sort of person who took care of their investment, or got bored with it and let things slide, knowing that they were going to trade it in before major problems set in anyway. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Today’s cars can easily run in excess of 200,000 miles with proper service, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll run 200,000 or more without that service. Even the best engineered cars and trucks will develop catastrophic problems with major components without service.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>In the interest of saving money, though, its hard to deny that higher-mileage vehicles are much more affordable than their new counterparts, so if you need to save money on a vehicle purchase, there are a host of things you need to take into consideration. First off, if at all possible, avoid buying high-mileage vehicles from small dealer lots that advertise “buy-here-pay-here” service. These are vehicles that were bought from auction, and are typically those that larger dealerships took in on trade, and then didn’t feel were worth selling on their used car lots. You just don’t know how well the last owner took care of the car, if at all.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Secondly, you can get a better deal on vehicles like this if you go to the auction yourself. Go equipped with a KBB price guide to get the best deal, and be thorough, but don’t go to the small car lots that take advantage of customers. Regardless of the mileage, you’ll typically find they have some sort of problem you’ll have to contend with.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>If you do want to save money, look at those high-mileage cars from dealers that still have their manufacturer’s licenses to sell new vehicles. As was previously stated, the cars they don’t think are worthwhile go straight to auction. Better vehicles go to their used car lots. This typically means there’s some faith to the dealer that it’s a better car than a junker. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Finally, don’t expect the vehicle to last very long unless its come from someone you know well, like a friend or family member, and you have faith that they were steadfast in taking care of the vehicle. Otherwise, vehicles with more than 100,000 miles are still likely to run into the sorts of problems that drove you to look at a high mileage vehicle in the first place, and you could end up in a situation where you have to replace the car year after year, trapped in an endless cycle of junky cars just to save a few dollars!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-49391333998797960562015-08-25T16:58:00.000-05:002015-08-25T16:58:52.092-05:00Don't Freak Out Over Market Corrections!<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This week, the Dow industrial and NASDAQ dumped a whole lot of value out of a whole lot of people’s portfolios. Yours truly took a pretty significant hit, as well. In fact, the way things are looking, it appears that rather than a simple dip in the market, this is the market correction that stock pros have been anticipating for the better part of two years now. First off, let’s get one thing straight: This is not a recessionary move. Neither is it an unexpected move. It isn’t unexpected, and above all, its normal.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Market corrections happen every so often. They aren’t necessarily indicators of poor performance, and they aren’t anything like the beginning of the end. What they are is an opportunity. If you aren’t buying now, then it should only be because you don’t have the cash to do so. As an investor, if you find that the entire market has dipped in so dramatic a fashion as this, you should buy so that once the prices come back up, you’ll be on the positive rather than breaking even!</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>This market correction has been a long time in coming, and remember, it’s expected. Don’t overreact. Don’t sell thinking that the market is flushing down the toilet, because it isn’t. Soon, prices will stabilize, the market will begin to trend upward again, and those who have sold out all their holdings in a panic today will smack themselves for the lost opportunity at tremendous gains on the other side. Just be patient. This isn’t the end, its just the beginning.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-72577141643788243102015-08-25T16:24:00.000-05:002015-08-25T16:24:00.557-05:00Taking out a loan for a rental property<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you’re considering expanding your investment portfolio to include rental properties, it’s a good idea to take a critical view of what you’re considering doing, and think twice about it. What’s more, if it would be necessary to take out a second mortgage to finance a rental property, you probably shouldn’t. However, there may actually be times when it wouldn’t be so bad to go into hock a little bit for that extra monthly income. It depends primarily on your circumstances, obviously, but do you think your finances can handle taking out a loan, even if its on an income property? Check out these indicators to when you should and shouldn’t consider signing a second property loan.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let’s hit the big one first, that you should want to take out a loan at all for an income property. Ideally, income properties should only be purchased with cash, apart from your other investments, and only if you’re ready for all the expenses that are to be incurred by such a purchase. At the very least, your primary mortgage should be paid off, since a rental property can be a major drag on your budget, and you won’t want to endanger your primary residence to invest in a property that may only earn a few hundred dollars per month when all is said and done. So, tip #1 is don’t take out a second mortgage to buy a rental property. It’s bad news, and can get you into trouble.