Well forgive me for being a Debbie Downer, but I’m not inspired. Reading about the success of someone who managed to build up a highly profitable business at a young age, with no description of how he did it, is not helpful to me, or quite frankly, to anyone.

For starters, without any information on how he built up his company and accumulated his wealth, it’s just a human interest story. It does not offer any advice for someone looking to start a business, and it doesn’t offer any advice on how to save and invest your money to amass such a fortune. It’s essentially saying “hey look, this guy earned boatloads of money by starting his own business, isn’t that interesting?” Interesting? Perhaps. Inspiring? Not to me.

Second, even if the article did explain how he built up his business and what choices he made along the way that helped him accumulate so much money, it doesn’t change the fact that you can be incredibly smart, work as hard as you possibly can, make all the right choices, and still fail to generate that kind of wealth. Inspirational to know that it can be done? Okay, sure. Likely that the average person is going to be able to replicate his results? Definitely not.

I’m sure I lost some entrepreneurial folks with that last paragraph, and that’s where the topic of this post comes into play. Some people are inspired by stories of average Joes who work really hard building their own businesses and creating their own success. If you have the desire to start your own business, it’s nice to know that in this country, the rags-to-riches story is possible, albeit it rare. If you have a great idea that will add value to people’s lives and you work really, really hard building a business, you have a chance of extreme success.

The problem is, most people are not going to ever start their own business. They will continue to work as employees for someone else, dreaming of the day they could start their own mythical company and rake in millions. Some of them don’t have the courage to leave their day job. Others don’t have a viable business idea. Others have no knowledge of how to launch or run a business. For them, calling a story about a guy who accumulated $20M by the age of 27 inspiring is akin to calling a story about someone winning the lottery inspiring.

And then there are the people who will be inspired by these types of stories to go out and start their own business, but who fail to realize the amount of knowledge and hard work required to make a business successful because these stories so often gloss over that part. 50% of small businesses fail within the first five years, and the number one cause is lack of experience. But even if you do manage to stay afloat, 93.1% of small businesses have annual revenues less than $250,000. Hardly the type of profit that’s going to net you $20M in seven years.

I don’t intend to chide people who are truly inspired to become entrepreneurs. If you have the drive within you and find inspiration in stories of others who share your drive and used it to create great wealth, by all means, be inspired. However, the vast majority of people do not have the necessary drive or skill set to build their own business from the ground up, and I worry that these types of stories lure them away from the tried and true wealth building strategies with the idea that they can get rich quick by simply starting a business.

The take home message that I’m afraid is being conveyed through these types of success stories is this: “you don’t need to worry about saving money right now, because you can just start a business and become a multimillionaire in a few short years.” It allows people to think that all they need is that one great idea and then they’ll become rich, so why worry about saving money today?

So what do I find inspiring? Stories about people earning middle class salaries who learn to live beneath their means, who save and invest a portion of their paycheck each month, and accumulate a sizeable net worth by a relatively young age. It’s inspiring because it works for everyone. Most people aren’t going to be able to start a business and become multimillionaires in a few short years, even with all the hard work in the world. But most people can save money right now from their current paycheck and start building their wealth.

As for my friend, I do worry that she is so caught up in the dream of starting a successful business that she isn’t doing enough to make the most of her current situation. Perhaps some day she will start her own business, but she has been talking about it for years and hasn’t taken any action. Some people dream about winning the lottery to escape their current financial situation, others dream about starting a business that experiences overnight success. But if you don’t take any action to make your business dream a reality, it’s no different than dreaming about hitting the jackpot. We all would do better to focus on the changes we can make today to improve our financial health.

And you can still start a business too, by the way.

The post What is Inspiring? appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

I’m not going to debate that; if you are living on a budget, you can’t eat every meal at a restaurant. Your money will disappear (and your waistline will grow). But that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a meal out every now and then, you just need to be smart about it. Here are a few tips that will let you enjoy semi-regular restaurant meals without breaking your budget.

Redefine “Eating Out”

If eating out means going to a gourmet restaurant where you need to get dressed up and you don’t recognize half the cooking methods mentioned on the menu, you’ve got to change your definition of “eating out”. Those fancy meals are just fine for the occasional celebration a couple times a year, but they are to be reserved for special occasions, not your run-of-the-mill restaurant meal.

If you’re used to the gourmet experience, it may feel like a sacrifice at first, but you’ll soon realize that a well-selected casual restaurant provides just as much stress relief and just as delicious food. Not all casual dining involves dirty carpets, noisy crowds, and unruly children. I guarantee you can find a moderately priced restaurant that satisfies your eating out desires.

