Saving
Discount Codes – Great web site!
I recently discovered a new web site that is helping me save money.
It is called www.RetailMeNot.com.
This web site has discount codes and promo numbers that allow you to save money at thousands of different e-tailers.
Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Victoria's Secret, Barnes & Noble … There are over 10,000 companies represented.
One thing I really like about this web site is it allows the users to rate the promo codes. If it did not work for you, you can communicate that to the next user so that they don't waste their time with it.
Try it out, and see if you can save some money!
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I want you to be 100% debt-free
Anyone who has read this blog knows clearly that I want you to be debt-free – including the mortgage!
Think about that for a minute … Debt-free INCLUDING the house. How much money goes out to pay debt and the house every month? For the average family it is somewhere between $1,000 and $3,000 every month! What would you do with that money if it did not have to go to service that debt?
A www.JosephSangl.com Financial Hero, David Bach, recently wrote an article on Yahoo! Finance about "How to save big on your mortgage".
In the article, David makes a fantastic statement. David writes …
I'm often asked if it makes more sense to prepay a mortgage or invest the money in stocks and bonds. Rather than ponder which asset will get you a higher return, I think the better question is which investment decision will free you financially and allow you to retire earlier.
In my 9 years of experience as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley, the clients who paid their debts off early — specifically their mortgages — retired 5 to 10 years before those who didn't.
I ran the calculations for a $150,000 30-year mortgage with 6.0% interest:
I just love the idea of all of us reading this blog being debt-free including the house!
Looking for additional Personal Finance Resources? You can obtain free tools by clicking HERE and purchase books/materials by clicking HERE.
Emergency Buffer Fund – Bulletproof Vests
I remember the days when Jenn and I had $4.13 in our emergency buffer fund. Wow! Talk about living life on the edge!
When you have $4.13 in the bank account and life throws a curveball your way, you have no room for it!
From experience, I know that $4.13 in the bank does not quite cover
- replacing a broken dryer
- fixing a broken car – power steering, brakes, tires, air-fuel mix thingy
- an emergency room trip for the child
In the Financial Freedom Class that I teach, we cover the need for an emergency buffer fund in great detail.
An example I use to prove the need for an emergency fund is the fact that police officers wear bulletproof vests.
I ask the redundant question, "Why do police officers wear a bulletproof vest?"
The class will dutifully respond, "Because in their line of work, it is possible that they might get shot at!"
To which I respond, "Then why don't they just wear the bulletproof vest on the day they are going to get shot? I mean, that vest is uncomfortable and so hot on a southern summer day!"
The class stares at me like I am completely ignorant and most deserving of the "Stupid Person of the Year" award. "Because they never know when they will be shot at!", they say.
Hummmmm. They never know when they will be shot at … SO they wear it EVERY SINGLE DAY – JUST IN CASE!
That, my friends, is the EXACT same reason you need to have an emergency buffer fund of cash! You never know when life is going to happen and require that money, but the fact is that you will need it someday. If you do not have an emergency fund when life happens, you will be highly tempted to fall into the debt trap. That, my friends, is no fun.
By the way, a church member who is a police officer was shot today. He had on his bulletproof vest. The following is a line from the news story …
… an officer was shot at least four times … Officer Fikes is being treated for two gunshot wounds to his arm … two other gunshots were stopped by the officer’s vest … (Office Fikes) was alert, oriented and in good spirits …
JUST IN CASE. Are you ready?
Looking for additional Personal Finance Resources? You can obtain free tools by clicking HERE and purchase books/materials by clicking HERE.
Saving Money
CNNMoney.com had a great article about American's savings status on April 11, 2007 titled Have Less Than $25K In Savings? Get In Line
It is sobering and backs up what I have been saying about American's spending habits! We are spending ourselves to oblivion!
Key Points
- Nearly half of all workers saving for retirement have savings that fall short of the $25,000 mark …
- Overall, 40 percent of respondents said they are not currently saving for retirement while 34 percent said they didn't have ANY retirement money saved whatsoever. A full 25 percent, meanwhile, said they had no savings at all – retirement or otherwise!
This makes me want to CRY!!! What are we thinking? That some magical fairy will show up at retirement and pay all of our bills? Are we so oblivious to this epidemic that we can't see it or have we just chosen to ignore it?
Read that key point again! Forty percent are not saving for retirement right now!!! What are they going to do? What are their plans?
Folks, this crusade is so HUGE! I need your help in reaching others! Have you spoken to your friends and family about this?
It is NOT HARD! It is NOT hocus pocus … it is FOCUS pocus! It takes about 2 hours to sit down and put together an INCOME – OUTGO = EXACTLY ZERO budget! The tools are free on www.JosephSangl.com! Just click on TOOLS at the top of the page!
Go tell your neighbors! Go tell your friends! Go tell your family! Invite them over for dinner! Show them what you are doing that has changed your entire financial future! Show them that it can be done! Show them that there is HOPE! Show them that you are there to help them!
Let's reach America and show them a better way!
Saving Money on Home Improvement
I have been updating an older house lately, and today I will share with you some ways that I have saved money.
1. Friends/Family have helped out for FREE!
- For FREE! I can't believe it! My friend, DJ, has worked over 40 hours on my house. He just keeps showing up! My mother and father showed up while I was in the pit of despair over this dad-blamed house. They stayed a WEEK and canceled a Florida trip to stay and help pull us out of the mess! I should note that my father has built homes for almost 50 years.
2. Borrowed tools!
- Call me a free-loader, but tools cost a lot of money! My friend, Will, loaned me an air compressor, hose, and air nailer. DJ loaned me a shop-vac, miter saw, and approximately 50 other tools.
3. Used 10%-off coupons at Lowe's!
- If you are moving, you can get a 10% Lowe's coupon by clicking HERE. Even if you are moving across town, you can get this discount.
4. Used 10%-off coupons at Lowe's in conjunction with manufacturer's rebates.
- I wanted to install the 30-year American Cottage Pergo flooring in on of my rooms. Pergo had a special at Lowe's from 3/4 – 4/1 that offered $0.40 off PER square foot. I used the 10%-off coupon to purchase the Pergo, and then got another $0.40 off per square foot.
5. Buy used appliances!
- They aren't brand new and they won't have a sticker on them, but you can buy an appliance SOOOOOO cheap! I have friends who were re-doing their kitchen. They are replacing their appliances and were looking to sell their old ones. I bought a stove that is a major upgrade from what we did have for WAY CHEAPER than a new stove (think 5 – 10% of the price of a new one).
- I sold a refrigerator and my old stove from my house, and I was willing to negotiate. They asked how much I wanted, and I said, "I'm asking $200, but make me an offer." They did. They left with the appliances. WIN-WIN-WIN.
6. Do the labor yourself!
- This only applies if you actually know what you were doing. The room addition that was put on the home that I purchased was not done well. The down side was that the roof leaked miserably. The up side was that it only leaked when it rained!
Do not think that just because you have a hammer and nails that you are a carpenter. This is especially true on home remodels. It is so much harder to work backwards on a house.