Financial Solution News

Why do you need natural toothpaste?
Commercial toothpaste contains flouride
There is a lot of debate about Flouride and whether it does or doesn’t have negative effects on our bodies. It is a key ingredient in most tubes of toothpaste that you find in the grocery store today. It also gets added to the local water supplies in most parts of the U.S. I don’t want to start a big debate about whether it is good that it is put into our water supply or not, but just know that even the supporters of floride use agree that too much can lead to Fluorosis.
Personally, I try to avoid flouride and if you do you are well aware that there are few options in the grocery store. Even a lot of the natural and organic toothpastes seem to contain flouride.
Other artificial ingredients
But, regardless of where you stand on the flouride issue, there are […]

Original post by bob

Ok, if you have made it this far in the series, you are doing great. But this one is where the rubber meets the road. This is where we see how bad you want to be out of debt.
The sacrifice is only temporary!
The most important thing to remember as you are reading this is that it is ONLY TEMPORARY. By making a sacrifice you are not condemning yourself to that for the rest of your life. You just need to make up for all the overspending that has taken place in the past
If you have done some of the things mentioned in the last few articles, you are on a better financial footing than you were. But, if you expenses are still greater than your income, then we are going to have to take a few more steps.
Sacrifice your stuff and sell it!
Like we mentioned before, your balance sheet is […]

Original post by bob

Save money on your car
1. Car Insurance (Don’t skip this)
Believe me, if you haven’t shopped around for car insurance in a couple years - it is worth your while. I really was sure that I had the lowest rates I could get, but then I checked out Geico and found that I could save $330 a year for the same coverage. I was so blown away that they could save me $330 that I didn’t shop anywhere else.
Six months later my old insurance broker called trying to get me back and she had found another insurance company (America First) who was $250 cheaper than Geico. And again it was for the same coverage. So just to repeat - I thought I was paying a good rate, but by shopping around I was able to knock almost $600 off my car insurance bill.
2. Save money on gas
While everyone wants gas prices […]

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

Just in case you haven’t heard, all TV channels are going to Digital early next year. February 17, 2009 to be exact. So, if you have an older TV, “that is not connected to cable, satellite or other pay TV service,” you will need to take some kind of action to be able to watch TV on February

18, 2009 and beyond. Click here to read more about the benefits and reasons for the switch.
I previously wrote about fix for this problem with my HDTV tuner for my computer which allows me to watch HD television on my computer. But, we aren’t going to through our regular television away, so I signed up for the coupon as well.
This from the government site about it…

“if you currently watch TV on an analog TV set If you own a television with a digital tuner or subscribe to a pay TV service, you will […]

Original post by bob

First, my pet history…
Brandy Jean 1979-1996
Poodle/mutt
My family dog from before I was born until I was about 12 years old -  put to sleep after 17 (119 dog) years of life
 
 
Lady 1992-1994
German Shepard/Wolf/Mutt
Adopted off the side of the road because we felt so bad that her owners had abandoned her - taken to a “better place where she could play with other dogs” by my parents after she displayed just a little bit too much wolf-like behavior
 
Gizmo 1994-?
Tibetan Spaniel
Given to me on my 13th birthday, but left at my parent’s house when I moved out only to become one of the most pampered dogs around.
 

Petey 1996-2006
Yorkie/Mutt
“Poor Petey” was the most common phrase used when referring to his life. He had a tough one: diabetes (requiring two shots a day), blindness, and a bunch of other ailments that led to his demise. 
Rabbits, fish, hermit crabs, turtle, and other various […]

Original post by bob

I first heard of Hypermilling when I was writing a recent post - 75 Gas Saving Tips. It seems to be a trend among drivers that is increasing in popularity in reaction to the rising gas prices.
What is hypermilling?

According to Wikipedia Hypermilling is:

“Fuel economy-maximizing behaviors (and) techniques that drivers can use to optimize their automobile fuel economy. The energy in fuel consumed in driving is lost in many ways, including engine inefficiency, aerodynamic drag, rolling friction, and kinetic energy lost to braking (absent regenerative braking). Driver behavior can influence all of these. The city mileage of conventional cars is lower than highway mileage due to: 1) a high proportion of idling time, 2) operation mostly at very inefficient low-output engine operating points, and 3) more frequent braking.”

AKA being fanatical about saving gas by using traditional and non-traditional means to get better fuel economy. To see a pro in […]

Original post by bob

I first heard of Hypermilling when I was writing a recent post - 75 Gas Saving Tips. It seems to be a trend among drivers that is increasing in popularity in reaction to the rising gas prices.
What is hypermiling?

According to Wikipedia Hypermiling is:
“Fuel economy-maximizing behaviors (and) techniques that drivers can use to optimize their automobile fuel economy. The energy in fuel consumed in driving is lost in many ways, including engine inefficiency, aerodynamic drag, rolling friction, and kinetic energy lost to braking (absent regenerative braking). Driver behavior can influence all of these. The city mileage of conventional cars is lower than highway mileage due to: 1) a high proportion of idling time, 2) operation mostly at very inefficient low-output engine operating points, and 3) more frequent braking.”

AKA being fanatical about saving gas by using traditional and non-traditional means to get better fuel economy. To see a pro in action, check […]

Original post by bob

I have been a huge fan of Craigslist over the years. The site is about the most boring looking site out there, but is also about the best place to buy or sell used local items. I still sell most goods with eBay when I need a little quick cash, but for the larger items Craigslist has been the way to go.
Can Walmart beat Craigslist at their own game?
Enter Walmart. The giant that has gotten just a little bit too big has launched a similar classified service.
Quick side note: My grandpa has owned a small appliance store for most of his life that was passed down from his father. A few years back when Walmart decided to start selling appliances, my grandpa told me that Walmart was selling them (to customers) for less than he could buy them from his dealer. Quick business lesson - Since Walmart was purchasing […]

Original post by bob

Keep your car!
The Consumer Reports editors did a test and compared buying a Honda Civic EX and driving it for 15 years (225,000 miles) and buying a new one every 5 years. According to their calculations you would save over $20,000 by keeping the original one for 15 years - even after taking maintenance and repair costs into consideration. I had always assumed that it is a better financial move to keep your car, but it is nice seeing the actual numbers.
Car Depreciation is the enemy!
The key here is that a car is a depreciating asset. From the moment you buy it goes down in value. By keeping it for a long time the car’s depreciation is greatly minimized. Most cars are losing thousands of dollars in depreciation each year when they are new. But when they are 10 years old depreciation has slowed to a much better rate - […]

Original post by bob