Eat Cafeteria Style

Not tipping or under tipping a server is never an option, but if you’re smart about where you eat, tipping becomes a non-issue. Opt for cafeteria style restaurants where you place your order at the counter, and get your own drinks and silverware. Often an employee will deliver the food to your table when it’s ready, and bus your table when you’re done, so you should still leave something in the tip jar, but you don’t need to shell out the standard 15-20%. If it’s the type of restaurant where you get a buzzer and have to retrieve your food when it’s ready, and then bus your own table, you don’t need to leave a tip at all.

Don’t Pay for a Drink

The only thing you should be drinking at a restaurant is water. It’s better for your wallet and better for your health. Leave your alcohol and soda consumption for home, where it is much, much cheaper, and you won’t be tempted to take advantage of free refills that could land you with more calories than you should be consuming in an entire day. An occasional splurge for a nice mixed drink that requires skill to make or a beer that you can’t buy at a local store is fine, but if you’re paying for drinks on a regular basis, you’re throwing a lot of money down the drain.

If You Can Make it at Home, Don’t Order It

I learned this rule from my father, with whom I share a love of cooking. Why would you pay $18 for a piece of salmon, a scoop of rice, and some steamed veggies when you could easily make an identical meal at home for $5? Only pay for someone else to make your food if you wouldn’t be able to make it yourself. For instance, I’m perfectly capable of cooking a filet, but not very good at cooking prime rib, so if I’m splurging on a steak dinner, I’m going to order the kind of steak I’m not good at making myself. Of course, that’s a less frequent dinner out, the more frequent options are ethnic restaurants, which are usually much cheaper than the steak-and-potatoes American restaurants as well.

The corollary to this rule is to learn how to cook a wider variety of foods. The more types of foods you can cook well, the less reliant you will be on restaurants to provide you with all the different flavors you crave.

Only Order One Course

Waiters and waitresses will always ask you if you want to add an appetizer and if you’ve left room for dessert. Resist! Restaurant meals are generally huge, you don’t need to add extra courses. Beyond the obvious point that you’re adding several dollars to your bill, the appetizer menu is typically filled with deep fried foods, and the desserts often have more sugar than you should eat in a week. You will be richer and healthier if you steer clear of the first and last sections of the menu.

Another option is to skip the entree and just have a cup of soup and a small salad. Or if there are reasonably healthy appetizers on the menu, have that as your main course.

Use Coupons

There are several sites offering restaurant coupons, and you may receive some in the mail as well. A couple things to remember when using a restaurant coupon:

1. You often have to spend a certain amount of money to get the deal. “$10 off when you spend $30″ isn’t a great deal if you would typically spend less than $20 at the restaurant. Bring a friend or two along so you’re not ordering more food than you want just to use the coupon.
2. Don’t forget to tip on the non-discounted price. You don’t get to save money on the tip, sorry. Your waiter worked just as hard to bring you your half priced meal as he would have if it were full priced.

So there you have it! You don’t have to completely forgo eating out just because you’re on a budget! Enjoying a delicious meal prepared by someone else can be a delightful escape from the stresses of your daily routine, and with these tips you enjoy it even more because you’re paying less for it.

The post Eating Out For Less appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

At the end of the day, whether you’re paid once a month, twice a month, or bi-weekly, you’re still earning the same amount of money. The only thing that will need to change is how you organize your bills. Once you have everything set up to correspond with your pay cycle, you’re good to go. After the jump, I’ll discuss how to budget based on various pay cycles.

Monthly Pay Cycle

My company seems to be a rare example of one that only pays its employees once a month. Like most of my coworkers, I would love to switch to twice monthly paychecks, but for me it is for no reason other than I like seeing money deposited into my bank account. On that one day each month when I get paid, I get very giddy to see my bank account shoot up. More money to invest!

However, when I first started working right out of college, I had one big problem: my credit card was due on the 6th of the month, but I didn’t get paid until the 15th. As a kid with no knowledge of personal finance or budgeting, I didn’t know how to deal with this. I got my paycheck on the 15th of each month and instinctively looked at my bills that were due by the end of the month. A bill that was three weeks away (and a week into the following month) easily slipped off my radar when I was tabulating where all my money would go. Then when the due date was looming, I would realize, “crap! I have a bill due that I completely forgot about!”

So I called up my credit card company and asked them to change my due date to be one week after payday. That made all my bills easy to manage. I got paid on the 15th, and all my bills were due by the end of the month. Easy!

