I’ve been reading many posts around the blogosphere about getting out of debt. There are posts on debt consolidation, debt management, debt counseling, consolidation loans, bankruptcy, and on, and on, and on…

I’ve read about working from home, getting a second job, selling off your silverware on EBay and the like. There are TONS of posts about cutting back on your spending and managing your money on a daily-basis (I’ve posted on some of these myself). There is some great debt advice out there, but an often unaddressed topic is mindset.

It’s not my intention to offend anyone when I say that there is often an underlying, unresolved emotional problem behind debt. I know, first-hand, that there are mental and emotional triggers behind bad financial decisions. I do understand that there are life-changing circumstances that can lead to terribly difficult debt problems (job-loss, death, divorce, illness, etc). Those are exceptional circumstances beyond the debt issues I am addressing today.

I’ve compiled a list of four personality traits that I believe will do far more to get you out of debt than 90% of the debt relief posts out there.  Before I begin, for the sake of clarity, I want to list the four traits that are poisonous to your progress. These traits/habits are self-defeating and need to be dropped right-quick if you plan to get your debt problems behind you. You should consider the traits below to be debt anchors:

• Laziness – I’m too tired to try, gonna’ watch the game.
• Procrastination – I’ll get to it later, not this weekend.
• Self-Pity – This is bad, nothing ever works for me.
• Acceptance – People carry debt, it’s just how it is.

By fully developing the following personality traits, you will begin to see major financial improvements in your life:

• Determination – I’m going to rid myself of debt by this time next year.
• Creativity – What resources do I have to get there?
• Persistence – This is taking longer than I thought but I’m getting there.
• Humor – When this is all over I’m going to charge a trip to the Bahamas to celebrate.

In the following days, I’ll post detailed profiles of the debt-reducing personal qualities listed above. I’d love to know your thoughts.  Stay tuned…

Dave

I wanted to pass along a tip that may already be obvious to some of you.

For whatever reason, in the past, I have rarely been able to make it through a complete loaf of bread before it becomes moldy. Surprisingly often, mold sets in on the loaf within a week?! I used to keep the loaf in its original packaging on top of the refrigerator. After wasting countless loaves of bread, I no longer go this route.

Now, I will buy-in on buy-one-get-one-free bread sales and from the start, I keep the loaves in the freezer. I have found that doing so has a few benefits. First, as I stated, I am able to take advantage of good sale prices on bread. Second, I have used the bread after freezing for over a month, and haven’t noticed any significant loss of taste quality. Third, when I use the bread to pack my kids lunch, they have noticed that their sandwiches no longer get soggy or mushy by lunchtime.

To be clear, I keep the bread in the freezer until I use it. Each time I use the bread, I take a couple slices from the loaf in the freezer and use (I do not take the whole loaf out until used). If I want to use for a sandwich that I am making to eat immediately, I simply put the slices I need in the microwave and defrost for about 1 minute. Is the bread as fresh and soft as bread brought back from the store and not frozen? Probably not, but I truly haven’t noticed a loss in taste quality (and it usually stays pretty soft). Besides, for me, the benefits far outweigh the downsides.

Take care, Dave

I was a bit surprised when I recently found out that Microsoft Money has been discontinued.  I found the program to be one of the better personal finance software packages.  Wanting to get back on track with my personal finances, I started looking for an alternative solution.

I did a bit of online research which pointed me towards Mint.com, Rudder.com, and Quicken Online (all free).  I created accounts with each of these to test them out.  Honestly, they all seemed fairly decent, but none really seemed to fit what I was looking for.  I continued my hunt until I found Yodlee.com.

Now I know why MS Money is no more.  Yodlee’s free online MoneyCenter is very slick.  Even if you love Mint or Rudder or whatever, it is worth creating an account to see what you can do with MoneyCenter.  Once you signup, be sure to use the beta version of the software.

Accounts Overview Menu

Yodlee Account List

One of the features that Microsoft Money had that I loved was the ability to forecast account balances (taking into account bills, expenses, etc.).  Yodlee’s MoneyCenter takes it a step further with a fully incorporated calendar that plots out income and expenses for any given day past, present and future.  They definately got it right.

