Survival+
Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation
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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
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 →
STRATEGY #9 TO SURVIVE A DOWN ECONOMY
By Kevin M
In the best of times, borrowing seems to be a sensible way to get the things we want but can’t afford to purchase in full right now, but we’re sure we can tackle later with a predictably increasing income stream.
But when economic fortunes shift into low gear—as they are now—the same debt accumulated during better times can become a heavier burden, even one which is impossible to bear. Other than paying debt down and eventually off completely, there isn’t much we can do about the debt already accumulated. But the Great Recession should be a wake up call to all who might have come to view debt as a traveling companion in life.
In 10 Ways To Survive a Down Economy (published on Christianpf.com June 1) we listed ten strategies to help you deal with the bad economy. Our topic for today, Strategy #9:
”Envision a future without debt, and then pursue it.” Gradually pay down—then pay off—your debt. This includes your mortgage. It should go without saying that lowering your cost of living will be a crucial element in this effort as well. (Are you noticing a pattern?)”
Is that even possible any more?
Continue reading Envision a Future Without Debt →
By Kevin M
The cost of living has been rising relentlessly for decades, and while we tend to notice it less during the good times, it all hits home hard in times like these. Forget the official numbers that deny the existence of inflation, if you’re middle class, working class, a struggling business owner, and especially if you’re retired, you know the real story from the trenches on the front lines.
Sure food costs have been bouncing up and down in a range, and gas prices are about 40% lower than they were a year ago at this time, but what about everything else? What about property taxes, utilities, health insurance and all things education related? What about movie tickets, theme parks, medical co-pays and car repairs? Our auto insurance just increased by more than 20% because of state mandated add-ons to cover uninsured motorists. 20%–in 2009—how’s that for timing?
Continue reading What Are We Doing to Lower Our Cost of Living? →
By Kevin M
If you’re serious about reining in your household expenses, shopping in thrift stores is an option that needs to be investigated. Thrift stores offer an opportunity to buy clothing for pennies on the dollar compared with the cost of retail. Shirts $2, pants $4, typical! If you work in a business where mode of dress is a major issue, or you have a family who seem to burn through clothes with each turn of the seasons, saving money on clothing could be a major boost for your budget, and thrift stores are the perfect place to do it.
The Basic Setup
If you’re new to thrift stores and accustomed to the shopping experience provided by mall stores and prime retailers, they can be a bit of shock. Usually they’re set in shopping centers that are best described as less than prime, and the stores tend to have something of a bare bones look. This is of course as it needs to be; in order to offer the lowest prices, thrift stores cannot operate in triple A space. But if you can get past the store’s appearance there are true bargains to be had.
Continue reading A Thriftier Way to Dress →
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General: Any information in regard to money, credit, personal finance, or in regard to any other monetary topic, provided or shared on OutOfYourRut.com is presented for information and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. It is intended to provide general information only and does not constitute personal financial advice in regard to your specific circumstances...MORE-->
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