Now if you’re less forgetful, a better planner, or just have a healthy emergency fund built up over time in case you forget to plan for a bill, it’s easier to manage bills that don’t neatly correspond with your payday. But even 5 years into my career, I still like having my credit card bill due right after payday. When my company switched payday to the 26th of the month, I changed the due date on my credit cards. It’s just easier for me to keep track of that way.

If you don’t have any bills due the two weeks before your monthly paycheck, you should never feel the pain of waiting for payday.

Twice a Month Pay Cycle

From my conversations with friends and what I see on other blogs, this seems to be the most common pay structure. With the twice a month pay cycle, you get paid twice each month on set days, say the 1st and the 15th. This is probably the easiest pay structure to budget around, but there are still a few ways to do it.

You could use the same tricks mentioned above, and schedule your bills to correspond with one of your paychecks. Maybe you pay rent from the paycheck you receive on the 1st of the month and schedule your credit card bill to be due at the end of the month, using the paycheck you receive on the 15th of the month.

I’ve also heard of many people who strive to save 50% of their pay, so they designate one paycheck to cover all their bills and the other to go to savings. To manage this, you need to keep close track of your accounts. One paycheck needs to go into a checking account that is only used to pay bills, and the other needs to go into another account (emergency fund, investments, etc.) that is only touched if you end up spending over 50%. Since saving 50% of your paycheck isn’t easy, I would absolutely recommend having a very nice emergency fund that you can dip into on months where you don’t meet your goal.

Bi-Weekly Pay Cycle

The bi-weekly pay cycle is slightly different than the twice a month cycle. With this pay structure, you get paid every other week, which ends up being twice a month for 10 months out of the year, and three times a month for the other two months. There are some benefits  and some drawbacks to this type of pay structure.

The oft touted benefit is the two “bonus” paychecks each year. Since you budget for the typical month with two paychecks, the months when you receive an extra paycheck feel like you’re getting extra money. Some people will use this extra money to treat themselves to something nice, but of course I’m going to advocate boosting your savings with that money. Two paychecks you hadn’t factored into your budget = two paychecks you can easily live without. Throw those suckers into an index fund or use them to max out your IRA.

The drawback to the bi-weekly pay structure is that your bills are always due on the same day of each month, but your paychecks don’t come on the same day each month. They may be the 6th and 20th one month, and the 4th and 18th the next month. That makes scheduling your bills to correspond to your paychecks a lot harder. I have to admit that this pay structure would be challenging for me because I thrive on consistency and routine. Some months your credit card bill may be due a few days after one of your paychecks, but other months it may be due a few days before a paycheck, so you can’t always use the first paycheck or always use the second paycheck to pay your bill. You need to be flexible, you need to track your spending carefully, and you need a healthy emergency fund in case you find yourself with a bill due at an inopportune time in your pay cycle.

Other Types of Pay Cycles

The above are some of the more common pay cycles, but they are by no means the only ones. Some people get paid every single week, which I have to imagine makes budgeting mighty simple. Teachers often get paid during the school year, but their paychecks stop when school is out for summer, so they need to budget for the summer dry spell with each paycheck they receive. Consultants and contractors get paid per job, so they need to budget carefully, especially if they don’t have their next job lined up.

For workers with irregular pay structures, budgeting isn’t easy. Forecasting your income, tracking your monthly expenses closely, and maintaining a sizable emergency fund are necessary. You never want to be caught off guard with a bill to pay and no money with which to pay it.

The post Budgeting for Your Pay Cycle appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

If you’re like me, you’re probably conflicted about wedding registries. On the one hand, they make it easier for guests to purchase gifts without worrying that the couple doesn’t want/need the gift, but on the other hand, telling people what to give you just seems so damned tacky.

Unfortunately  (or fortunately?), the decision has been all but made for us nowadays, with wedding registries being so common that not having one would turn heads. And it’s not all bad, registries do certainly make the gift buying process easier, but they also introduce a host of new complications and stress inducers that you should be aware of. After the jump, some of the most common wedding registry headaches.

“Help! Everything on My Friend’s Registry is Insanely Expensive!”

Most couples have the good sense to register for items at a variety of price points, but very often the less expensive gifts get fulfilled with lightning speed, and if you procrastinated you’re left with a choice of the $500 lounge chair or the $300 vacuum cleaner. If you know several other people who were invited to the wedding, ask around to see if they have yet to purchase a gift. If you get a group of people to chip in, the couple gets the expensive gift they wanted and no one guest has to dole out several hundred dollars. If that’s not an option, you can always give cash (what couple wouldn’t want cash?).

“I wrote a gift message Online, Do I Still Have to Bring a Card?”

