Money Archives - Page 2 of 3

Creative Ways to Save Dollars

Money is a difficult tool to understand or grasp the gist behind how to manage it. No literally people cannot find a way to keep it in their possession for long. This will not be my usual post and rather it will be inspiring and motivating write up for the readers who want more out of life. Do you want to be the same person you were 5 years ago, specifically in the same spot financially?

Well if you’re up to the challenge follow the creative ways to save dollars listed below. We all have goals and if you publicly admit you don’t have any, shame on you. Let’s get back on track with the positive thoughts we all prefer to read about.

Imagine 5 years in the future and you accumulated $20 grand because you followed the steps below. Wow what a fantastic “brand new” person will stare back at you in the mirror at the reflection of somebody financially relevant. Yes you were always important, but if you had $20 grand in your savings account that you never had before in your entire life, wouldn’t that make you feel more secure and proud to achieve a mega money goal. Now let’s get into the best creative ways we all can use to save some greenbacks.

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Break Down Expenses by Hours Worked

This is a fun financial management exercise I thought of it the other day in the good ol 9-5 job. What if everything you bought, saved, or spent was tracked by you and broken down by the hours you worked.

The exercise is done to show you how to gauge if what your spending is worth it on a per hour per paycheck basis. Every financial payment should be calculated by dividing the monthly sum by 160 hours because most employees are paid biweekly, and expenses are paid monthly.

Obviously doing it this way will yield you the results on how each expense or savings transaction ends up divided by the 160 hours. If you make 50 per hour net and your total expenses add up to 40 per hour, then you have effectively learned how to maintain a surplus of 10 dollars. See below for the example of sometimes spendthrift and sometimes frugal Joe Blow who has debt and makes about 55K per year.

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Money Talk

What if we all talked more about money on a daily basis? Is it truly that awful to discuss money or is it another underlining reason people shy away from it. I can clearly say I don’t know the answer, but it is a way of life here in the U.S. to avoid awkward money talks especially around people’s personal monetary status.

Well I want to provide you with some simple, easy to discuss money talk topics and I hope you can get some value out of it. The topics today will all be random little tidbits to get you to talk more about finances.

Imagine a world where a husband and wife could sit down weekly to talk freely about money and not have fun arguments.

How about if the basics behind money management is implemented into the US school system as mandatory curriculum for all kids before graduating High School. Imagine the impact this could have on future generations. It could possibly bring about the collapse of pay day lenders, and other predatory loan facilities.

Let’s dream for a second if 2 times a year families with older kids sat down at the dinner table to devise a plan to increase income and or investing for the entire family.

Think of big picture planning like the Johnson & Johnson family does as televised in the film “The 1 Percent”. They are forced to sit down to discuss strategies by the financial advisors, and the heads of the Johnson family trust. Why can’t we all have our own meetings on a small scale?

If you feel overwhelmed to discuss things, just find someone to help you smooth out any anxiety or issues you may have around money and that is not trying to sell you something. Believe me they exist and they will teach you first and foremost just like a good mentor.

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The Recession Aftermath

All the media channels talk about the great recession on a daily basis, when they try to explain the current state of the economy. Should we cut or raise rates is being beaten with a stick by all the economists. I’ve heard Janet Yellens name at least a million times since she took the Chair of The Federal Reserve Bank. Now I want to talk about how the recession aftermath is still lingering and the economy is not as rosy as it may seem. Do you know that the labor market is still not doing particularly well, and many employers are padding their numbers in tactical ways? The housing market is better and people are supposedly buying again. Every time I hear the numbers I question what percentage of those new housing purchases are rich investors? In any event the recession has not fully gone away and I want all of you to get ready for a possible inflationary period to hit your wallet.

The recession aftermath is influencing major changes to corporate America, where blue chip companies are buying each other with reserve cash flow. The M& A markets are on fire in the past 2 years, and it is primarily due to all the extra cash these companies have on the side line just sitting on the bench. These companies are buying revenue instead of trying to grow revenue. What does that really mean for the average person? When a big company merges with another big company the first thing to happen is a reduction in jobs. They are eliminating more jobs without offshoring them, and nobody seems to bat an eye. To explain further, just recently Microsoft revealed it will reduce its workforce by 12K jobs, due to the merger they had with Nokia. On the drive in to work Fox Media placed a buy bid for Time Warner for 85 Billion dollars and a few seats on the board of Fox. What is the first thing they will do if this purchase gets approved? How many people can we skin? They call a reduction in jobs a corporate synergy to mask the real threat to America’s citizens. If the government keeps allowing these mergers and acquisitions to take place it will systematically reduce available labor positions by millions. When big companies get even bigger, they reduce operating costs, raise prices to justify the purchase of the smaller company, and monopolize the markets.

