Frugal Prof, Author at The Frugal Prof

Survey Sites That Actually Pay

It’s not about the Money. It’s about Taking Charge.

Equifax is one of three credit reporting agencies. Equifax, experian, and transunion produce your credit report or credit score. They basically control your FICO score, which can impact your credit and your ability to qualify for credit cards, auto loans, and getting a mortgage.

The equifax databreach is quite serious. It exposed crucial pieces of personal data that criminals could use to commit identity theft, from Social Security numbers and birth dates to address histories and legal names.

How to check if you’ve been affected in the equifax data breach.

Visit the equifax data breach website.

Once you’re there, look for the tab that says, “Potential Impact”

It will lead to a page that will ask for part of your social security number as well as your name. It will then tell you if you have been affected by the data breach.

Check your credit:

I would suggest you check your credit score periodically. Credit Sesame is free to use and only takes about 90 seconds to check a credit score. Once you get your report, check for errors. Finding and correcting just one error could give your credit score a significant boost.

Credit Monitoring:

Equifax suggests you sign up for credit file monitoring and identity theft protection. It is providing free service for one year through TrustedID Premier — whether or not you’ve been affected by the breach.

Be Warned: If you sign up for this “free” service, you could be giving up your rights on a future settlement with the company. I do not think this is a smart decision at all.

Options:

According to Equifax, my credit was affected by this breach. If yours was impacted, you should be checking your credit more frequently to make sure that no fraud has taken place. It is pretty easy to get a free credit report online or from a reputable credit card company. I will be checking my credit score every few months from now on.

Freeze Credit Report:

One inexpensive option is to freeze your credit report. You can protect yourself by immediately placing fraud alerts on your credit reports, according to credit experts. This means that a lender must contact you to verify your identity before it issues a credit card in your name. You can place an alert on your report for free by contacting one of the credit agencies, which is required to notify the other two.

The credit freeze lasts for 90 days and can be renewed.

According to financial expert, Dave Ramsey, about 80% of credit card companies like Mastercard and Visa will not pull your credit report before issuing a new credit card. So, there is still risk of identity theft even if you get a credit freeze. This is why it’s important to keep checking your credit score even if you aren’t involved in this data breach.

Identity Theft Protection

Dave Ramsey recommended paying for identity theft protection through Zander Insurance. They offer a specific case worker for id theft. The cost is $75. Id theft protection is not cheap.

This is the option I chose. (I have no affiliate relationship with Zander Insurance.)

The other credit reporting companies (Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax) also offer identity theft protection coverage.

I researched a service from MfFico.com. And even though they offered me a hefty commission for sending my readers to their site, I cannot endorse their theft protection service. In my opinion, the Zander product is just as good at a substantially discounted price. Again, I receive no compensation from Zander Insurance.

The Federal Trade Commission’s website, www.ftc.gov/idtheft, offers information about how to protect yourself against fraud.

Conclusion:

I believe this is a big wakeup call for consumers about the likelihood of id theft. There are options like a credit freeze or more extensive solutions like buying identity theft protection. But, beware of companies that charge too much for the same service.

Either way it is our responsibility to check our own credit reports to make sure that no one has committed id theft using our social security numbers to get new credit cards or other activity. This is the unfortunate reality of the situation.

Join 1,879 Financially smart people who receive my posts, tips, and information via e-mail.

Save

My Last Car Loan Payment- Life after debt

July 31, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Financial Freedom

Exciting news: no more monthly car payments!

That’s right my car loan has been paid off. And its time to start enjoying life after debt.

It’s time to slay the dragon: my last monthly car payment is here!

Next month I will have no monthly car payment. No bill. Nada. I am Debt free. That sounds good. I feel so much lighter.

For most Consumers, a Monthly Car Payment is a huge expense. At about $750 a month, transportation ranks just after housing as the largest expense for the average American household, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For married couples with children, it makes up 17.3% of their monthly expenditures, while housing comprises 31.8% The average car payment is a serious impediment to creating wealth.

In financial terms, there is a double loss involved in an auto loan:

We borrow money on a car loan (and pay interest) on an asset that is guaranteed to lose value. Auto loans are quick sand for the middle class.

