All Things Your Money

Debt – How it got this Bad

tmurmon0 — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 00:29:40 +0000

It takes a lot more work to turn down pleasure than it does to accept it. And in our world accepting it a lot of times means spending money. Once we start to equate spending money with pleasure, it’s easy to persuade ourselves that we deserve the pleasure that spending money provides. It’s easy to accumulate debt, the lenders have made sure of that!
They also make sure that we have to work to get out of debt. They figure out how much of our debt is interest and then set the minimum amount due at just a couple of dollars over that amount. So unless you have a financial crisis one month that you haven’t prepared for, ignore that amount. It doesn’t mean what you need it to mean.
We have always depended on lenders to only allow us to borrow that which we can pay back and they always have. It makes sense that they would protect themselves in some way. But slowly they allowed us to borrow more-multiple credit cards offers, showing us bundles of paper and convincing us they were investments and finally they told us we could have a bigger house than we could reasonably expect to pay off. Then they sat back and pretended that they had played no part in creating the wreck that our economy became. We are out of jobs because we accepted there interpretation of the American dream.
It’s time that we look around us and create our own version of the American dream. It should be much more conservative, not using debt as much as is reasonable. We need to look around and include things that are important to us. Stay tuned for ideas that you can get excited about!

WOW!!!

tmurmon0 — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 21:56:27 +0000

Electric Cars! Bob & I have been tracking the progress of electric cars for many years with intense interest. We believe that electric technology is in the long-term economic interest of the world, the country and eventually us. This is a bit more of a long term strategy but it still effects you and your money. I will take you through my personal experience and thinking process and let you draw your own conclusions.
Carson City is a bit behind the times – it gives us a business advantage. Anyway we live at the top of a hill in Incline Village. At the end of last week we saw a demo unit of the Volt as we went home. Friday night we went to look at one, there were 3 or 4 different models (none of which were charged). I have never been an American car styling fan, so I don’t think that its especially good-looking. On the other hand, the Tesla S is great looking and its made in the US, but its more expensive and its not yet available. Tesla is not a terribly stable company but so far it survived. There is also the Leaf that is cheaper both in dollars and materials, that would leave both of us very dissatisfied every time we drove it. There are other smaller and one off models available.
So Saturday we drove down the hill and test drove a fully charged unit. We were interested to find out if the 40 mile range would make it up the hill to the house. Our plan is to charge the electric at both ends – at home at night in Incline Village and at work during the day in Carson City. But the key to making this work is the cars ability to make it to the top of Spooner Summit only utilizing the electric portion of it power. We held our breath, but found the car made it with 4 miles to spare. The shop is 3 miles further but its on level ground, I don’t expect there to be a problem.
Friday night’s experiences wasn’t great, I wasn’t impressed but then on Saturday when we drove the car and it made it to the top of the hill, my experience was so reversed that I actually am considering owning an American car! The drive train and the user interface is excellent, the interior is not horrible but is relatively plain and the external styling is pretty awful. But it’s mostly electric while not leaving us stranded if something unexpected happens, it makes our commute possible using almost exclusively electric power and it’s available today.
More electrics will be available supposedly in 2014 (think 2015 or 2016). So, even though we have never considered leasing a car, it might make sense in this case because we really want to support the technology and will save a huge amount at the pump filling up a couple time a week. We tend to drive a lot – more than most. So the monthly lease will be a bit more than normal but for two or three years, we may be better off to wait until the technology and the manufactures sort themselves out.
I will update you every now and then as to our electric car experience – here’s to the revolution!

Why Save?

tmurmon0 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:00:19 +0000

I am sorry that I have let this site lay fallow for a number of weeks. I despair of making this site into a site that active, profitable site. I am afraid that I let my despair effect my upkeep of this site. I suppose that I will have to redouble my efforts to get this site some exposure. I understand that in order to get traffic, I need to find a way to get this website registered highly in the search engines. I would love some advice if anyone is reading this — please use this here.
So anyway while I do a lot of research, I will give you something to chew on.
Saving – its important. I know that you have been told some version of how important saving is, but it will give your work-a-day existence some meaning. You will find that it easier to get of bed and go to work every day if you feel like you are making some progress – no matter how small. It may be hard to do every month but its worth it when you see that growing nut.
It’s important that you put away a bit every month or pay period. Eventually you will have enough saved so that you can really do some investing. Sometimes it’s easier if you have the bank (or a credit card) automatically take a preset amount out of your paycheck.
You want to arrive at a figure that you can spare each month, not to say that you couldn’t use the money that you have put aside to save. But its an amount that doesn’t need to be used for something else. You won’t need to use it for day-to-day living expenses.
Anyway give it some thought. Don’t do anything right away, this is a good New Year’s resolution. Its something that you want to do every month forever. Take out your calculator and figure how you could invest a large block of money. Think of how much more meaning you work days would have if you put some away.

Budgets

tmurmon0 — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 03:17:03 +0000

Because they don’t teach you personal finance in school but you are expected to be at the very least competent at it, we’ll start with budgets. There are several different methods of creating a budget. They all come down to as listing of revenues (job income, passive) and expenses (rent, groceries, etc.)
Everything after that is gravy. It’s just to make filling it out or sticking with it easier. Some computer programs turn your numbers into colorful graphs or up sell other products — which kind of defeats the purpose of tracking your money so there is enough leftover to save.
You don’t need to pay for a program or a service. Budgeting is just a matter of estimating your expenses and making sure that you have enough revenues to cover them — keeping yourself in the black. As long as you don’t allow your budgeting to leave you feeling like every penny has to be accounted for, you won’t feel the need to splurge beyond the limits of your budget (staying in the black).
I think the reason most people stop budgeting is that they plan their budget to be too restrictive. After working hard all day, its terribly depressing not to be able to be free to spend some of the money you spent all day working for. Build some wiggle room into your budget so that you can splurge a bit. But if you always go over or splurge every night, your budget will not survive in the black either.
If you have lost your job and have no money coming in, then you have nothing to budget. In general, don’t let yourself spend more than you have. I realize that replacing a salary can be almost impossible in this economy. If you must live off your credit cards for a for a few months (2-3), you can plan to pay it back. But you don’t want to spend forever without refilling some of it. Even if you have to get a short term or seasonal job do so just so the deficit is not complete. Once you get on your feet again you can create a plan to pay back the debt you were forced to incur and get back in the black again.
For example, now I will share with you by terribly sophisticated system.
I am on salary and get paid twice a month. I put the amount of my check at the top and the middle of a blank sheet. Then I write in my expenses underneath my revenue at the top to come out at the first of the month and again under the mid-month’s revenue. I include a line item for savings just like it was a bill. I figure 10-30% of my gross (after taxes) income for savings depending upon how much I am able to bring in.
Finally, I work in 1-2 hundred dollars for groceries and sundries. This allows me the to keep myself to a budget and yet gives me the flexibility to splurge on extras for the pantry, get my hair done or try something from Ebay.
Some people find it easier to stick to a plan if they have the bank automatically reserve a certain amount of your paycheck each month for savings or other items. I personally have no problem allocating for savings and prefer to do this myself as it gives me greater flexility.
Any plan that places limits on spending can be considered budgeting. From keeping in mind the importance of savings and therefore keeping spending under control and having money leftover to save. To accounting for every penny with all kinds of worksheets and graphs.
The trick is to find a system that works for you. Most of the time that system only works when it places some restrictions on spending without making you feel so squeezed that every penny is accounted for.
I spoke before about doing research into multiple streams of income. I have decided that this is more strictly defined as passive income from several diverse sources. It is difficult to separate the scams from what actually works and makes a decent living. I learn best by doing, which is why I plan to stick with this blog. I intend to learn SEO and other marketing strategies available on the Internet and see if I can make it profitable over time. Every so often, I will let you know how it’s going – stick with me!

Introduction

tmurmon0 — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:25:50 +0000

This is the very first post that I have personally written(the previous posts were guest posts so I could get a feel for what they should look like). I hope to learn quickly as I go along. Please help me with your comments.
When I went back to college, I realized that nobody teaches you life skills like how to create a resume and get a job, how to handle money once you get that job, how to take on debt, the dangers you can find yourself in and how to get out of debt. Things that you are expected to know as an adult but things that they never bother to teach you as a child.
I want to share what I have picked up over the years in a way that gives you some real-life ideas that you might actually use. I realize that not everyone finds this as fascinating as I do but I plan to format it in a way so that you can scan the articles and pick up the gist or my meaning, I will also include as many personal examples so as to make the articles interesting.
A few weeks ago the business that I work for was going to sell out to another firm so I was going to be out of a job. I figured that because I have skills that I could get another job relatively easily. Boy was I wrong. My partner and I figured that it was because we live in such a small town (I’m not convinced). Anyway I decided to look into ‘multiple streams of income’. I know that it’s making money online but I’m not sure what exactly is involved. Maybe somebody out there can add to my bank of knowledge. As I learn more I will share that as well. I think it would be neat to make money while not being tied down to an office. I can take off for a week (or two or more) voluntarily or not and not have to give up all my income. I think that a blog might be part of the answer so I’m learning by doing.
Please do not be shy about leaving comments to help me improve future articles.