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Can People Avoid Disrespecting Money

Hey it’s that time again to discuss all the great and fun things about money. For starters never love or obsess about money, but love the freedom and usability money can bring. How can people avoid disrespecting money? Well it’s quite simple and it is basic personal finance mumbo jumbo we have all heard in the past.

I will dig into this topic and reveal all the ways regular folks are disrespecting money everyday. Do you want the best use of in-flow and out-flow for all your income? Well if the answer is yes then you can continue reading because I will instill a few nuggets of wisdom in this blog for all of you. Disrespecting money can happen in many fashions and it is up to you to put a halt to it once and for all. This is not a post about the irresponsible football player who goes bankrupt or about someone making over 200K and still living paycheck to paycheck. It is about simple ways anyone can stop disrespecting money and begin using it for the tool that it really is.

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The Last Hundred Dollars

A new series is born today, with the premise that now I will let you in to see the last things that I spent a hundred dollars on. Imagine if you only had a hundred dollars to your name, what would you spend it on? The last hundred is a way to lighten up the financial blogosphere with something unique.

Yeah I could give you a bunch of boring spreadsheets showing my monthly net worth, but that’s been done a thousand times over. Also part of me is still hesitant to fully reveal my financial numbers in all its lowly glory. What will this accomplish, maybe nothing. But it sure is exciting to see what people spend money on, don’t you think?

The summer is now here and I am excited to have fun in the sun. See below for all the spending based off the last hundred dollars.

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Why People Spend Out of Control

We all like to judge the football players who make a ton of money but then go bankrupt within 5 years after playing football. How about the lottery winners who go insane and crazy, buying all sorts of stuff to please their deprived hearts. But what is the root problem behind their personal finance choices? Why are they and the average person so bad managing money? Well I have a theory aka as I witnessed a few while experiencing some and now I can talk about why people spend out of control.

STOP SPENDING SO MUCH MONEY!

I have gotten a few windfalls in my lifetime, which includes bonus dollars from past employers and a small work related settlement. Now the amount I received is nowhere near the millions of dollars I hear athletes make, but for argument sake it’s all relative. My spending level broken down by a percentage might be equal to theirs, give or take a few zeros at the end of the big fat check.

Why people spend out of control? See below for the 6 reasons I found plague most people with spending excessively. (Be open to reading the facts affecting most people because it can hopefully help folks with money, many people will shy away and only publish happy go lucky posts. I feel differently on this matter and I know this is real truthful writing that can change behaviors.)

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The Truth behind Multi-Level Marketing

Hey guys I wanted to discuss some things with you today about multi-level marketing. The truth behind multi-level marketing is primarily a sales driven opportunity, so if you do not have the gift of the gab success in this business model will be difficult. I have witnessed this type of business since the late 80’s because my mother was a Mary Kay Representative. I saw her do meetings in our home; I noticed a ton of product that she purchased to sell to others. She reached a small level of success within Mary Kay, and it was a great step for her growth process. After a few years her desire started to dwindle, and she was left with the entire inventory of unsold product. Due to inexperience with accounting and a lack of recordkeeping my mother never really knew if her revenue exceeded her expenses. Mary Kay is still around today and their competitor as well the popular company called Avon. Now the new MLM trend to hit the U.S. is Utility companies looking to take a grapple hold on this business model.

I once ventured into MLM through a company called Mona Vie; they sell juice as a business model. I began my journey in this business for $300 dollars upfront costs for an entry level distributor. A family member introduced me to this fabulous experience. They also sell a monthly juice plan that ranges from 1 to an unlimited amount of bottles billed per month. I failed at this business because I never wanted to be a seller and I never will. My family member and everyone involved that I knew personally through the business also did not succeed with this company. I guess I do not like the awkward situations that selling places people in on both sides of the equation. The morale of the story is the people who benefitted from Mona Vie is and will always be the high level executives at the top of the food chain.

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