SingleGuyMoney is currently under construction. Please be patient and if this is your first time here, please be sure to come back. I plan to have the updates completed by this afternoon.
** The updates are completed. I hope you guys like the new theme. Let me know what you think. **
Don't forget to take a moment to enter the contest to win one of two free gas cards. The contest ends tomorrow (Monday) June 30th @ 11:59pm EST.
I only participated in one carnival this week. My post, Resisting the Urge to Splurge - Financially, was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance #158 - Vampire Slaying Edition hosted by Mrs Micah.
Several posts around the finance blogosphere caught my eye and I'd like to share them with you. If you haven't read these posts already, be sure to check them out.
If you are thinking about cutting or reducing your cable or satellite package to save money, My Two Dollars has a great post on 35 Ways to Watch Television Without Cable or Satellite.
Are you financially healthy? Review this post over at Moolanomy to find out.
Cash Money Life warns against buying too much company stock. In the first few years of my career, our company stock was doing so well, I had the majority of my 401k in company stock. Luckily, I got rid of most of it before the stock took a tumble about a year ago and it hasn't recovered yet.
You think rising gas prices are making you consider doing crazy things? You aren't alone. SingleMa of Fabulous Financials is having the same problem.
Have you calculated your Financial Freedom Day? Lynnae @ BeingFrugal gives her thoughts on what Financial Freedom will mean for her.
Frugal Dad shares how they spent their Economic Stimulus Check. I should be receiving mine sometime in the next week; hopefully.
Is your gasoline budget always in the red? Paid Twice is having the same problem.
Is it better for you to do it yourself or pay someone to do it? Read this rather funny post at Gather Little by Little.
Ok, be sure to enter the gas giveaway and visit the blogs above. I'm off to enjoy my Sunday and hopefully you will do the same.
I have to give kudos to my employer. I would like to give the name of the company but I won't because I would like to try and remain as anonymous as possible on this blog.
We had a meeting yesterday with the Human Resources Manager. He called us all in and explained that the company is concerned about how gas prices are affecting the employees and they are trying to make it a little easier to get to work. He said that while they would love to be able to give everyone a raise to help offset the rising cost of gas and food, it just isn't in the budget right now.
What he proposed is a four/one work week. Basically, this means we will work 4 days in the office and 1 day from home. While this won't make a huge difference, every little bit helps. For the employees like me that drive a company vehicle, we will also have the option of working one day from home. This move will save the company money because they are paying a little less for gas to fuel up the company vehicles. Currently, I pay $30 per paycheck for the privilege of using the company vehicle. Sixty dollars a month is peanuts considering my company pays for 100% of the gas, maintenance, tags fees and taxes.
Thursday, June 26, 2008 Talkback Question:
Does your employer offer a retirement plan? If so, do you participate and how much do you contribute per paycheck.
*SingleGuyMoney's Answer: Yes, my employer does offer a retirement plan and I contribute 6% bi-weekly. My employer matches up to 3%.
I want to hear from my readers. Please be sure to leave a comment with your answer to the above question.
If you are new here, please take a moment to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney.
It's finally official. I've been waiting patiently for what seemed like an eternity (it was actually just a few weeks). Yesterday, I received notification in the mail from the I.R.S. that I should be receiving my economic stimulus payout of $600 by June 27, 2008. That's right, in a couple of days, my account should be $600 healthier.
Unfortunately, I don't plan to use it how the government intended. I would love to help stimulate the economy but stimulating my savings accounts feels so much better. I will split the money equally between my Flexible Savings Account and my Emergency Fund.
With the coming stimulus check and an extra paycheck in July, my Emergency Fund should be fully funded ($20k) by the end of next month.
I don't understand it. I know the world of credit scoring is confusing and hard to understand but this is crazy. I paid off my car loan last month and once they reported they payoff to the credit bureaus, my score actually dropped. I thought that my score would have gone through the roof once the debt was gone. Afterall, I am decreasing the total amount of debt that I owe. I thought the credit bureaus would look at this favorably and boost my credit score. Nope, didn't happen.
Here is what happened to my scores - listed by credit bureau:
Equifax: Score prior to car payoff - 769, score after payoff - 743
TransUnion: Score prior to car payoff - 743, score after payoff - 732
Experian: Score prior to car payoff - 732, score after payoff - 728
Ok, so what is the deal? I checked to make sure that Chase Auto Finance had marked the account correctly. They listed the account as paid in full with a zero balance which is how it should read. I haven't taken on any new debt at all. I haven't applied for any new credit so there are no new credit inquiries that could have pulled my score down.
