If you have been thinking about opening up a savings account at INGDirect (for your emergency fund, perhaps?), I have a few sign-up referrals available. Below are 5 links to the sign-up bonus. Simply click the TOP referral link, sign-up with ING Direct, and leave a comment that you have used a referral link. You will receive a $25 bonus in your account (with a minimum deposit of $250) and I will receive a $10 bonus in my account! We will both totally rock!

Referral Links

Link 1
Link 2
Link 3

Get to saving!

(Sorry, all referrals are gone!)

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I’m pretty radical. I refuse to borrow money. I will not borrow money from anyone, not even a friend or a relative. I will humbly accept money as a gift, or proudly take money as salary for a job that I have done, but I will not borrow money. I will not borrow money for a car, for a house, for a boat, for a sandwich. I will not borrow money. I will not use a credit card, a home equity line of credit, an i.o.u., or a personal loan. Why?

Because, I refuse to be anyone’s slave. I want to be free. I want to work for my wages, use my wages to buy things that I can afford, and go to bed every single night knowing that only God controls my destiny. I will not be another man’s slave. I refuse. I will not bow down to the gods of CitiBank or Bank of America or Ford Motor Credit. I do not care how they “reward” me, entice me, trick me, or invite me. I will not be seduced by their promises and their plans for my future. I have a brain of my own. No amount of “cash back” is worth giving up my freedom.

I know, I know. You pay off your balances every month. You spend the same amount, even when using a credit card. Sure you do. Then why did you finance your last automobile? What if you had to come up with 1000 dollars for an emergency, tomorrow? Could you? Or would you have to go, hat in hand, to a relative, or to a credit card company, or to your bank, asking for a loan? Stop it! I am tired of seeing these beautiful banks, parking lots filled with fancy cars, built on the backs of people paying interest and penalties.

Our society, our children, our churches, our government, and our neighbors are addicted to debt. Are you ready to change? Are you ready to get radical? Are sick and tired of being sick and tired. Then get on a plan.

When I was a kid, there was a public swimming pool in a town near where we lived. At the bottom of that pool was a drain, with a grate over top of it. No one thought much about that grate. In fact, we kids would swim to the bottom of the pool, hook our fingers into the slats of that grate, and see how long we could hold our breath. One day, a little kid fell from the high-dive (this was before most high-dives were outlawed), and was knocked out by the contact his head made with the water. None of the people swimming noticed this little kid falling. They simply went about their routine of swimming and playing. Eventually, a few of the kid’s friends started to look around for him. Not seeing him, they told the lifeguard. Hurriedly, the lifeguard cleared the pool. At the bottom of the pool lay the little kid, sucked downward by the force of the water entering the grate. The lifeguard jumped in, pulled the kid from the bottom of the pool, swam to the side of the pool, lifted the kid onto the concrete surrounding the pool, jumped out, and began to administer CPR. Thankfully, the kid survived, but not without brain damage. Now, there were always two differing opinions as to what caused the kid to suffer brain damage. Was it the initial fall? Or was it the time spent, sucked down to the bottom of the pool, with no oxygen?

Everyone of us is going to fall, and be injured in our financial lives. We might lose our jobs, our loved ones, our health, etc. There is very little we can do to avoid falling. But, we can avoid the downward pressure of debt, sucking us to the bottom. We can fall, and we can have the financial foundation to get back up. Debt, however, robs us of that ability. It sucks us downward, holds us tight, and refuses to let go. Be strong, today! Before you fall, destroy the ability of debt to hold you down. Fight! Fight! Fight! Be free today, enjoy your freedom tomorrow, and stay free forever.

This super dorky post is brought to you by the inspired mind of NCN!

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Are you tired? Hot? Has this been a super-long summer for you? Are you ready for the cool breezes of fall? Have you fallen off of the budget wagon, spent too much on vacation, lost your taste for financial discipline…?

Wake up! It’s time to get BACK TO THE BASICS.

Back to the Basics Part 1:

1. Create a budget. A zero based budget. Need some budget worksheets? Click here for an awesome budget program from my friend at YNAB Personal Budget. This is a simple, easy to use Excel budget program.

2. Get current on all of your bills! You must stop going backwards before you can go forwards!

3. Build up a 1000 dollar emergency fund. Why do you need an emergency fund? Why not just put all of your extra money towards debt reduction? Because, if some minor, unexpected “emergency” comes up (think a.c. in your car, or washing machine breakdown) you will need cash to pay for that emergency. If you do not have an emergency fund, then you will have to borrow money to pay for your emergency. The object of debt reduction is to get out of debt and to avoid borrowing!

4. Create a debt snow-ball. My method? List debts lowest balance to highest balance, pay minimums on all accounts, and put as much as you can towards the lowest balance. Once you pay-off one account, put the amount that you were paying to that account towards the balance of the second account. Work your way from balance to balance, lowest to highest. Another method? List debts highest rate to lowest rate, pay minimums, and continue the snow-ball from there. My method works on the psychology of getting out of debt (you see accounts go bye bye faster) while the other method works with the mathematics of getting out of debt (but, your accounts open may hang around longer, thus creating a feeling of discouragement…)

Back with Part 2 very soon…

GO, GO, GO!!!!!!!! GET STARTED!!!!!!

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The first state to have a sales tax holiday this year will be Florida. Here are the details:When: July 22 - 30

What:

Clothing and related items with a sales price of $50 or less
Books with a sales price of $50 or less
School supplies with a sales price of $10 or less
(The NUMBER of items purchased does not matter, but the price of EACH item must be less than the amounts listed above.)

Details For Merchants can be found in this PDF

Details For Consumers can be found here

If you live in Florida, I hope this helps you save a few bucks.

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Hi gang! I have updated the NCN Podcast, the NCN Network, and I have updated the 2006 States Sales Tax Holiday Chart. It’s been a busy day here in No Credit Needed Land. Also, I am running a poll about cash savings rates. Please check it out. Thanks, NCN.

One quick note about the podcast: You do NOT need an ipod or an mp3 player to listen to the podcast! Simply click on the green Episode link, and your media player on your computer will play the podcast. Also, you can subscribe (for free!) using Itunes or any other podcatcher, using the buttons at the right-hand side of the podcast page.

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