Financial Solution News

In the recent issue of SmartMoney Magazine they have an interesting article titled, “10 things millionaires won’t tell you.” I disagree with some of the points, but let’s look at their top 10 first…
These are the 10 things that SmartMoney says millionaires won’t tell you…

You may think I am rich, but I don’t.
I shop at Walmart.
I didn’t get rich skimping on lattes.
I have a concierge for everything.
You don’t get rich by being nice.
Taxes are for little people.
I was a B student.
Like my Ferrari? It’s a rental.
Turns out money can buy happiness.
You worry about the Joneses-I worry about keeping up with the Trumps.

While I won’t go into each one of these, there were some points worth mentioning…
#1. SM makes a good point that being a millionaire isn’t nearly as big of a feat as it used to be. There are now over 10 million households with a Net Worth (excluding home […]

Original post by bob

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

Plug the holes

If you were in a boat in the middle of the ocean and you noticed that water was coming in through a hole, would you spend your time scooping the water out over the side of the boat, or would you plug the hole?
Getting out of debt works with the same principle. Our spending is like the water coming into the boat, and the way to fix it is to QUIT SPENDING!
Yes, it is obvious, but it needs to be repeated because for some reason our brains can realize that it is true, but not do anything about it. So our goal in this lesson is to plug the hole, stop the bleeding, whatever you want to call it: quit spending.
Spend less money than you make
Getting out of debt, creating wealth, living financially free, retiring with cash in hand can all be achieved by following one simple rule:
Spend […]

Original post by bob

Sometimes when someone gives you a piece of advice, it just resonates and almost creates an imprint in your mind. I know I have gotten some advice that even though I didn’t want to hear or believe, I just couldn’t shake it because deep down I knew it was true.
The recent issue of Money has a great article with over 30 well known people contributing their best pieces of advice they’ve received. I really agree with a whole bunch that were listed. And these are my favorites….
The best advice
1. Live within your means.
The simple basic rule of personal finance: spend less than you earn. As Dave Ramsey says, “it isn’t rocket science.” It is such a simple thing, but yet so few people successfully pull it off. If you have successfully done this, you know the freedom that it brings. If you haven’t you are probably aware (or you will […]

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 found this article about Roth IRA’s and I think it is worth posting. It goes over the basics of Roth IRA’s and why you should consider one, if you don’t already have one. If you are thinking, “what’s an IRA?” then you should probably start here.
Right now, you may be wondering why you should invest in a Roth IRA if you currently have a retirement plan (401k, 403b, etc.) with your employer.  The Roth IRA has many benefits that other retirement plans don’t have, and chief among them is the fact that your investment earnings may accumulate tax-free. In other words, your Roth IRA has the opportunity to grow without incurring any taxes and can be distributed to you tax free, if some certain conditions are met.
While there are advantages to owning a Roth IRA, there are also some rules you should think about before you decide […]

Original post by bob

The effects of inflation on my money
In the May 2008 Money magazine they had an article titled, “Life in the time of inflation.” They mentioned how the price of milk is up 13% over the last year, hospital costs 8%, and of course gas up 33% . Overall inflation being up about 4%.
There are lots of effects that inflation has on the world, our economy, and our personal lives, but I think one of the most important ones for us to be aware of is how it affects our cash.
Cash sitting in our wallets, under the mattress and even in many savings accounts is becoming less valuable because of inflation.
At 3% inflation (which I think has been the average over the last decade in the U.S.) we are essentially losing money when our cash is not earning at least that amount in interest. So, if you have a […]

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 get Dr. Andrew Jackson’s newsletter on a regular basis and the most recent one contained a few nice tidbits of info about the U.S. government and their spending habits.
These are a few of the nuggets from the newsletter that I thought were useful or interesting…
 
What do we mean by the words deficit and debt?
The deficit reveals whether the government has balanced the budget in any year.  Our federal government is addicted to deficits.  The federal government has spent more on programs and services than it has collected in taxes thirty-one out of the last thirty-five years.  But, don’t be fooled by any news headlines boasting about balance the budget.  Simply balancing the budget, although it helps not to add to the overall debt, will not solve the long-term financial problems of Social Security and Medicare. The debt of the federal government reveals how much money the […]

Original post by bob

What is the best way to start a budget?
The first thing that anyone who wants to make a budget must do is to compare their income versus their expenses. The good thing is that it is quite easy to do.
To get started you can download this free Excel budgeting spreadsheet which will help you calculate how much you spend each month and compare it to your current income.
It’s too bad most of us never learned this in school and had to figure it out on our own - so here is the lesson that we should have learned in 5th grade:
Expenses > Income = Bad        Expenses < Income = Good
And honestly, as simple as it sounds, that is the key to wealth. Anyone, and I mean anyone, who IS wealthy (I emphasize IS because I am not talking about people who appear to be wealthy, but who are […]

Original post by bob