I waited patiently thinking that maybe this was just a temporary drop. Here we are two weeks later and the scores are still the same! It's not a big deal as they are still pretty good scores and I don't plan to apply for any loans or additional credit cards. I just want to understand WHY?
Anyone else have this happen? If you are reading this and you have a firm grasp on how credit scoring works, please share your thoughts.
Here is what happened to my scores - listed by credit bureau:
Equifax: Score prior to car payoff - 769, score after payoff - 743
TransUnion: Score prior to car payoff - 743, score after payoff - 732
Experian: Score prior to car payoff - 732, score after payoff - 728
Ok, so what is the deal? I checked to make sure that Chase Auto Finance had marked the account correctly. They listed the account as paid in full with a zero balance which is how it should read. I haven't taken on any new debt at all. I haven't applied for any new credit so there are no new credit inquiries that could have pulled my score down.
I waited patiently thinking that maybe this was just a temporary drop. Here we are two weeks later and the scores are still the same! It's not a big deal as they are still pretty good scores and I don't plan to apply for any loans or additional credit cards. I just want to understand WHY?
Anyone else have this happen? If you are reading this and you have a firm grasp on how credit scoring works, please share your thoughts.
SingleGuyMoney turns one year old today!!!!!!.
It seems as if it was just yesterday that I made the decision to start a blog. To celebrate the anniversary, I am having another contest. This one has a small twist. Don't worry though, it's easy to do and might actually benefit you. There is no purchase necessary and will only take 5-10 minutes of your time; depending on your insurance needs.
The Gift:
I gave away a $50 gas card last time. Since that giveaway was so popular, I am making the pot a little sweeter. This time, I'll be giving away a $75 gas card to the first winner and a $25 gas card to the second winner!
How to Enter:
To enter this contest, here's what you have to do. Get an insurance quote using any of the services below and see if you can save money. Everyone needs insurance. Whether it be auto, health, life, disability, etc; you need to have insurance to cover you in the event of a loss. Since we all need insurance, you may as well try and save money.
Leave a comment and let me know if you were able to save money or not. Your personal information is secure and I do not have access to it. If you are concerned about a credit inquiry, you don't have to enter your social security number. You can still get an "idea" of how much your policy will be. If you don't want or need an insurance quote, consider subscribing to SingleGuyMoney and leaving a comment to enter the contest.
For auto, health, home or life insurance quotes, please click the image below:
For auto insurance quotes only, please click one or both of the images below:
Rules:
- The contest will end on June 30, 2008 @ 11:59pm EST.
- You may enter the contest only once.
- The winners will have a choice of choosing a gas card from BP Amoco, QT or Racetrac.
- The gift card will be shipped to residents of the United States only.
- I will use a random number generator to pick the winners and post them here on the blog.
Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney for more posts and future contests.
Image Credit: rohan_isaac
Looks like one police department here in metro Atlanta is really feeling the pain of rising gas prices. The City of Holly Springs, GA has already burned through 60% of their fuel budget 2008 and we are only halfway through the year. To help with the budget, the City Council has approved a $12 fee to be added to all speeding tickets and/or moving violations.
The added fee is expected to bring in about $26,000 in revenue for the town. The additional fee is certainly not being taken lightly by the citizens who feel that this is just another way for the government to get in their pockets. The response from Holly Springs Mayor Tim Downing is that "The system is self taxing. If you don't break the law, you don't have to pay the fee".
I'm sure this is a new trend that will probably start sweeping the nation. The City of Atlanta has approved a 13-0 vote on Councilman CT Martin's proposal to add a $10-$15 surcharge for speeding and other moving violations in the city. Mayor Shirley Franklin wants to recover the rising fuel costs without having to raise property taxes.
I'm certainly going to have to be cautious of my speed in both of these areas. I have to go thru Holly Springs to go visit one of my friends and I am in Atlanta all the time on business.
Reminder: Don't forget to enter the free gas giveaway and subscribe to SingleGuyMoney.
Source: USA Today
Image Credit: Accordion Chick
Thursday, June 19, 2008 Talkback Question:
How much debt have you paid off this year?