Now that my car payments are gone, It’s time for me to crank up my savings. It will feel great to have my money working for me instead of going towards a car loan. One small step towards financial freedom.

Once I cut out some of the fluff from my budget, the math just began to work in my favor. I began to feel like I was making serious progress in paying down debt, instead of fighting gravity.

But, it was a lot of work.

I canceled my storage locker,
changed my gym membership,
I negotiated discounts with the companies I wanted to keep.

In addition, I used Ebates and got cash back and used discount codes on my online shopping. Finally, I got 15% off at Amazon through their Subscribe and Save Program.

I feel good and now its time to focus on investing. Now, comes the part where I keep and invest more of my income. Save much more, keep investing, and cut up some credit cards.

Relevant Articles:

45 Ways to Increase your Income

9 Best Ways to Save $7K This Year

11 Legitimate Survey Sites for 2018

Debit Cards vs Credit Cards:

I now have two debit cards and I like using them. There is a psychological game we play when using credit cards. It’s like we get to delay the bill for a month. It doesn’t feel like we’re spending money. Yes, they have done psychological studies on this. I’m going to see if I spend less with my debit cards over the next few months. When I use them, I know the money will be gone immediately. So, I think I should spend less.

Battling Wants vs. Needs:

I’m still battling the wants vs needs issue. I bought some dumb stuff last year. And I’m really accustomed to buying whatever I want, whenever I want.

Here’s an example: – I’m trying to get back in shape and I’ve been preparing more healthy meals. So, I’ve been buying cooking equipment that I want. I rationalize that I need these items like measuring spoons, flour, bowls, pans, a rice cooker, etc… But, sometimes I buy things I need and they sit on the counter! I have to admit that I still have not used the rice cooker. UGH.

I’m thinking of rewarding myself with a very inexpensive drone (less than $40) to celebrate my last car payment. What do you think?

Feel free to share your thoughts and comments on your debt free journey.

Join 1,879 Financially savvy people who receive my posts, tips, and information via e-mail.

Getting Results on the Path to Life after Debt

June 15, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Getting Results on the Path to Debt Free

The steps you need to take to become debt free are pretty simple:

1. Get organized: Its nearly impossible to stay in debt if you’re organized.

For most people this means opening the credit card statements that are in a box or drawer somewhere. By getting organized, you will be able to Take Charge of your personal finances. You wont need a personal loan or any debt consolidation.

Right now, I’m reviewing my year end credit card statements and I see so many charges that I’ve cut out. And I feel great about all the money I am no longer wasting. But part of me is calculating how many thousands of dollars that I lost simply by not paying attention.

Read more about the dumb stuff I bought last year.

Disclosure: My aim is to recommend products that will truly benefit you. I believe in transparency and want to disclose that I’ve included certain products and links to those products on this page that I will earn an affiliate commission for any purchases you make.

2. Create a Budget:

It doesn’t have to be fancy. On one side is all the income you have coming in. And on the other side is ALL the expenses you have going out. Every dime! Which means you must open the credit card statements and really understand where your money has been going. One of the advantages of this exercise is that it allows you to find your areas of wasteful spending.

Make sure you’re getting discounts and cash back: I use Ebates and they give me cash back for nearly all of my purchases. Ebates gets a commission from stores you shop at and they share the commission with you. Average cash back is about 7%, which is great. Right now, they are offering a Free $10 Gift Card when you join and spend $25. More about Ebates Here.

3. Eliminate wasteful spending.

I was wasting nearly $100 per month on a storage locker. It made me so angry that I eventually began this journey and started writing this personal finance blog.

“A Part of all you earn is yours to Keep.” – Richest Man in Babylon.

Realize when you go through your bills that every wasteful thing that you cut out is earned money. Don’t dwell on the money that you’ve wasted in the past. Focus on your debt free future.

I began to explore our current consumer culture and why we buy what we buy. This helped me understand why I was spending so much money shopping. More on our Consumer Culture.