The Yodlee Financial Calendar

Yodlee Projected Balances

There are tons of really cool features MoneyCenter, but the best of all is that you can automatically link just about any financial account you can image for automatic updates.  For instance, all my banking, 401k, and brokerage accounts are linked to MoneyCenter.  Additionally, I was able to link my utility accounts (Comcast, TMobile, etc.), mortgage, 529 plan, home value tracking (via Zillow).  The odd-ball accounts like my home owner’s association still had to be manually added, but this is to be expected.

Below are some screenshots from Yodlee’s MoneyCenter.  You really must check it out if you use personal finance software – especially if you are paying to use it.  I can’t believe this is free – life is good!

Yodlee Transactions Menu

Yodlee Bills Reminders

Yodlee Spending Reports Menu

Yodlee Manage Accounts Menu

**Please note that I did modify the pictures a little – added some focal points and removed any personal information.

Take care, Dave

In attempts to save as much money as possible on household expenses, I had decided to use my cellphone exclusively and drop my land line service.  I had used Vonage in the past, but didn’t want that recurring payment either.  In the first two weeks, I ran into a couple of problems with this strategy.

The first issue I encountered was poor signal reception – no bars, low bars, and dropped or missed calls. There were areas within my house that I dared not take my cellphone; these areas I came to call “signal-slayers.” The second problem was that I truly did not feel comfortable that my young children did not have a way to dial 911 should I drop dead in the backyard (or if some other emergency occurred). It was at this point that I determined that I had to have a backup home phone.

These are the requirements that I had for the new backup home phone service:

• The actual phone had to be a standard telephone (not a soft-phone or pc-based phone) that my children could easily operate.
• I did not want to have my computer on 24/7 in order to utilize the phone service.
• The phone service had to offer 911 (or E911 at the very least).
• The service had to be VERY affordable (the cheaper the better).

Based on these requirements, I investigated the following options…

VOIP Services like Vonage

Having used Vonage in the past, I felt the service worked well.  Though this service is cheaper than most standard phone lines, it still included taxes and fees that I found annoying.  I received a discount for paying annually, but I was still paying about $220 per year, and I wanted to pay less than that.  Vonage VOIP was not the right answer for me.

Other VOIP like Skype

Skype is more affordable no doubt, even with the $60 annual fee to have a dedicated phone number.  The problem, for me, was that the service would require my pc to be on at all times in order to make / receive calls (or a WIFI phone can be used, but that seemed too pricey for me).

Basic, Traditional Land-Line Service

I contacted ATT and the cheapest option they would offer me was $12/month + $7 tax ($19/month or $228/year for local service only – no long distance or local toll service included).  This option was clearly too expensive for the very limited service provided (and I hate paying all those bs taxes).

The Solution…

After reviewing my options, none really seemed to fit what I wanted.  I continued my search…  Eventually, I found a VOIP service called “Ooma.”  I had never heard of the service prior to stumbling upon they’re website.  Ooma has a business model that sets it apart from all the other VOIP services I found out there.  With Ooma, you pay only for the equipment; the service is free.

The one-time, upfront expense averages about $240.  This cost was comparable to all the other options that I had reviewed with one distinct difference – I never had to pay another dime for the service.  There are no monthly fees or access charges at all going forward.

I will continue in the near future with a review of the service after using it for a month.  I will also provide some information about Ooma’s features at that time.  Please check back soon!

Ooma Phone System

Save money at home! Here is an introductory list of savings opportunities in and around your home. Check back soon as each of these topics will be the subject of an in-depth future post. Enjoy!

Cellular Phone Savings
Reduce your plan level and rethink your need to have internet, text, and other expensive features. I have found the most economical plans and good service using TMobile.

Clothing Savings
Buy clothing off-season, on sale, or clearance. Look for coupons before shopping. Try to buy clothing that can be mixed and matched into multiple outfit combination. Look for the quality in the material and craftsmanship – do not buy on brand name alone. Wash and dry your clothing as directed.