Make a little extra money with Cashcrate.
Did you know that today is National Splurge Day? I had no clue that there was such a day until I read this post over at Budgets Are Sexy and Jonathan of My Money Blog left a comment about it. I've heard of funny "holidays" but this takes the cake. I for one do not plan to celebrate this holiday.
This past weekend though, I had an overwhelming urge to spend money. I had no clue what I wanted and I had no price limit. I figured that I'd paid off my car loan 4 years early so I deserved to treat myself. I went into my favorite electronics store, Best Buy, ready to shop. I walked around the store a few times until I finally came upon a Bose DVD Home Entertainment System. The regular price was $999 but it was on sale for $899. I figured I should probably grab one while I was on sale. Reality set in shortly after I put the box in the cart. The little voice in my head was saying "stupid, stupid, stupid". I walked around with it for a little while longer trying to figure out how I could make myself feel good about this purchase or make it make sense. No matter what I did, thankfully, reality kept coming back to me and telling me that I didn't need this. I put the system back and immediately left the store.
What helped me not make a purchase I would regret for along time afterwards?
Remember the Goal. Remember what you are saving for and what you are trying to achieve. Blowing $900 right now may not seem like alot but in the long run, it adds up. I keep a picture on the refrigerator of a house that I would love to buy but simply cannot afford right now. If I keep saving, I can possibly achieve my dream of owning that house or a house like it.
Don't Shop Alone. If you feel the need to go shopping, don't forget to take along moral support. It can be a friend or relative or whomever but it needs to be someone that will tell you "STOP, YOU DON'T NEED THAT" and not someone who will help you rationalize the purchase.
Avoid Temptation. Do your best to avoid all the crazy commercials advertising all the latest and greatest "stuff" that you can't live without. It's hard and temptation is everywhere but you are stronger than them. You have a goal to work towards and you will not let the company marketing ploys kick you off track. I know I should have never gone into Best Buy because I am a recovering (slowly) electronics junkie.
Wants vs. Needs. Doing a quick analysis can help save you from making a terrible decision. Do you "want" that item or do you "need" it?
In the end, I avoided making a huge purchase that I would have regret as soon as I walked out of the store. I decided I would treat myself, but for alot less. I had a nice steak dinner with one of my friends. I dropped $65 on dinner and drinks but that is much better than spending $899. There is nothing wrong with splurging; as long as it's done responsibly.
We all know that when you buy a brand new car, it can depreciate as much as 20% as soon as you drive it off the lot. Since we are all concerned about making the best financial decisions, we don't buy new cars...right?? If you are buying a new car, the best thing to do is pay for it in full from your savings and drive it until the wheels fall off. Meanwhile, you should be making "car payments" to yourself so when it is time to purchase another vehicle, you won't need a loan.
If you are in the market to purchase a vehicle and are looking for a safe, reliable used car, be sure you are taking the proper steps to protect yourself.
Research. If you know what models you are interested in or if you need ideas on what your next car should be, start online. Edmunds.com has forums where owners can discuss problems they've had and a warranty and service section where you'll find recall data and technical service bulletins. If the car you are interested in has a history of problems, you may want to try another model. You can also check the complete list of safety recalls at the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Get the History. Just like you will want to know the history of your next potential boyfriend/girlfriend, you'll want to know the history of your vehicle. Get a Carfax report to reveal the complete history of your next vehicle. If you don't want to purchase a vehicle that has been in a previous major accident, had flood damage or some other major problem, you want to get this report. Carfax will give you the estimated mileage, ownership history, title and accident history and the service and repair information reported for that car. If there are no DMV-reported incidents (such as a flood, fire, salvage or manufacturer buyback), the car qualifies for Carfax's Buyback Guarantee. If one of those incidents comes to light after you buy and it wasn't on the report, Carfax will buy the car back from you for up to 110% of the Kelley Blue Book value.
Don't Overpay. After you've done your research on the history of the vehicle, you need to know the fair market value of the car you are considering. Again, the internet can be a great help in determining what the car is worth. Be sure to check vehicle valuation sites like NADA, Kelley Blue Book and Edmunds. Knowing the value of the car you are about to purchase will give you negotiating power with the seller. If the seller knows you've done your research, they will probably be more willing to give you a better deal.
