Survival+
Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation
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By Kevin M
There’s a “stealth expense” that chews through budgets and often leaves us with an empty bank account or even a little deeper in debt each month; its called entertainment expense, and at least part of the problem may lay in the fact that we’re usually reluctant to even view it as an “expense”.
Maybe this is the case because entertainment has a way of defining us—it’s often who we are, which has to be something more significant than just an ordinary expense, doesn’t it?
We can be meticulous about budgeting for housing, groceries, utilities and a host of other expenses, but entertainment is often—to borrow a political phrase—“off budget”.
Continue reading Entertainment For Less →
By Kevin M
Companies are always trying to get us to take their bundle plans, neat packages that promise a veritable one-stop shopping trip for all of our communication needs. Cable TV, internet, land lines, cell phones—they’ll load them all into a pretty little bundle for us and provide a nice discount for dealing in bulk.
It’s easy to see why we’re drawn to these arrangements. Not only do we get the lower rate for the package deal, but we can also consolidate several monthly bills into one and, we might reason, with so much of our business placed with one provider, we’ll have clout! After all, surely a provider won’t want to lose ALL of our business if we’re unsatisfied with any single service.
As attractive as that might sound—especially from a life’s simplification standpoint—my experience with bundles hasn’t been terribly positive. As good as the bundle plans might look from time to time, I’ll keep my communication services spread over three or four different providers.
Here’s why…
Continue reading Why Bundling Services Might be a Bad Deal →
Action needs to precede acquisition in the quest for health and fitness
By Kevin M
Maybe it’s a cultural thing here in America that when ever we need to strike out in a new direction we impulsively believe that it requires spending money to make it happen (see the National Debt for tangible confirmation). That might actually be necessary in some cases, but fitness is really more about motivation than it is about gym memberships or fitness equipment. Yet many people join health clubs or buy expensive fitness equipment precisely to give them that motivation.
I believe that thinking is putting the horse before the cart. Shouldn’t we first prove that we have the motivation and energy—and can make time in our schedules–before spending any money?
Here’s a fundamental fitness reality: before there was exercise equipment, there was plain, old exercise. Exercise equipment (and the gyms they occupy) is higher level stuff; before moving onto them—and the money they cost—first prove that you’re committed to plain, old exercise.
Continue reading Fitness For Free (Or Close To It) →
By Paul Williams
Budget. It’s a four-letter word to many people. We hate the
restriction, the deprivation, and tracking all the little details.
But personal finance experts continue to tell us we need a budget.
Don’t get me wrong. Budgets are very useful tools. I think everyone
should try to use one (or something like it) if they really want to
have control over their finances. But I wonder if we don’t go about
it the wrong way when we try to implement budgets.
For someone who’s never had a budget, the whole process can seem
daunting and mysterious. What’s the right way to budget? Why should
I even do it? How do I track all my expenses? While budgets are
quite simple (a list of income and expenses with goals), there are a
number of questions that can come up for the uninitiated. They find
some answers from people who seem confident and knowledgeable and away
they go. They make up their first budget and set high goals. Maybe
it looks like this:
| Take-Home Pay: |
$2500 |
| |
|
| Savings: |
$500 |
| Giving: |
$200 |
| Rent: |
$1000 |
| Groceries: |
$200 |
| Auto Insurance: |
$100 |
| Gas: |
$200 |
| Phone, Internet, & Cable: |
$100 |
| Utilities: |
$100 |
| Eating Out: |
$50 |
| Personal Expenses: |
$50 |
Total
Expenses: |
$2500 |
Continue reading A Better Way to Budget? →
By Kevin M
If you have teenagers who play musical instruments or if you’re into instruments yourself, your wallet will love a company called Musician’s Friend.
My son got into playing drums when he was ten years old, not just through the school music program, but as a personal hobby and passion. If your kids are musical types, you know only too well the heavy costs involved in sustaining their hobby: musical instruments aren’t cheap!
Not only are the instruments themselves pricey, but the cost of accessories and replacement parts can rate a line item in your budget by themselves.
In the beginning, we followed the herds into the local music shops and paid top dollar for instruments for our kids. As one example, our daughters’ violin cost $1100; that was four years ago, and now she’s ready to give it up! We originally rented the violin just in case she did decide to quit, but after a couple of years when it looked like she’d keep at it, we converted the lease to a purchase.