Relevant Articles:

45 Ways to Increase your Income

9 Best Ways to Save $7K This Year

11 Legitimate Survey Sites for 2018

4. Negotiate Discounts:

For those services and memberships that you like but would like to pay less for, you need to contact the merchants and ask for a discount. Yes, you can do it. And yes they will give you discounts on your memberships: Cell phone carrier, cable company, Satellite radio etc…

I have written a whole post about How to negotiate Discounts.

5. Create an Emergency Fund:

Unfortunately, life is full of unplanned emergencies. That is why you need to set aside an emergency fund of at least $1,000 to start. I’ve written an article on why an emergency fund is so important, An Emergency fund is an umbrella for your life.

6. Increase your Income: Everyone wants to increase their income. When I got really motivated to pay down my debt, I wrote financial articles for a financial blog and created this blog. You may want to find a side hustle or side income. I’ve written a number of posts about the best ways to increase income. 45 Ways to Boost your Income is one example.

7. Stay Motivated: I found reading the book, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey to be incredibly helpful. Yes, it lays out the framework he used to be become debt free. But, the big benefit of the book is it gets you fired up to get out of debt. It is very motivational. And that is really helpful on the debt free journey. Read the Amazon reviews here.

The path to life after debt:

The only way to assess your current situation is to take the time to understand where your money is going.

I compiled a budget which allowed me to tell my money what to do instead of wondering where it all goes.

Read 7 Helpful Tips to Creating a Budget here.

It was time to be debt free. Here are some of the action steps I took: My advice: Take Action!

I closed my storage locker.
I switched to a less expensive gym.
I negotiated a discount on my XM Satellite radio.
I made some extra money when I sold a bunch of my stuff on Ebay.
I reviewed my credit card purchases.
And I started taking control of my money

That was my debt reduction plan. And you can do it too! I cut back on every purchase I wasn’t getting maximum value from. I cut out dumb spending. And each month I was able to save and invest much more of my money. It was time to take control of my finances. That’s the process of how to become debt free.

Join 1,847 people who receive my blog posts because they add value.

Hitting the Wall on my Debt Success Journey

May 30, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Did I hit the wall on my debt success Journey?

Nobody said change is easy. Especially when it comes to paying off debt, creating a budget, and cutting back on credit card spending.

When I began this journey, I started making tons of progress.

I got rid of my storage locker,
Reviewed my bad spending habits- see the dumbest stuff I bought last year,
Cut back on wasteful spending like my health club membership, expensive car insurance, XM Satellite service, and so much more.
I went so far that I cut pizza delivery out of my budget.

It was great. And I cut down on my debt substantially. I had tons of momentum.

My debt reduction plan was making progress. I even started this financial blog to keep me motivated. Which was a great decision too. And thank you all for your support! (And If you’re ready to launch a blog, read the 7 Golden Rules to a Profitable Blog here.)

So, what happened?

I hit the wall last week. I’m not sure exactly why. But, when I bought my new glasses (and got ripped off), I lost some serious momentum. Let me explain.

Adulting: noun. The practice of behaving in a way characteristic of a responsible adult, especially the accomplishment of mundane but necessary tasks.

Budgeting: I’m starting to budget and plan ahead, which is great. But, in all honesty, I was in the habit of doing whatever I wanted whenever I wanted with my money. Change is hard.

It requires patience and discipline to become financially free, debt free, and retire early. It’s a process.

7 Helpful Tips to Creating a Budget

9 Best Ways to Save $7K This Year

11 Legitimate Survey Sites for 2018

Children do what feels good. Adults devise a plan and stick to it.” –Dave Ramsey

And that applied to money as well. So, the same day that I finally decided to get glasses, I realized that U2 was coming to town that same weekend. And I wanted to go.

One problem: the cheapest tickets were $250. The bad seats were $250. Ugh. And I had already spent a lot of money on a great concert earlier this year. However, this seemed like a total ripoff.

When did concerts get SO EXPENSIVE?

When did everything get so expensive?

Why is everything so expensive when I’m trying to cut back, get out of debt, and save money?

