All Aboard…!

Mar 16 2006

Posted by NCN in Family |

Waaaaay back in April of 2005, right before I started this blog, an event occurred which changed my financial life. My wife and I sat down and created a budget. Yes, we sat down, worked together, and formulated our spending plan. This single meeting lead to much of our “personal finance” success. We were, and are, on the same page. Here are five keys to our success:

1. Create goals
2. Be positive
3. Discuss the facts
4. Learn to adjust
5. Be realistic

I am clearly the “nerd” in our family, so my role is to create the overall budget plan. I print out a monthly calendar, list the bills that I know are going to be due, and note any debt or savings goals. My wife and I then sit down and talk about our monthly expenses, bills, plans, etc. We both get our cash envelopes for the month (or week). My wife if VERY good at remembering details, so she fills in the gaps where I forget. I was amazed at the changes in our spending habits after we had our first real budget talk. My wife is amazing! While she likes nice things, especially for our kids, she LOVES to end her week with cash remaining in her envelopes.

Quick note: I try not to be a psycho about things… If you are the “saver”, you have to give the “spender” some breathing room. If you are the “spender”, you have to help the “saver” enjoy life a little. That’s why we get married. Balance, balance, balance.

Filed under: Family
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Pictures Worth About 10 Cents

Mar 15 2006

Posted by NCN in Family |

I always like blogs where I get to see a glimpse of someone’s “real” life. I thought that I would do a quick picture-essay of a little project I like to call: “Cleaning Off The Kitchen Counter”. The home that we live in has this little set of cabinets that are away from the sink and the stove. The counter top above those cabinets is a magnet for junk and clutter. The time has come to clean it up! Follow me:

Here’s how the Kitchen Counter looked before I got started. (Actually, I started, then realized I wanted to do this project, so I just put everything back on the kitchen counter and “re-started”. I needed a “before” pic, so here is the best I could do…)

Let’s see: Bible, magazines, Hello Kitty Water-Cooler, chapstick, and file system. Everything I need to survive is on this Counter-Top. Oh yeah, there’s my Weight Watchers’ folder, back there in the right-hand corner. (The wonder why so few men go… Could it be that they give you your material in a purse?)
Digital camera, check. Bills, check. Is that a padlock? You bet. What a mess! On to the second picture…

The next picture shows all of the junk, spread-out on our Kitchen Table. When I organize, I like to take all of my junk and sort through it, piece by piece, so I will know exactly what I can throw away and what I can keep.

Hmmm… Bananas, Yum! I found some things that I had forgotten about. Batteries, and air-freshener for my car, and our calendar for last month. Plus, 5 or 6 magazines that I need to read. Clutter: I hate it!

This is the throw-away junk that I found in my clutter. Some old newspapers, some junk-mail, old magazines, credit card offers, etc. Oh yeah, I never shred anything. I just rip it up and toss it. I’m a rebel. I live on the EDGE!

I have sorted and organized by paid-bills. They are in the file-folder system. Behind the file-folder system is my envelope-system. It holds my cash-envelopes and my coupons. See that money on the table? It goes in the envelopes, along with my receipts for the month.

This is all of the stuff that I have to find room for in our home. Some of it will go back on the Kitchen Counter for easy access, some of it will go to our home office (aka, my laundry room-podcast zone…), and some of it will go into our kitchen “junk”-drawer.
I know that this looks like a lot of stuff, but I was able to trash roughly 50 percent of the clutter that was on my Kitchen Counter.

Lunesta: God’s greatest gift, EVER! Trust me.

Ahh, nice and organized. Phone, Cell Phone, Keys,
Envelope System, File-Folder System, chapstick (3 tubes!), baby lotion, and the all-important Hello Kitty Water-Cooler. I love the way an organized space “feels”. My bills are all in order, my envelopes are nice and neat, and I can actually find my Weight Watchers folder. Cool. I hope you enjoyed this journey through my everyday life.

Yes, I really am this boring, all the time! I rock!

DORK!

PS: If you are some kind of Jack Baeur, Chuck Norris, James Bond Super-Spy, please don’t “enhance” these photos and steal my identity… Would you really want to fight a guy who gets his water from Hello Kitty. Think twice, punk.

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A Desperate Cry For Help… Or, Just A Simple Question

Mar 14 2006

Posted by NCN in Off Topic |

I’d like some reader feedback, please.
I am thinking about opening a new checking account and I’d like your help in finding the very best one out there. Here are the features that I am looking for:

Free Online Banking and Bill Pay
Free In-and-out money Transfers
Interest-bearing
Rebates for ATM Expenses
Low Minimum For Avoiding Fees

Extras but not necessary: Sign-up bonus, free starter checks.

I do not want a money market checking account, but an interest-bearing checking account. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance…

Please use the comments button to leave feedback…

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Spring Cleaning Time

Mar 13 2006

Posted by NCN in Money Management |

It was 87 degrees in my backyard today. Eighty-Seven Degrees. You gotta love SPRING TIME! Just around the corner… Baseball, golf, yard-work… And Spring Cleaning!

Well, just like our homes, our finances need some “spruce-up” work from time to time. Let’s take a look at some things we can do to make our finances “shine”. (Oh yeah, I promise no more quotation marks in this post. I promise.)

1. Sit down and actually make a budget. I know it’s hard, time consuming, and frustrating, but you need a plan. Write down how much you will bring home this month and how you are going to spend it. Spend every red-cent on paper before you bring home your paycheck. This will be the foundation for your personal finance do-over.

2. Renew and Review the following: Your will, you living will, your life insurance policies, your health insurance policies, your dental insurance policies, your home-owner’s insurance, etc. Think of all the annual policies that you have. Do you have enough life insurance (6 to 12 times your annual income in Term Life insurance)? How about long-term disability insurance? If you rent, do you have a renter’s insurance policy? You NEED one, in case of a fire or burglary.

3. Take a look around personal-finance land. Could you find a better interest rate for your emergency savings? How about a bank with free or bonus checking? Take a few minutes and figure out if you are banking where you want to bank or if you are banking where you have always banked. These two places might not be the same.

4. Analyze your giving. Did you give anything to anybody last year? Are you tithing or giving to charity? Remember, there are 3 things to do with money: Spend, save, or give. You NEED to be doing ALL THREE!

5. Get that junk off of your desk! Go, go, go. A cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind. Grab some file-folders and get organized.

6. You have just a little over a month until your taxes are due. Have you finished your taxes? Do you need to file for an extension? Do NOT wait until the last minute. Remember, if you have refund coming, the faster you receive it, the faster you can put it to work!

7. Now’s the time to open that Roth IRA or College ESA. You still have time to contribute to 2005 AND 2006!

8. Clean out the fridge.

9. Organize your tools, your cd’s, etc. Do something to organize your “non-financial” stuff. WHY? I have found that when the other areas of my life are in-order, I have more time and energy for dealing with my finances. (Yes, I see those silly quotation marks. They’re just so darn convenient…)

10. Have plan. Work the plan. Get back on plan. Trust the plan. Never, ever, ever stop. This is about more than money. It’s about creating a stable, enjoyable future for yourself and your family. Ask this question of yourself: How will my future be affected by the decisions I am making today?

Filed under: Money Management
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