Often when you buy a gift from an electronic registry, you have the option to include a gift message or an e-card. Call me old-fashioned, but that just doesn’t cut it, sentimentality-wise. There’s something so impersonal about an electronic card. They’re fine for birthdays, but this a wedding damnit! Go to the store and buy a nice card to bring to the wedding.

Also, if you’re paranoid like me and worry that if you come to the wedding empty-handed, the bride and groom will have forgotten you sent them their gift months earlier and deem you a rude moocher, you can use the card to free yourself of that paranoia by including a message like “I hope you really enjoy the [whatever it was you gave them].”

“I Don’t Like Anything on the Registry, So I’m Going to Get Them Something Else.”

I’m going to a wedding in a couple weeks, and one of my friends told me that she didn’t see anything on the registry that she liked, so she bought the couple a his and hers cookbook instead. Let that sink in for a second. She didn’t see anything that she liked on the registry, so she bought them something else. It’s not about what you like, it’s about what the couple likes. Even if you think the items on their registry are the most hideous, gaudy things you’ve ever seen, it’s what they want. If you’re morally opposed to certain things on their registry (this particular couple has several charities on their registry that I would never give to), simply choose something else you feel comfortable buying. And if you absolutely must stray from the registry, cash is really the only acceptable choice.

“How Much Should I Spend on a Wedding Gift?”

This has always been complicated, but with registries it’s even more complicated. Now in addition to your internal debate over the proper gift amount, you get to see every item the couple wants and try and guess what they’re expecting each guest to spend. That towel set is $60, so maybe that’s a good amount, but they also registered for a $20 vase, did they intend for the person who buys that to also buy something else as well? My infuriatingly unhelpful answer is to give whatever you feel comfortable giving.

While it’s considered very poor form for a couple to expect their guests to give a gift that is of comparable value to the per person cost for the wedding, that can be a good place to start if you’re not sure what to give. If you know the wedding is going to be very fancy, maybe you’d like to give a slightly more expensive gift. If you know it’s going to be a more casual wedding, you can get away with a less expensive gift. At the end of the day, remember that if the couple holds any resentment against you because you didn’t give them an expensive enough gift, they’re probably not worth having as friends anyway.

What other complicated situations have you encountered regarding wedding registries? How did you deal with them?

The post Wedding Registry Etiquette appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

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“What great inside information!” I thought. “We can watch the fireworks for free!” I was apparently alone in my thinking. “The people here are really cheap, they’re not willing to pay for parking, but we can afford to pay for parking, so we should just go park in the lot” said one of my friends.

I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. After all, the locals are indeed a bit seedy (we were in marijuana country) and we had children in our group, so perhaps my friend just wanted a more wholesome environment for the kids. However, something about the way he said “cheap” made me think that wasn’t the whole reason. There was the implication that the locals had to be cheap because they don’t have a lot of money, but because we are all gainfully employed, there was no reason we shouldn’t pay for the convenience of parking in the lot.

My suspicions were confirmed when, as we were approaching the gate to the parking lot, we spotted a parking space just outside of the lot where we could park for free and walk the extra 50 feet or so to the park – we’d get free parking, and we would be in the park with the tourists rather than the golf course with the locals. “Let’s just park there and walk into the park” I said, which thankfully at least got the agreement of one other person in the car. But despite that person being the one driving the car, she instead listened to her husband, who chimed in with “nah, let’s just go into the lot, it’s fine.”

My jaw just about hit the floor. There, right in front of us, was a space we could park in for free, RIGHT NEXT TO the lot, and this guy wanted to pay for a parking space anyway. And his wife didn’t question him. Later that night, my fiancé and I discussed in utter amazement why anyone in that situation would have passed up the free parking space.

Was it convenience?

There is no question that this couple likes to pay for convenience, but the free parking space wasn’t inconvenient. It was about a 30 second walk from the park, as opposed to the 5 second walk from where we ended up parking. Nobody should be willing to pay $8 to save less than a minute of time. On top of that, there was some congestion getting out of the parking lot after the fireworks, so we probably ended up losing time by parking there.

But what else could it be?

It turns out, some people have it so ingrained into their minds that you must spend money on things, that they’re unable to see obviously better options even when they’re staring them in the face. The problem seemed to be that this guy believed so strongly that paying for parking was a given expense, that even with a free space literally next to the parking lot, he had already in his mind accepted the fact that he was going to pay for parking, and had completely shut himself off to any other options.

Is this you?