A few tips on spending less on Concerts:

Change Venue: Ticket prices can vary depending on the location of the concert — even for the same artist and the same tour. Compare prices at concert venues to find lower prices.
Check out the nearby shows: If you live in New York, you can do a quick weekend trip to Philly or a weekend trip to Boston.”
Sit solo: When searching resale options, you’ll generally see better deals on single tickets, says Jessica Erskine, a spokesperson for StubHub.
Attend shows at the fair: OK, maybe Taylor Swift still isn’t in your budget. If you’re not picky about who you want to see live, check the fair circuit. Some county fairs grant free admission to a concert along with paid entry to the fair, which usually costs less than a concert ticket.
Earn cash back: I use Ebates and they give me cash back for nearly all of my purchases including ticketing websites. Ebates gets a commission from stores you shop at and they share the commission with you. Average cash back is about 7%, which is great. Right now, they are offering a Free $10 Gift Card when you join and spend $25. More about Ebates Here.

Relevant Articles:

Taxes come first: This year I decided that I was going to pay my quarterly business taxes on time. And not wait until April 15th and get hit with a huge tax bill again.

Well, my next quarterly payment is due soon. It’s on my calendar. Its next month. So, I know that I have to pay for taxes, glasses, my bills, savings, and investments. As well as Double car payments to have my car paid off in the next few months.

Join 1,149 people who receive my posts, tips, and information via e-mail.

Pay Off Credit Card Debt

May 24, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Financial Freedom

Pay Off Credit Card Debt:

I’m sure we can agree that paying off credit card debt is a worthy goal. After creating an emergency fund, paying down debt smallest to largest is the next step to become debt free. In this post, I will review the steps I took to get out of credit card debt as well as discuss my decision to shift away from credit cards in favor of debit cards. Let’s begin.

Getting Results by paying off credit card debt

The 7 steps you need to take to become debt free are pretty straight forward:

1. Get organized: Its nearly impossible to stay in debt if you’re organized. For most people this means opening the credit card statements that are unopened in a box or drawer somewhere. You can no longer hide in denial about the credit card debt or student debt that has accumulated. By getting organized, you will be able to Take Charge of your personal finances. You wont need a personal loan or any debt relief.

Right now, I’m reviewing my year end credit card statements from and I see so many charges that I’ve cut out. And I feel great about all the money I am not wasting.

But part of me is calculating how many thousands of dollars of money that just spilled out of my life simply because I was not paying attention. Read more about the dumb stuff I bought last year.

2. Create a Budget:

3. Eliminate wasteful spending.

For me, the most obvious wasteful spending was a $100 storage locker. It made me so angry that I eventually began this journey and started writing this personal finance blog. (If you’re ready to start your own blog, begin here.)

Don’t dwell on the money that you’ve wasted in the past. Focus on your debt free future. I was paying for auto renew memberships that I didn’t even remember. Never again.

I began to explore our current consumer culture and why we buy what we buy. This helped me understand why I was spending so much money shopping. More on Consumer Culture and why we buy what we buy.

Make sure you’re using discount codes and getting cash back. I use Ebates and they give me cash back for nearly all of my purchases. Ebates gets a commission from stores you shop at and they share the commission with you. Average cash back is about 7%, which is great. Right now, they are offering a Free $10 Gift Card when you join and spend $25. More about Ebates Here.

4. Negotiate Discounts:

5. Create an Emergency Fund:

It’s easy to fall into debt when unplanned emergencies happen. Unfortunately, life is full of unplanned emergencies. That is why you need to set aside an emergency fund of at least $1,000 to start. I have written an article on why and emergency fund is so important, An Emergency fund is an umbrella for your life.

6. Increase your Income: Everyone is looking for a way to increase their income. When I got really motivated to pay down my debt, I wrote financial articles for a financial blog and created this blog. You may want to find a side hustle or side income. I’ve written a number of posts about the best ways to increase income. 45 Ways to Boost your Income is one example.

Credit Cards vs. Debit Cards

I’ve recently changed my mind on credit cards.

I always pay off my credit card balances each month. And I never pay credit card fees or interest. So, when I got my MasterCard bill this weekend, I knew something was very wrong.

They charged me a $25 fee. Ugh

Which means I have to waste 10 minutes talking to them to reverse a fee that could never have even happened if I listened to Dave Ramsey and cut my credit cards up. Maybe he was right. Anyway.

Well, It was my fault.