Insurance. You've done all your research on the history and the value of the vehicle and you are ready to make a deal. If you are getting a good price on the vehicle, you don't want to blow all your savings on outrageous insurance costs. Get a free auto insurance quote at Esurance or InsureMe.com to be sure your new (used) car won't break the bank when you insure it.
Are you in the market for a new (used) car? Did you recently purchase a car? Did you get a good deal?
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Make a little extra pocket change with CashCrate!
Image Credit: KB35
Next time you pull up to the pump at your favorite gas station and fill your tank full of fuel, you'll know who's pockets the large amount of money you just paid is going into. Many people probably think that the gas station owner is making pockets full of money from the high gas prices but you are mistaken. The gas station owners are actually making very little money from the gas they sell.
Who gets what percentage of your money when you pump one gallon of gas? The price of one gallon of gasoline is determined by a number of factors.
Listed below are the components of the price of one gallon of gas from largest to smallest percentage:
Crude Oil. This one certainly composes the biggest chunk of a cost of a gallon of gas. According to the Energy Information Administration, crude oil composed 58% of the price of the national average of the price of a gallon of gasoline in 2007. This percentage has increased from an average of 48% between 2000-2007. The amount of crude oil produced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) generally determines the price of a barrel of oil. As of this morning, the cost of a barrel of crude oil is $139.
Refining. The cost to refine crude oil consists of about 17% of the cost of a gallon of gas. This cost varies in different parts of the country due to the different gas formulation requirements. Crude oil must be refined to make it useful for gasoline.
Taxes. Gasoline is taxed not only by the Federal government but also by State and local governments. Taxes compose approximately 15% of the cost of a gallon of gasoline. Eleven States also levy additional State sales and other taxes; some of which are applied to the Federal and State excise taxes. The differences in State taxes generally account for the difference in gas prices from state to state.
Distribution, Marketing and Retail Dealer Costs. The cost to ship and distribute gasoline to your local gas station is about 10% of the cost of a gallon of gas. Crude oil is first shipped to refineries via pipelines and then is refined into gasoline. It is then sent to a distribution point and then shipped via tanker trucks to the local gas station. Oil companies are in competition with each other and the cost of advertising their product is passed along to consumers. The cost of advertising and the retailer markup is included in the 10% figure.
Why do gas prices fluctuate?
The price of gas tends to fluctuate due to a number of factors like:
Season. Gas prices are generally higher in the summer due to more people being on the road travelling for summer vacations.
Crude Oil Supply. Crude oil prices are determined by worldwide supply and demand. When demand is low and there is plenty of crude oil, prices are lower. When the production is low and demand for crude oil is increased, prices will rise.
(Sources: Energy Information Administration, US Department of Energy)
Happy Fathers Day to call the current and soon-to-be fathers! Kick back, relax and enjoy your day!
I participated in 2 Carnivals this week:
PT Money hosted the 156th Carnival of Personal Finance: Songs of Summer and included my post, "Vacation Savings Account".
MoneyNing hosted the Festival of Frugality #129 - Try A Little Harder This Week and included my post, "Teaching A Teen to Save Money".
Thanks to the carnival hosts for including me in the roundup.
I've enjoyed the following posts from my blogroll and I think you will too:
Being Frugal presents several great ideas for Frugal Summer Fun.
Most of the seniors have already had their high school graduations and now it's time for the real world. Cash Money Life presents Financial Advice for the High School Graduate.
Thinking about taking a loan from your 401k? Read this post from Moolanomy first!
MrsMicah gets her first credit card. Read all about it here.
My Two Dollars has an interesting financial change coming July 1. Check it out here.
Plonkee has one of the best secret money saving tricks I've heard in a long time. More people should practice this.
Frugal Dad tells us to Live Frugal, but Stop to Smell the Roses. I totally agree!
The Frugal Duchess presents Saving Money & Energy Around the Home: Tips from Appliance Makers.
No Credit Needed has a reader poll. Just How Much Is 6 Months Worth of Expenses? I've determined that I need $15k for 6 months of expenses but decided I am shooting for 8 months.
Be sure to check out all the great posts above and from any of the links in my blogroll.
I am looking for a table for my entryway but I don't want to pay store prices for it. I figure the best way to get a nice table for a cheap price is to go to a garage sale. I'd seen numerous signs around my area advertising garage sales today and figured this may be a good way to get a cheap table. I got up early this morning armed with $50 and a cup of coffee. I went to one of the nicer subdivisions close to my house and started my search for a table. I didn't find the table I was looking for but I did find an interesting financial story.