The guy I’ve been talking about doesn’t want to be hemorrhaging money, he just doesn’t know how to stop it. His problem seems to be that he can’t see the value of money he has, but once he’s spent it, he feels the pain of having no money. I think he’s probably an extreme case, but there are plenty of people out there who have trouble seeing the value of the money in their bank account. If you’re one of those people, the key to making smart financial choices may lie in the past. When you encounter situations like my parking lot case study, stop and think about about the previous month. Maybe you thought you were being frugal, but the end of the month came and you realized you had spent your entire paycheck. That didn’t feel very good, did it? You didn’t even realize you had spent so much money, but all those small purchases added up and before you knew it you had no money left. Well right now is your opportunity to make a new choice. If you mindlessly pull out your wallet instead of considering a cheaper (or free!) option, you’re going to be in the same exact place at the end of this month. $8 may not sound like a lot when your bank account has extra money in it, but there are 30 days in a month, and if every day you mindlessly shell out $8 because “I can afford it, so why not?”, you’ll have blown through $240. Can you still afford it?

Have you ever made an obviously dumb financial decision like turning down free parking immediately adjacent to paid parking for no good reason? Did you look back and try to figure out what made you behave that way? Have you managed to correct the way you respond to situations like that?

The post A Parking Lot Case Study appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

Now all of this seems shocking, but I was there on business, so I’ll get reimbursed for all the money I spent. (In fact, I’ll even end up earning money in cash back rewards!) But there were two things that were utterly frightening to me. First, the majority of the people staying at this hotel were clearly there on vacation, meaning they were willingly doling out hundreds of dollars per night for their coffee-less hotel rooms, and piling obscene food costs on top of that. Second, I feared that after a week in fantasy land where it was just a given that your dinner would cost $60, I’d have a hard time readjusting to normal life.

My fiancé wanted to take me out to dinner when I got back, so I told him not only do we have to go somewhere with cheap options, we absolutely cannot go anywhere with any expensive options, because in my current state, I may not be able to discern what’s a reasonable price for a meal. I needed to be shocked back into reality. Pizza it is!

After a couple delicious home-cooked meals this weekend and my brown bag lunch of tuna salad on a bagel today, I feel I have readjusted. Now my credit card balance will just look terrifying until I get reimbursed later this month.

I thought it would be fun to reflect on my week as an A-lister and think about how to make the most of business travel (and how to maintain perspective).

Manage Your Credit Card

If you’re the CEO or an upper level manager, you may have access to a business credit card, but more often than not, you’ll have to put business travel expenses on your personal card and get it reimbursed. This means you need to manage your credit card well. If you’re constantly pushing your credit card limit, you may not be able to handle the extra expenses. Once when I went to a conference with several others on my team, my coworker had to ask our boss if he could put his hotel room on the company card because he was too close to his limit.

Not maxing out your credit card is always good advice, but it becomes even more crucial when you have to shoulder business expenses. You never know when unexpected expenses will arise, and you need to be able to handle them. (Also, it can’t look good to admit to your boss that you max out your credit card.)

Reap the Benefits

If you manage your credit card well and have ample available credit, you’ll be able to take advantage of your credit card rewards. What could be better than spending $2,000, getting cash back or rewards points, and having the money reimbursed before your credit card due date? Seems like a pretty sweet deal to me! You’ll also be able to rack up airline bonus miles and hotel loyalty points.

Stay Healthy

One of the most challenging aspects of business travel is staying healthy. All of your meals are eaten at restaurants, available time for working out may be at a minimum, and it’s often hard to stay hydrated on the go. I recommend bringing some snacks with you, some basic workout tools, and a water bottle. Pack some nuts or granola bars so you can have a nutritious snack to keep you fueled. Bring a workout DVD and some resistance bands so you can work out in your hotel room. And always have a water bottle with you that you can keep filled.

Maintain Perspective

I’m not going to lie, I had a good time dining at restaurants I would never go to if I were the one paying. But there was a stark contrast between me and some of the other people I was dining with. I marveled at the prices on the menu, wondering how on earth they could justify charging so much. Some of my colleagues joined in with me, joking about the $15 cup of soup. Others did not seem to be phased by it in the slightest. Not only did they order an appetizer and entree, they also threw in a seafood tower, as if it were no big deal to add $60 to the bill for a few oysters and shrimp.

I don’t care if it’s considered tactless to talk openly about the obscenity of menu prices at some of these fancy restaurants, if you pretend it’s acceptable, you’ll convince yourself that it is. By all means, order the $35 chicken breast, but never get past the ridiculousness of that price.

Look Past The Facade

It would be easy to feel jealous of all the vacationers at the hotel, assuming they’re so rich they can throw money away on extravagances and enjoy a relaxing week by the pool without a care in the world. Some of them probably are that rich. But what are the chances that gaggle of girls in their 20′s hitting the hotel bar are all fabulously wealthy? Pretty slim. It’s much more likely they’re living in the moment, maxing out their credit cards and saving nothing for retirement so they can party now. Not so much to be jealous of, is there?