I sent the wrong amount. I was off by $3.43. (Just Another sign I need glasses!) I paid on time, but I sent them the wrong amount. I was off by $3.43 And they pounced to add late fees and interest charges.

Read my related post on Banks that still offer free checking with interest here.

This is their business. This is what we agree to when we use credit cards.

Of course, I called the credit card company and had it reversed.

And it happens every now and again, I’ll send them money and because of a holiday or something, they receive it a day later than the “due date” and they do the same thing: late fees and penalties. And that’s my fault, of course.

Relevant Articles:

But, I am struck by this feeling that they are ready to profit from anyone who:

falls behind on their payments,
gets sick,
loses a job,
has a crisis etc
… the credit card companies are not messing around.

This is another great reminder of why you really need to have an emergency fund, read my post because they’re waiting and so are other companies that will take advantage of your situation: credit card companies, payday loans, auto leasing companies, etc … emergencies happen and it is essential to be able to handle them without taking a loan from these companies.

And I’m not saying credit card companies are not a perfectly legal business. I’m saying it’s a perfectly legal business where they make more money from fees and interest when you are most vulnerable. When you lose a job or have a crisis or someone gets sick.

What am I trying to say? Life happens. Be prepared.

I’ve lost a job,
had a family crisis,
and gotten sick in the last 5 years.

And I wish I had an emergency fund in place.

My view on credit cards is essentially that over the next couple years I want to have a couple of debit cards and only two credit cards. Simple. Easy. And focus on living debt free, invest, and retire early. If they offer a big cash reward to open a credit card like $500, then I may take advantage of a credit card offer now and again. Other than that, I will mostly be using debit cards.

Why not close all my credit cards?

Well, I get benefits from one of my credit cards when I travel like access to airport lounges etc… that I think is really worth it. It makes traveling easier. And I get value. But I’m not saying no, either. It’s possible. At some point, I may decide to use debit cards exclusively. We’ll see.

I’m canceling the majority of my other credit cards. Just not worth it. The more of them I have open, the higher the possibility of something going wrong. What about you?

Join over 1,148 others who subscribe to my e-mail list.

5 Tips to Avoid a Ripoff

May 17, 2017 by Frugal Prof

I think that you’ll agree with me that even financially smart people can make bad financial decisions. What I am about to share is a bit embarrassing, but in this blog post I will give you the 5 signs that you’re about to get ripped off.

Here are the 5 signs of trouble that will prevent you from a ripoff.

rip off

5 Signs You’re about to get ripped off:

1. Procrastinate until something becomes a mini crisis.

I didn’t want to get glasses. Because eyeglasses are for old people and needing glasses would mean I am getting older.

So, I procrastinated doing the sensible thing. I have some inexpensive cheap glasses, but have known for a few months I needed real prescription eyeglasses. I waited until it was a mini crisis.

So, instead of researching glasses online or asking around, I scheduled a last minute appointment with a local optometrist and an eye exam. I wanted to see a reputable doctor to check out my eyes. And I was planning to buy glasses via Costco later on.

Relevant Articles:

How I paid off $17K in Debt

2. Don’t research before you head out. It was a mini crisis, so I made an appointment for the same day. The appointment went well and I wanted to support the Doctor by purchasing glasses from her boutique. I knew nothing about the pricing. I was a sitting duck because I hadn’t researched the online costs.

Value Investing

3. Listen to a sales person. I’ve never worn glasses, so I was astonished at how much they charged for the frames. And I kept asking the guy,

Are eyeglasses really this expensive? Don’t you have anything less expensive?

When you go to the upscale boutique, you’re gonna pay more. I was in a hurry and my goal was to check this off my list. “Got glasses.”

4. Go to an upscale boutique. Disaster. I was lazy and in a hurry. So, I got sold 2 pairs of eyeglasses that could pay a month’s rent in most of the country. They were much more expensive had I bought them online. More stupid tax. And lazy tax.

I always get cash back because I use Ebates and they give me cash back for nearly all of my purchases. Ebates gets a commission from stores you shop at and they share the commission with you. Average cash back is about 7%, which is great. Right now, they are offering a Free $10 Gift Card when you join and spend $25. More about Ebates Here.

