October 2008 Archives

The rising price of home heating gas and oil in an already tight economy has people scrambling to cut costs this winter. 

Most people are aware of basic home winterizing tips that will keep your house safe and airtight throughout the winter months. 

Check out this Guide To Winterizing Your Home for tips that range from having your furnace and fireplace serviced to winterizing windows and doors, to making sure your plumbing doesn't freeze.  

Beyond typical winterizing, here are some things you can do to boost your energy and money savings during the winter...

A recent conversation with my father made me finally end my constant harassment of him in insisting that he pack a truck leave his old life behind, come, and live with me.  Until now, I was convinced that he needed to be saved from himself.

You see, while he is officially retired, he is still working.  I was convinced that he needed to take it easy.  He was convinced that I was trying to put him in a wheelchair. 

My dad works to supplement his Social security and because he enjoys it.  After several decades as a Big Rig driver, he is now a security guard at a museum that is used for Gala events, and he loves the perks.

Many people choose to postpone their retirement because they want to maximize their Social Security... 

"How much do you want to pay each month?"

That is typically the first question you're asked when approached by the car salesman or car financing officer on the lot. 

Keep in mind that this question has nothing to do with how many years you will be making the monthly payment on the car, or how much the car even costs. 

Many first-time car buyers fall for this trick... once. But after this hard-learned lesson, they pay close attention to the price next time they buy a car. 
 
Even more experienced car buyers can be caught in car salesman tricks of the trade. Here's what to watch for...

Ben, a blogger at Money Smart Life asks “Who’s in your personal finance support group?” 

I have to admit that until I ran across this headline, I had never considered using a support group to help me meet my financial goals.

Apparently, a number of personal finance blog writers have banded together to support and encourage each other into financial health and beyond. 

If you're not a personal finance blog writer with a circle of friends that includes personal finance blog writers, you can always rely on other people in your life.  For example, Ben also added, “I had my own personal network of friends, family, and co-workers that I discussed money topics with offline long before I started writing about personal finance.”
 
Personally, I have always thought of money as a very personal thing.  I was taught that it was rude to discuss salary and finances in finite terms.  Sure, you could talk about cutting costs, and buying insurance, and saving for the future, but to discuss your own personal issues in detail or to share your financial woes with others was not something you should do. As you can tell, I have gotten over these taboos. 

When paying off your bills, you have 3 basic options: 

You can pay off your bill in full.

You can arrange a payment agreement and pay off your bill over time.

You can request a reduced payoff amount. 

In an attempt to get past-due customers to pay their bills off quicker, a debt collector will allow the debtor to pay a lesser amount -- which may be as low as 50% of the original bill balance.  They generally request a lump sum payment, but they may also allow the bill to be split into 3 or 4 payments. 

Here's how to pay off your bills and boost your credit score at the same time... there is a little-known way to do this.

Financial guru Suze Orman says don’t buy all that Halloween stuff!
 
She was recently on the Today Show and she told a story about running into a woman at a department store.  The woman was very excited to see her and proceeded to explain to her son who she was.  Suzie looked into the woman’s cart and saw all kinds of Halloween stuff and candies.  Suzie looked at the woman’s son and asked, “Can your mother afford all of these things?”  The son answered “no”.  All of the items went back on the shelf. 
 
I had an argument with my 12-year-old daughter on the same subject recently.  We were buying groceries and she began to put Halloween candy in my shopping cart.  I started putting it back.  I told her that if I had extra money for Halloween candy then I would buy some at that time.  Until then, it was the last thing on my mind.  In her argument, she implied that it was my duty to supply Halloween candy to the neighborhood kids and she implied that I should go as far as to try to give out the best candy.  I doubt that will happen.

Halloween is probably the most popular holiday on the planet (in one form or another).  People love dressing up in costumes, going to parties, and getting and giving away candies.  People also spend a great deal of money on Halloween -- even if it means going into debt to purchase all of those fun things.  This is not smart. 

You can still enjoy Halloween while staying within your budget.  Here's how...