The final segment of this mini-series is a charge to become a giver. Being a giver doesn't always come natural, and that doesn't make you a bad person. Having the heart of a giver takes daily training. Your ultimate goal for becoming wealthy should be to give back to others to help them reach their life goals. Sticking with the analogy of becoming physically fit, the ultimate of goal of losing weight is because you'll improve your health dramatically and you'll look and feel better. In the same way, giving back financially is the ultimate reason why we seek to build wealth. It's therapy … [Read more...]
Getting Financially Fit in 2010: Save For Retirement and Large Purchases
Have you ever lost a decent amount of weight and then found yourself back at the same weight a year or two later? The reason for that is you work so hard at working out consistently and changing your diet to meet your goal of losing weight, but after you reach your goal, you slowly slip back into your old ways and soon find yourself back at the same weight you started with. When getting financially fit, many people are able to reach their goal of getting out of debt, but then they find themselves slowly slipping back into debt and not increasing their net worth.The only way to prevent … [Read more...]
Will The Google Nexus One Change The Way We Buy Cell Phones?
Ever since cell phones became popular and now to the point that you look at someone like they are an alien if they don't have a cell phone, they have been sold exclusively with cell phone service providers. It was a marketing strategy that gave cell phone carriers an incentive to force customers into signing up for 1 or 2 year contracts. The cell phone is like a printer. The printer manufacturer doesn't give a crap about the sale of the printer, they want to hook you onto buying ink from them for the rest of your life. So, you could buy the cell phone for really cheap or even free with a … [Read more...]
5 Financial Moves To Make In The Beginning Of The Year
The new year is full of promise and optimism by many of us. I always chuckle when I go to the gym in early January, and I notice that about three times the amount of people are working out than in December. Then by February, the numbers drop again. We tend to focus more on losing weight early in the year, but there are other aspects of your life you should think about early in the year as well. To get ready for tax time and get your finances off to a good start, consider these 5 moves to make to better your finances for 2010.Pull Your Free Credit ReportOne of the most misleading … [Read more...]
Get Financially Fit in 2010: Trim Away Your Debt
The two most popular New Year's resolutions are losing weight and getting out of debt. Money Crashers wants your physical life and your financial life to be as fit as possible, so the next five articles will be a series to help you get rid of your financial gut. Step 0 to becoming financially fit is to seriously work on becoming better physically fit. You'd be so surprised at how much your financial, relational, professional, and spiritual life can suffer if you're not in good physical shape. If your body doesn't feel good, the rest of your life will suffer as well!Step 1: Get Out … [Read more...]
Best Year-End Tax Preparation Tips From Personal Finance Community
I was about to write a post on year-end tax preparation tips, but then I saw that so many other PF bloggers had beat me to it, so I figured that instead of spewing out the same stuff as them, I would highlight some of the best tips from other bloggers.From Bible Money Matters, he has 10 tax credits and deductions to consider: Increase your retirement account contributions: Max out the contributions to your 401k, 403(b) or IRA to lower your taxable income. With an IRA you can contribute up to$5,000, $6,000 if you are 50 or older. For a 401k or 403(b) the contribution limit is $16,500 , … [Read more...]
Adopt a Family Pet Dog or Cat and Save Money with this Personalized, Unique Gift
Almost 4 and a half years ago, we rescued that cute dog on the left from getting euthanized. Her mom had 8 puppies, and the Gainesville Pet Rescue adopted all of the puppies and the mother. We paid a total of $75 for the adoption fee, and she had already been fixed and had up-to-date shots. Since my wife and I didn't have kids immediately after getting married, we were glad to get a dog with a ton of energy and a lot of love. I am not some kind of crazy PETA member, but it bugs the hell out of me when I hear that people pay thousands of dollars on pure breed dogs and cats, when there are … [Read more...]
Analyzing the 75/25 Method As A Debt Reduction Plan
Tonight, I participated in a personal finance chat on Twitter with the hashtag #bp, which stands for Budget Pulse, which is the company that hosts the chat at 7pm on Wednesday nights. This was only its second week, and there were dozens of participants, so you should definitely join next week!To follow the conversation, follow the hashtag #bp on a website such as Twitter Search, Tweet Chat, or Twubs.While I was following the conversation, I noticed Matt Jabs from Debt Free Adventure talking about the 75/25 method. This method is a hybrid of several different debt reduction plans. … [Read more...]
Research Your Spending Habits To Create New Financial Goals
The end of the year is here, and if you can find time in between last-minute shopping and spiked eggnog, then take an hour or so to reflect back on how you spent your money this past year. Creating yearly financial goals is a great habit to form when building a healthy financial future. Even if you don't reach all of your goals, if you set them too high, or set them too low, they serve as a motivational tool throughout the year to strive toward something. If you don't know where to start when it comes to making financial goals, start with what you spend and how much you spend on … [Read more...]
Lessons Learned From an Entrepreneur, Harris Rosen
Today I was in a conference for green lodging and hospitality, and it was hosted at the Rosen Centre Hotel, a prestigious and luxurious hotel and convention center in Orlando, Florida. Harris Rosen, the founder and owner of the Rosen hotel chain, gave an introduction to the conference and instead of boasting about how green his hotels are or spitting out numbers about his hotel, he told his story about how and why he became an entrepreneur. He is the type of older man that speaks softly but captures you the moment he starts speaking. You just know that everything that comes out of his mouth … [Read more...]
The Best Ways To Save Money On Christmas Decorations
Millions of people are dreading the time it takes to decorate their houses for the holidays. But if you don't do it now, you'll never do it, and you know how much the kids love it. You know the feeling of when you take a step back like Clark Griswald and look at your decorating masterpiece. So that's why we do it. We decorate our houses for a lot of reasons, and we spend a lot of money to do it. As a Money Crasher, you shouldn't be taking our a second mortgage to fund your Christmas decoration addiction, so we will share with you the best ways to save money on Christmas decorations. … [Read more...]