Related Posts:

How to Create Fast Cash with Ebay

Do I Regret the $600 COncert Tickets?

5. Stop thinking. I’m not sure where my brain went during this fiasco. It was at the end of a long day and I really wanted to cross “get glasses” off my list. After heading home and feeling like I had purchased two versions of the Brooklyn Bridge of glasses, I started regretting this disaster Big Time.

Trying to Minimize the damage:

I went online and did some research, which I should have done before making the purchase. I quickly called the boutique and told them I was willing to pay a little more than Costco, but not their ridiculous markup. They said they would get back to me.

What happened? I spoke to the manager and I basically said I appreciated the optometrist appointment, but couldn’t justify paying so much more than Costco.

She managed to find room in their pricing and reduced the bill by about 60%. This was acceptable to me because I liked the frames I purchased and I didn’t want to go to Costco and spend 2 more hours shopping for new glasses.

Tips to Negotiating here.

I reduced the damage, but I still got ripped off because I ignored these 5 signs.

Conclusion: I was really mad about this. I texted my cousin to check how much he paid for his glasses at Costco. I should have done this before being in the situation to make a purchase. I was dumb and in a hurry.

I made this happen.

I procrastinated.
Then, I was in such a hurry that I did no research.
I listened to a sales person.
I went to an upscale boutique when I didn’t need to.
And I simply stopped thinking.

Luckily, my brain came back and I fixed this disaster. But, I created the disaster.

Learn from my mistake.

Save

Frugal Living Tips: Oprah’s magazine is not one of my favorite things

May 1, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Frugal living tips: O magazine is not one of my favorite things.

Financial Freedom

I don’t tell people how to live or spend their money. I have chosen to scale back, do a budget analysis, and find frugal living tips in order to retire early.

In the process of making theses changes, I have become much more aware of our consumer culture. More on consumer culture.

That is why I was so disappointed when I picked up Oprah’s magazine. And let me say, I am a fan of her positive attitude. I like her show, Super Soul Sundays as well as Oprah’s Masterclass. But, her magazine is not going to make my list of favorite things.

Related Articles:

How I used Ebay for quick cash

The Best Personal finance Books

How I paid off $17K this year

O magazine: I’ve enjoyed reading the magazine in the past and have gotten interesting book ideas and read some interesting articles. However, since I’ve started on this debt reduction journey, I’ve become much more aware of consumerism in the culture. And honestly, Oprah’s Magazine was a bit disappointing on that front.

Consumer culture:

What struck me is how much the magazine glorified spending. But I’m talking about the content of the magazine. The content of the magazine was all about spending as a way to self-improvement. And that’s not a message I subscribe to. I believe your best life is life after debt.

Products as content: One page in the magazine reviewed makeup and had 63 products on it. Yes, I counted. Again, this is not an ad I’m describing. This is a page in a magazine that people pay for. You’re paying Oprah to promote her favorite things to you. And the articles written by guest authors weren’t actually articles. They were “my favorite things” type of descriptions of their favorite products, including this $45 Vanilla Cake.

I just stopped reading the magazine. I’m not a big cake person. But, $45 seems like a ridiculous amount to spend on a vanilla cake. I’m not talking about a wedding cake or birthday cake for your kids. I don’t know who the target market for this magazine is, but the last thing Americans need is $45 vanilla cake. Seriously.

Spending as the answer to all of our problems:

Oprah is a mainstream personality and I was more than disappointed by her tone deafness. Americans have $2T worth of debt. (see above) Many people struggle with student debt and credit card debt. And many (like the good people who read this blog) are working to pay down debt and lead happier lives by being more thoughtful in their spending.

Debt free is my favorite thing:

This notion that once I can afford Oprah’s favorite things, my life be better. My life is better. I paid off $17K in debt this year and paid off my car. There’s nothing better than that. Debt free is my favorite thing right now.

What do you think? Please share your comments.

Join 1,847 other financially savvy people who receive my posts, tips, and information via E-mail.

Save

Good reasons to hate April 15th tax day

April 12, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Financial Freedom

4 Good Reasons to hate April 15th Tax Day

Today is April 11th. And I’m frustrated that my taxes are still not done. And of course, April 15th is tax day.