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Second tip is to be careful what loan you get if you do get a loan. It has to have a low enough monthly payment to be worthwhile to rent out given the competing rental prices in the area you’re thinking of buying in, but you need to also factor in a monthly expense allowance to cover repairs, taxes, and insurance. If you’re not making a profit, there’s no point, right? There’s also upkeep such as landscaping, potential security fees, HOA fees, and other expenses. Make sure you don’t overlook these, plan the mortgage accordingly, and if you can’t make a good profit, then don’t buy.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another thing to consider is that your property may not always turn a profit. There will be times that the unit is empty, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Additionally, There may be fluctuations in the rental market that force you to lower your rent. Make sure that you plan for these changes, and give yourself a margin of safety so that you don’t overextend yourself on a rental property mortgage that simply isn’t making money. Again, the problem here is that you may find your primary residence endangered by a rental property mortgage, and you really can’t afford to let that happen. Be smart about your rental properties, and you’ll be much more likely to earn money with them, rather than seeing them drain your savings down to nothing.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-4189400635533288952015-08-24T16:23:00.001-05:002015-08-24T16:23:39.447-05:00Are Savings Accounts still Worthwhile to Have?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There was once a time in America when putting money away in a savings account didn’t seem so foolish. In fact, it was widely considered to be the best way to save and invest money if you didn’t have access to the stock market. Of course, there was a time when people trusted their savings accounts even more than they did any stockbroker. With the relatively recent collapse of interest rates, though, there really aren’t any particularly safe, easy-to-access places to keep your emergency fund where it will build enough interest to seem worthwhile.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The trouble, of course, is in how we’re thinking about the interest offered by savings accounts. Once we rearrange our thinking a little bit, it just might have the effect of bolstering our confidence in the good old fashioned savings account once again. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>What, you ask, is this rearrangement? To begin with, savings accounts should never be considered permanent holding accounts for the greater part of your life savings. The key is diversification. Sure, it’s a good idea to have a few bucks stashed for a rainy day, but the reality of the situation is that beyond your emergency fund, you really don’t need to keep much in your savings account. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Of course, that begs the question, how much is enough? For most folks, just the emergency fund kept in savings is plenty to ensure you’ve got enough disposable cash on-hand that you won’t need to dig into your more lucrative investment accounts to pay for things like auto repairs, home repair, or other emergency situations. In this economy, which is on the mend, but still not where it used to be for strength, it’s a good idea to keep around 3-6 months of expenses tucked away where you can get at them quickly if necessary. More than that, and you’re just wasting your ability to earn some interest income. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Although they don’t earn much interest, savings accounts are still the best place for emergency funds because they’re quickly accessible, but not so easy to use that you end up using your emergency fund on daily expenses. Additionally, you’ve got FDIC insurance with the account, so long as there aren’t millions and millions of dollars in there, it’s in a safe place where thieves won’t be able to grab it! </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-32967780715901840922015-08-11T16:14:00.000-05:002015-08-11T16:14:07.338-05:00Can you really benefit from refinancing your home?<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
One of the big financial buzzwords these days is refinancing. It’s practically everywhere you look, from your local bank to the internet, and late-night television, too. It’s almost enough to make you start thinking you might need to refinance your home too. Should you? Although all these places would like you to do just that, It may not actually be a good idea for you. Depending on a variety of things that might be going on in your life, depending on your credit score, and your current payment, interest rate, and financing company, it may actually be a terrible idea. Read on to learn why that 1/10 of a point of interest savings may not be all its cracked up to be.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>First, let’s talk about why all these companies are suddenly so willing to refinance you. Think of them as being on a fishing expedition. They throw out bait, see who bites, and then reel in what gets hooked. Particularly tasty catch include customers with good credit reputations, steady earnings, and homes that they’re likely to be attached to, and won’t want to foreclose on. Is that you? You just might be a big fish then. There’s a lot of money to be made in this field, after all, especially on customers who don’t default. There’s the host of fees that they’ll charge, the thousands of dollars in costs that are built into the refinanced loan, and the sticking point that you may not realize, the ability to quickly turn over your newly refinanced mortgage to a large bank in the shortest time possible.