Financial Solution News

This is a reprint of an article I wrote for Bible Money Matters.

Make a better budget!
1. Know your budget-busters and stay away!
If this is the mall don’t go, if it is QVC, turn it off, if is buying stuff online - throw your computer out the window! (Well, not really ).
2. Wait before purchasing.
Never buy large purchase items with out waiting a week to really be sure that it is the best use of your money.
3. Budget for Giving.
It makes it a whole heckuva lot more fun to give if you have the money sitting there waiting to be spent.
4. Make budgeting fun.
It is not a diet. Quit telling yourself that budgeting is just like a diet for you checkbook. In my opinion, the reasons that most budgets fail is because they are out of balance. Fun should be budgeted for. Going out to dinner, vacation, date […]

Original post by bob

This is a guest post from Resa Troyer. She is a blogger, entrepreneur, owner and COM (Chief Operating Mom) of Resa Design, LLC. It is a very chic and cool clothing line for babies and small children. Find out more at resadesign.com
In 2005 I started Resa Design, LLC. We are an independent clothing and accessory line geared toward modern children. These are some of the most valuable lessons I have learned.
1. Sit on your idea.
Do you think you have a great idea for starting your own business? Write it down. Write down all your thoughts surrounding your idea. Then put it under your mattress, or somewhere it won¹t get thrown away. Every time it comes back to your mind, pray about it. Try to think about how it would really work for you. If after a few months, or years, you just can¹t get your idea out of your […]

Original post by bob

While I think few would argue that paying off debts is a good thing, there is a better way to accurately see the big picture of your finances. It is called your NET WORTH.
And no it is not just a number that rich people talk about at cocktail parties. It is what financially saavy people use to track their progress.
The simple definition of it is:
Assets(stuff you own) - Liabilities(debts) = Net Worth
It is simple to calculate and I will get to that shortly, but first…
Why Net Worth rather than just debt?
Your Net Worth is more encouraging
The primary reason for using your Net Worth as a gauge of your financial progress rather than the amount of debt you have is because it is more encouraging. When you look at your amount of debt to track progress you are only seeing the fruit of paying down those debts. On the other hand, […]

Original post by bob

This is a reprint of an article I wrote for Being Frugal a few days ago…
When I was about 14 years old, my uncle suddenly and unexpectedly went home to be with the Lord. He had meticulously taken care of the finances for their family and left my aunt on a very solid financial foundation. Obviously, this didn’t take away the pain of him being gone, but his preparation eliminated additional stress that would have been present without it.
It’s one of those things we all prefer not to think about, but it is always better to be prepared. My aunt is still reaping from what my uncle sowed by having his things in order.
My FLOP
Being impacted by my uncle’s premature death and wanting to do everything I can do to help my wife, I decided to create a system for keeping things organized.
It has been a work in progress over […]

Original post by bob

I signed up with ING about 4 years ago and have had a great experience with them. They have been a model business that has worked very hard to satisfy and meet the changing needs of their customers. These are just a few of the ways they have helped me.
1. They are nuts about safety.
A study from the University of California, Berkeley was just published that measured occurrences of identity theft at the top banks. Guess who came out the winner. Yep, ING was rated the safest bank from that study. It is really no surprise to me, just going through their login process you become well aware that it would be a tough feat to hack into someone’s account.
2. Consistently good interest rates.
You may occasionally be able to find a better interest rate online, but ING consistently has good rates. And the rates still clobber any brick-and-mortar bank.
3. Free […]

Original post by bob

7 Things about money I learned over the 3 years that we have been married
1. Money issues need to be talked about
Many people try to avoid subjects (or really anything) they don’t like or are afraid of. You have to face the giants. If your finances are a mess, you have to face up to the truth. How can you expect to move a mountain that you refuse to admit exists?
2. Decide what you want to accomplish - together.
In order to succeed financially as a team, you have to have unity. You may not agree about everything, but find those areas that you are in agreement and shoot toward those goals. They will be a lot easier to attain if you are both putting focused energy towards them rather than pulling against each other for your own thing.
3. Realize that you balance each other out
This might not be the case […]

Original post by bob

Seth Godin, one of the premier marketing gurus of our time, recently wrote a post for “college grads or just about anyone.” I have read a few of Seth’s books, including a personal finance book he wrote, and have always had a lot of respect for him. He is a great marketer, but more importantly he really seems to be a honest guy trying to do the right thing. He has taken the long-term approach to doing things and it seems to have paid off for him.
Anyway, to his advice:
“Only borrow money to pay for things that increase in value.”
He goes on to say the three main things should be your business, your house, and your education. I love that he says this with the common thinking across our country that a car payment is something you can never escape. And that is just the beginning, then you get into […]

Original post by bob

Money Market accounts only allow six withdrawals per month
It doesn’t happen too often to me, but since I use my ING sub-accounts for budgeting I occasionally make more than six withdrawals per month. When this happens they send me a kind, but firm email informing me that if I make that mistake again they may be forced to close my account.
What you will get in your inbox from ING if you are bad…
Based on recent activity in your Orange Savings Account™, we want to remind you that you cannot make more than six withdrawals from your account each month. This is a federal regulation that all banks are required to follow for savings accounts like this one, so if this type of activity occurs more than three times in any 12-month period, we will have to close your account.
Since this is not the first time that you have made too […]

Original post by bob

Financial advice for college grads
The most recent Money Magazine had a few interesting articles worth commenting about. The first of which was one that contain advice from the pros for new college grads.
Clean up MySpace and Facebook pages
“. . . because potential employers will check them. One test: Make sure there’s nothing up there you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see.”
I think that is good advice for job-seekers and anyone really. Also, you may want to Google your name once in a while just to see what is showing up. Googling someone is the new form of background check that can provide a lot of detailed information. We are transitioning to a transparent society where not much can be hidden any longer - so do your best to watch what you type - no matter where you are online (and make sure you add me as a friend on […]

Original post by bob

I found a good video from Dave Ramsey that goes over the basics of his plan for getting your finances in order. It is pretty funny to watch him try to squeeze everything from his book Total Money Makeover into a 5 minute video.
Enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b–HwXE3064
 

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Original post by bob