I still have not been able to file my state taxes or my federal taxes. The accountant who handles my tax preparation is still finishing them. Luckily, I will pay my taxes online.

Good Reasons to Hate April 15th

1. Tax day is stressful and frustrating. For many people you have little control over when they will be done and that is so frustrating.

My personal accountant has to wait for my business accountant and the business tax return before he can finish my taxes. The later my business accountant, the later my personal taxes.

2. It’s hard to get the best from your accountant.

What is also frustrating about tax time is that you never get the best from your accountant. The accountant is so busy just completing the tax returns that he or she has little time for advice, strategy, or suggestions other than the minimal, “you should put money in an IRA.” “You should open a SEP IRA or convert a ROTH IRA.”

Relevant Articles:

Use Ebay to create Quick Cash

Getting Results: How I Paid Off $17K

The Best Personal Finance Books

I have post-it’s all over my return with questions on tax strategy, tax deductions, and ways to pay less taxes. And this is the worst possible time for my accountant to review any of this. Yes, every year I think I should call him a couple months after tax time and pick his brain, but I get busy and it rarely happens.

3. Writing big checks:

Confession time: I haven’t been paying quarterly business taxes. Instead, I pay the quarterly payments on April 15th. Its not a smart strategy. (In my defense I have been much better about flossing!). But seriously, tax time is much worse when you end up writing bigger checks. And next year I will finally do this. I always make retirement contributions and the HSA contributions. But, I have hated writing those quarterly checks. That stops now. Next year, I will only have to write a few small checks. That’s the plan.

4. The other frustrating reality of tax time is that you’re absolutely, positively not making as much money as you think you are. This is why budgeting is so helpful! April 15th is the big wake up call when everyone realizes after filing their taxes, that the government is taking 28% or more of Everything you make. You’re not making $50,000. You’re only making $36,000 after the government takes its share. It’s really depressing. Which is why you Need to get every legitimate tax deduction you possibly can. Roth IRA, 401K contributions, HSA, etc…

Tax time is frustrating. But it’s part of life.

What’s good about tax time:

The truth is that maxing out a Roth retirement fund over a lifetime will make you wealthy. The math is unequivocal on this. So, if you’re smart enough to be doing that, you’re way ahead of the game to be financially independent. And that’s really good news.

It’s Not About the Money. It’s About Taking Charge and Becoming Debt Free

March 17, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Its about taking charge of my money

It’s Not About the Money. It’s about taking charge and becoming Debt Free.

Here are the steps I used to Become Debt Free:

1. Get organized: Its nearly impossible to stay in debt if you’re organized. For most people this means opening the credit card statements that are unopened in a box or drawer somewhere.

You can no longer hide in denial about the credit card debt or student debt that has accumulated. By getting organized, you will be able to Take Charge of your personal finances. You wont need a personal loan or any debt relief.

Right now, I’m reviewing my year end credit card statements from last year and I see so many charges that I have been able to cut out. And I feel great about all the money I am saving. Read more about the dumb stuff I bought last year.

2. Create a Budget:

It doesn’t have to be fancy. On one side is all the income you have coming in. And on the other side is ALL the expenses you have going out. Every dime!

Which means you must open the credit card statements and really understand where your money has been going. One of the advantages of this exercise is that it allows you to find your areas of wasteful spending.

Relevant Articles:

Survey Sites That Actually Pay

It’s not about the Money. It’s about Taking Charge.

3. Pay Down Debt:

The debt snowball method is a great debt reduction strategy where you pay off debts in order of smallest to largest, gaining momentum as each balance is paid off. When the smallest debt is paid in full, you roll the money you were paying on that debt into the next smallest balance.

It looks something like this:
Step 1: List your debts from smallest to largest.
Step 2: Make minimum payments on all your debts except the smallest.
Step 3: Pay as much as possible on your smallest debt.
Step 4: Repeat until each debt is paid in full.

4. Eliminate wasteful spending

The most obvious wasteful spending for me was a storage locker I was paying nearly $100 a month for. It made me so angry that I eventually began this journey and started writing this personal finance blog.