Commuting Savings
Do one of the following: carpool, ride your bicycle to work, drive slower, inflate your tires properly, take the city bus, take the train, ask your boss if you can work from home, etc.

Electricity Savings
There are tons of opportunities here… Some of these include switching to CFL and/or LED light bulbs, only washing dishes when the washer is full, planting a tree to block sunlight and hear in the summer, turning up the thermostat a few degrees in the summer, using the sleep or power-save mode on your computer and monitor, turning off lights when not in use, use a Smart Power Strip, using high-efficiency appliances, and many more…

Exercise Savings
Cancel that gym membership that you never use but haven’t gotten around to canceling – yeah, the one you picked up January 2nd last year? Go jogging, hiking, ride your bike (see commuting), do push ups, get dumbbells. Many people are far more likely to work out in the comfort of their own home. It is often very difficult to get to the gym after a long, hard day at work.

Food Savings
Dine out less or not at all – pack your lunch and take it with you to work (leftover’s are perfect for this). Buy store brands. Buy in bulk when non-perishable foods are deeply discounted. Don’t buy “serving size” prepacked foods (including fruit, etc.). Don’t buy pre-cut fruits and vegetables. Look into discount food clubs and local markets.

Home Improvement Savings
There are many great, free online resources to learn what it takes to complete home maintenance and improvement projects. You really would be surprised at how many of these mystical, scary-sounding repairs can be done by yourself – the feeble, yet back-strong home owner.

Insurance Savings
Raise your deductible if it makes sense (especially if you are still driving that clunker). When possible, lower your coverage amounts. Buy term life insurance instead of universal or whole life insurance plans. Compare rates across multiple insurance providers.

Internet Savings
Find the lowest cost option available for your needs. Compare the pricing and speeds of DSL, cable modem, satellite, and dial up. Look for or ask for introductory offers to switch or start service providers.

Natural Gas Savings
Make sure you have a programmable thermostat and be sure to adjust the temperature to account for the hours you are not at home. Lower the thermostat and wear layers or a sweater when at home during winter. Be sure to weather seal drafty windows, doors, and electrical outlets. Use your microwave instead of the stove or oven to cook vegetables.

Telephone (land-line) Savings
Sever the land line already… They’ve been gauging you for years anyway. Swich to a free or low-cost VOIP (Voice Over IP) provider. There are many options out there including Skype and Vonage. Another option is to use your cellular phone only.  Check out Ooma for really big savings potential!

Trash Removal Savings
Recycle every possible item you can – it is usually free to recycle. Try to find alternative uses for items that would normally end up in your trash (re-use). Compost your lawn clippings and leaves rather than paying for the yard bags and trash stickers or fees..

TV / Cable / Satellite Savings
If you can deal with it, get rid of cable or satellite TV altogether – remember that antenna thing on the roof or in the attic? Watch your favorite shows online. Find plans to make your own DVR. Check out movies at your library. At the very least, fine-tune your programming to the essentials you require. Read and / or play games with your kids – too much TV will make your head turn to mush anyway.

Water & Sewer Savings
With many toilets, you can add a 1-liter bottle to the back tank to reduce the water fill (and flush) volume. Check for, and repair any leaks you may have. Use a rain barrel to collect rain water for watering plants. Plant drought-tolerant vegetation. Sewer / drain collection fees are the real expense here – if you do a substantial amount of watering in the yard or have an irrigation system, you may want to ask your city or municipality if you can have a separate watering meter (sometimes called a “deduct meter”) added. This will deduct the sewer collection fees for any water used for irrigation purposes.

Yard & Landscaping Savings
Mow your own lawn, shovel your own snow, lay your own mulch, trim your own trees and bushes, fertilize… Rent any equipment you deem necessary to complete a project from a local home improvement center. It’s great exercise…

The personal budget… ‘Tis a thing of wondrous beauty or the sordid tale of despair. There are two personal qualities necessary to budget successfully.