Talk to Your Boss

Your boss will need to approve your spending when you get back to the office, so make sure you’re on the same page. Many companies have a per diem allowance for meals, which is a great way to gauge how much you should be spending. But if your company doesn’t have a per diem allowance, or if your destination is too expensive to stay within the allowance, talk to your boss before you overspend. After all, spending $2,000, getting cash back or rewards points, and having the money reimbursed before your credit card due date is great, but only getting $1,500 approved for reimbursement and having to cover the extra $500 yourself would be pretty awful.

Is All This Normal?

I’ll admit that my business travel is probably not representative of most business travel. There are plenty of sales reps on the road all the time who stay at Best Westerns and eat at roadside diners who don’t run into the same challenges. But I’m in marketing, so whenever I travel, it’s to a high-profile resort hotel for a conference – specially picked for it’s desirable location to attract attendees. And that means it’s disgustingly expensive and filled with vacationers who are happily hemorrhaging money from every orifice. When you find yourself in this type of situation, enjoy the frivolity, but remind yourself frequently of the ridiculousness of it all, so you will return home as level-headed and frugally minded as you were when you left.

The post Business Travel and Your Finances appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

Editor’s Picks

Irfan @ Everything About Investment writes Best Roth IRA Providers of 2013 - When selecting a Roth IRA account providers, individuals consider a lot of factors and expenses such as trading fees, transaction costs and commissions per equity trade. Here we have highlighted the best Roth IRA account providers of 2013 for you to choose from considering all the factors.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes When are you ready to buy a house? - You may want to finally plunge your family into the housing market, but should you?

Kyle @ The Penny Hoarder writes How to Spend Your Money Wisely on Your Wedding - For some, weddings are the ultimate fantasy that they’ve been shaping since they were children; for others, weddings an annoyance that must be endured throughout the summer; and for many, weddings are their bread and butter.

Anton Ivanov @ Dreams Cash True writes How to Write An Awesome Craigslist Ad - Want your Craigslist ads noticed and your phone ringing of the hook? Check out these tips for writing awesome Craigslist ads that sell.

Ray @ Squirrelers writes 20 Frugal Ways to Enjoy Outdoor Summer Fun - Enjoying the summer weather doesn’t have to break the budget. This post shares 20 ways to enjoy the outdoors while being frugal!

Robert @ The College Investor writes 7 Practical Tips on How to Deal with Student Loan Debt - According to the nonprofit American Student Assistance, there are approximately 37 million people with student loans in the United States today, and the average balance is about $24,000. Friends, this is not good debt. And Congress would like to double the student loan interest rate on federal student loans, starting in July.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Credit Card Rewards for Smart People - Many personal finance web apps are dishonest about credit card rewards. Reward Boost gives the honest truth about credit card rewards.

Happy Father’s Day!

TTMK @ Tie the Money Knot writes Father’s Day Financial Lessons - In the spirit of Father’s Day, this post shares financial advice passed from a father over the years.

Katarina @ SaveUp.com writes Meaningful Father’s Day Gifts - I explored free gifts to give any father on Father’s Day without breaking the bank. SaveUp is a site dedicated to helping Americans save money.

Jacob @ My Personal Finance Journey @ My Personal Finance Journey writes Father’s Day Gift Ideas for the Hard-to-Buy-For Dad in Your Life - Do you have a father who seemingly has everything or is really hard to buy gifts for? This post gives some great ideas for Father’s Day gifts for that type of dad.

The Best of the Rest

Mochimac @ Save. Spend. Splurge. writes When should you go back for your MBA? – When should you go back for your MBA?

Michelle @ Making Sense of Cents writes How To Prepare for Self-Employment – It’s no secret that I am excited about self-employment and the world of freelancing. Just a couple of weeks ago, I published my post Pursuing What I Love or What Brings in the (Stable) Money. I loved all of the wonderful comments that everyone left me, and it really got me thinking. Now that I’ve thrown myself out there, I need a plan. And I need to write that plan down or I will completely forget about it.

Martin @ Studenomics writes How to Buy Your First Rental Property – Every detail about buying your first rental property, with over 2k words.

Jon @ Mr Military Money writes Free Money to go back to School – A post describing the IRS tax credits that give you money to go back to school.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes Some Learning Suggestions for the Summer – Advice for what to learn during the summer, including foreign language, speed reading, computer programming, and swimming, to make your summer productive

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Understanding Inflation – What exactly is inflation? It’s a subject that sounds more difficult to understand than it really is.

