Friday...it is the weekend

Most of us spend wayyyy (yes that much way) too much money on the weekends. I know so many people who can go to the bar before the game, or to the bar a night and spend $100+. Are you kidding me? That money is wasted. Sure getting wasted is sure fun but is it worth paying the premium of drinking at a bar. I personally prefer having people over and saving the money.

Alcohol is a funny thing...you only rent it. You pay for it to enter your body, and then you release it. It is empty calories, costs plenty of money, and isn't a good way to Dent Your Debt. Limit yourself and you can easily loosen the belt on your budget.

2nd Job cont...

So I'm now officially in the 2nd job boat. I always said I'd only do it if I have to, but I don't this day and age. I have all of my student loans paid off, no credit card debt, and really just my wife's student loans.

This 2nd job has been a great opportunity to help fund our new house projects without dipping into any of our savings and funds. It isn't all that much but it definitely helps. I work 10 hours a week extra which doesn't sound like much but it does add up.

Do you have a 2nd job? Are you looking for one? Just don't burn yourself out if you do make that choice.

Oh goodness!

It has been a long time since I posted and I apologize. I'm ready to make a better commitment to my blog.

Updates:

I've since moved on relationship wise, looked out into the world and found my now very loving wife. She is amazing. Here goes -- she is on the plan...not my plan, not her plan but our plan. We both set goals to figure out what is most important. Remember this friends...it isn't a single plan for a person but a plan for a family (when you are married). Remember that if you break part of the plan you aren't just breaking your own but you are also hurting your partner's plan too.

Anyway! We bought our first house that is a fixer upper. We have lots of work to do which isn't a big deal. I like the challenge! That has been taking our extra money and eating it up fast. I don't have a problem with that as we expected it. The upstairs is almost done for now and we've since started on the basement.

Now that we are all caught up -- I'll be posting more details, thoughts, and ideas!

Invest smart, wise, and for the long haul. Quick bucks may seem nice but the risk is generally higher. If you are in the same boat as me -- risks can cost you your budget for the month/year.

Credit Card Debt -- 5 Ways to help pay off Credit Card Debt

So you have all this Credit Card debt piled up and you are tired of making minimum payments.  Well now it is time to fix that.  Here are some ideas to help make it easier.

1.  Call your credit card companies to and see if you can get your interest rate lowered.  Every little bit helps here.  If you have been making minimums for a long time, this may not work out for you.  If you get denied, try making a few good payments and give it another shot.  I have seen people get rates dropped by as much as 12%, and I often see them drop between 2-5%.  

2.  Remember your debt snowball!

3.  If you are nearing bankruptcy and you owe a lot of money.  Give them a call before going to any of those debt consolidation services.  A lot of times they do more harm than good.  This is normally easiest if you have missed consecutive payments on several credit cards.  NEVER purposely miss these payments as they will hurt you in the long run, you are cheating yourself here.  You can call to see if they will settle.  Make a plan and present it to them.  You have to be honest here and you have to follow through with it.  A lot of companies will settle with you at a lowered cost because if you were to file bankruptcy, they will lose out on all that money.  Anyway make your plan, tell them how much you make, all your bills, and how you plan to pay it off (and how much your monthly payments are).  If you can do this properly you may save yourself a lot of money -- Good Luck!

4.  I hate this option but sometimes you have to do it.  Look for a card with a lower interest rate that will allow you to do balance transfers.  This is especially helpful if you have a high rate (high risk can be 30%+!).  Transfer the money and pay it off fast, take advantage of the low rate.  Beware though, don't turn into a card jumper as it may hurt your credit score too much.

5.  Swallow your pride and pay pay pay!  Give up going to the bar, smoke less (or help your health and quit), going out to eat, and live off of beans and rice for awhile.  Make minimums on all your cards except your lowest 1, concentrate on that card and finish it off.  Carry over the money to the next card and do the same.  Make a little ceremony for when you finish off a credit card.  Burn it, cut it up, do whatever you want to it and enjoy it.  That is one less worry you will have.

Be smart, take care of the debt, and DO NOT USE THE CARDS AGAIN!  Cash is king my friends... Cash is King

The Financial Diet

So you made the first few steps to setup a budget and to live by it.  This is exactly like a diet to trim a few pounds.  You have to do everything in moderation whether it will be spending or saving.  You just can't quit cheeseburgers and expect not to splurge.  So I recommend taking it easy and not going all out so you get burned out and max out your credit cards.  Set aside some spending money each month so you can still go out and enjoy yourself or buy a few things you want.  This will help keep you from spending more than you needed to.  Read back and maybe think about using the envelope method to help keep this under control.  Spending cash is easier to manage than swiping a card even if it is a debit card.

Second Job pt 3

Stress
60% of Americans are not satisfied with their job. Now if you already do not like your job, and you get a new part time job. Make sure you will like it. You are already dreading the 40 hours at job one who wants another 20-30 hours at the other. It may be okay for awhile but give it time, it will burn you out. This will not only cause your relationship at home to suffer but you will find yourself less productive. I have seen bad things come from this including increased drinking and in rare cases drug use. So if you feel that it will be too much of a burden to get that second job, please rethink it and make sure it is RIGHT FOR YOU! If you don't feel like you can do the job for at least 3 months keep looking until you find the right one. You should be able to modify your spending to help the days pass while you search for the job. You can also try doing odd jobs to increase your cash flow while you are searching.

Emergency Fund

We all have heard it... get an emergency fund... but how much?

If you are paying off debt still and you are riding your debt snowball downhill I recommend a minimum of $1,000.  This will normally cover any sort of emergency, or at least a good portion of it.  It should cover most car repairs, furnace repairs, house etc.  That is just a minimum recommendation though.  I highly recommend enough to cover most of your deductibles (health, auto, and any other type of insurance) with a little extra to spare.  

My emergency fund has saved me several times.  My car battery died at the end of the month where I had already used up my extra spending cash to buy some Christmas presents.  I transferred the money to my main account and went straight to the store to buy a new battery.  The same thing happened 1 month later when Brittany needed tires.  The emergency fund should only be used for emergencies.  Never use it to pay for vacations, buy toys,  or anything that you could live without.  Remember you need to make sure you have a house, food, transportation, and clothes before anything else.  Make your priorities.

When you are done riding the debt snowball and all you have left is your mortgage or no debt well then it is time to really save.  I recommend having at least 4 months worth of expenses saved up minimum.  4-6 months is best.  Most will say 3 but I like to play it safe.  Especially with the way the economy is.  You never know how long it will take to get a new job.

Build it, enjoy it, and wipe away that stress of wondering "what if?"