Archive for the ‘Resources’ Category

Lawn Mower Maintenance

After two weeks of very cold weather (for us), the temperatures have returned to “normal”.  It’s in the mid-50’s and perfect weather for doing a little yard work.

Back in April, I purchased a lawn mower.  I really, really like my lawn mower, and since it has mulching blades, I use it to mulch pine straw and leaves in the yard.  Unfortunately, when I opened my shed this morning, the left-rear tire of the lawn mower was flat.

I pumped the tire back up and pored some soapy water on it.  Noting the area where the soapy water “bubbled-up”, I located a small nail that was causing the tire to leak.  I removed the nail with a pair of pliers and then repaired the leak with a  simple tire plug.  The tire is holding pressure – and for less than 5 bucks (the cost of the tire plug repair kit) – it’s ready for some mowing.

While I was at it, I checked the owners manual, to see when the next oil change was scheduled.  Since I had the time – and the weather is so nice – I went ahead and changed the mower’s oil, a couple of hours ahead of schedule.

I also checked the air filter and inspected all of the mower’s nuts and bolts.  We had a relatively dry summer, so the mower didn’t get a lot of use.  I used it a couple of times in the fall, to mulch up leaves, and I’ll use it later today, just to give the engine some time to run and clean up the few leaves that are in the front yard.

Oh, I almost forgot.  I also had to put a charge on the battery.  Several years ago, I got a battery charger for Christmas.  It’s one of my all-time-favorite received-gifts.  I use it for the lawn mower – or my old truck – when their batteries need a boost.

One final note – I was able to quickly locate the owner’s manual for the mower because I keep all of my manuals in my handy-dandy Owners Manuals Binder.  Click to read how this idea can help you keep track of all of your owners manuals.

If we are going to save money – the money that we’ve worked so hard to make – it’s important to take care of the things that we buy.  It pays to spend a little more time (and a little more money) to keep something running, rather than a whole lot of time (and whole lot of money) trying to replace it.

You Need A Budget – Success Story From NCN Reader James – YNAB

No Credit Needed reader, James, uses the You Need A Budget budgeting system to manage his household finances.  He recently sent me an awesome email and I’m happy to share it with you:

I don’t believe that I have ever taken the opportunity to thank you for mentioning YNAB on your blog. For it was here at No Credit Needed that I first heard of YNAB.  At that time my wife was pregnant with our first child and we were trying to decide if she was going to return to work or become a stay at home Mom.

To make a VERY long story short, YNAB afforded us the opportunity to not only allow her to stay at home with our child full time, but also allowed us to become completely debt free and financially worry free.  So while the folks at YNAB deserve tons of credit, it is really you who deserves the most. I can’t thank you enough.

Isn’t that awesome?  I’m super-proud of and for James and his wife, and happy to see that You Need A Budget is working for them.  My wife and I have been using YNAB to manage our finances for several years.  YNAB just announced version 3.0 and its pretty awesome.

James, thanks for letting me share your email – and congratulations on the new baby!  New babies rock!

You Need A Budget is my budgeting tool of choice.  I’ve been a YNAB affiliate for several years and I really dig their product.

Financial “Spring” Cleaning Is In The Air

As I mentioned in the previous post, I’m going through my financial documents and doing a little financial “spring” cleaning.  Granted, it’s the middle of winter, but it’s a great time to get my things in order.

Taking a break for a bit of lunch, I surfed over to Twitter (click to follow yours truly) and noticed that a couple of my fellow pf bloggers are also in the mood to organize and de-clutter.

Kevin, over at No Debt Plan has written a very cool looking post about How To Prepare Your Finances For A New Year.  My favorite portion of the article, Kevin suggests:

Hopefully you are already living on a budget… The new year is a great time to sit down with your family and review everything.  (Emphasis mine)

Mrs. Micah over at Finance for a Freelance Life has an excellent post, filled with spreadsheets and templates for organizing financial documents and information.  In fact, I just downloaded and printed out a copy of her Financial Life Worksheet, about which Mrs. Micah wrote:

In essence, it is a long document with places for all kinds of financial information on a wide variety of topics.

For those who have ADD or ADHD, check out John’s work over at Adult ADD and Money.  He’s created a 6 chapter Adult ADD/ADHD Money Guide.  Even for folks who do not have ADD, this is a smartly-designed guide.

Well, that’s it.  Time to head back to work.  I hope you guys take some time over the next few days to do a little “spring” cleaning.  Once all those files are nice, neat, and organized, you’ll feel super-awesome.  Rock on!

Debt Reduction Tools And Calculators

For those who are ready to get our of debt, here’s a list of debt reduction resources -

Debt Snowball Calculator over at What’s The Cost – This free online tool will help you quickly create a debt repayment plan.

iPhone and iPod Touch Debt Snowball Application – Created by Blunt Money, this application, which sells for $2.99, will help you create a debt snowball using your iPhone or iPod Touch.

Debt Reduction Guide – I created this step-by-step guide to show folks how my wife and I got out of debt.  The guide is available online – and you can also download a copy of it as a free E-Book.  It’s easy to read and free to share.

When Will You Be Debt Free? – This calculator from CNN Money is very simple to use.  Simply enter your current credit card balances, your interest rates, your minimum payments, and the date you want to be debt free.  The calculator will calculate how much extra you need to pay, each month, to achieve your goal.

Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc Debt Reduction Calculator – If you prefer to work with Word or Open Office, here’s a free debt reduction spreadsheet.

Mortgage Payoff Calculator – I love all of the calculators over at DinkyTown.  This one will help you calculate the impact of extra mortgage payments.

Calculating Average Daily Balance Spreadsheet – I created this spreadsheet so that I could calculate how the timing of payments determines the amount of interest charged.  The spreadsheet works Microsoft Excel or OpenOffice Calc.

These are just a few of the debt reduction resources I’ve found (or created) over the past few years.  If you have a resource that you think would be of value to others, leave a comment and let me know about it.  (Obvious spam comments will be deleted.)

$4 And $10 Generic Prescriptions From Walmart, Kroger, and Target

Two weeks ago, I had a procedure to remove a kidney stone.  After the procedure, my doctor gave me a prescription for an antibiotic.  I had my local pharmacist fill the prescription.  I am feeling much better and I am happy to be kidney stone-free.

The antibiotic that I was prescribed is covered by our health care plan and was available at our local pharmacy for a discounted price.  While I mentioned my prescription to a friend, he told me that he gets most of his prescriptions through Walmart’s discounted prescription program.  Interested, I did some searching, and found that Walmart, Target, and Kroger all offer discounted prescriptions.

Click here to view details about Walmart’s Discount Prescription Program.

Click here to view details about Kroger’s Discount Prescription Program.

Click here to view details about Target’s Discount Prescription Program.

My prescription was for the generic or brand name.  The above mentioned discounts apply to generic prescriptions.  I always ask my doctor if it is cool to substitute a generic for a brand name, and then I follow his / her advice.

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