How do I succeed? Discipline

Above all, the key to a personal budget that works is discipline (I can’t write or say that word anymore without thinking of the Arnold Schwarzenegger prank calls – hilarious). A personal budget is not something you prepare, review, and go back to from time to time. You must integrate your budget into your daily life. For it to truly be beneficial to you, you need to actively (every day or close to) review, measure, and adjust your finances based on your budget. You should designate a 15 minute daily window in your schedule solely for the purpose of tracking your spending against your budget. It really doesn’t have to be drudgery though. Tracking your progress can be quite fulfilling. When you see that you are on track, controlling your spending based on your budget goals, you get a concrete view of success.

Where does the money go? Choices

It is so simple these days to lose track of our spending. Spending is often looked at as the root of all evil in the context of a budget. In fact, spending is not the problem. Real problems are caused by choices. If you have the resources to spend $200 at Starbucks each month, super! But, if you are spending that kind of money on coffee each month and coming up short on your groceries, insurance policies, credit card bills, clearly, you have a problem making proper choices. Therefore, it is imperative to your budgeting success that you make proper choices. Choose to live within your means. Choose to simplify your finances. Choose to attain the financial goals you have set for yourself.

The combination of persistent discipline and proper choice making, will almost certainly guarantee you financial success.

In the next week I will post more information on creating a personal budget using a budget planner or budget software. These are only tools to assist you maintaining you budget and tracking your spending. Home budget software will not do the work for you. I have not heard of any personal finance software that will take care of it all for you. Only you have what is necessary to succeed.

Many people procrastinate when it comes to estate planning or altogether ignore the fact that they will someday (hopefully far, far off in the future) die. I know you are probably very, very busy and do not have the time in your hectic schedule to work dying in, but it is something you will inevitably do someday. That being said, get organized so those you leave behind will not see you for the disorganized schlep that you are (no offense, really).

In a recent post, I discussed some basic steps to organize your personal information in the event you meet your too early demise. I indicated that I used an application that made the organization of my personal information very simple. That application is called eWallet, developed by Ilium Software (no I don’t work for them or get anything from them). In this post, I will walk you through how I used eWallet to organize my personal information (and ultimately make things much easier for those I will someday leave behind).

If my wallet contained this much stuff, I’d need a pile of napkins in my opposing pocket to sit comfortably (see George Costanza in this Seinfeld episode). Though I disagree with the name of the application, I love the way it works. With this application you can very easily organize a vast array of personal information. It’s more like an safe deposit box than a wallet.

These are the key reasons I used this program for organizing my personal, sensitive information:

1. Simplicity – Very easy to use…
2. Affordable – Less than $30
3. Adaptability – I was able to include images and files in my entries
4. Security – Due to the sensitive personal information it would hold

With this application, you can clearly and easily organize your information in a simple, structured hierarchy.

You can create as many categories and sub-categories as you would ever need. Below is a screen-shot of how I setup eWallet to store my personal information (minus some sensitive info – you can click on the images to enlarge)…

This is what a detailed entry looks like (below)…

Another key feature of the application that I found necessary, was the ability to store copies of important documents and images. This program can do that as well. In the image below, I attached a copy of my life insurance policy (not that anyone will need that information anytime soon I hope)…

Since you already know what information you should organize, now you know where to put it.

Please let me know if you have found another application that works better for you…

“As soon as you’re born you start dying… So you might as well have a good time.” Cake – Sheep Go To Heaven

It’s clear that it is an unavoidable, certain fact that we all die. I used to fear dying outright, but as I’ve grown older and now have a couple of children, that fear has changed. It’s a more practical fear now. Don’t get me wrong, the fear of dying is still there, though it’s not so much a fear of dying itself. These days I find myself being more afraid of leaving my young children behind. Am I prepared to die? Heavy.

Today I’ll discuss a few key points to consider regarding some simple preperations for the inevitable big sleep. When done right, you can help to ease a difficult time for your loved ones. When done wrong or not at all, your loved ones may wish to raise you from the dead so they can kill you. After all, there are some loose ends that will need to be addressed after you pass into the unknown. Some basic organization and planning can make things a whole lot easier for those you leave behind.