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All these factors contribute to mortgage companies’ profit margin, but is it to your benefit? There’s some contrary advice going around about this. Some people say that you shouldn’t worry about it if you only have “X” number of months remaining to pay, while other advisors indicate that you should go for the refinance regardless of how much time you have left, because you’ll save just a little more money, and every cent is important.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Neither of these is particularly helpful, though, since you’ll run into situations wherein you just don’t see it as being cut-and-dried. Maybe you’re mid-way through your loan, and the interest rate you could get won’t be that much better, but there’s still that potential monthly savings that you’re interested in. If this is the case, and the monthly savings is less than about $50, then hold off. Sure, the interest rate might get bumped up in a few months, but you’re not really missing out on anything, even if you’re looking at some hard times. Consider keeping your existing loan, and pare away the $50 from somewhere else in your budget. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Another aspect of the loan refinance business that was previously mentioned is the reselling of mortgages. All of the smaller mortgage refinance companies sell their mortgages. They just don’t hold them. Same goes for most credit card companies and even your local banks sometimes. Now, this may not be a bad thing, because your interest rate is going to remain the same as was negotiated by the selling company, but if you’ve had a bad experience with one company, and gotten out from under them, you could end up writing them a monthly check once again, whether you like it or not.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1169439575368969044.post-71045499302840076862015-08-04T18:43:00.001-05:002015-08-04T18:43:58.881-05:00Differentiating between Needs and Wants<div style="-webkit-text-stroke-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); -webkit-text-stroke-width: initial; font-family: Helvetica; font-size: 11px;">
One of the most important aspects of getting your budget under control is determining the difference between your needs and your wants. You’ve read in previous posts about how stores do their best to get you to buy stuff based on product placement, and how producers spend millions of dollars per year trying to convince you that you need their product, when in fact, you really don’t. What do you really need, though? Aside from food, clothing, and shelter, what’s out there to help us survive and thrive these days? You might be surprised by how little you really do need, and by cutting out expenses for things you don’t need, you can really save hundreds of dollars per month that can be used for things like vacations, paying off debt, and saving up for big expenses like buying a home or a car.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>There are really two ways to go when you starting cutting out your wants and replacing them with just your needs. You can go the conservative route, wherein you’re cutting out just the extraneous wants like eating out and designer clothes- obvious things like that. You can also go the wild route, and cut right down to the bone. This can include your cable bill, phone bill, gym membership, and even your morning coffee. There are cheaper ways of doing all these things that won’t leave you feeling like your great-great grandmother peeling potatoes with only a candle for company, and you’ll save at least $300 per month, if not considerably more.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>For starters, it’s a fallacy that we feel the need to have smartphones in our lives. Cell phones themselves aren’t necessary, and if you need that feeling of safety because there simply aren’t any more pay phones to be found, then a prepaid cell phone can give you that measure of security without hitting you up for a monthly bill over $200. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Gym memberships are obvious. They’re great for motivation, but most professional trainers, doctors, and physical therapists agree that simple body-weight exercises, performed daily, do your heart and your waistline just as much good, if not more good, and cost you nothing.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Cable might be tough at first, but you can count on a time in the not-so distant future when the very idea of paying a cable company will seem quaint. If you’ve got high-speed internet that you don’t have to carry cable along with (companies love to bundle services these days) then all your favorite programs can be had for far, far less than traditional cable with all the wasted programming time. Dump cable, and you’ll find your family engaging in real dinner conversation again.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Coffee is just one of a hundred little extras that seem to get us through our day. Rather than going the expensive route, though, try brewing your own coffee. It’s actually more convenient than coffee shops, since coffee makers can be programmed to have your coffee ready as soon as you get up in the morning. (Just skip the Keurig machines. They’re almost as expensive as coffee shops, and the cup waste is insane.</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Using these tips can help really pare down your budget every month, and will certainly leave you wondering in time how you could possibly have thought of any of those things you indulged in every day as “needs.” From now on, they’ll only be “wants.”</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09551818833077750453noreply@blogger.com0