“A bank is a place that will lend you money if you can prove that you don’t need it.”

Bob Hope

So why would anyone want to borrow money? If you need the money, you can’t get a loan, but if you can prove that you don’t need it, they will gladly lend you the money that you don’t need…

FNBO Direct is putting on a Pay Yourself First online video contest with some nice cash prizes! I had heard about the contest a while back since I’m a customer of FNBO Direct and I wanted to put together a video. I kept putting it off until fellow blogger Jonathan at My Money Blog wrote about it and put up a video for the contest. This kind of sparked a fire inside me (I always love a little competition!) and I whipped up a quick video for the contest. Go ahead and watch and rate it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wn6YhPPK0v4

The odds of winning are really good since currently there are only 33 submitted videos and four of them are from FNBO so there are really only 29 submissions (including mine). That means almost everyone by default is winning $500! First 500 submissions get a $10 Amazon.com gift card. Top 20 videos win $500. Top five get up to $5000 in matched savings. Deadline is July 31st and unless everyone is just waiting to post their videos up before the deadline, I think you have a good chance of winning something. Let’s just hope they don’t cancel the contest for lack of participation.

FNBO Direct is currently paying 3.50% on their online savings account which is a very competitive rate right now. I currently have some money parked there. Here’s my full FNBO Direct review.

Like the post? Subscribe to this feed!

9 They were trying to intimidate us, imagining that they could break our resolve and stop the work. So I prayed for strength to continue the work.

Nehemiah 6:9 (NLT)

From the Life Application Bible:

When opposition builds up against you or God’s work, it is tempting to pray, “God, get me out of this situation.” But Nehemiah prayed for strength. He showed tremendous determination and character to remain steadfast in his responsibility. When we pray for strength, God always answers.

The latest bank to “bite the dust” is IndyMac Bank in Pasadena, California. Earlier today, the FDIC took over the failed IndyMac Bank. This is already the fifth bank to fail this year alone compared to “only” three in 2007 and none in 2006 or 2005. This is also the second largest bank failure in U.S. history.

So what happens if your bank fails? Well, not a whole lot. The bank usually is taken over by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) or the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration) and an announcement is made (notices posted on doors, news information sent out). Usually, another bank will buy the assets (and liabilities) of the failed bank and the branch will be reopened as a branch of the new buyer. When there’s a buyer of the bank, checks will continue to clear, debit and ATM cards will continue to work. This is only applicable to the insured amount ($100,000 per depositor or $200,000 per joint account).

However, if there is no buyer, the checks, debit cards, and ATM cards will not work. Checks will be returned and stamped “bank closed.” Typically, the bank is closed on a Friday and by Monday, checks are mailed out for the insured deposits. You will have almost immediate access to your insured funds. However, any amount that exceeds the FDIC insured deposits becomes a creditor of the failed bank and you may or may not see the money after the assets are sold off by the FDIC. You may not see all of your money.

You likely won’t know that a bank’s about to fail until it has happened. That’s why it’s so important not to exceed the insurance limits at any one bank. So don’t keep more than $100,000 at any one bank. If you stay within the insured limits, you’ll have relatively quick access to your money.

Like the post? Subscribe to this feed!

Source: MarketWatch, Bankrate

“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.”

Jim Rohn

Isn’t that so true? What are we spending our time on? What are we wasting our time on? The time that we have is so valuable. So why are we wasting it doing unproductive things? The average person in America watches around 21 hours of television a week. Yikes! That’s like having a part time job watching TV! And what about watching movies or surfing the web? Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not against entertainment by any means. But everything in moderation.

Twenty-one hours a week watching TV is too much. Think about what you could do with the time if you did something productive. Like cleaning up your room. Like learning a new skill. Like reading a book (what a concept!). The average millionaire in America reads one non-fiction book every month. And how often do you pick up that Bible during the week? We’re always complaining about not having enough time and yet we’re wasting it away.

Remember that lost time can never be recovered. What you choose to do with it can make or break you.

15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Genesis 2:15 (NKJV)

From the Nelson Study Bible:

The garden was perfectly prepared. It was man’s home and he had to tend and keep it. Even the biblical paradise required work (1:26-28)!

freedom: the power to determine action without restraint.

As we celebrate America’s birthday and independence, let this be a personal financial freedom day for you! We are so blessed in this country to be able to worship freely, have access to free education, and have the freedom to be as hard-working or as lazy as we want to be. We truly have “the power to determine action without restraint” in this country. All this because of the sacrifices of our military men and women past and present. Always remember to throw up a prayer for them today and every day.

In the same way the United States declared their independence from England, let this be your personal independence day from debt! Let this be the day that you decide to take a stand and get out of the dependence on debt. How do you do this?

Let’s take a look at the people of the British colonies. They were being taxed and levied by the English government and they didn’t like it. They got mad enough to declare their independence from Great Britain. Your situation is no different. The credit card companies are “taxing” you like crazy and ripping you off with high interest rates. It’s time to get mad. It’s time to start your own revolutionary war against debt!

So mark this day on your calendar as your own declaration of independence from debt and within a year or two you’ll look back and see how much progress you’ve made! I’ll be along for the ride to help as much as I can. I’m fighting the same battles you are. Keep reading and God bless! That’s enough history lessons for today!

“If you think nobody cares if you’re alive, try missing a couple of car payments.”

Earl Wilson

Ha, ha! Funny and so true. If you’re leasing a car, that’s a good sign that you can’t afford to buy the car you’re driving. We need to get out of this mentality of trying to impress everyone (who doesn’t matter anyway) and start buying things that we can really afford to buy.

Debt puts you into bondage. If we look around America today, everything is owned by the banks. Just look at the title to your car or the deed to your house. It’s got your bank’s name on it. Just take a quick look around and you’ll just see a bunch of “stuff” and nothing to show for it but a bunch of maxed out credit cards, mortgages, car notes, and debt, debt, debt!

When are we going to get sick and tired enough to do something about it! There is hope out there. There is a God that cares! But it starts with a decision. A decision to claw your way out. A decision to fight. It may have taken a long time to accumulate the debt that you might have and it’s going to take some time to get out. But it’s not impossible! Keep the faith!

Friday, July 11 is Cow Appreciation Day at Chick-fil-A nationwide. To celebrate, nearly 1,400 Chick-fil-A restaurants will offer a free Chick-fil-A meal to anyone fully dressed as a cow (includes an entree, side item, and a drink). For those who are partially dressed in cow attire will receive a free entree.

I say we all buy a cheap cow Halloween costume and hit up all the Chick-fil-A’s in the area! That would be fun!

The cow is the unofficial icon of the restaurant chain and has helped boost sales by over 500% since its introduction from $502 million in sales in 1995 to more than $2.64 billion in 2007! And by the way, the chain is Christian-owned and operated so go ahead and support! I always love supporting Christian companies. I mean, think about the corporate tithe Chick-fil-A would pay on $2.64 billion! That’s like $264 million! Yikes!

Source: QSR Magazine

On yesterday’s episode of the Suze Orman show, Suze offered a free gift code to access the her Will & Trust Kit online. All you have to do is go to her website and enter “people first” into the gift code section of the Will & Trust Kit (normally $13.50!). This allow you to create some financial documents such as a will, revocable trust, and more. And you can’t beat free!

Like the post? Subscribe to this feed!