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Archive for July, 2009

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Friday’s Financial News…Any pay raise is better than none at all…

Friday, July 31st, 2009

Today’s article is The upside of your tiny pay raise Posted by Joe Light. It brings to light a very good point regarding a side of the recession NOT being talked about very much: The people who still have a job.

This article discusses the pay raise range going on in the economy right now, which has a median of 2%-3%. Given the unemployment rate and the slumping sales going on right now, that’s not bad. Also, at least they still have a job. That said, counting your lucky stars that you have a job isn’t enough. Yes, you should put in that extra effort right now to make yourself stand out and be more indispensable, but you should also remember your worth. If you are producing results (bringing in clients, raising profits, lowering costs etc.) then you deserve to be compensated. And, if there is simply NO money for raises and bonuses at your company at this moment, keep producing “top notch” results, but discuss other “perks” that you might be able to get with your boss. An economic slump isn’t an excuse for treating employees with disregard.

It boils down to this: If you’re looking for a job, you should be spending hours a day looking for it, and good luck to you. If you have a job, work hard to keep it, don’t be surprised at a lower than usual pay raise. In good economic times, or in bad, don’t let them take advantage of you and keep up on how others are being compensated in your field.

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When it comes to social media, you need to keep your private life private

Wednesday, July 29th, 2009

Now, I hate to be a “Debbie Downer” when it comes to social media, but if you have an account on one or more of these websites, you know you put A LOT of personal information on there. You typically only put that info on there for yourself and your friends, but on occasion certain situations arise that can be tricky. Say you have a co-worker that wants to be your friend, or a boss, or a family member. What do you do? And more importantly, what SHOULD you put and not put on there?

Well, when I was new to the social media seen 4-5 years ago, it looked a lot different then it does now, and more importantly, it was new. I didn’t foresee all of the crazy things that could come up as a result of being on there. I have since become much more aware of my privacy and have “locked down” my account in certain ways. Just today I ran across an article about how social media can go wrong. Below are a list of tips for protecting your information, based on my experience over the last few years:

  • Remember that there are cameras everywhere. If you don’t want pictures that put you “in a bad light” on the Internet, be aware that almost everyone’s cell phones are cameras these days, and no one cares about YOUR privacy the way YOU do! Also, friendships end. If and when they do, the ex friend might not feel ashamed to publish those spring break (example) photos of you doing body shots!
  • In the same “vein”, do not publish any photos or information that you wouldn’t want your faintest of acquaintances to know. If all of your connections or friends can view your information, then even that person you only had one class with in college can see it too!
  • It’s not a good idea to become friends with co-workers or a boss on social media accounts where you publish information that is too private. Their opinions of you should be solely based on what they see of you at work and work functions. They don’t need to see you drunk and puking in a toilet (example)! If they request friendship on a social media site where you have private info, ignore it. If they notice that you didn’t accept it and ask why, simply tell them you have a policy of not mixing your work and personal lives. If you are already friends with them, remove them, and tell them of your “new” policy. If you want to connect with them on “business like” social media sites, I would say that is relatively safe.
  • Don’t publish photos of friends that you wouldn’t want them to publish of you. That way, there is a good chance they will respect you and your reputation as well.

That’s it! Just remember, to be safe, you should go into your privacy settings and limit what certain people can see, or don’t put it on the web to begin with. Your privacy is special and sacred and you shouldn’t give it up easily.

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Mucho Moolah! Monday’s Money Saving Tips…

Monday, July 27th, 2009

While thinking on what today’s post should be, I went looking through my notes and found a tip that I thought I had already covered. I was surprised. I looked back at my previous posts and realized that indeed, I had not written about it yet. This was shocking to me because it was one of my most useful tips! Therefore, without further adieu , the money saving tip that I thought I already covered: Shop for your groceries with a list! I know this seems silly, and you’re thinking to yourself “Duh! I know to do that”, but that doesn’t mean you ARE actually doing it! People regularly don’t do things they should do! We blow off yearly check-ups with our doctor, don’t get the tires on our vehicles rotated often enough and forget to call our loved ones. We know to do it, but often times we simply don’t, for any of a million different reasons.

The biggest reason to use a shopping list is to cut down on impulse buys. I’m not just talking about the silly impulse buys we make while standing/waiting in the cashier’s line, I’m talking about the impulse buys we make while walking up and down the aisles. Maybe you buy some cookies, or chips or candy that wasn’t on the list. Or maybe you purchase a couple of steaks, and didn’t need them. Then, you go home, and you’ve bought 10 days worth of food, when you go to the grocery every 7 days. Now you’ve bought too much food for 1 week, and not enough for 2 weeks!

Another good reason to make a list for the grocery? Pre-determined meals may help cut down portion sizes! What does this mean for you? Likely, a smaller waistline! When we plan out our meals for the week and shop for those meals from a list we generally try to avoid buying more food than we need, which keeps our portion sizes down. This, in turn, will keep you from “mindless eating” or eating when you’re bored.