Make Money Online – 4 Top Money Making Secrets Exposed

tmurmon0 — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 02:12:53 +0000

Everyday there are getting an increasingly amount of people who start to work from the comfort of their own home and this is not surprising given that we are now living in the information era where things can be gotten off the internet very easily. It is because of the internet that more and more people are making money online are are able to live the lifestyle they want without having to report to the office early in the morning. So if you too want to make money on the internet, here’s the 4 things you must know:-
Firstly, you must obviously know how to use the internet and how it works. This may sound redundant but it is very important because you will be surprised to know that there are still millions around the world that still have no idea what the internet is or not even know what is the world wide web. So you should get familiar with the internet as much as possible and go on it every single day.
Secondly, know where your are of expertise lie in.
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Soon you will have a sort of community feel and unique visitors become return visitors and you start to build traffic and will earn a very decent income online. Blogging is the best way for beginners to start it’s a stepping stone that’s leads to wealth and a better living. Make Money Online – How To Make Money Online

When someone considers a way to make money online, they will often think big. They will try to come up with a way in which they can charge a person a larger amount of money in order to make their dreams come true. Make Money Online

MoneySavingExpert-Achieve Financial Freedom

tmurmon0 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 23:22:43 +0000

How would you like the title of MoneySavingExpert without doing too much? This could be you with a few changes and could be on the road to financial freedom. If you have a lot of debt and don’t know how to turn things around then I am here to tell you how a few changes could get you on the road to recovery. You have to be ready to achieve financial freedom cause if you are not then you wont change for the better.

All you have to do is change a few things in your life and then you will see the difference it will make. You have to change one thing at a time do not try and change everything in one hit as you will stray. If you stray away from your goal then you will not get the result that you want.

All you have to do first is set yourself a goal that you can achieve in a short time not something that will take you a year to achieve because once you see what you can achieve then you will be ready to make a big goal.

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We all have those that we look to for guidance such as doctors, lawyers or even counselors. Let me ask you this though, do you have someone who is there for you when you need help figuring out your finances or your Financial future? This in case ,may be one of the most important kinds of ‘counselors’ or mentors you could ever see…. Online Stock Trading to Achieve Financial Freedom

Online trading is very easy since technology has made it possible to trade shares electronically in a fraction of a second. Day trading in shares has huge potential of income if you move carefully with a stoploss.You wont to be able to see that you achieved your goal because once you have you will not turn back.

Now you have to look in to your finances and see what you can do to achieve your goal and get on the road to financial freedom. When you look in to your finances also look at your bills that you have and the ones you already have paid for. You have to look at everything like I did I and now I have become that MoneySavingExpert.

One way that I changed and something you could look in to is I changed my insurance company.
I looked at what I was paying and then looked around to see if I could get a better deal. With a bit of research and a few phone calls I saved myself three hundred dollars a year. So that is a great saving for me and now I had extra money its that simple. When you start to look around don’t forget to ring your insurance company and see if they will offer you a better deal because most of the time they do not want to loose you as a customer. You might think that there offer was the best that they could do, but it is not they can offer you a better deal. Never settle for what you have, look around for a better deal there is one out there waiting for you.

Now you should take this tip and look in to your insurance and get yourself a better deal and in the same time save yourself some money. This is only one way to make a change there are a lot more so you have to look at everything you do with finances and combine them all to become a MoneySavingExpert.

Outsourcing means fast efficient turnover and a competitive edge

tmurmon0 — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:04:16 +0000

An invaluable tool to business growth is outsourcing. It can be used strategically to influence corporate growth and financial stability.

The key is to outsource work which is non-essential or areas where the company lacks expertise. This frees valuable resources which can focus on areas of competitive advantage.

Growth can be enumerated in many ways not just in costs saved.

When you outsource a specific project you save on time and resources spent on training required to complete the project successfully. You can harness the talent, technology, and expertise of niche providers. By outsourcing, you can appoint a consultant or company who has core competencies in the field and can complete the project within the given time. The company saves on hiring permanent employees, training, benefit payments, hidden costs, absenteeism, requirements of workspace, and equipment.

The company focuses on core aspects and transfers the nitty-gritty of non core aspects to outsourced companies. This just means fast and efficient turnover as well as a competitive edge.

Outsourcing is a way to maximize workforce flexibility without the added burdens of permanent financial commitments. One uses highly qualified consultants who can complete a particular project in no time at all.

Time is money and by outsourcing a company saves valuable time which can be channeled productively, leading to growth.

Capital is used efficiently without unnecessary wastage in overheads, office space, technology, and training. Outsourcing spurs growth by providing skilled manpower and increased productivity at lower costs. If the outsourcing is selected intelligently, it leads to tax breaks saving the company thousands of dollars.

Further, business risk is shared by the outsourcing company which will know how to minimize or avoid risk in their area of expertise.

The business world is moving at a fast pace and companies need to provide quick service and low rates. Outsourcing allows a firm to do just this, provides the most advanced technology, efficient service, and low rates.

A company can, by outsourcing certain sectors provide in house support which will not be otherwise possible without expansion. So, one can gain economies of scale, efficiency as well as expanded expertise.

To summarize, growth of a company when outsourcing is adopted can be evinced in:

MoneySavingExpert-Does Shopping Make You Cringe

tmurmon0 — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:48:37 +0000

When you here the word lets go shopping do you go or do you cringe? Well I used to cringe at those words, as I had no money to do so. What if I told you that you don’t need to worry about that word anymore by just becoming a MoneySavingExpert? It’s that easy to become money saving expert that your life will be different right away. As I said I used to hate that word now I can go shopping with the piece of mind that I can afford it. I don’t go out and spend every thing I have got or you would be back in the same vote as you were when you first started. Saving money doesn’t happen overnight so be patient and watch what you will be saving. You need to watch out for specials and always say to your self do you really need it or are you just buying it because you like it.

I go out with my girlfriends shopping and now enjoy the day out with them as I can now afford it, and you could to.

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If you’re thinking about signing up for a affiliate program to make money online, you’ll surely find it excellent that there is one great program that you can try without having to spend thousands of dollar on licensing and distribution rights alone. This particular opportunity will let you endorse and earn from My Shopping Genie.That doesn’t mean I shop every day I only go now and then as I budget for those days. When I am able to go out I always look for bargains so I am able to save on what I need. I like to shop in summer for winter as I wait for the stores to mark down there clothing and I put it away for next time. So that means I shop in summer for winter and winter for summer you would be surprised at the saving that you make. I have saved hundreds of dollars doing it this way. You ask how do know what size they would be next year when you look at your kids go on the trend that were last summer and the one before. I know with my kids they only usually jump up one or two sizes mostly only one. They are never going to get more that one year out of those clothes anyway, that’s if there anything like mine as I have two boys who love the outdoors.
I have been able to save more that 50 per cent of clothing shopping this way so next time you are out have a look. The shops always reduce their products early so make sure that you don’t miss out and become a MoneySavingExpert today.

There are lots of little tips just like this one that you use to change your way of life and start saving money for the things that you need and or want. But if you don’t make the change and get the information and tools to help you do this you will regret it in the long run.

Money Making Secret from Keychain Laser Pointer

tmurmon0 — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 18:46:16 +0000

We have all, more than likely, seen a keychain laser pointer once or twice in our life times. Whether you are a laser hobbyist or just happen to be with someone utilizing a convenient laser pointer key chain, you may have mixed ideas about the versatility and value of a small laser keychain.
Over the past several years, laser products (especially hand held laser pointers) have seen a steady increase in the use for scientific and personal laser applications alike. It seems that every month or so a scientist or a professor is coming up with new ways to use their red laser key chains. Now, keychain laser pointers are not reserved to the red laser beam, but this is typically the most common color frequency produced by these cheap keychain lasers.

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The very easy and effortless way of earning dollars online is through blogging. You can make money from blogs, but for this, you strongly need a comprehensive plan. You may discover numerous genuine and real ways of earning online and the profit through blogging is also one of them…The reason behind formatting most of these lasers with red laser crystals is rather simple; it is the cheapest to produce on a manufacturing level.
Its no mystery that laser providers and designers compete against one another for profits and control of the booming global laser pointer market. Since many laser users are familiar with laser pointer key chains, many distributors focus on providing many low cost laser key chains to the widest range of customers possible. This does occasionally create a problem for your average laser user. Because so many laser retailers are looking to offer handheld laser key chains at relatively low cost, we see manufacturers constantly pushing the bar for cheaper laser goods so that they can take a majority of market sales. This creates a problem as many low power red laser key chains flood a market looking for high quality laser pointer products.
This creates a dilemma for users of keychain laser pointers, or any type of hand held lasers for that matter.
One must ask them what exactly they are looking for in their laser keychain pointer. Because you must balance price and quality before attempting to place any kind of laser keychain order, a little bit of simple research will go a long way for a successful laser chain purchase. There are so many cheap laser keychain pens that are on the market, it can be difficult to buy a key chain lasers worth holding on to.
If you are looking to acquire a high power laser keychain, you are entirely out of luck. Laser pointer key chains are usually never manufactured at any output over 5mw, unless they are designed specifically. Many keychain laser users prefer to try and modify their lasers for higher output powers, but be careful that you do not damage your keychain (or yourself) if this is something you are looking to accomplish. A powerful laser pointer keychain can usually be considered a great tool and convenient in size, but the quality of cheap laser diodes doesn’t always mean that users should look to buy wholesale laser pointer key chains whenever they can.