I stopped at this one house because they had one monster of a garage sale. They had so much stuff (no table though), I thought it was a multi-family garage sale. The owner seemed nice so I started making small talk by making a comment on how much stuff they had for sale. She said that they had to get rid of everything quickly. Pushing a little further, I asked if they were about to make a big move. She said that times were pretty hard since her husband lost his job about a year ago. I took that to mean that they had blown through all of their savings and probably had to find cash quickly.
What I didn't understand is why they still had all this "stuff". They had 2 nice fairly new SUV's (aka: gas guzzlers) parked in the yard; complete with nice fancy rims. I also saw 4 jet ski's and a nice boat all of which had a "for sale" sign on them. If her husband lost his job over a year ago, I didn't really understand why they had not sold the "toys" a year ago.The prices on the boat and jet ski were VERY cheap and had I been in the market for a boat or jet ski, I probably would have bought them myself. I think they probably tried to hold onto them as long as they could thinking things might change.
There were so many questions I wanted to ask but it wasn't my place to do so. I didn't know anything about these people so I probably wouldn't have gotten many answers anyway. I also didn't want to risk getting kicked off their property for being so nosey. Maybe if I had the full story, it may have explained their situation a little better.
Let me hear your thoughts? What would you have done?
Don't forget to enter the free gas giveaway & subscribe to SingleGuyMoney.
Image Credit: John Beagle
I received an unusual call from my mortgage company yesterday. They wanted to give me a "friendly reminder" that I had not made my mortgage payment for this month. I've had my mortgage with this company for a little over two years. I've never been "late" on a payment but I do take advantage of the two week grace period every month. Instead of paying on the 1st of the month, I usually wait and schedule an electronic payment to post around the 11th or 12th of the month. Those of you that have a mortgage are probably aware that your mortgage company gives you until the 15th of the month before they consider your payment late. If you make your payment after the 15th of the month, you will usually owe a late fee in addition to your regular payment. Usually, a Iate payment is not reported to the credit bureaus as being late until after you are over 30+ days late. Holding my payment until just before the late payment date allows me to earn a few extra cents in interest on my money.
I was a little upset that they called me about my payment because I've never been late before. I was also ticked because I'd already scheduled the payment last week to post to my account today. I'm pretty sure they are able to see that a payment had already been scheduled. I was upset for a little bit but after thinking about it for awhile, I kinda appreciated the call. I guess with the current rate of foreclosures, they want to make sure they do everything they can to keep another home from being foreclosed on. Actually, it may have been a good idea for them to call just in case I had forgotten to make my payment this month.
Do any of you take advantage of the grace period on your mortgage or do you promptly pay on the 1st?
Thursday June 12, 2008 Talkback Question:
Do you have an Emergency Fund? If so, how long would your Emergency Fund last if you had no income? Is it kept in savings, investments or home equity?
Father's Day is this weekend and it's important to remember the man that helped to give you life. There are so many things out there, you can probably go crazy trying to figure out what to get Dad to celebrate his special day. You don't have to spend an arm and a leg to make Dad's day special.
Does Dad need a cell phone?
Does he like video games?
Is Dad looking for a mate?
Does he like NFL Gear?
Of course, you can always show love to Dad just by letting him know you care and saying those three magic words.
Be sure to enter the gas card giveaway. Details are here.
Now that the car loan is gone, I have an additional $556 to work with in my budget. I don't want to let this extra money get wasted and/or spent frivolously so I put the pen to paper and re-evaluated my financial plan. I know how I want my finances to look and I'm setting a plan in action to accomplish the desired results. My new plan consists of a fully funding my Emergency Fund, Flexible Savings Account and continuing to reduce debt.
Emergency Fund. I've determined that if there were a situation where I had absolutely no income coming in, I could live on $2500 a month in bare bones expenses. This includes the mortgages on my primary home and rental property, food, utilities gas. I've also included money for health insurance premiums that I'd be paying out of pocket. I've calculated that I would be comfortable having at least 8 months of expenses available to keep me afloat. $2500/a month for 8 months comes to a nice round figure of $20,000. As of this post, I am roughly $2000 off. If I pay my former car payment to my savings account, I should be at my $20k goal in about 4 months. It should be even sooner considering I will get an extra paycheck in July and my stimulus check should be coming at the end of June.