Jerrill and I shop from a list every week. We plan out what meals we want for the week, including which meals we think will be a dine out meal. Usually our dine out meals are on Friday or Saturday. Taking the list with us keeps us focused on what we need for the week and keeps us from forgetting something we need. We rarely impulse buy (no one is perfect all the time) because when we see something we want (usually cookies) we are able to tell ourselves “this is not on the list”. In fact, I would’ve forgotten to post this tip if I didn’t have a list for SCG! Just something to think about when you are thinking of heading to the grocery.

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Friday’s Financial News…A week without spending money!

Friday, July 24th, 2009

Today’s article is absolutely engaging. Entitled Embrace Your Inner Cheapskate, the author, Steve Almond challenges himself to go an entire week without spending any money! Let’s just say he’s lucky his daughter isn’t bald, since he told his hairdresser he wasn’t paying that day!

As you can imagine, this did not work out the way he had hoped. With all of his objections to spending money, on from what I take from the article is a daily basis, he starts to realize just how hard that is and just how much money he actually spends on a daily/weekly basis. He realized the kinds of sacrifices he had to make in order to stay true to his word. And some of those sacrifices weren’t worth it.

The article is awesome, and definitely worth the read. As you know, Jerrill and I are always looking for ways to save money. We try to find the best deal, bargain with people, find ways to cut costs and will often buy the store brand etc. to save some money. And, we want everyone to make sacrifices to help balance their budget and grow their emergency fund/retirement savings/kids college fund. It is our goal for you to become/stay debt free…but you should keep it in perspective. For example, buying the store brand or dropping your daily $6 coffee habit might be totally worth it, but skipping your child’s birthday present might not be. Just something to keep in mind.

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Why investing in a home is a MYTH…

Wednesday, July 22nd, 2009

For some reason, up until recently Americans have believed that their homes are the ultimate investment. Pair that belief with the instant gratification and conspicuous consumption attitude that has been prevalent in our society and you run into trouble. Your home is not an investment…at least not the way you think it is. It is not “the” way to save for retirement. It is not a way to “get rich quick”.

The article Home Ownership Was Never a Road to Riches makes several good points regarding the myth of investing in a home. As Professor Christopher Mayer from Columbia Business School points out, home appreciation nationally has run about 1% above inflation over time. 1% over inflation is a worse return on an investment than some CD’s! What people saw in the late 90′s through 2006 or 2007 (depending on where you were in the country) was an oddity.

The value a person gets in owning a home is that they avoid paying rent! By owning a home, you get to build equity in your home, not build equity in your landlord’s rental property. However, when you buy a larger home than you need, like a McMansion, it is simply ridiculous. People think that it makes them look smart and rich to have a large home, but if all you have is a large mortgage, and nothing in the bank to back it up, you’re not rich OR smart, you’re house poor. Plus, with a higher mortgage for this large house also comes higher taxes and higher insurance. That’s why you should buy as much home as you need, but no more than that.

So, do yourself a favor and stop thinking that home ownership is a way to save for retirement. All it is is a way to avoid paying rent! You want to save for retirement? Then do it the right way, with investment tools such as Roth IRA’s, CD’s, mutual funds etc.

Questions about investing? Please leave a comment!

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Mucho Moolah! Monday’s Money Saving Tips! Insurance Tips…

Sunday, July 19th, 2009

Today I wanted to talk about auto insurance. A lot of the time, people treat their auto insurance like a payment plan, and have the deductible as low as they can get it. This is not how auto insurance is supposed to be used.

Simply put, auto insurance companies work by taking a little money from a lot of people, and then protecting any of them who actually get in an auto accident. If an accident occurs, the insurance company then pays any related bills (hopefully) from the pool of money they have collected. This spreads the risk of paying out large sums for an auto accident over all of the participants of the insurance.

If you follow our suggestions on an emergency fund (with a starter fund of $1000, and being fully funded when you reach 3-6 months worth of expenses) then you should not need an extremely low deductible. It’s called an emergency fund for a reason…for emergencies. You should get a lower cost, higher deductible policy so that you can pay for small losses out of pocket and use insurance only to protect yourself against large losses, which is, after all, how insurance is supposed to be used.

Just something to think about when you’re deciding whether or not to start an emergency fund while paying ridiculous amounts of money to your insurance company!

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Friday’s Financial News… Microsoft for free…

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

Today’s news isn’t financial news in the strictest sense. I ran across an interesting article titled Microsoft Office to go online — for free By Jon Fortt. This article, as the title indicates, is about how Microsoft has decided to make some of the Microsoft Office products available for free on the Internet, which I am positive has caused a great deal of happiness for many people throughout the country!