Use the old maxim, A Penny Saved is a Penny Earned.” and realize when you go through your bills that every wasteful thing that you have spent money on in the past that you don’t really enjoy, is earned money.

Don’t dwell on the money that you have wasted in the past. Focus on your debt free future. I was paying for auto renew memberships that I didn’t even remember. Never again.

I began to explore our current consumer culture and why we buy what we buy. This helped me understand why I was spending so much money shopping. More on Consumer Culture here.

5. Negotiate Discounts:

6. Create an Emergency Fund:

7. Increase your Income:

For most people it’s time to increase your income. When I got really motivated to pay down my debt, I wrote financial articles for a financial blog and created this blog. Want to start a blog? Read 7 Rules for a Profitable Blog here.

Side Hustles:

You may want to find a side hustle or side income. I’ve written a number of posts about the best ways to increase income.

45 Ways to Boost your Income is one example.

11 Best Sources of Side Income for 2018

8. Stay Motivated: I found reading the book, The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey to be incredibly helpful. Yes, it lays out the framework he used to be become debt free.

But, the big benefit of the book is it gets you fired up to get out of debt. It is very motivational. And that is really helpful on the debt free journey. More about the Total Money Makeover here.

9. Keep Making Progress:

I was amazed at how much money gets through the cracks. In reviewing my credit card bills, I realized I was paying for all of these items that gave me no value.

multiple anti-virus recurring charges,
membership to a sporting goods VIP club I didn’t remember,
delivery charges every month
an expensive storage unit
bank fees

These are all credit card charges that gave me no value, but I was paying for. And I was paying because I was too busy to pay attention.

But, this stops today. I’m taking control of my money.

When I canceled the VIP club the woman said, “Oh we’re sorry we charged you for our VIP club when you haven’t made a purchase in 3 years.” Yeah Right.

Here’s the truth:

“Were sorry to see you go because we make so much money off people too busy to pay attention to their credit card bills.”

How it all began. What made me say enough.

44 Ways to Create Extra Income

Getting results on your debt free journey

Conclusion:

Today I realize it’s not about the money. It’s about the control. It’s about knowing that every dollar I make is mine. No waste. No exceptions. Nothing lost.

“A part of all I earn is mine to keep.” – The Richest Man in Babylon

Every dollar belongs to me and if I spend it, it’s on something that really adds value to my life. And that principle is important whether you make $50,000 a year or $500,000 a year.

So, I’ll keep going.

I’m taking control of my money.

Join 1,874 members of my e-mail list.

Save

Consumerism: Do we even know Why We Want What We Want?

March 7, 2017 by Frugal Prof

Financial Freedom

I’m sure you can agree that you can’t begin a debt free journey without starting to re-think your relationship with spending, credit cards, and consumerism. It’s a worthwhile exercise.

This is an example from my own life. It’s a good example of consumerism and how it’s possible that we’re piling up debt on credit cards to buy luxury goods we want and don’t even know why.

I have nothing against branding or advertising. In fact, I have purchased plenty of designer clothes,expensive watches, and attended pricey concerts.

She was a very pretty girl who was used to getting whatever she wanted. That much was always clear to me. She worked as an assistant to a Wall Street executive and was used to having men with huge egos and bank accounts woo her.

She always wanted to have dinner at one of the three most expensive and or hottest restaurants in New York. Nobu and a few others I can’t even remember. Honestly, at the time, I was ok with all of that. She was actually very smart and insightful, but her financial expectations became frustrating even then.

Consumerism Definition: We spend money we don’t have, to buy things we don’t need, to impress people we don’t even like.

Why do I bring this up? We were dating during The holidays a few years back and she mentioned she wanted lingerie from La Perla. Think Victoria’s Secret but with a 700% markup. I had to research it myself.

I became really interested in this company and brand because I have almost never seen a markup like that for any other product. Their bras were like $100-$200.

As an investor, I was very intrigued.

Why was La Perla so good?
Is it the quality?
The fabric?
Why is it so much more expensive than every other brand?,”

I asked her. She was annoyed and defensive and I think she may have even intimated I was being cheap (Me Frugal?). I was very confused.

Relevant Articles: