Fresh Fruits and Vegetable Choices

At about 6 months old, babies start enjoying solid foods like fruit or vegetable purées. Introducing their taste buds to the natural flavor of fruits and vegetables is a great start on the road to good health. In vegetable-eating countries like in Thailand, babies are offered fresh vegetables to chew on while they deal with the pain from teething– with close supervision of course. Starting them early means, you won’t have any problems getting them to eat these natural foods as they grow up. As long as you continue to provide fresh fruits and vegetables to your child rather than sugary or salty snacks, he or she will happily snack on the fresh selections without any problems. Choose organic options for your produce as often as you can, but especially when you are consuming the skin – they contain the most pesticides (Find more information on this by searching for The Dirty Dozen.).

Ingredients to Avoid

Preservatives, artificial flavors and sweeteners, in any form are believed to be the culprits to a child’s weak immune system and frequent illnesses. Cookies and other goodies that are displayed in the shelves of grocery stores for a period of time probably have preservatives in them – unless they are vacuum-packed and labeled as “no preservatives added” on their packaging. It is healthier to buy freshly-baked cookies, cakes and pastries from reputable bakeries when you are looking to avoid these potentially harmful additives.

Fast Food Influence

It gets more and more difficult to limit fast food consumption as our children age. The more involved they become with extra-curricular activities and school functions, the more running around us parents have to do. This means less time eating a family dinner together that was prepared at home. The temptation to run through a fast food drive-thru is sometimes too great. Minimizing your child’s meals from these extremely unhealthy menus should be avoided as much as possible. Plan your meals before each week and consider cooking dinners in advance that can be eaten cold. Grilled chicken does not need to be heated before it is consumed and is a much better option than a fast food chicken nugget.

Appetizing Rewards

Rewarding your child when their room is cleaned or an A is earned at school is a great tool. Choosing candy or any food as that reward is not. Children should be taught that food is the fuel that the body needs rather than a reward for a job well done. Instead of food, consider rewarding your child with a special activity, a later bedtime, cuddling in bed with you while you read a book or the chance to play a board game with you before dinner. Find a reward that will fit your child without filling her belly.

Junk Food Craze

It is often a status symbol for a child or teenager to be holding a colourful bag of chips. Comparing lunches, to see who has the “best” snacks is a long held tradition in school cafeterias. Little do these children know – the saturated fats, preservatives or salt inside them can be very dangerous to one’s health. Cancer, heart ailments and kidney failures can be traced back to this bad habit of eating junk foods regularly. However, with the world becoming more health-conscious, there are plenty of healthy, convenient foods that can replace these trendy snacks – like yogurt, all-natural banana chips, nuts or sun-dried raisins.

Who says it’s easy to be parent?

Raising happy, healthy children is no easy task but the road there will be a bit easier if you start them on the right foot with the food they consume. Remember that the food tastes and preferences from childhood will typically, linger into adulthood. The best approach is to be selective with the types of foods that you offer your babies from the moment they begin to eat solids, through their childhood and until they become adults. Provide them the highest quality of foods that you can, they will thank you for it…eventually.

How do you make sure you and your family are eating healthy? 

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Driving your car until its comfortably on “E” and hoping you can get to work just one more time before you have the money to fill up.

Eating stale crackers and a 2 year old can of peas for dinner because you don’t have the money for groceries.

Do any of these situations sound like you? If you find yourself constantly waiting with bated breath for payday only to run out of money a few days later, you are bound to be feeling a great deal of stress and depression. There is hope though, you can avoid living paycheck to paycheck. Here are your best steps to avoid living paycheck to paycheck and to move forward if you are.

Avoid Debt

Sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But for those people who haven’t had a financial education, it may not be so obvious. Being in debt is one of the biggest reasons people find themselves living paycheck to paycheck. When you are spending a portion of your income to pay on debt month after month, you are not able to build a savings account, pay for emergencies when they arrive or avoid using credit cards for items you want.

Avoiding debt is essential to financial health and living with money leftover from each paycheck.

Cut Expenses and Make Lifestyle Changes

Before you can begin the steps that follow this one, you absolutely must make changes in your lifestyle. Spending money on items you want (rather than need) must stop. Spending money on your lifestyle, (For example, eating out, buying coffee at Starbucks, having drinks on the weekends with friends, etc.) should cease. Also consider extras at home that you can eliminate. Consider eliminating extras on your cellphone or cable television. You don’t really need $150 cable television package or subscriptions to video rental sites like Netflix, Blockbuster or HuluPlus.

Be honest with yourself and even if it hurts in the beginning, make those cuts now. Once you are no longer living paycheck to paycheck you can add them back in, although you may find that life is actually greater without them.

Build an Emergency Fund

Before you can start paying off debt (which is your next step to avoid living paycheck to paycheck), you will need to build an emergency fund. This is money that you will use when emergencies arise that you had not expected. It’s for those days when your car battery has died and you need to replace it. It’s for the days when your kids come home and their only pair of tennis shoes has a hole in it thanks to an accident on the playground. An emergency fund is not for those cute pair of shoes you just saw at the mall.

While you are ceasing unnecessary spending any money you have saved should go into your emergency fund. After you have built your emergency fund to a level you feel comfortable with (the amount typically suggested is $1,000), it is time to start paying down debt.

Pay Down Debt

One of the most important steps to stopping the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck is to reduce your debt. Paying off debt may be difficult to do when you only have a small amount of extra money but it is possible. Once you have stopped using your credit cards and are applying the money that you used from your lifestyle choices that you’ve eliminated, your debt will start to decrease. Using the snowball method, as described by Dave Ramsey will also help your debt reduction process.

If you find that paying off debt is still difficult after completing this steps, you may need to consider ways to bring in more money.

Increase Your Income

There are many ways to boost your income from taking on a second job, to turning your hobby into an income stream or by finding ways to earn money online. Finding different ways to bring money in is easy to do on the internet. Some of the ways I like best are completing online surveys, getting paid to read emails, turning my hobby of blogging into an income stream and working on the weekends doing a second job. There are many sites that offer suggestions for increase your monthly income.

It is possible to move away from the cycle of living paycheck to paycheck. It will require you to evaluate your life, the choices you make and the direction you want your life to go. It will also take cutting costs, avoiding unnecessary spending, reducing debt and increasing income.

What would you add to the list above?

“You Can Avoid Living Paycheck to Paycheck” was included in the following carnivals:

Carnival of Retirement at Midlife Finance
Yakezie Carnival at The Frugal Toad
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at 20s Finances
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca
Carnival of Financial Planning at Dividend Monk
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Making Sense of Cents
Carnival of MoneyPros at Money Pros

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Spa themed cupcakes!

Are you sick of your current job? Do you want to move on to something new?

Well I’m not here to tell you to quit your job. Sorry. I’m a bit more realistic than that. I’m going to suggest a different idea. I want you to start freelancing on the side. I want you to use your spare time to increase your income and to change your life forever. I spent far too much time chasing passive income and other random strategies.

I never really took the time to actually get down to the work. I would just follow advice on starting a million dollar business through passive income. This never worked out for me. Let’s start off with an important question… Why will freelancing on the side set you free? By testing out business ideas in your spare time you’ll be able to figure out if you have a chance of branching out on your own.

I find it to be absolutely careless advice to suggest to someone that they just quit their job and “follow their passions.” Screw that. You have bills to pay and you don’t want to end up poor. You don’t want to curse some blogger dude because they told you to quit and now you’re homeless (okay, maybe that’s a bit extreme). I have far too many friends that are convinced that you have to go all in to be successful. This is false because you just have too much to lose and you can lose out on valuable time making money and working in your field.

When you freelance on the side you’ll not only get to test out your ideas with comfort, but you’ll also be able to build up your savings/pay down your debt. This is critical because if you have debt (student loans, mortgage, or consumer debt), you still have to cover your payments. You can set yourself free by working your day job and freelancing on the side until you’re debt free and in a position to quit your job.

You can also build up your savings account to the point that you can take some risks and invest some money. I didn’t quit my job because I wanted to build up my savings. I was able to work long hours online and at my job. In the end I saved $25,000 and now I’m free to do whatever I want. Now it’s time to go into more detail. How can you actually start freelancing? What do you need to start freelancing right now? Let’s look at the magic formula for freelancing:

A service that you offer.

What work can you do for money? What service can you provide? I always used to get stuck on this point. I knew that I wanted to help people and make money. I just never knew what service I would actually offer. This is a typical problem for beginners. This is where you stop dreaming and take action. A few points to consider on the freelancing service that you’ll offer:

1. What have others asked you for help with?
2. Are people willing to pay you to gain your expertise on a topic?
3. Is there anyone else out there offering a similar service (hint: competition is a good thing)?

Potential customers.

Who will you sell your services to? You need to sit down and decide who you want to market your services to. I want you to be specific and target more than just “people” or “dudes.” I used to always try to market my services to everyone. This is a huge mistake because I learned the hard way that “everyone” isn’t a target market by any means. Below are a few questions you need to answer as you decide on who you’ll market your freelancing services to:

• Who can I relate to?
• What’s the number one problem that I can solve for (blank) person?
• How will my freelancing work help real people?
• How will my potential customers find me?

Once you can answer those questions, you’ll be on the right path to making money through freelancing. I recently helped a buddy out with his guitar-teaching business. He was too general. He was targeting everyone. It wasn’t working out. He finally decided to focus in on kids and his business grew. The parents pay for his services and the kids are now forced to come.

A way to get paid.

How will you collect your money? This is usually the easy (and fun) part. If you do online work, Paypal is the standard. Everyone I’ve ever done business with has Paypal. If you perform a service in person, you can do cash, checks, or even money transfers. All that matters is that you make it clear how you’ll be collecting the money in exchange for your services. That’s all that you need to increase the amount of money that you have coming in on the side. Freelancing is the greatest thing to happen to me because it gave me the confidence boost that I needed. I now know that others care about what I have to say and are willing to pay me for my work.

“Why Freelancing on the Side Will Set You Free” was included in the following carnivals:

Carnival of MoneyPros at Master the Art of Saving
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Hurricanes, Panties 
Yakezie Carnival at Family Money Values

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That got me thinking, because we often use the same word to mean different concepts, and “early retirement” means different things to different people. Jacob breaks down “retirement” into the following categories:

“Retired”, as in “put out to pasture”

This is when we’re just too old and tired to do anything productive, so we spend the rest of our days watching TV, playing golf, or whatever else we can muster. This is probably what the reality of “retirement” was for most people in ages past, but it seems like an old-school definition to me and not one that I personally look forward to.

Will this type of retirement still be a reality for people going forward? There are incredible advancements being made in technology and medicine right now, and I firmly believe that, barring a major world war or something of that scale, most younger people today will live to see aging “cured”, and death by senescence will become obsolete. There will still be fatal accidents, crime, and stuff of that sort, but those are different problems, and I believe that we’ll find solutions to those problems as well. There should be no reason that a young person today would find him or herself forced out into the pasture due to plain old age, and by young, I also include people in their 30s, 40s, and heck, maybe even in their 50s. Technology moves fast these days.

“Retired”, as in “free from the corporate grind”

Not everyone loves their job, and many of us would love to be free of the 9 to 5 corporate grind so that we can spend more time with our families and focus more of our attention of the things we really want to do and on the things that actually matter to us.

This is definitely a version of retirement that I definitely aspire toward, and one that I’ve been able to achieve for myself in the last year. I am now my own boss, and I now answer only to my customers. It’s a great amount of freedom, and also a certain amount of responsibility as well, as I am now directly responsible for pleasing people or making them unhappy. This is no longer “somebody else’s problem”, like it was when I worked in a corporation. At the same time, I love having the ability to just take off at a moment’s notice and head somewhere else in the world, without having to ask someone for permission. All I need is a laptop and an Internet connection so that I can keep up to date on things.

I agree with some of the “Internet retirement police” that this version of retirement is not necessarily passive, since at this stage, we might still be obligated to exchange time for money, and we still need to work in order to produce. In this sense, we’re definitely not retired in the sense that we can just goof off all day. However, does that really matter? So long as I have the energy, I definitely enjoy being able to produce and add something to this world, and I enjoy it even more with the opportunity to do it on my own terms. If someone wants to call themselves “retired” in this sense, I will congratulate them on making it out of the rat race, and wish them the best of luck going forward.

“Retired”, as in “I can do what I want, when I want, and how I want”

This is the best version of retirement in my eyes, and it means true financial independence, without the need to trade a significant amount of time for money. It of course depends on what we actually want; wanting to fly around in a private jet will require a heck of a lot more passive income than, say, just wanting to be able to travel around Southeast Asia for a few months!

So, what counts as passive income? Does writing a book acount? Managing a website? Now that I’m wrapping up a 300 page book, I would definitely not consider a book as passive income, any more than I consider my business to be passive. To me, passive income is more about things like index funds or real estate property with low overhead. These investments are bought with money, not time, and they ideally don’t take much time to manage. If I had enough investment income to cover my current lifestyle and then some, then I would definitely consider myself to be financially independent. I’m not there, yet!

How much money does one need to reach this level? It all depends on your life style. If you go for a more extreme version of early retirement, you might be able to get away with $10,000 – $15,000 in income a year. The important thing is that you find the number that is right for you. There will always be grammar police, “retirement” police, and others out there seeking to impose their own standards on you, but what really matters the most is your own standards, and what makes you happy.

Dear reader, what does “early retirement” mean to you, and what steps are you putting into place over the next few years to get there? I’d love to hear from you.

“What Does ‘Early Retirement’ Mean to You?” was included in the following carnivals:

Yakezie Carnival at Making The Life You Want
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca
Carnival of Retirement at Midlife Finance
Carnival of MoneyPros at The Savvy Scot
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at PF Carny
Carnival of Financial Planning at Making Sense of Cents

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Our Jump to Self-Employment

I started my last day job right out of college in June 2005 and expected to work for 30 years or more.  We planned to retire on what we could squirrel away in my 401k, two Roth IRA’s, stock investments, and my husband’s pension as a teacher.  But my online business took off in 2011 and all our plans changed in less than 4 months.

I was self-employed by the end of July 2011 and my husband joined me at home in January 2012.  I would never have dreamed until then that we would put all of our eggs in a self-employment basket, but there it was staring me in the face.  Not only did we need to worry about the normal things like making enough to pay our bills, but we did truly have to change our mindsets in order to function well while working from home.

Changing a Long-Held Belief

I spent the first 25 years of my life thinking that a stable paycheck over 30-40 years paired with great budgeting skills would lead to my own happy ending.  I probably wasn’t wrong, but I never thought about other possibilities.  Even when I thought about self-employment in passing, the idea seemed scary and uncertain.  I’m here today to let you know that beliefs can be changed and success can be found down many different life paths.

The Stability Fallacy

First of all, the stability I felt in my day job was a sort of a lie in and of itself.  I was not guaranteed that position.  They didn’t promise to keep me employed for 30 years.  There was no tenure available.  I had tricked myself into feeling safe.

In 2010 and 2011, that became very clear since the company I worked for started re-positioning itself in its niche and layoffs were happening regularly by the time I left.  I was finally seeing my fake safety blanket for what it was – a job.  Nothing more and nothing less.  It paid me $35,500 a year to show up every weekday from 8am to 5pm and make them money.  I did well and my coworkers were awesome, but I do not know why I ever thought I had a chance of staying there for decades.

Handling Self-Employment Income Fears

Before I took the big leap, I did spend a few months discussing plans with my husband.  As would be expected, our largest worries centered around future income.  Specifically, we wanted to make sure I could fully replace my day job’s income.  When it was clear that $35,500 wasn’t as difficult to replace as we thought, we also needed to figure out how to make an unpredictable income stream feel more stable.

That little task ended up being easier than we thought it would be too.  We decided to create an account just for online income.  We also decided that I would receive a biweekly paycheck from that account just like I did from my day job.  Lastly, we decided to pad that account with online income while I was still working my day job.  Then the account could pay me biweekly even if I didn’t make enough in a 2 week period to cover my set pay.

Our Paycheck Scenario

To be more specific, we created an ING account called “Blog Income” and I didn’t quit my day job until it had $10,000 just sitting around in it.  That took 4 months.  I quit my day job at the end of July 2011 and started receiving biweekly paychecks from the Blog Income account on the same schedule I was being paid on before.  We didn’t miss a beat and the transition was extremely smooth.  We did the same thing when Mr. BFS quit in January 2012.  We just waited until his last paycheck cleared from the school district and picked it up from there.

Stabilizing the Uncertainty

We make more now than we did before, but our income does not pour in equally throughout a month.  There are great weeks and truly sucky weeks.  The padded Blog Income account means that our paychecks can happen like clockwork no matter what, and the great weeks help fill in any money we are ever forced to borrow from that account.  If we notice two pay periods in a row that start eating into the padding, then we’ll know to expand our income streams.  Otherwise, we know we are on track.

This system has worked fantastically for the last year and a half.  I would highly suggest it to anybody needing to handle income instability.  Our bills, budget, and financial goals are all taken care of just like before and we have been able to stop worrying as much about working for ourselves.  This is not to say that we don’t still have concerns, but it takes a huge load off of our shoulders.

Are you self-employed or live on unstable pay systems?  How do you deal with that uncertainty?

“Handling the Uncertainty of Self-Employment” was included in the following carnivals:

Carnival of MoneyPros at Nickel by Nickel
Yakezie Carnival at Financially Digital
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Thirty Six Months

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It can be difficult to choose the right time, especially since money is such a hard topic to discuss. Its how some people define themselves, so it can be quite uncomfortable for someone who doesn’t think they make enough to share that part of their life with someone.

Whenever you decide to have the money talk with your significant other is up to you, but it is vital that the discussion happens. In my opinion you should know what your partner’s beacon score is before you marry that person. I am not saying not to marry them if they have a 520 beacon score, but you sure shouldn’t be surprised that they have a low beacon after marriage. It’s better to ask yourself if you could be with someone who cannot manage their money well, prior to marriage. Maybe he or she has too much debt for you to handle. Whatever your significant others financial situation is, you should be aware and know if it’s something you can deal with before making such a lifelong commitment.

The money talk is extremely important because things can change very quickly when financial struggles begin. The pressure of a job loss or debts piling up can have a powerful impact on a relationship.

How Financial Difficulties Can Affect Couples

Couples experiencing financial issues often discover they have lost their ability to deal with all sorts of other problems the way they used to. Some of the changes that can occur as a result of financial issues are:

• Depression – Depression often happens when one partner lost their job and is out of work for a lengthy period of time. It is extremely important for the partner who lost their job to not tap out of the relationship because of depression.
• Stress – Sometimes the partner who still works starts feeling overwhelmed and stressed because of the responsibility of having to pay all of the bills. This is where communication is very important.
• No Fun – Often times when there are financial problems, couples stop having fun. The stresses of their finances consume the relationship and it seems that life just stops.  Just a friendly reminder that having fun doesn’t always require money.
• New Priorities – The flip side to not having fun is having too much fun to avoid the issue at hand. This will only lead to more unhappiness.
• Frustration – Have you ever met someone who doesn’t handle their money well and wonders why they don’t have what their neighbor has? Well living above your means will always cause frustration.
• Lack Of Intimacy – You and your partner may find yourselves avoiding intimacy simply because you are under so much pressure.

How to Ease the Pressure of Finances

Whatever the reason for financial problems in a relationship, it’s important that couples work it out and fight fair. Money should never stand in the way of two people who love each other under any circumstance. Here are some steps that you can take to help ease the pressure of finances.

• Stop trying to live up to other people’s expectations and please don’t try to live up to the Joneses or the Smiths, or the Kardashians.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you just don’t know what you are doing, ask for help. Just remember to ask someone who is managing their own finances well. If they can’t manage their own finances well, they sure as hell won’t be able to tell you what to do.
• Sometimes it may just be that you don’t make enough money. If that’s case just find anything to do. Work at McDonalds if you have to. While you’re flipping burgers, just keep thinking that this is temporary and use every spare moment to find that next job.
• Support your partner if they’ve lost their job and assist them in finding something. Putting them down for not working won’t work. Encourage them!
• Discuss finances together. When both people are contributing to what’s going to happen with your money it makes for a happier financial life.
• Find ways to enjoy each other’s company without having to spend huge amounts of money.

What Do You Do To Avoid Financial Stress?

“How Finances can Stress a Relationship and What You Can Do About It” was included in the following carnivals:

Carnival of MoneyPros at The Happy Homeowner
Yakezie Carnival at My University Money
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Carnival of Retirement at Freeat33
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Brick By Brick Investing

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As a general rule, we Americans tend to think ‘big’ always – like big car, big house, big apartment, big wedding and practically ‘big’ everything. In good times, thinking big is good for business, which ultimately comes handsomely back to you. However, when the national economy and your own finances begin to go down the drain, thinking ‘big’ usually lands you in a financial pit that will take you years to climb out of – possibly never.

The point is you have to be prepared for all kinds of eventualities even if the going is good for you at the moment and there is a big wad of cash in your bank account. Here are some tips on how to avoid your own personal financial cliff.

Stash away some money for emergency use: This should probably be your rule number one for financial prudence. No matter how little you can spare after your monthly expenses, stash away some for the rainy days. You may have to deny yourself some of your favorite things, but that’s a lot better than having no money when you need it the most. Don’t be too concerned with the extremely low interest rate that your bank gives you; just keep this money liquid and accessible so that you can have it if you need it at a moments notice.

Nurture a healthy spending manner: For many of us, our spending habits are our biggest enemies. When you have a lot of cash, you can afford to spend extravagantly, live big and dream big. It’s when the money begins to dry up that you will start to feel the pinch. But once a bad habit is formed, it’s tough to give it up. So nurture a healthy spending manner before things get out of hand. Do not spend more than necessary even if you have a fat bank account and live within your means.

Fight off your personal weakness for things: Everyone has a weakness for expensive things such as electronic gadgets, culinary delicacies, and top of the line clothes and cosmetics. Many people foolishly max out their credit cards on things they can do without only to rue it the day they are hauled to the court for non-payment. If you can afford to finance your weaknesses, then that’s fine as long as you are careful not to go overboard with it. But if you cannot, then never make the mistake of financing it with a loan or from your saving.

Protect yourself with insurance: The future is always uncertain and you never know where or in what situation you will end up in the future. You must have read of former six-figure-salary-earners who are broke and homeless now. These people forgot to protect themselves when the going was good. One of the ways to protect yourself from falling into such hard times is to insure yourself. Research the market and purchase the right coverage, including disability, property, casualty and long-term care. Purchase a life insurance to protect your family (especially children) in case of your accidental death.

Set aside some funds for retirement: In Australia, they have a retirement fund called superannuation fund where it is compulsory for every adult to set aside some money for retirement and an equal amount is contributed by the federal government. Sadly, we do not have such a schemein the USA. Still, there is the 401(k), individual IRA and other retirement plans that are almost as good. Setting aside some money in one of these funds does not only ensure money when you retire, but also reduces your tax liability now. Another benefit is that investing the money from your retirement fund makes you exempt from capital gains taxes.Thus, you have only gains to make by putting money in your retirement fund.

How To Avoid Your Own Personal Financial Cliff was included in the following carnivals:

Carnival of MoneyPros at Family Money Values
Carnival of Retirement at Midlife Finance
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Money Life and More
Yakezie Carnival at The Ultimate Juggle

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Roses Rugosa. Source: Wiki Commons

Valentine’s Day is just a few days away; does that remind you of how sad your romantic life has been? Well, all is not lost, and here’s how you can express your feelings and affection in a special way. All you need is creativity and sincerity to charm your partner back for Valentine’s and every day in the year.

Kick monotony out!

You know it well by know, a new relationship starts out like an adventure, it’s romantic and exciting. Everything is new and there’s so much you’re wondering about. The first kiss, how much he loves you, when are you going to meet again.

But once the relationship is established, there are no more surprises as the routine kicks in. If you want to be romantic like the early days, do things differently. Be spontaneous, surprise your loved one, and the more you do things out of the ordinary, the better!

Your personal touch

Go beyond the typical rose bouquet and dinner with a candle; pick a personal approach preparing something unique. It’s not a secret recipe; it really comes down to thinking of what pleases your partner most. The idea here is to get your partner’s eyes to sparkle. Make him/her feel unique; coming from you makes all the difference.

Simplicity

You don’t need to do complicated stuff to be romantic, spending a ton of money every day is not a requirement. Small gestures are all you need because in the end what you’re doing is showing your significant other how much you care and love them. Be spontaneous, original and do it often. Go beyond “I love you”, and use different formulas to express the same meaning.

Simple ideas like:

• Preparing a romantic bubble bath with rose petals and a glass of wine.
• Cooking dinner together every now and then, taking on the challenge of a new dish.
• Picking a Sunday to enjoy breakfast in bed as a couple; forget the routine and all the running that goes on during the week.
• Bringing home one small, unexpected gift every now and then; it’s the gesture that matters here.
• Complement each other before leaving to work; a great way to make a lasting impression throughout the day.
• Keep up your appearances: dress up, let him/her see you at your best. Put on his/her favourite perfume.
• Send him/her off to work with a surprise love note in his wallet or lunch box.
• Try a cool new activity together, something new that gets you out of your element.

Be sincere

Your partner will truly feel appreciated if your words reflect your inner feelings. Show them you appreciate having them in your life. We tend to forget sometimes how fragile life is and take our partner for granted. Just think of how lucky you are to be able to see your loved one every day. Remind your partner of that, of how lucky you are to be with him/her and you would be living Valentine’s day every day!

Valentine’s is only a one-time reminder per year, simply not enough to show how much you appreciate your other half. On Valentine’s, you are expected to make an effort in being thoughtful, but being romantic and caring naturally during the year is much more gratifying. It also encourages your partner to act the same and pay you back with the same currency.

Dear reader, we’d love to hear from you as well! Please share with us your ideas for turning up the heat this Valentine’s Day.

Romance 101: How to Turn Up the Heat This Valentine’s Day was included in the following carnivals:

Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Debt Roundup
Carnival of Retirement at Master the Art of Saving
Yakezie Carnival at Debt Black Hole

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The forest is situated south of the Loch Achray Hotel. An excellent walk can be had from Loch Katrine eastwards through the forest to emerge part way up the Dukes Pass.
Source: Malcolm Street (geograph) and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Licence.

Happy February, everyone! The cold of winter carries on, with some parts of Canada and the US shutdown by a recent heavy dumping of snow. This brings back memories of snow days, when school would be cancelled because there was no way of getting there! Winter was one of my favourite seasons as a kid, because you could build snow forts and snow tunnels, and have snowball fights with other kids. It was a lot of fun.

Here are some of the recent posts here at Invest It Wisely:

• What Does It Take to Emotionally Succeed as an Entrepreneur? Here’s What I’ve Learned, One Year After Quitting My Job and Taking the Leap of Faith
• How to Raise Happy, Healthy Children
• 3 Ways to Impress Your Interviewer to Bag the Job
• Invest It Wisely’s Best of 2012
• Unraveling the Secret to Building Wealth

Forest, a good blogging buddy of mine, recently started Everyday Nomad, a site chronicling his adventures in many places around the world, and his thoughts on the journey along the way. I definitely recommend to check it out!

Weekend Reading

• A Happy Retirement
• Calling Fee-Based Financial Advisors
• Elephants Are People Too
• In defense of Rodney Bowers
• OGA January Update: Rolling Out 2013 Guidance
• Onboarding Your First Virtual Assistant
• Valentine’s Day Shopping On A Budget
• What is Dividend Investing? Why Should You Do It?
• Why Air Products and Not G.E.? A Heart Warming Dividend Story…
• Why Hasn’t the Market Crashed Like the “Experts” Warned?
• Yakezie 2012 Recap And Goals For 2013

Carnivals

Carnival of Financial Camaraderie

• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Financial Conflict Coach
• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Vanessa’s Money

Carnival of Financial Planning

• Carnival of Financial Planning at Family Money Values
• Carnival of Financial Planning at Term Life Insurance, Inc

Carnival of Money Pros

• Carnival of MoneyPros at CashNetUSA Credit Resource
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Good Financial Cents
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Money Pros
• Carnival of MoneyPros at See Debt Run
• Carnival of MoneyPros at The Ultimate Juggle

Carnival of Retirement

• Carnival of Retirement at Good Financial Cents
• Carnival of Retirement at Master the Art of Saving
• Carnival of Retirement at See Debt Run
• Carnival of Retirement at Simple Budget Blog
• Carnival of Retirement at WorkSaveLive

Financial Carnival for Young Adults

• Finance Carn. for Young Adults at 20s Finances
• Finance Carn. for Young Adults at 20s Finances
• Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Master the Art of Saving
• Finance Carn. for Young Adults at One Cent at a Time

Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings

• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca

Yakezie Carnival

• Yakezie Carnival at Faithful With a Few
• Yakezie Carnival at Money Wise Pastor
• Yakezie Carnival at Narrow Bridge Finance
• Yakezie Carnival at The Amateur Financier
• Yakezie Carnival at Your Personal Finance Pro

Happy weekend, all!

Weekend Reading, Winter Edition was included in the following carnivals:

Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at The Savvy Scot
Carnival of Financial Planning at Life Insurancey By Jeff
Carnival of MoneyPros at Money Reasons
Yakezie Carnival at Abstract Aucklander

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Snowboarder in Tannheim, Austria. Source: Wiki Commons

It’s been about one year since I took my leap of faith and entered the world of self employment and entrepreneurship, for the first time in my life. It really was a leap of faith, because everything was so uncertain back then — how would I chart out my course, and how would I survive without a steady source of income? I had prepared myself as best I could, but I had no idea what lay beyond the horizon.

One year later, I can truly say that taking the leap of faith was one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made in my life. Like many good things in life, it took time to nurture things and see them grow before I could really see the fruits of my labour. The first couple of months were quite tough, as I figuratively got punched in the stomach not long after taking the leap of faith, sending my remaining side income crashing to the floor. This was certainly the impetus I needed, as I soon started a new book project and doubled down on my entrepreneurial efforts.

Things got a little bit worse before they got better. I had some cash reserves to see me through thin spots, but I didn’t have a huge stash by any means, and past the middle of the year, I watched with increasing trepidation as my reserves headed toward $0. This was part of the risk that I took on and that I accepted, but it still hurts to see it happen. I worked steadily through this time, and in the second half of the year, I started to see the results pay off. By the beginning of the fall, I was climbing up the mountain, and I was able to surpass my old day job in terms of income.

Is it for everyone?

Since then, I have continued to see ups and downs, with large income swings and occasional burnout. I’ve also benefited from experiences I never would have had, had I not taken the leap of faith. It’s been an incredibly fulfilling journey, one that has been very rewarding and that I plan to continue, and one that I’m grateful to have had the privilege to undertake. I often get asked “what are the biggest challenges to entrepreneurship?”, and “is it for everyone?”

I definitely think it can be for everyone! I’ve already covered the financial aspects many times before, so in the rest of this post, I’ll focus on what it takes to survive emotionally and spiritually. Entrepreneurship can be tough, but no matter what happens, I believe that everyone is capable of it, and that the experiences can greatly enrich your life. Warning: this post gets personal! Don’t read on if you came here looking for stats or financials.

Build your success on past failures

This isn’t the first time that I’ve decided to undertake an entrepreneurial venture, though it is the first time I’ve taken a leap of faith and gone all-in. A couple of years back, I worked for several months with a fellow colleague on a project that we believed would be a great hit, and we even spent a lot of time analyzing the market and competition to cover our bases. We were actually fairly spot on with our analysis of the situation, but unfortunately, we just didn’t have the skills or experience to pull things off successfully.

I always had my share of regrets about failing, and I felt like I’d let my partner down. What if we had just worked a little harder? What if we had gone full-time? For a while, I felt like an abject failure as an entrepreneur, and I thought that I’d be better off just sticking to a day job.

In spite of the failure, I learned many valuable lessons, both about entrepreneurship and about myself. I was certainly better off for having taken the risk and having given things a shot, and I don’t regret having done that one bit.

Embrace each failure, figure out what went wrong and why, and learn what you can do better next time. You should never become results-oriented and regret having taken a shot, just because it didn’t work out one time. I eventually ended up taking a leap of faith, and one reason I have done a lot better is because of the lessons I learned during the time I took this previous shot. Look at how many times many of the greats have failed, whether in sports, business, or elsewhere. Success is as much about preparation, practice and perseverance as it is about luck and other factors.

I’ve missed over 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

- Michael Jordan

Success doesn’t depend on your background

Some people think that to be an entrepreneur, you have to have a certain personality or a certain look. Maybe you need to be very extroverted or optimistic, or maybe you need to have a certain background. You might think that you don’t have what it takes because you don’t fit within that image, and I used to feel that way about myself, too. These days, I’m not sure that this stuff matters as much as some people think it does. I personally have neither the good background nor the highly extroverted personality that you’d typically associate with the image of an entrepreneur.

I didn’t have the right background growing up. I was born to a teenage mom, and my father abandoned us soon after. My mother regretted the pregnancy, and things were so unstable for a long time, switching schools in the middle of the grade and moving from place to place. Later on, she found another husband, started a new family, and I was slowly pushed out of their lives. These days, I always hear from 3rd parties about how great their daughter is doing, how big their last party was and what a great family they have, but that’s not the situation I was born in or grew up in. I often have nightmares where I am living with them again and things are well, but something always goes to hell and I can never figure out what went wrong.

I also don’t have the personality you’d typically associate with an entrepreneur. I sometimes get so anxious I feel like puking at the thought of meeting a stranger, and being born to a teenage mother who abused her body at the time which led to some complications, I’ve also always been a highly self-conscious person.

In spite of things, I was still able to graduate university, find work, find love, take a leap of faith and surpass my old day job income; I am certainly no billionaire nor even a millionaire at this point, but I really cannot complain, either! Don’t get me wrong — I’d much rather have had a “typical” childhood rather than the messed up situation I was born into, but it just goes to show you that things are less predetermined than many of us think. If you push hard enough, you’ll eventually break through, and achieving a measure of success is a very powerful motivator.

As Guy Kawasaki mentions in “The Art of the Start”, we can learn a lot from reading up on the lives of some of the great entrepreneurs of our time, including Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey, Richard Branson, Sergey Brin, and Steve Jobs. Taking things at face value, would you have ever expected all of them to go as far as they did? Were they all “predestined” for it? Many of them have their own unique weaknesses and flaws, and many of them have gone through periods of self-doubt.

Just as a couple of examples, Richard Branson had quite a few problems in school as a dyslexic, Oprah Winfrey was a victim of sexual abuse, and Steve Jobs spent his last years battling with pancreatic cancer. I personally find this incredibly humbling, that these people that I look up to could have faced such adversity in their lives, and found a way to succeed in spite of it.

Never give up on yourself

In the end, I believe that what truly matters is how much good we can add to this world, and how we can improve the lives of others. If there’s something that defines us all as being human, I think it’s that no matter where we are in our lives, nobody really has it “perfect”, even if that’s how things seem on the outside. We can all benefit from being more empathetic and less judgmental toward others and ourselves and understanding our shared humanity, as I believe that is where we can find our strongest ability to overcome anything: our hope & faith in ourselves to succeed.

Never, ever, ever give up on yourself! You can give up on a project when it’s not working out and learn from your mistakes, but you’re still alive, so go out there and fight again another day! I do believe in Karma, in the sense that we can do good things and add to the total amount of goodness in the world. By taking the shots, failing some times, and reaching success in other times, I was able to find love and find my own success, and I can truly say that I am happier than I’ve ever been. I’d be lying if I said there weren’t days where something got me down, but I now have a flame of hope to help me forge on ahead.

Above all, you want to create something you are proud of. That’s always been my philosophy of business. I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive, then I believe you are better off doing nothing.

- Richard Branson

So long as we have the breath of life, we have the capability to improve this world for the better, and to me, this is what entrepreneurship is really about.

Dear reader, how do you define entrepreneurship? Is it like war, where it’s about cutthroat competition, a race to the bottom, and a fight to slice up the pie ever more finely? Or, is it more like love, where you can gain your greatest success by loving your customers, empathizing with them, and doing what it takes to improve their lives? 

It has taken me an incredibly long time to get over my own sense of shame for all of my failings, but in doing so, I have become a better lover and a better entrepreneur. Accepting failure has been a key to success, as well as maintaining undying hope and faith in the face of adversity. Will history judge where we came from, or where we ended up going?

Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase.

Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars… Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

The real test of an entrepreneur is in the mind. Failure will wear you down, and behind every successful entrepreneur lies a long string of failures. These failures should be taken for what they are, with no regrets, for each gives invaluable experience toward future success. I did not give up, and in spite of previous failures, I have been able to surpass my day job in every single way, and I am happier than I’ve ever been. The biggest obstacles along the way were, in fact, my own fears and doubts. 

An entrepreneur doesn’t need a privileged background, nor does he or she need to have the stereotypical personality, as these factors are not really required for success. My customers don’t care about where I’m from or what wakes me up at night; what they care about is the value that I add to their lives. Some of the most admirable entrepreneurs have faced incredible challenges, but what matters is how they have changed the lives of millions for the better. So long as we never give up on ourselves, and always strive to make a difference, then we can never truly fail. 

Please let me know if you have any questions for me on any topic regarding my leap of faith, regarding finances, dealing with setbacks or negative feedback, or really, just let me know what you have on your mind, and I’d be glad to share my thoughts.

What Does It Take to Emotionally Succeed as an Entrepreneur? Here’s What I’ve Learned, One Year After Quitting My Job and Taking the Leap of Faith was included in the following carnivals:

Carnival of Financial Planning at Good Financial Cents
Carnival of MoneyPros at Drop That Debt
Carnival of Retirement at Making Sense of Cents
Finance Carn. for Young Adults at Femme Frugality
Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty.ca
Yakezie Carnival at The Frugal Toad

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How do we ensure that our children are eating enough vegetables? How do we make sure they are spending enough quality time away from the video games? There are many ways to shape our children into the happy, healthy children we desire. Here’s a few tips to aid you in getting there.

Healthy Eating

You can not expect your children to be eating healthy if you are not also doing so. Show your children what healthy choices are by being a good role model and making them yourself. After dinner when you want something sweet, make the choice to have fruit. If you are craving some chocolate, choose a piece of high quality dark chocolate and pair it with fruit, like strawberries or nuts. At dinner, take seconds of the vegetables rather than the bread, meat or other less healthy choices.

Get your day off on the right path by making sure you begin with a healthy breakfast. Research has found that children who consume a breakfast that includes protein, Omega-3 fats, calcium, iron and fiber will do better at school. Their overall health will be better as well, which means fewer days off from school. Ditch that bowl of sugary cereal and serve up a hard-boiled egg, a piece of high fiber toast, fresh fruit and a glass of milk. Or make a fruit smoothie and pair it with a whole-grain waffle with almond butter on it.

To keep your kids eating healthy, get them involved in the process. Have them help you plan the menu, then shop and cook it together. The amount of time they have invested and the fun they have had with you will make the meal superb in their mind and much more easy to consume.

If you want to eat healthier, you must avoid dining out. Sometimes that’s easier said that done so save dining out for when you really didn’t expect it to be a crazy evening (ie. an emergency trip to the ER for a broken bone) but not every Thursday night because there’s practice. If you know your schedule, you know enough to plan a healthy dinner. When you are running around completing errands, make sure you are carrying snacks in the car. Plan ahead and put them into individual bags (do this when you get back from the grocery store so you are ready to grab them as you go out the door.).

It’s important to remember that healthy eating is a lifestyle not a chore so be sure to splurge once in awhile. Have that slice of cake for birthdays. Make a surprise trip to the ice cream shop on a warm summer’s evening. Bake that pie for National Pie day, or just because a sweet once in awhile is not a bad thing. Just remember that you can’t do it every night.

Active Lifestyle

In order to make anything last in your life, you have to get some enjoyment out of it. Activity is no different. If you want to encourage activity in children, you need to make activity fun! Participate in activities that the whole family can enjoy. Walk together while talking about science and nature. Take up a fun activity like Geocaching. In my family, we call it treasure hunting and set a goal to find a certain number of “treasures” each year. If the weather is nice, spend the day outside having a family Olympics. Find unique, fun ways to be active so that even the most reluctant child has a good time.

It’s so important that it must be said again; be a good role model. If you want your children to enjoy activity, then you need to show them how much you enjoy it. Kick a soccer ball around with them while you are laughing and having a good time. Let them see you taking walks or exercising in the gym. Talk to them about why activity is so vital for your body. If you spend your weekends at home on the computer or playing video games, you can only expect your children to do the same thing.

Video games, television, the internet and every other electronic device are a fun piece of technology but they are keeping you from an activity lifestyle. If you want to increase the activity level of your family, you will need to limit the use of electronics. Unplug for one weekend every month and find alternative games to play. Or make a rule that there is no video games during the week.

To get those reluctant movers involved, find a way to pair electronic usage with activity. The Xbox Kinect has some great games that can get your kids moving a bit. If weather prohibits you from being outside, get your activity in by dancing together in a game of Just Dance or jumping hurdles while playing Kinect Adventures (a family favorite in my house). The first time my son played Kinect Adventures, he was having such a blast that he didn’t even realize he was exercising. In fact he said “I’m having so much fun but why am I out of breath?” The activity was hidden in the fun!

Raising happy, healthy children is easier said than done, I know that as much as the next parent. But taking these steps puts towards that goal. Don’t discount how much of an impact a little change can make. If your life needs an overhaul, pick two of these and get to work. Add in more as they become habit. Eventually you (and me too) will be right where you want to be.

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The following is a staff post by SB.

Harsh economic times have resulted in varied sectors resorting to even tougher measures in order to acquire the right expertise to propel their ventures to desired heights. Recruitment processes have therefore been tightened to only facilitate the acquisition of none other than those deserving the task in question. There are therefore the different solutions being offered by both professionals and quarks on how to bag that desired job that a job seeker may be after.

Education being a major requirement is fundamental thus the basis on which most interviews are pegged on though never accounts for the most part of the interview. Once a job seeker appears for the interview, the question of education is normally surpassed by other factors such as relevant expertise and long term experiences in the field venture being sort from alternative platforms. Below are some three tips for job seekers to be able to bag that coveted opportunity from their respective prospect employers.

1. Having relevant proofs of the areas of specialization

This would be in terms of different types of achievements as well as acquired expertise. This is especially for non-creative jobs that may boost job seekers chances of impressing the interviewer. For the few that may be talented in varied fields, then the proof of portfolio would in a great way be able to not only heighten their respective ratings but also capture the attention of the employer.

This should however not make the job seeker over confidence but instead should be able to keep calm and abide by the requests required of them by the interviewer. He or she should never resort to deviating long explanations when asked to answer questions relevant to their alternative expertise or prowess. If possible, the job seeker should even go further to offer to showcase their expertise or talent to the job being sort voluntarily without expecting any form of payment in return. This would contribute create a good impression on the employee as well as provide a platform through which the job seeker may be able to gain experience and expertise while offering to be of assistance.

2. Be able to point out the mistakes being made by the company

This step would however have to be resorted to if the job seeker either has the immediate solution or a long term solution that can be resorted to. One should never decide to highlight the defaults of the company he or she is seeking a job if they would not be willing or able to offer solutions to the problem. For instance, many firms are cropping up with the varied change of tastes and preferences of the society thus may require certain expertise to propel them towards being an established firm among the competitive best.

If the job seeker may have long term expertise in office equipments such as machineries, then he or she should be able to point out the factor of concern that may have been observed from the market point of view. In the process, the job seeker may resort to offer a solution to the problem or better yet offer his or her prowess towards rectifying the fault at no fees whatsoever. This would in a great way have the best impression on the interviewer who may without hesitation pick the individual in question without any further considerations being resorted to.

3. Self-Confidence

This encompasses many aspects with the most basic being that of appearance. First impressions tend to depict a lot of the job seeker to the interviewer. Depending on the type of job being sort, the interviewer is meant to be appealing in all the aspects that may talk themselves without them having to say anything. Eye contact also says a lot about one if maintained. The job seeker should at all time keep consistent eye contact with his or her interviewer to be able to portray their character as having the required self confidence. It however does not count to only dress sharply and maintain eye contact without eloquent expression skills that are also meant to represent the job seeker and what he or she stands for. If privileged to pose a query, then the job seeker should resort to smart alternatives that will keep the interviewer guessing while in return create an impressive reputation for them on their employer’s part.

These three steps are among the most fundamental that would witness a job seeker not only bag the job being sort, but also gain an impressive reputation held of them by their employers. Another by the way that may also ensure that the three steps are easy to pull off is that of a job seeker being up to date. Information is all over and the better one is able to utilize them, the more advantageous they would prove when need arises.

 What other points would you add dear Readers?

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Mayan Zodiac Circle. Source: Wikipedia Commons

So we’re now in 2013, having successfully navigated through the treacherous waters of 2012 and the various end-of-the-world plots that were hiding in the depths.

To kick off the new year, I’d like to go back in time and look at the most popular articles from 2012, as well as thank our top referrers.

First, let’s take a look at the top 5 most visited posts of 2012:

The top five most visited posts of 2012

How to Get Fit, Feel Better, and Get Rid of Your Foggy Head: A Few Simple Steps

I used to live a more unhealthy lifestyle, and I suffered from massive headaches and foggy head syndrome. While I’m still not super healthy today (I spend many of my days sitting on my butt in front of a computer), I made some changes to my diet, and I feel better today.

What Would You Do with a Million Dollars?

While a million isn’t what it used to be, it’s still quite a substantial sum. What would you do with a million dollars?

3 Frugal Ideas for a Romantic Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is coming up again soon. Here are some timeless classic ideas that can help you woo your loved one this Valentine’s Day.

The Importance of Opportunity Costs, and Why They Should Not Be Ignored

In all the decisions we make in our lives, it’s important to not just consider the direct consequences, but also the indirect consequences of not taking other actions. These are harder to measure, but it still pays to think about them. Because time is scarce, everything we do has an opportunity cost in terms of the things we could have been doing instead.

One of the biggest examples of this is the decision to pursue university education versus other alternatives, such as trade school or self-directed learning. University might be the right decision for some people, while entrepreneurship might be a better decision for others.

What Do You Need to Get out of the Rat Race and Achieve Financial Freedom?

I love the idea of financial freedom, and having the choice to work in one profession versus another. I believe that society is slowly shifting toward a model where financial freedom will be much more achievable, but only if debt and consumption is reduced, too.

Let’s also take a look at the top five most commented posts of 2012:

The top five most commented posts of 2012

To qualify for this ranking, the post must have been published in 2012, so I didn’t count highly-commented posts from earlier years. I also excluded giveaway posts, since those comments are mostly stuff like “I entered the contest!”.

Here’s the list:

How I Quit My Job, and What I Plan to Do Next

It’s been almost a year since I quit my job to embark on an adventure of entrepreneurship. I still believe that this was one of the best decisions that I ever made in my life, and I credit this blog and the connections that I’ve made in helping me to make the initial leap.

Also, while I quit one job, I didn’t quit my career. I still consider myself to be engaged in a career, just as I would have been had I decided to work for another company, instead.

Two Months of Entrepreneurship: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Nobody said that entrepreneurship was easy. Learn how the initial months took their toll on my finances and my well-being.

Freelancing Revenue Report: My First Three Months in the Trenches

In this post, you can get more of an idea of how these first few months went for me.

Are People Shooting Themselves in the Foot With Income Reports?

Although many of our commentators disagreed with me, yes, I still believe that many people are shooting themselves in the foot with income reports. The answer is of course not black & white and depends highly on the circumstances.

Wait, am I not contradicting myself with the previous post about my freelancing revenue report? Well, I didn’t share absolute numbers, and well, I have not published an income report in a while.

Why I Live in a Condo (And Not a House)

Finally, a post not related to entrepreneurship and such: why I decided to buy a condo rather than a house.

It seems that the posts about entrepreneurship were the most popular amongst you guys, our fellow readers. What would you like to see in future posts?

Finally, I would like to thank our top five individual referrers for 2012:

The top five referrers of 2012

For this list, I am including the top five individual referrers for 2012, meaning that I am excluding social networking, search engines, aggregator and network sites, and so forth. Each of these is an individual blog run primarily by one individual person.

Without further ado, here is the list!

My Own Advisor

My Own Advisor is one of the kindest and most generous bloggers that I know, and I am happy that he made the top of the list. Mark, thank you for all of the selfless promotion that you have done over the years!

Financial Samurai

The Financial Samurai is naturally also one of the top referrers, with one of the strongest personal finance sites around. Sam, thank you for being one of our top referrers and for helping people out through initiatives like the Yakezie writing challenge!

Andrew Hallam

Andrew Hallam is such an inspiring and motivational figure. He greatly encouraged me when I was starting out Invest It Wisely, and his fight against bone cancer has inspired me so much. Andrew, thank you for your support and for fighting such a good fight on behalf of all investors, everywhere!

Beating The Index

Mich is a great blog buddy of mine, and we actually started the blogging adventure together, way back in 2010! Mich, thank you for being a great friend and for taking over Invest It Wisely; I know that the site is in good hands.

Retire by 40

Joe is a fellow personal finance blogger who has also exited the rat race, and he has also kindly linked out to Invest It Wisely on many an occasion. Thanks for all of the support, Joe!

We appreciate every single referral and every comment from everyone, so thank you all for kindly supporting Invest It Wisely over the years.

And there you have it. Here’s to a great 2013 for everyone.

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Paying off the mortgage is crucial for growing your wealth!

Pssst….Hey you!…Yeah you!…Come closer…I’ve got a secret to tell you. It’s a secret that can change your financial life forever. I’ve unlocked one of the biggest secrets to building personal wealth, but we’ve got to keep it down. We don’t want “them” to hear us.

Shhhhh… If you are a middle class person like me, you’ve been bombarded with images and stories about what “means” to be rich. From countless advertisements to watching Robin Leach, the middle class has been enticed to want more than they can afford.

We have been told to “BUY, BUY, BUY!” They’ve even made it through the use of easily available credit. We’ve decided that we would rather look wealthy than actually be wealthy. Unfortunately, for most people it isn’t working.

What would you say if I told you that you could become wealthy by changing a few simple things? Well, you can. All it takes is a shift in attitude and to make one simple commitment to yourself.

Are you ready to hear what that commitment is? OK, here is the secret: become and stay debt free. I know, I know. The reaction you are experiencing is normal. That angry, churning feeling in your gut is the Debt Demon struggling to stay relevant. He’s trying to convince you that I’m lying. He wants you to think that everybody is in debt. He wants you to believe that only debt can help you build wealth. He wants you to stay in debt because it makes HIM wealthy, not you. The Debt Demon is wrong. Not everybody is in debt. You don’t need debt to become wealthy. You can build wealth simply by using the most powerful wealth building tool at your disposal: your income. These are things that the rich already know. Still don’t believe me? Let’s explore what being debt free can mean to you.

Build Wealth More Quickly

If you are living like most people in North America, chances are that you have used debt to purchase things that you have wanted or needed. You probably have a car payment, maybe even two. If you have purchased a house, it is likely that you have a mortgage payment. You’re living a normal, middle class, debt-filled life. Imagine for a minute that you were debt free. Imagine that you did not have to shell out $800 a month in car payments. Better yet, why not pay off your mortgage early and get rid of that $2,000/month mortgage bill? If that was the case, your income could be used as a wealth building tool instead of a bill paying tool. Think about how quickly the money would pile up if you didn’t have to use it to pay back the bank! What could you possibly do with all that money? Well, maybe you could…

Have More Money to Invest

If there is something I love more than getting paid, it is making money that I don’t have to work for. That is why I love investing! By investing, I don’t just mean putting money into the markets. While that is a great option, you may also consider investing money in real estate or start your own business. The great thing about being debt free is that you have more money to invest in whatever way you choose. Furthermore, even if your investments fail, you still have the security of knowing that you aren’t going to lose your home because it is already paid for! So, now that being debt free has helped make your money work for you, what are you going to do with all of that extra cash? How about this…

Retire Early

HOLLA! Now that your investments are creating constant returns for you, why not kick that day job to the curb. Do you dream of traveling the world? You don’t have any debt, so get moving. Enjoy spending time at the lake? Now that you don’t need a day job to pay down your debt, feel free to spend as much time there as you like. Does sitting on the couch watching Oprah reruns really turn your crank? Have at it! The whole point of building wealth is to create more personal freedom, so why not take advantage of it?   The secret seems so simple, doesn’t it? All it takes to build wealth is owing others less money.

While the debt free concept is simple, we all know that putting it into practice may take a little more work. However, I’ve broken it down into an easy to follow plan to debt freedom that will have you sipping cocktails in Aruba in no time. So, now you know the secret to building wealth. What you do with that information is up to you!

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Fireworks seen in Rio de Janeiro from MSC Musica Ship – Copacabana – 2012. Source: Wikipedia

Happy New Year’s Eve! Here are some of the posts that you might have missed:

• Happy Holidays
• How to Fight the Blues This Winter by Giving to the Causes That You Believe In
• How to Host a Christmas Party on a Budget
• 3 Low Cost Ways to Grow Your Small Business

Have a safe New Year, and we’ll see you soon in 2013.

Roundup

2012 Reviews

• 2012 Blog Year In Review
• End of 2012 Blog Update

Career

• 10 Things We Learned Starting Our New Business
• How to do what you love, the right way
• “Quick, Help Me Find A Career!”
• Robots and Automation Are Taking American Jobs – Think Your Job is Safe?

Investing

• DIY Interviewed by Andrew Hallam
• Canadian Dividend Stocks: Senior Oil and Gas Producers
• Best and Worst Oil & Gas Stocks in 2012
• Gone Fishin’ Portfolio: A Simple Way to Build Wealth
• Robert Wasilewski – Howard County, Maryland

Miscellaneous

• 23andme now explores your ancestry
• BEING POOR IN NORTH AMERICA
• Car Insurance for Canadian Drivers
• Has Fast Food Become Socially Unacceptable?
• Help Catalonia
• The Curse Of The Reserve Currency
• You Can Give a Boy a Doll, but You Can’t Make Him Play With It

Motivation

• 6 Harsh Truths That Will Make You a Better Person
• Why Do You Want to Become Rich?
• YOU ARE ALREADY WEALTHY

Personal Finance

• Offshore Pirate Banks & Tax Havens – Tools of the Super-Rich
• Shopping around for petrol
• The Year End Financial Slap Across The Face

The Holidays

• Fun And Inexpensive Holiday Activities For The Whole Family
• How I Owned my Christmas Shopping This Year.

Carnivals

• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at The Savvy Scot
• Carnival of Financial Planning at One Cent At A Time
• Carnival of Financial Planning at Master the Art of Saving
• Carnival of Financial Planning at Thriftability
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Debt Black Hole
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Life Insurance by Jeff
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Making Sense of Cents
• Carnival of MoneyPros at The Frugal Toad
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Vanessa’s Money
• Carnival of Retirement at Finance Product Reviews
• Carnival of Retirement at Investing Money
• Carnival of Retirement at Mo’ Money Mo’ Houses
• Carnival of Retirement at Vanessa’s Money
• The Festival of Frugality at Self-Help Happiness Blog
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
• Yakezie Carnival at Making Sense Of Cents
• Yakezie Carnival at My Family Finances
• Yakezie Carnival at RamblingFever Money
• Yakezie Carnival at Savvy Scot

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Happy Holidays! We at Invest It Wisely wish you and your families the best for 2013, a new year for hope, change, and love.

Let your true colors shine, and be sovereign in your life and all that you do.

Sincerely,

Kevin & Mich

Invest It Wisely

I heard this on the radio recently, and loved the song and the message. Here is the original:

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Welcome to December, everyone! As we draw nearer to Christmas, the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, and the snow starts to stick to the ground. In some ways, the lengthening nights can be a bit depressing, as it starts to get dark before 4 p.m. However, I’m also reminded of warm, delicious turkey dinners and the joys of spending the holidays with those we care about.

As we draw to the close of one year and to the beginning of another year, I look back and see how things went, and try to think of what I can do to further myself in the new year ahead. As human beings, we are always acting to move towards a state of higher satisfaction and attainment, and I don’t just mean money or material attainment. At each step of the journey, we wonder “what’s next?”, and “where do I go from here?”

The road isn’t always easy going! There are a lot of challenges to face along the way, and some of the biggest are inside our heads. Jeremy, a blog buddy of mine, recently shared some of his thoughts on depression, and how he’s dealt with it over time. His post resonated with me, as I’ve been prone to depression and anxiety myself. Sometimes I wonder why our brain switches this on — don’t we still live good lives, with warm homes and food to eat? Many of our ancestors had to struggle just to have that, and many people around the world still struggle even today.

Sometimes, the simplest life can be the happiest life of all. Buddha once wrote that suffering comes from desire and longing, and maybe part of depression is a result of having too much longing, longing for the wrong things, or blaming ourselves for the things that we cannot change. I believe that a big part of it is relative — it’s the relative differences that upset us, even if we are not doing so badly in absolute terms.

When I travelled to the Ethiopian countryside, I found that the further off we went and the less exposure that people had to Western culture and Western tourists, the happier they were. Western culture isn’t itself to blame, but imagine living a life where even a plastic bottle, something most of us don’t think twice about discarding, is something to be treasured. Might put the relative differences into the spotlight, yes? And so it is with most of us, on a lesser scale.

Whether it is wealth, income, social status, beauty, social attainment, or even our very own imagination and the expectations that we grew up with, much longing comes from the relative differences that we perceive between where we are and where we think we should be.

Each of us has something valuable to add to this world

The forest is situated south of the Loch Achray Hotel. An excellent walk can be had from Loch Katrine eastwards through the forest to emerge part way up the Dukes Pass.
Source: Malcolm Street (geograph) and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic Licence.

What can we do to combat these feelings that we all face at times? I don’t think shame or just telling oneself to “get over it” works, because that doesn’t really address the root of the problem; it’s natural to feel longing, and it’s even natural to feel depressed at times. Rather, I think there are ways to reduce the longing and add some good to the world at the same time.

I think the first step is to realize that each of us has a purpose in life, and a unique value that we bring to the world. I don’t mean this in the sense that “everyone is special and a unique snowflake”, but rather, I mean this in the sense that there is a path out there that will help each of us get closer to the light of self-actualization. The most basic truth is that each of us has the power to do good in this world, and we have the choice to do our little bit to make the world a better place; it can be as small as deciding to give your waiter/waitress an extra tip the next time you go out to eat. It can be finding your passion, and deciding to work a little bit harder and produce a little bit more. There are many ways to give forth, even extending beyond regular charity.

I believe that giving support to the causes that one believes in is one of the most important ways that we can self-actualize and add to the world. There are many victims of violence out there, people in abusive relationships, people that have been bullied, and as we know from the tragic events of recent history, there will be many parents who face the prospect of a lonely Christmas this year, without the smiles and joy of their loved ones. The causes that you believe in are private, and they are for you to decide. In supporting these causes, you can bring more justice and compassion to the world.

There are so many ways that this can be applied, and this works even if the sources of your longing might be quite vain!

• Did you ever suffer from parental or spousal abuse, or were you bullied when younger? Help to right the injustice by providing much-needed support to abuse shelters, the Big Brothers and Sisters, and homes for runaways.
• Are you upset because you got laid off, or you feel your career is stagnating? Help mentor a student on the ways of the work force, or better yet, hire them for a personal project and get something off the ground.
• Wishing you could drive a Mercedes, but drive an econobox instead? Imagine if you didn’t have a car at all. Donate or volunteer to help out a less fortunate family with their food & transportation needs this Christmas.

To me, this is one of the most powerful cures for depression and longing. Sometimes donations and charity can almost feel a bit trite, especially when it feels forced or it feels like a social obligation; that’s why I think it’s important to find the causes that you really believe in! Look beyond the traditional sources of charitable giving to the areas that also mesh with your personal values, and where you believe that even small funds can make a meaningful impact.

Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska — The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, shines above Bear Lake. Source: Wikipedia

Sometimes, we also just have to help ourselves by developing a greater appreciation for the wonder around us, so we develop the capability to later help ours. Many people don’t look forward to the cold of winter (myself included!), but you know what, there are a lot of great things about it. We can enjoy winter sports, such as snowing and skiing. We can sit in a dark park at night, and look up at the stars of the crisp and clear night sky, and then come inside and enjoy the warmth of our homes. Each cycle of the seasons brings renewed life and hope to the world.

We can all contribute something valuable to this world. Even if we’ve suffered great wrongs, or even if our longings are merely vain, even if we don’t have everything that we want, we still have the power to make a difference.

How do you feel about how the year has gone for you, and how are you coping with your own feelings as you strive toward personal fulfillment? I am thankful that the first year of my leap has gone well, and I have learned so much; I feel much more capable than I ever have at any previous time in my life. I still sometimes get a bit depressed, mainly over things that are beyond my ability to change, and to work through it, I think of some of the causes that I believe in, and what I can do to make a difference.

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The gift ideas can be endless out there; all you need really is a credit card to kick spending out of control. It’s very easy to overspend whether you shop in malls or online in the cosiness of your house wearing your favourite pyjama.

We often receive a lot of family on Christmas Eve where we exchange gifts and enjoy a table of delicacies. When you’re hosting, you’re always under pressure to be the best host not to mention presenting a fun Santa Clause experience.

This year folks you can be all that on a smaller budget by following a few simple but efficient tips. Fight temptations by setting a hard budget limit and sticking to it. Setting a budget is only half the solution when it comes to exchanging gifts. In order to keep the gift quality high it is best if you only focus on gifting 1 person rather than several.

How do you do this? Very simple, let’s assume that excluding kids, there will be a total of 10 people in the house.

Randomly select a name for each guest whereby each person ends up worrying about 1 person when it comes to gifting. Keep the selection secret; just inform your invitees of the person they will be gifting. In this case, each person ends up buying 1 and only 1 gift allowing you to respect the budget while gifting an item of quality.

It will be fun to discover who is gifting who on Christmas Eve!

The 1 gift rule obviously does not apply on kids because they love unwrapping several gifts – isn’t that what makes their Christmas memorial. For kids under 6 years old, it’s not that complicated to buy them a bunch of toys.  No need to buy the most expensive toy, for example for the price of one expensive doll you can get the full deal with accessories and all the magical plastic stuff a dolly needs.  You will be surprised of how much stuff you also can buy from a dollar store.

Let’s face it, it’s not worth overspending on a new toy as kids love it today and discard it a few days or weeks later at best.  But for older kids, it might get a little bit complicated as they start coming back with all sorts of gift ideas from their peers at school. It’s usually a specific item they have mind usually related to electronics (WII games, XBOX accessories, etc.)  Make sure to shop around including online for the best prices.

The bill adds up fast if as the host you have to buy everything. Presenting an assortment of meals is not only time consuming but also very expensive (not to mention drinks!)

In a party with family or friends, just ask every guest to contribute to the menu. They would all show up with something special they cooked or bought.  In your case, cooking your part is simply the way out of paying for it. Depending on the plate, most of the time it’s cheaper to make it yourself than ordering it from a restaurant.

Finally, you are building memories of happy times spent with family and friends, that is priceless.  And for goodness sake don’t go cheap on cookies and milk for Santa Claus. He/She worked really hard all year long, so let Santa enjoy a hot chocolate and some tasty cookies when he visits :0)

How do you keep your budget under control for Christmas parties?

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The following is a staff post by Melissa Batai. 

If you own a small business, you may not have a lot of cash for advertising, especially if the business is new.  Ironically, new businesses might need the most advertising, but they usually have the least amount of money to use on advertising.  However, thanks to the Internet and your own social skills, there are plenty of ways to grow your business that don’t cost a dime.

Social Networking

Social networking is one of the oldest ways to grow your business, and there are a variety of ways you can do this.

Attend a conference.  Attend a conference in your field and take the time to get to know others who work in the same area you do.  Before you attend the conference, you may want to do some research about who will be attending and learn a little bit about the attendees you want to connect with so you will have a topic to chat about.  True, this option isn’t free, but hopefully you will leave the conference with more connections and knowledge from the seminars.

Volunteer in your community.  If you volunteer for an non-profit organization or charity in your community, you will likely meet other business people and make connections.  In addition, other volunteers who aren’t business owners may remember you and your business should they need something.  If you are an eager volunteer who works hard and is friendly, people will remember you.

Facebook

If you don’t have a Facebook page for your business, you should get one, right now.  A 2011 Mashable report stated that 42% of U.S. adults use Facebook, but my guess is that the number has grown in the 1.5 years since the report.  Consumers are on Facebook, and they want to connect with your brand.  Here are some strategies you can use to connect with them:

Show them something you produced.  Do you have a sewing store?  Show them a dress you created and tell them the pattern and the fabrics used.  Then include a link directly to those items in your store.  If they like what you made, they can follow the link and buy the items themselves.  You have made it easy.

Notify them of sales.  Do you have a sale on certain items?  Notify them by Facebook and include a link to the sale items.  The day the sale ends, send out a reminder post.

Make it personal.  While many people will appreciate learning about what you produced or being notified of sales, they will also connect with you on a deeper level if you share a bit more personally. That doesn’t mean you should reveal intimate details of your life.  Instead, show your sense of humor with a tasteful joke related to your industry or a quote you read on the Web or in the paper.  This shouldn’t be done frequently, but just enough to make your posts varied.

Twitter

Twitter has a much smaller following than Facebook, but those on Twitter are vocal and glad to express their opinions of your business, whether those opinions are positive or negative.  Having a Twitter account and interacting with your followers can help create brand loyalty.  Consider using these strategies:

Respond to every complaint.  If you get a complaint, respond.  How you respond is important.  Try to right any complaint the customer has.  Others will be reading the thread and watching what you tweet.  A good response can turn a negative situation into a positive one and can earn you more customers.

Connect with the right people.  Keep track of who is following you on Twitter.  Delete the obvious spammers.  Likewise, follow those who tweet at least a few times a week about items related to your industry.  (You can search appropriate hashtags to find this information.)

Engage others.  Yes, you are on Twitter to grow your business, but if you only Tweet about business, you will lose followers.  Instead, take the time to respond to all comments you get, and comment on those you are following.  Engage others, and they will respond and become more loyal as they grow to trust you and your brand.

A new business must do everything it can to attract new clients.  Luckily, through social networking and using Facebook and Twitter, this isn’t hard to do and doesn’t cost very much money.

Bonus tip: Cash is king, so make sure you get it right with this handy guide from Hitachi Capital Invoice Discounting. For a chance to win funding for your business free of charge for 12 months enter the Inspired Cashflow Small Business competition.

What ways would you recommend to advertise when you are a small business on a tight budget? Have you used any of these strategies?

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Snowflakes on a handrail in Germany. Macro photo taken in manual mode. Source: Wikipedia

Welcome to another monthly wrapup! Another month has come and gone, snow is starting to fall, and my journey has come a long way since I quit my job nearly a year ago. Some of you are curious to know more about the emotional side of things, in taking the leap of faith and in dealing with the ups and downs, so I’ll write up about that soon. I also recommend you to check out Jeremy Noel Johnson, a fellow app-developer who has been working hard on Real Time Calculator.

I’ve also transferred control of Invest It Wisely over to my good buddy Mich from Beating The Index. We started the adventure together, and I’m happy to pass the torch on to him.

Here are some of the posts that you may have missed since our last roundup:

• Consider All Your Options Before Relocating
• Our Bid for Financial Freedom by Age 50
• Failure to Save Leads to Financial Disaster
• How to Get Kids Interested in Money and Investing

Sponsored message: For the fans of Omega-3 supplements amongst you, Everest Nutrition Krill Oil is hosting a holiday give-away on their site. Scroll down and click on the banner at the bottom of the page to participate.

Monthly wrapup

Blogging

• It’s Your Blogging Journey, You Make The Rules

Investing

• A Buying Opportunity in Oilfield Services Stocks?
• Favourite Takeaways – The Elements of Investing (Part 1 of 3)
• Here’s why the gold price goes over $2000 in the next 3 months whilst the S&P falls to 1215
• Insider Trading Should Be Legal? Debunked
• My Take on Canadian Banks
• Some harsh realities of investing
• How to Profit From the Oil Sands Boom with Camp Providers

Miscellaneous

Personal Finance

• Can’t Save? Write It Out, Bitches!
• How much money is enough?
• How You May Be Getting Ripped Off Everyday
• I AM the 53% – Share Your Story
• Is Your FICO Score Really a Good Snapshot of Your Finances?
• ROI of Home Energy Upgrades
• Should I Spend More Money On My Kids, Especially My Young Daughter?
• Why using your nest as your sole retirement nest egg is a bad idea
• Year-end Tax Planning Tips

Retirement

• Are You Saving Enough for Retirement?
• Saving for Retirement: Don’t Make Excuses

Carnivals

• Canadian PF Happy Hour at Canadian Personal Finance
• Canadian PF Happy Hour at Canadian Personal Finance
• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Credit Resource Center
• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
• Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at See Debt Run
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Debt Black Hole
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Finance Product Reviews
• Carnival of MoneyPros at My Multiple Incomes
• Carnival of Retirement at Family Money Values
• Carnival of Retirement at Master the Art of Saving
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty
• Yakezie Carnival at The Ultimate Juggle
• Yakezie Carnival at Parenting and Money
• Carnival of Retirement at Finance Product Reviews
• Carnival of MoneyPros at Vanessa’s Money
• Yakezie Carnival at My Family Finances
• Y and T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty

See you all next month!

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Moving Time!

The following staff post is by Jessica Streit.

In an economy such as what the United States is currently going through it can be very easy to see greener grass in other cities. In fact, in a 2010 survey, it was found that nearly 25% of people looking for employment have considered relocating to an area that they feel could offer them a better life.

And why not? A new job when you are unemployed is the goal. A move may be exciting, an adventure and lead to bigger and better ventures. Or it could mean debt, isolation, and depression. There are many factors involved with relocating to a new city that should be considered if you hope to avoid the negative impact of debt, isolation and depression.

Moving Costs

One of the most important aspects of relocating is the cost of moving. There are many decisions to make before you move:

• Do you want to hire movers to move your entire household?
• Can you even fit all of your belongings in your new place?
• Is it more cost effective to sell things, move as little as possible and decorate with newly acquired items after your move?
• What other expenses will you have before, during and right after you move that should be considered?

The answers to these questions are entirely up to your situation. If you are moving from a house in the Midwest to a small studio in New York City, chances are you will need to sell or donate a good portion of your belongings prior to the move. You may find that it is just easier and less expensive to take the bare minimum and buy new items over the course of the upcoming months following your move.

If you are staying with friends or a relative while you get your situation settled, you’ll be paying to store your belongings, that may become far too expensive as well. Selling things before you move may make more sense and save you on the hassle.

While considering the move, you’ll also want to include in the moving costs a trip to your new city prior to the move. You are going to want to go scope out the area to find out if it’s a good fit. You may need to search for housing if you want to have that in place prior to the move.

While you are in the process of moving and after you get to your new location, you are going to be spending a lot of money on incidentals that you may not have considered. You’ll be eating out a lot more, using a lot of gas as you drive around looking at neighbourhoods or for shops (and getting lost too). You’ll inevitably forget something that you need and realize it is in storage or you sold it and suddenly at 10pm, you’ll find yourself making a trip to Target to get that item. Before you know it, your moving costs have doubled and you are in debt.

Is this move worth it if you’ll be acquiring debt during the process? If you want to avoid this happening, you are going to need a savings account to cover these costs.

Housing and Cost of Living

When considering a move to a new city housing is going to be one of your biggest decisions. If you are moving from a big city to the Midwest, you may find that you can afford more house. The opposite is going to be true as well. The 1,500 square foot town home you have now is going to cost up to four times as much in a larger city. Consider the costs involved with owning or renting in your new location and make sure the income you are receiving will be enough to cover your expenses. $50,000 may seem like enough to live off of when you are only making $35,000 but if housing and cost-of-living expenses are higher in your new location, you may find yourself barely making ends meet or even worse, going into debt. States with the highest cost of living include Rhode Island, New York, Maryland, Alaska and California. Conversely states with the lowest cost of living include Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, Idaho, and Utah.

When you consider all that it costs just to live, you’ll want to really make sure that the salary you are being offered to move is truly worth it.

Friendships and Routines

After you have sorted out the financial aspects of moving, it is important to consider how your social life is going to be affected. Do you know anyone in the area you are considering? Are you going to be living far enough away that seeing your current friends will be difficult? Social isolation is a huge factor in depression and if you are a shy person, have a difficult time making friends or really like being close to your family then moving to a brand new city may be hard for you to adjust to.

If you are determined to move and don’t know anyone, take action to make new contacts and friends before you move. Ask your employer to set you up with a mentor or someone who is established in the area to show you around. Ask your friends on Facebook to see if they know anyone in the city you are moving to. Start looking for interesting groups on the website MeetUp.com and start conversations with the members prior to moving. When you get there, you could have a social calendar already in place.

Saying good-bye to your current friends and family will be one of the most difficult parts of relocating. Be sure to set up times to talk on the phone, Skype or even visit soon. Keep those connections alive after you’ve moved, you’ll need an ear from time to time and that touch of home may be just what you need to brighten your smile when life in the new city gets tough.

Thankfully social media and smart-phones makes keeping in touch super easy these days and you never have to feel too far from home. But if you do, be sure you have routines in place to help alleviate those days when you are feeling homesick. Keep a list of areas you want to explore and new venues that you want to check out. A New-City Bucket List filled with all the museums, restaurants and parks that you are looking forward to should hold a prominent place on your refrigerator. Cross off each item as you get to know your new home!

Moving to a new city can be exciting but it can also be expensive and in some cases a mistake. Be sure you have considered all the options before you make a commitment. Relocating may be great for your career on paper but if it’s not great for you then nothing else will matter.

Have you ever relocated for a job? What was the best and worst aspects of moving?

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Financial freedom has been my ultimate goal since I started college in 2001. That was when I thought I’d be working in a white collar cubicle for 30-35 years, and be able to fall back on a nice pension when I decided to retire. By the time I graduated in 2005, pensions were a dying breed and I was going to have to rely mainly on a 401k. By 2010, thinking you had any control over when you retired in my company was hilarious.

Then I quit altogether in July 2011 to tackle self-employment head on. My husband then quit in January 2012 to help me out at home. So I am proof that plans change.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Where We Are Now

I kept my 401k since I was fully vested and the super low fees are fantastic. And we have my husband’s tiny pension account from teaching on standby. I also keep contributing to the Roth IRA that I opened in 2008 when I learned that they exist. My husband opened a Roth IRA in 2010 and we’ve been fully contributing to that one too. But that is pretty much where we came to a screeching halt.

When I started making more from my online business than we ever expected, I started using the extra to pay down our current mortgage. It’s at about $25,000 as of August 2012. But in April 2012, instead of using a large sum of saved money to pay off the mortgage as we planned, we found our dream home and started having it built down the road. So everything has been on pause since April as our mortgage broker requested. When the expensive closing is over in September 2012, we will have some decisions to make about our future.

Where We Will Be By October

We will have two mortgages starting in mid-September 2012. That annoys me. I think our first priorities will be to save a ton of cash over the end of 2012 so that we can build back up our emergency fund and pay off the current mortgage. It’s only at 4.5%, but it still frustrates me. Plus, any kind of debt is extra heavy on our shoulders since we became self-employed. The mortgages are the only debt we will have, so they have got to die.

The bright side of owning two homes is that we will be using our current one as a rental. That extra money each month will fully cover the current mortgage and property taxes, and it will even help a bit with our new mortgage. Once we own our current home free and clear, the rent will be enough to cover all of the property taxes of the first home and the new mortgage too. We’ll just have to cover the new property taxes.

Another nice thing about our current situation is that we rent out a spare bedroom of our own home to a pair of our friends. They are currently planning on staying for another year or more while they finish college. That monthly extra will cover most of the new property taxes, so we will only need a few hundred dollars a month from our own income for housing. We can then use extra income to pay off the new house within 5-10 years too (it will take us 6 years to pay off our current house).

After that, we will be opening a self-employment IRA or 401k. We looked into them late last year, but obviously some stuff popped up. I will need to look at the details again to figure out which one is right for us.

Our New Plan for Financial Freedom

I think a combo of our Roth IRA’s, a SEP 401k, and rental income will cover our retirement needs. If being a landlord doesn’t work well for us, we’ll sell our first house and invest the proceeds. We are aiming to have $3 million or more saved by age 50 so that we can live comfortably off the interest. This means that I will need to check in on all of our accounts regularly with an amortization calculator to make sure we are sticking to our plan.

What we can earn with our money is definitely going to determine how fast it grows, so that will be matter of hoping for the best dividends and interest rates as we go. My husband and I have both learned that there are just some things that you can’t control. But it is nice to have a plan anyway.

Are you aiming for financial freedom at some point? What are your plans?

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Do you spend everything you earn?

Yes?

saving and spending (Photo credit: 401(K) 2012)

Then you have something in common with the majority of people. Most people spend every cent of their income and have made no provision for saving. Household saving rates fell below the one percent mark in 2007 in the US and are still among the lowest in the world.

Failure to save really does lead to financial disaster and is one of the major reasons why people struggle to survive. Each person has a choice about how they live their life; it is vital to make saving a top priority.

No one can predict the future; we never really know what’s around the corner and down life’s road. It could be that everything will be rosy but that is really an unrealistic expectation. Financial difficulties happen to nearly everyone on the planet at some stage; the best we can do is take action to limit the effect.

So if having some savings is so important, why do so few people have any? We live in a consumer-driven society, constantly being tempted in every type of media to buy the biggest, the latest and the best. Is it any wonder so many people are guilty of over-spending and under-saving?

Do you worry about being able to pay your bills? Do you get to the end of a pay period and wonder where all the money went? Do you suffer anxiety, stress or lose sleep over your finances?

Let’s look at how saving part of every pay check will ease these worries and allow you to get some sleep at night.

If you lost your job or were unable to work for a while, how long would you be able to manage? The majority of people admit that they would be lucky to have enough money to last a month in this situation. No wonder stress is affecting so many people!

The #1 rule of financial security is to always put some money aside as savings from every pay check. Think of this as paying yourself and always pay yourself first. The easiest way to do this is arrange to have your savings amount automatically transferred to a savings account each pay day. What you never see, you won’t miss but you will have the peace of mind that comes with having some back-up funds.

Now, this amount you’re saving is not for retirement; you need to have specific retirement account for this. Neither are these savings your emergency fund; that should be a separate account to pay your living expenses in case of an emergency. While you need both retirement and emergency accounts your priority should be to save enough  as a back-up for when bills come in and life’s little unexpected surprises occur.

“How can I save anything when there’s never any money left over!”

Ever heard yourself saying this? It’s the most common reason people give for not having any savings.

When you create a budget, you will know how much money there is for everything you need to pay for. If there’s not enough to go around, you either need to earn more money or cut back in spending somewhere. These are the only two choices you have; relying on credit to make it through the month is definitely not an option. This is where so many people fail; they use credit cards to try and make ends meet but this practice only gets them deeper and deeper in debt.

So, savings becomes one of your expenses in your budget but an expense you will be glad to have. You will also be saving the amount you need to put aside from every pay check for occasional bills and expenditures like annual insurances, vehicle expenses, gift buying, home maintenance etc. A well-planned budget drastically reduces the risk of financial problems and worry. When you know everything is accounted for, worry is taken out of the equation.

Saving towards a goal is a great way of getting results. If you have a plan, you will be more motivated to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal. Open a separate savings account for holidays, a new car, a new kitchen or whatever you want.

Controlling spending is the other side of the coin in creating savings. With so many people living from pay day to pay day, this is often the only way to find money for savings. It is often the little things, the frivolous things, that eat away at our money. It is important to identify the things you need, from the things you want or would like to have. It is in the area of spending on ‘wants’ that savings can usually be found.

Sometimes, the decisions we need to make, in order to be able to save, will be difficult ones. When people have become accustomed to a certain way of living, making changes can be hard. If you are severely over-stretched, you might need to consider down-sizing your home and car or moving to a cheaper area. But it’s better to make those tough decisions before your financial situation gets any worse.

Having a back-up of savings helps reduce financial stress and gives a cushion against financial disaster.

So, do you have a back up plan?

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Ask my 9 year old son what he needs more of and he’ll tell you three things: video games, money to buy video games and time to play video games. His currency, that which encourages him to do anything around the house is time on the computer. He’s a gamer already and has big plans for what his future of gaming is going to look like.

He realizes though that his future isn’t going to be so great if he can’t fund it. So it was with great reluctance, a few months ago that he approached me about earning more money. He already earns a base “salary” each week that he is with me (I share custody with my ex-husband so my children are here every other week) but he has rules for that money. He’s interested in increasing his free, fun money and wants to know how he can do it quicker.

Texas Cotton Palace Stock Certificate (Photo credit: The Texas Collection, Baylor University)

Start Early

One of the best ways to get kids interested in money is to start when they are young. One thing you have going for you when a child is young is that they still want to hear everything you have to say. If you wait until a child enters their teens, they may be more reluctant to listen. Something happens on their thirteenth birthday and they just automatically know “everything.” 

Getting started with young children is easy. Start with an allowance around the time they enter school. At this age children have heard “No, that costs too much money” or “No, we can’t afford that” once or twice. This is a great time to show them that they can save some money for those items that were formerly out of reach. 

A good rule of thumb is to give a child $1 for each year of his age (a 5 year old would receive $5 each week, a 10 year old would receive $10). Divide the money up into two or three banks. Typically, a long-term savings, a spend and a give bank but some families may choose to make it college savings, fun money and tithing. Make the choices based on what is right for your family. In my home it is Spend, Save and Give. My children give a portion of their income to a charity that our family supports, (currently it is the Ronald McDonald House) but it could also be your church or an organization that you volunteer for. 

The allowance should be divided up in a manner that you find appropriate. In my home, 50% of their income goes into their “save” bank, 40% into “spend” and 10% goes in to their “give” bank. The money in the savings bank goes into a bank account after it reaches $50. We do not have any goals with the savings account, just that we will use it in the future. 

Keep them motivated

As your child ages, you may find that their interest in earning money decreases. This is especially true if they are saving for something with a large price tag. At times like this it is a good idea to consider a match program or offering extra jobs for them to earn more money. A match program is simply matching what your child saves yourself. If your child is saving for something like a laptop and you know it will take them a very long time to purchase it, consider offering to match their money dollar-for-dollar.

This can keep the child motivated to keep working towards his goal. Do not do this every time he or she is saving but on occasion when the item they are saving for is something you would buy them at birthdays or holidays, it may be a good way to keep them motivated to save. 

Many families match the savings account in this manner. The money goes directly into a savings account every time the child makes a deposit. As the child gets older and they begin to save for a car or college, this is a great way to keep them motivated and show them your support. 

Teaching About Investing

A great lesson for tweens and teens beyond saving is investing. Personal investing is not often taught in the school system. If you want your child to learn this valuable lesson, then the best way to do so is to get them involved.

Purchase their first share of stock for a company they can relate to. Disney is great for the child who loves Disney/Pixar movies, Nike may be great for the athlete, if your child is a gamer or lover of all things computerized, consider buying him or her a share of Apple. The key is to buy something that will keep his or her interest. (Be sure to request the stock certificate so they can have something tangible. Disney makes very colorful certificates and it’s a great place to start.) 

Together watch how the stock increases and, hopefully not often, decreases over time in price. Discuss how their investment has grown. Discuss how other similar stocks are doing and if they should purchase more or sell what they own. Start small but develop a portfolio that your child can take with him or her when they graduate school. 

As for my oldest son, he’s opening his first savings account in the coming weeks and making plans for that spend bank. After he pays off a lost library book, he has plans to save for a used Wii. I plan to match his savings as part of his birthday present (which is in January). We’ll also be looking at purchasing his first share of stock for that birthday. We are going to learn to invest together.

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Rise of the Machines! Source: Terminator series; last seen on The Online Investing AI Blog.

Welcome to a haunted carnival of carnivals, rise of the machines edition!

As a mobile software developer, I always marvel at just how powerful these small devices have become, and how much they have woven themselves into our lives. I wonder how us Canadians and our American friends to the south are going to keep up in a competitive global landscape where Asia has more engineers than we do, as well as a better work ethic. The grass isn’t always greener, and Asia does have a problem with crony capitalism just like we do here in the West. We also still have the creativity… for now.

I also wonder how large portions of the population will cope when robots automate more and more of the landscape. Even my job as a software developer will eventually be replaced by a set of intelligent AIs.

Where do we go from there? I don’t really believe in a “rise of the machines” scenario; in fact, I’m more scared of the humans that may benefit disproportionately from such changes. On the other hand, imagine all of the cool possibilities: when you can have giant 3D printers, you can allow for an explosion of the long tail, as the fixed costs of production come down making large capital investments less necessary. I think we live in a very exciting time in world history!

What do you think?

On an unrelated note, it looks like it’s time to say farewell to Balance Junkie. Best of luck in your future adventures, Kim!

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Assent Publishing wanted to share the following blurb with all of you:

In just one hour you can learn economics. You will understand the basics and most importantly, where the line is drawn between economics from politics. Challenge yourself to change America’s economic destiny. The science called ECONOMICS has for centuries mystified mankind because it is. . .(1) BORING! and (2) TECHNICAL! (supposedly). With so much of the world on the verge of bankruptcy and with the spreading of misery which always accompanies financial hurt, it has never been so important for people to have an understanding of basic principles of economics which so directly affect their material well-being.

How to Understand Economics in 1 Hour should be read in one sitting, so allow for a little less than an hour for fast readers, a little more for slow readers. There is NOTHING complicated in this book. No more than grammar school arithmetic is necessary, and only a very little of it is used. Read and understand. Watch the clouds go away; watch the myths disappear. Then you’ll “know”.

On to the monthly reading:

Finance

• Do the Amish Pay Taxes?
• How do you kill a financial zombie?
• How I Saved at Least $50,000 by Buying New Furniture
• Powerful Tips to Avoid Debt at an Early Age
• Straight Talk on Debt: What’s on Your Money Mind?

Home Ownership

• My Fixed or Variable Mortgage Rate Decision

Investing

• 100% of Economists Surveyed Wrong on Treasuries…Building a New Muni Market…A Puerto Rican Surprise..and more!