Basically, Microsoft has been watching other companies like Google and Open Office provide free versions of “Office” like products for years (I myself use Open Office instead, and am happy with it so far) and are now getting in on the action. Their free versions of the Office software will be limited, with the ultimate goal being to up sell people into full versions of the software. However, for those of you who like Microsoft Office and don’t want to pay the premium for all the bells and whistles, this new free version (available sometime in the first half of next year) just might be for you. I know some of you might be worried that it will only be available in IE, however Microsoft says it will support Firefox and Safari as well!

Just something to keep in mind. Not only is this a great way to save some cash, but it’s also interesting that Microsoft, “king of the paid software”, is giving anything away for free!

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Why Working Together Isn’t Only For Times Of Crisis…

Tuesday, July 14th, 2009

Many of you know that Jerrill and I believe a strong connection/relationship is key to the success of the family. We feel that the relationship of a husband and wife, their ability to communicate, their respect for each other and how well they work together are all indicators of their future success in the other facets (such as business and friendships) of their life.

So today, I decided to make a point of telling you that working together is not only for times of crisis, but for every day, in every action. This will prepare you better for those times when the unexpected occurs. When you need to decide who is picking up the kids, there should be no drama. You both are responsible for them, so if one of you can’t do it, the other should, not because you have to, but because you want to help out, and work together. If you are trying to work on your household budget, and there isn’t enough money to go around, you shouldn’t refuse to give up your $6 a day coffee habit, or your mani/pedi’s, while your partner gives up every indulgence they have. You want to succeed together, you might have to make some sacrifices. These (and countless others) are every day occurrences where you can build up the skills that you can use in a crisis.

One crisis, for example, that a lot of people are going through right now is a job loss. If you or your partner have lost a job, you definitely quailify as being in a crisis! Now, are you working together? Are you sitting down together, deciding which activities can be cut out of your lives? Are you deciding which items in you budget can be scaled back or removed all together, until you are back on your feet? Or, are you blaming the partner who lost their job, feeling resentful of the burden they placed on you? If you are the latter, then this is your wake-up call! They did not lose their job because they wanted to, I assure you! Get rid of the negative feelings and decide that you are a team, and do whatever it takes TOGETHER to get through the tough times!

There are, of course, those people who get paid enough at their jobs that they don’t have to work with their spouse because they can pay for/hire out whatever they need. But keep in mind, if they stopped, and took the time from their busy life to notice, they would see just how unhappy life is, when you live with someone with whom you don’t communicate, work with or respect.

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Mucho Moolah! Monday’s Money MAKING Tips…

Monday, July 13th, 2009

I love summer, because it is full of opportunities for making money. When summer rolls around, people take vacations. When people take vacations, someone else needs to step in to take care of their pets. This is where you make extra money!

Petsitting is a great way to make extra money! You get paid really well, and all you have to do is spend time with a friend’s/coworker’s/neighbors’ pet(s). Normally, petsitting only requires about an hour a day (unless they have asked you to stay at their house, in which case your pay goes up) and, if you like animals, isn’t really like work anyway.

Don’t know anyone who needs a petsitter? Advertise! Local newspapers are cheap, but if you don’t want to make a monetary commitment (no cashflow) then you can always advertise on Craigslist! It’s free! Still not getting anyone interested in your petsitting services? Get 3 respectable people (your minister, a teacher, a colleague etc.) to write character references (including their phone number) for you and advertise to be a housesitter! That is another GREAT way to make money and in most cases will pay even better than petsitting. You should note, however, that to housesit you must actually stay at the house, generally keep no company while staying at the house, and have a large responsibility to the homeowners regarding their house. This job is not to be taken lightly.

So, there they are! 2 more great ideas on ways to make money this summer! Good luck!

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Why we need to have hope for the American Marriage…

Friday, July 10th, 2009

As you know, Jerrill and I believe that a strong marriage and central family unit is key to all the successes of the family members in all that they do. This week’s article is about the importance of marriage and family. Here is a quote from the article, Is There Hope for the American Marriage? By Caitlin Flanagan:

a lasting covenant between a man and a woman can be a vehicle for the nurture and protection of each other, the one reliable shelter in an uncaring world — or it can be a matchless tool for the infliction of suffering on the people you supposedly love above all others, most of all on your children.

This article is all about the importance of a strong marriage and how important it is for the children to have 2 parents in the home. It is chock full of information. It states that children of divorced, middle-class parents do less well in school and at college compared with underprivileged kids from two-parent households. This absolutely floored me. However, it does seem to fit with and support our viewpoints on family.

As the article points out, most of us do want the “fairytale” marriage, as in, married for 25 years and still deeply in love. I don’t know anyone who has gotten married and didn’t want that. We simply have to work at it. I don’t let a day go by that I don’t make sure I am doing the things that I know will be a benefit to Jerrill, or at least, make him very very happy. I focus on his happiness, and our happiness, and that ensures that I don’t take him for granted.

So, go check out the article! I really hope you enjoy it as much as we did! It’s a long read, but well worth it.

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