Flexible Savings Account. I would like to keep a minimum of $2000 in my Flexible Savings Account. This account is used for any unplanned expenses or when Murphy decides to visit. My flexible savings account now stands at about $1400. Once the Emergency Fund is fully funded, I'll throw a couple payments into the flexible savings account to boost the balance of that account.
Debt Reduction. The original plan was to eliminate my student loan once the credit card debt and car loan were paid off. I've since decided to go another route. My second mortgage interest rate is 8% and my student loan interest rate is less than 6%. With the falling home prices, it is more important than ever to reduce my loan balance as quickly as possible in case there is a situation that comes up that forces me to need to sell my home quickly. There is a position at my job that I am possibly considering. If I were to take the job, I would need to relocate.
It feels good to have a plan in place for my finances. As they say, "If you fail to plan, plan to fail. " I've made significant improvements in my finances and I surely wouldn't want to go back to my financial life of 2-3 years ago.
Be sure to enter the gas card giveaway. Details are here.
When I made the decision to pay off my car loan, I didn't expect the process to go as smoothly as it did. I'd had problems in the past with regular monthly payments not being credited in time or not at all. My first payment took about 3 weeks to get credited to my loan account even though the check was sent two weeks before the due date and had already cleared my bank. I faxed them several copies of the cleared check and after several frustrating phone calls, the payment finally posted. They charged me a late fee but agreed to waive it. The would not recalculate and credit the additional interest charged on my account. On the final phone call, they finally admitted that yes they had received the money but they didn't know where they put it so until they found it, they couldn't credit the funds to my account.
I must say that Chase Auto Finance handled the payoff of my account with speed and accuracy.
- May 19, 2008 - Mailed check to payoff department via regular mail. I chose not to use overnight mail since I overestimated the payoff to give the check plenty of time to arrive and my next monthly payment wasn't due for another three weeks.
- May 21, 2008 - Checked my account online and saw that the payment had been received and credited to my account.
- May 26, 2008 - Received overpayment refund of $69.97
- June 2, 2008 - Received car title from Chase.
I'd like to thank everyone who sent traffic my way in the month of May. If you've referred traffic to me and your site is not listed, know that I still thank you. For the sake of time and space, I am only highlighting the top 10 referrers.
The top 10 blogs that sent the most traffic to SingleGuyMoney are:
1. PaidTwice
2. Fabulous Financials
3. NCN Blog
4. Get Rich Slowly
5. Moolanomy
6. BeachGirl's Budget Blog
7. Frugal Dad
8. Mrs Micah
9. Being Frugal
10. Gather Little by Little
10. My Two Dollars (tie)
Honorable Mention: MSN Smart Money Blog
Total Site Visitors in May 2008: 15,169
RSS Subscribers as of May 31, 2008: 601. If you are new here or haven't subscribed yet, you can do so here.
Top 5 Most Popular Articles in May:
- 6 Gas Savings Myths
- Most Reliable Used Cars
- Twelve Year Car Loan
- Here's the Best Thing I've Seen All Year
- Paid Off A Past Financial Mistake - The Car Loan
Assets:
- Primary Home - $196,000.00
- Rental Property - $137,000.00
- Car - $19,000.00
- Retirement - $44,204.08
- Cash (checking, savings) - $19,485.17
- Brokerage - $2342.54
Total Assets: $428,531.79 - decrease of 4.67%
Liabilities:
- Primary Home Mortgage - $181,946.82
- Rental Property Mortgage - $148,608.80
- Student Loans - $22,500.00
Total Liabilities: $353,055.62 - decrease of 6.25%
Net Worth: $75,746.17 - increase of 3.46%
Monthly Recap:
- Decrease in cash due to car loan payoff. I hated to lose the cash but I was happy to lose the debt.
- No extra income received this month.
- Auto tag renewal paid this month. I'd already saved for it in my Flexible Savings Account so it did not affect my monthly budget.
- Maintaining a monthly budget is really helping me manage my cashflow.
Thursday June 5, 2008 Talkback Question:
- How many checking and/or savings accounts do you have?
This post is part of the M-Network group writing project on vacations.
Please be sure to check out all the posts at M-Network Blogs.