Darwin @ Darwin’s Money writes 6 Scientifically Proven Ways to Increase Your Tips as a Server - Blondes make more – so says the data. But here are several other tips and tricks guaranteed to increase your earnings as a server based on years of research!

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Grayson @ Debt Roundup writes How I Paid Off Over $50,000 Of Credit Card Debt – I struggled with credit card debt for years, but then I decided to make a change. It took me 4 years, but I was able to pay off my over $50,000 worth of credit card debt. Here is how I did it.

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes HOW TO ELIMINATE DEBT & IPAD GIVEAWAY – Eliminate debt plan with baby steps.

John S @ Frugal Rules writes How to Invest in Stocks When You Do Not Know Where to Start – Investing in stocks, or anything in the market, can be overwhelming for many. The key to overcoming that fear is knowing where to start and educating yourself so that you can set up an investment portfolio that’ll help you grow your wealth and reach your long-term retirement goals.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Children’s Music on a Budget – Musical instruments can be expensive, and many are too delicate for pre-school aged children. How can you expose your pre-school and grade school age children to musical instruments without spending an arm and a leg? Here are a few thoughts on giving your child access to music on a budget.

Mr.CBB @ Canadian Budget Binder writes Summer Jobs For Students: Tips For Finding The Perfect Job – Students are making their way into summer jobs gaining experience for their future. Finding the perfect job and the perfect employer in order to build experience, relationships and networking takes time and research

Bill Fay @ The Frugal Toad writes Why You Should Start Saving for Retirement Now – Today is the day we’re going to clean out the garage, weed the garden, paint the kid’s bedroom — and start saving for retirement. Those all are chores that we know should have been done yesterday, but we think can wait until tomorrow. The garage, bedroom and garden can wait. Retirement savings can’t.

Kevin Watts @ Graduating From Debt writes The Ultimate Guide to all 529 College Savings Plan by State – The following is the Ultimate guide to all 529 College Savings Plan by State

Jason Hull @ Hull Financial Planning writes Bronze May be the Most Precious Metal Under Obamacare – Now that California has released its preliminary premiums for the health care plans under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), we evaluate which of the four tiers will be most economical for people who have to purchase health insurance under the state exchanges in Obamacare.

Jules Wilson @ Faithful With a Few writes How To Stop Infrequent Payments From Destroying Your Budget – Infrequent Payments can destroy your budget when they come up unexpectedly. Here are a few tips on how to set up reminders and incorporate them into your budget

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes 51 Frugal, Fun Weekend Ideas and Activities for Family – Whole week we look forward to weekend. This is the free time where you cna do whatever you want to, without being time bound. This article presents 51 ideas to spend your weekend frugally while having a lot of fun.

The post Finance Carnival for Young Adults appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

This tells us that people make their decisions of which flavor of sparkling water to drink based on the positioning of the bottles on the shelves rather than the flavor itself.

You might not be aware of it, but every time you go to the store to buy something, you are being deliberately guided to make certain decisions. A well documented example is the supermarket. If you haven’t read “What to Eat” by Marion Nestle, I highly recommend it. As Nestle explains, “supermarkets are in the business of offering ‘choice’ … but they do everything possible to make the choice theirs, not yours.” Their are legions of behavioral researchers figuring out exactly how consumers make decisions so supermarkets can lay out their stores in such a way that will result in maximum profits for them. Here are the basic rules supermarkets follow:

• Place the highest-selling departments (meat, dairy, produce, and frozen foods) in the areas that get the most traffic (the periphery).
• Place items that sell especially well based on impulse or look or smell enticing (produce, flowers, freshly baked breads) near the entrance.
• Use the displays on the ends of aisles to sell highly advertised products that people are likely to buy on impulse.
• Place high-profit, center aisle food items sixty inches above the floor, where they are easily seen by adults.
• Devote as much shelf space as possible to brands that generate frequent sales.
• Place store brands immediately to the right of name brands. People tend to shop the way they read, from left to right. So their eyes are drawn to the name brand, but they naturally look to the right to see the store brand too.
• Avoid using islands because they don’t have as good traffic flow.
• Don’t create gaps halfway through an aisle that allow shoppers to escape without seeing all the merchandise, unless the aisles are so long that customers complain.