Continue reading Save Money Buying Musical Instruments →
By Kevin M
Frugality is practically THE staple topic of the personal finance world. Hundreds of posts come out each week telling us how to save money on this or that expense, how to cut costs with more do-it-yourself efforts, where to get the best rates and rewards on credit cards, how to cut your taxes—you name it. And I confess that I regularly write of such topics myself.
But at some level at least, it seems like we may be doing a disservice by focusing so heavily on only one side of the personal finance ledger, while giving short shrift to the other major component: income.
I’ve actually seen the earning more vs. frugality debate written about in a few places, buried among the scores of posts written on frugality and thrift. Maybe the reason is that frugality is easier to write about than making more money. What ever the reason, more balance is certainly needed.
Here are two facts inherent in the earning more money vs. frugality analysis:
1. Expenses can be cut only so far, short of “living off the grid”
2. Income, at least in theory, has no limit
The bottom line is that while frugality can enable us to maintain our current financial status, only by increasing our income can we elevate ourselves.
Continue reading Why Earning More Money is More Important than Frugality →
By Kevin M
When ever we start looking to save money, the first place we tend to look is the grocery budget. One of the reasons we do this is because, unlike a house payment or a car loan, grocery shopping is a true variable expense. It’s an expense we have a large measure of control over which makes it a natural target for reduction.
It can be a rich source of savings as well. If you normally average $200 per week on groceries, and you can cut that by 20%, or $40, you can save over $2000 per year. There aren’t many expenses you can cut to save so much money without experiencing real sacrifice either.
Grocery shopping is a multifaceted endeavor, so there are a lot of ways to save money. I’ve come up with a list of 15 that my wife and I use on a regular basis:
Continue reading 15 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill to the Bone →
Tickets, fines and penalties cost real money
By Kevin M
An article this week from USA Today (Speeding ‘cushion’ may dwindle due to recession) reports that the 5-10-mph speeding “cushion” we’ve been enjoying most of our lives may be disappearing as cities and states work to close budget gaps.
The article confirms what many of us have suspected for some time: “…it’s clear that many communities are turning to traffic citations for added revenue in tough financial times.”
This news highlights an expense most of us rarely think about: non-compliance expense. What ever we think of it, it’s very real and never more than now.
Is this actually an expense?
OK, this isn’t a category most people think of as an expense in the conventional sense, but we live in a society which is heavily regulated and there are more laws regarding ordinary behavior than most of us can imagine. It’s important to realize that there are fines attached to our non-compliance with those laws and regulations, so we need to keep that fact in mind even in those moments when we may be feeling a bit, shall we say, rebellious.
Continue reading Avoiding “Non-Compliance Expense” →
Newsflash: You can’t get out of debt until you stop being broke!
By Kevin M
Some argue that if you’re in debt the priority needs to be to payoff your debts before attempting to build a savings account. Many call for the establishment of a small emergency fund—typically $1000—to handle contingencies, and then to pour all extra funds into the pay down and eventual payoff of debt. Only when your debts are paid will you have the cash flow to truly build substantial savings.
While there is some merit to that advice, I believe it fails to address the basic reason a person might get into debt in the first place: a lack of savings, forcing the use of credit as a savings substitute.
Until that cycle is broken, it’s doubtful you’ll ever payoff your debts or accumulate substantial savings. Life has a way of throwing contingency after contingency at us and unless we’re fully prepared to deal with that reality, getting out of debt is little more than a fantasy.
Continue reading Build Savings or Payoff Debt – Which Comes First? →
The Local Watering Hole as a Financial Bottomless Pit
Kevin M
At the risk of personal safety I’m going to take aim today at an “expense” that may be sacrosanct for some, but that’s exactly why it needs to be discussed.
Jimmy Buffet’s 1977 sentimental favorite Margaritaville tells a tale of a carefree life lived on a warm beach in a perpetual state of inebriation. As appealing as that can be at times, when it’s romanticized into a regular activity at a local bar, the costs can be steep, and we aren’t just talking about money.
For the purpose of full disclosure, I’m a light drinker. I’ll indulge in an occasional beer or glass of wine (or two or three), most frequently with dinner guests, but consumption of alcohol has never been a priority in my life. I can go for months without drinking or sit in a bar for three or four hours nursing soft drinks, surrounded by people drinking the hard stuff. I don’t know if that status disqualifies me or gives me the vantage point of an objective outsider, or if it even matters.
Continue reading Wasting (Money) Away Again in Margaritaville →
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