Living for today - Planning for Tomorrow
Ever since I’ve been a kid Memorial Day has been the sign of summer and more importantly, summer vacation. The thing though, is that as a kid my thought of a summer vacation entailed visiting Sea World or King’s Island. I can remember one trip where we stayed away from home for more than one day. (Which was when my grandma paid for my family
Technology is constantly changing. As soon as you get used to the latest phone/tablet/device something newer and better comes out. While technology can make your life a little bit easier, it could also be making you poor. Here’s why. # 1 – Keeping Up with the Joneses (Social Media) Social media can be the gateway to ultimate envy if you let it be. Facebook has
Working as an insurance agent for one year taught me that people rarely understand their insurance policies. And I’ll admit, I used to be one of those people who didn’t really understand insurance either. I completely undervalued the importance of insurance and especially, liability limits. I’ve now seen first-hand how fast liability limits can be exhausted and the repercussions under insured motorists have had
It’s that time of year again. Time for everyone to go bananas about getting good deals on stuff they don’t need, just in time for Christmas! I hate the overall focus on buying, buying, buying, this time of year. While we’ve picked up a few things that we NEEDED during previous Black Fridays, overall we try to avoid the whole thing each year. This year
It’s that time of year. Technology companies announce their latest tech gadgets and phones and then crazy people line up in the streets and camp in tents to be the first to get them. It’s really kind of amazing to see what people will do for a cell phone. The Iphone 5S looks pretty much the same as the old model, does most of the
One of the financial goals we’ve made is to have our house paid off before age 55, or at least have the capability to pay it off if we want to. I know that as I get older, I’ll struggle to find a job if I lose the one I have now. I anticipate that sooner or later I will lose my job, so much
They’re starting to talk about layoffs at work again, but this time it’s going to be BIG. I’ve been told I’m very safe from getting laid off but there are a lot of people around me that are going to lose their jobs and it’s going to impact those of us that are left by increasing our workloads a ton. With all this uncertainty at
I love this time of year. The anticipation of the next few month’s financial boosts always gets me feeling good. Once we’ve gone through those, then summer is right around the corner. So, what am I talking about? In February we get our annual bonus at work. In March, it’s our annual raises, and at our house we usually get a tax return about that
I was doing some analysis the other day about my family’s spending patterns and noticed something. Since 2004, our spending hasn’t increased when I look at our monthly budget. In 2012, we are on track to keep our fixed expenses at 43% of our after tax, after investment income. That means that, after we’ve contributed to our 401K’s, invested for our daughter’s college and paid
Well, it’s been a crazy and hectic summer around our house. We decided to make it even more hectic by refinancing our house as well. I mentioned it previously but now it’s finally complete. I’m still shaking my head at how much documentation they required from us. We have a credit score in the 800’s, have been at the same jobs for many years and