It's that time of year again. The kids are getting out of school, the weather is warm and it's time for the summer family vacation. If you haven't properly planned out your finances to cover the trip, you could find yourself accumulating additional debt. Taking your family on a vacation away from home can be expensive. You have travel expenses, lodging expenses, food and entertainment. If you plan on driving far from home, fuel costs could possibly be a big chunk of your vacation budget.
How can you make the family vacation easier on your wallet? Plan ahead and estimate how much your family trip will cost you. You can then save the funds in a special savings account. Keep this account separate from your other savings accounts and make sure the only funds you keep in this account are for your vacation. This way, you can easily tell how close you are to your target amount.
Once you decide on the when, where and how of your vacation; follow these 3 simple steps to make your vacation easy on your wallet.
1. Get the best price. Using websites like Expedia and Travelocity can help you save money by booking your flight, hotel and rental cars online thru their website. These travel sites also offer numerous package deals to help you save money.
2. Start Saving. If you haven't already saved for your vacation, you should start ASAP. If your vacation is going to cost you $3000 and you will take the vacation in 3 months, simple math tells you that you will need to save $1000 a month, if you haven't saved anything already, in order to have the funds you need to pay for your vacation in cash. If you can't afford to save $1000 a month, you may need to modify your plans to fit your budget.
3. Budget. If you've carefully planned out your vacation and have the funds saved to pay for your trip. Make sure you make and stick to a budget to be sure you don't spend more than you'd planned to spend. When you are planning how much to save, don't forget to add for unexpected expenses.
You've taken alot of time to arrange and plan your family vacation so be sure you enjoy it and make the best of the time you are spending with your family.
For those of you that have teenage children, I feel for you. It seems like they always need money for something and it's a life or death situation if they don't get it. Most teens have no clue about money and just want to spend, spend, spend. It's like money grows on trees and does not require work to get it.
I don't have kids but I do have a teenage sister. Every time she is with me and we go to the store, no matter what type store it is, there is always something she just has to have. I guess part of that is my fault. When she was younger, I would take her to the store and let her get whatever she wanted. She was just so darn cute, I couldn't say no. We are so far apart in age and when I went off to college, I missed seeing her grow up. I was her big brother and I left her. I felt guilty about that so I tried to make up for it by using money to show how much I loved her. I'm regretting that now and I'm trying to teach her to save.
She just got her first job babysitting. She gets paid about $150 a week and the job will last until she goes back to school. (BTW, she is starting high school this year). When she got her first paycheck, she wanted to go straight to the mall. I let her go all out the first time to help her get rid of the spending bug. She spent about $96 of her $150. I asked her what she planned to do with the remaining money and she had no clue. She figured she would find something else she wanted to buy and spend it on that. I knew it was time for me to step in and stop her from making a mistake that could possibly hurt the rest of her financial life.
She knew about saving money but it wasn't that big of a deal to her. We discussed it and I showed her my savings account as an example. She thought I was rich because I had $17k in my savings account. (Sidenote: Jeez, kids really have no clue about how fast that money could be gone once the bills are paid). I explained to her that came from years of saving and spending less than I earned. Yes, it is ok to splurge every now and then but don't go crazy with it. She agreed that she would take 50% of every paycheck and save it. As an incentive, I agreed to match whatever amount she'd saved at the end of the summer.
It will be interesting to see how much, if any, that I will have to match at the end of the summer.
This past week has been pretty rough. Due to the holiday this past Monday, I was pretty busy at work and worked 12+ hour days to get caught up. Posting this week has been pretty light and I sincerely apologize. I'll be pretty busy this week too but I don't plan on doing 12 hour days again.
I did participate in several carnivals this week and thank the carnivals hosts for including my posts.
I participated in the Carnival of Debt Reduction #141: Enemies of the Doctor hosted by Consumerism Commentary. My post, Paid Off a Past Financial Mistake - The Car Loan, was included and was chosen as Editor's Choice.
I participated in the Carnival of Personal Finance #154 hosted by Canadian Dream: Free at 45 included my post, Twelve Year Car Loan.
In other exciting news, Pinyo from Moolanomy has started PF Buzz to highlight the best money and finance articles. Be sure to check it out and add it to your bookmarks.
I'm back in the saddle again and I'll get back to regular posting this week. Be sure to stay tuned to SingleGuyMoney. There will be a special M-Network group project coming this week and I'll be doing another giveaway.
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