To become a better shopper, you must understand the ways stores are trying to guide you to make certain purchases. But even if you know they’re taking advantage of your decision-making tendencies, it’s still hard to resist gravitating toward the products they have carefully selected to entice you. The best way to shop in your own interest rather than the store’s is to make a list and stick to it. If there’s nothing you need in a particular aisle, don’t even walk through it. When comparing brands, remember to look up and down to see everything that’s available to you. If you do see something on the end of an aisle that entices you, find where it’s located in the aisle where there may be a cheaper store brand next to it.

Above all else, for everything you buy, ask yourself why you want that particular product. What makes that brand better than the other brands? Is there another product that does the same basic thing but costs less? Is there a no-cost option that would be just as good (even if it’s a little less convenient)? Don’t merely buy what the stores put in front of you. Question every purchase you make.

The post Who Makes Your Buying Decisions? appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.

Let me tell you a story about a girl I knew in college. She had a great job lined up with a nice salary, so when she left school, she got a credit card with a 12 month introductory 0% APR. She figured she could put all of her “necessities” – a security deposit on a nice apartment, an apartment full of furniture, and work clothes – on her credit card, and pay them off interest-free over the course of the year with her new salary.

If her plan raises your blood pressure, that would be the normal response. She charged several thousand dollars to her credit card (close to $10k I believe) with  only the hope that she would be able to pay it off before the introductory rate expired.

Why is this such a bad idea? Because you’re counting your chickens before they hatch, as they say. Any number of things could happen during those 12 months that would render her unable to pay off her debt.

She Could Lose Her Job

Most entry-level jobs have a trial period written into their contracts, at the end of which the employer decides whether you’re a good fit for the company. While it may not be common that new employees are let go at the end of the trial period, I do know of one person at my company who was let go after three months, so it is a real possibility.

If there’s one time in your life when your job security is most uncertain, it’s when you’re a newly minted adult with no experience whatsoever who hasn’t even started her first job yet. If you lose your job three months after taking on a mountain of debt, you’ll be very sorry indeed.

She Could Have an Emergency

In my first four years of employment, I had three expensive medical procedures: wisdom teeth removal, tonsillectomy, and appendectomy. I was well prepared for each of these procedures because I had built up a sizable emergency fund and had no debts.

If I had taken my classmate’s approach, I would already be stretched thin making payments on my credit card debt, and I would have had to choose between paying off the debt or paying for my medical procedures. Not a position you want to be in.

She Has No Idea How Much Money She’ll Need

Oftentimes, people in their 40′s and 50′s have no idea how much money they spend on what, so we can hardly expect a 22 year old kid who has never lived on her own to have any idea whatsoever how much money she’ll need to meet her monthly expenses. Taking on a mountain of debt in the hopes that your new salary will cover it in addition to rent, food, transportation, entertainment, and savings is highly risky. If you realize later that your salary isn’t enough to cover all of it, the most likely area you’ll let slip is savings.

So What’s the Better Option?

It would be a great conclusion if my classmate realized the folly of her ways, struggled to get out of debt, and vowed to never make such a foolish decision again, but unfortunately I lost contact with this classmate soon after graduation, so I have no idea how her plan worked out for her.

But how can recent grads get their footing on their own without taking on debt? As I’ve already pointed out, most recent grads don’t have any extra money lying around to cover security deposits, furniture, and work clothes. Well, you might have to get creative. Most apartment complexes will require a security deposit, and many also require first and last month’s rent up front. If you have a family member who can lend/give you the money to cover the up front costs, that’s always an option. But not everyone has that. Fortunately, Craigslist is there to help you find a better option.

When I graduated, I sublet a room in a townhouse for three months while the occupant was away for the summer. Because I was only staying for three months, they told me they wouldn’t cash my security deposit check, they’d only cash it when I moved out if I left any damage (which of course I didn’t). So in essence, I rented a room for three months without putting down a security deposit. Also, because I was just subletting for three months while the occupant was out of town, the room was completely furnished. That allowed me three months to build up a little savings, so when it was time to find a new apartment, I had a little bit of money to get started.

Craigslist has so many listings that you’re sure to find an option that will work for your situation.

As for work clothes, your best bet is to get a few classic outfits from a discount store like T.J. Maxx or JC Penney. If you decide later on once you have your budget set that you’d like (and can afford) to purchase some nicer clothes, go for it. But for your first few months on the job, you don’t need to be decked out in designer apparel.

Don’t Borrow From Your Future

You can get as creative as you want to save money when you’re first starting out in the world, but the one thing you should absolutely not do is borrow thousands of dollars from your future with no guarantee that you’ll be able to pay it back. Don’t let the 0% APR lure you into a risky situation. You don’t know what the next 12 months will hold, so proceed with caution.

The post New Grads – Avoid Introductory 0% APR Credit Cards appeared first on Gen Y Finance Journey.