The following are three key points to address prior to meeting your demise:

1. Life Insurance – Be sure you have life insurance (and the necessary amount of coverage). There is ample information available out there regarding policy types and coverage. Don’t forget to take into consideration your loved one’s current and planned future residential requirements, college, expenses, etc.
2. Legal – Have a current and up to date Last Will and Testament that clearly outlines your wishes. Setup a Power of Attorney and any Trusts as necessary. Speak to a lawyer (I know – yuck). Many of these services are covered under employer-sponsored legal service plans (check your benefits and availability – you could save a lot of money doing this). Don’t forget to research if you need a living will. It is almost always a good idea to have a living will.
3. Organize – If you have all your information together, your loved-ones will just rave about how easy you made things for them (not that you’ll really care I guess). Really, look at your pile of bills and that messy file cabinet… If you have stuff scattered all over and it’s hard for you to find, what do you think it will be like for your loved ones when they are already grief-stricken? If you must work with paper, prepare a binder of all important documents including copies of:

• Your Last Will and Testament, Living Will, and other legal documents
• Loan information
• List of credititors with all contact information (credit cards, home loans, auto loans, etc.)
• List of household utility bills and contact information
• List of important contacts (lawyer, doctor, accountant, etc.)
• Banking and investments information (checking, savings, 401k, etc.)
• Key medical information (you and your children)
• Social Security cards (you and children)
• Birth Certificates (you and children)
• Family health insurance
• Letters for loved ones
• Passwords and account information (ATM pins, internet accounts, email, etc.)
• Any special instructions you might have (where to find your stack of dirty magazines to get rid of)

Seal the information in a large envelope and give it to a trusted friend or loved one. I gave my copies to my brother who is also the Executor of my Last Will and Testament. It may also be best to keep a copy of everything in a safe deposit box.

**NOTE** I have organized all of these and more electronically using a simple program. All of the information with electronic copies of the documents is clearly organized and placed on a $10 flash drive. I will discuss this program and how I used it in a post in the next week…

I have to admit that I procrastinated for quite some time prior to doing this. It was always there in the back of my mind, nagging away. I knew I needed to do this. Realistically, it didn’t take very much to do get this all done. For me, less that $250 and less than a month to do it all (and definately not working the whole time). There is a peace of mind that came with doing all this… I no longer have that nagging feeling and I have some comfort in knowing my kids will be cared for.

Death is something the vast majority of us hope to avoid for a long, long time. It took me a couple of bad car accidents before I really became determined to get this stuff done. You owe it to your loved ones to put them in the best possible position after you depart. It doesn’t take much work to get this together – get it done.

Click here for Part II – Where to Organize Your Personal Information

Does age six sound too young to begin paying a child allowance? I don’t think so. Short of sounding like that annoying, my-kid-is-the-best parent, I know my kiddo is ready. How do I know? These are the factors I used to evaluate my daughter’s readiness to receive an allowance:

$ She brings home money-related worksheets from school (counting coins, etc).

$ She has a base knowledge of simple addition and subtraction.

$ She too often leaves out must-have toys that regularly meet their demise at the paws of two all-too-eager domestic tabby cats.

$ She regularly expresses an interest in buying or paying for things herself.

$ She way too regularly expresses an interest in me buying or paying for things for her.

• $2 per week base allowance
• Potential to receive an additional $4 per week upon successful completion of required responsibilities
• Will receive one warning or reminder to improve her behavior or to complete her required duties. There will be no second warnings – a red card will be issued. (What is a ‘red card’ you ask? It is a card colored red – that’s it – no mystery there.)
• If three red cards are issued in any one week, the $4 portion of the allowance is forfeited. (She does still get the $2… She’s got to have something to work with if she’s going to learn anything, right?) ***NOTE: I was going to include a red card appeals process in the contract. This would allow my daughter to have her arguement heard by an external third-party individual. I felt a safeguard should be put in place in the event we ever became too power-hungry and unjustifiably dispersed red cards. My ex-spouse thought this process was unnecessary and a bit excessive – perhaps.