Memorial Day is right around the corner. Have you started planning your summer vacations yet?

Do you take a family vacation every year? Where do you typically go and how much does it cost you? What if I told you that you that for the same amount of money (or less), I could teach you how to go somewhere nicer or do more at that vacation spot you love. Yes, it is possible. Let’s check out the list!

My 5 “Not So Obvious” Family Vacation Tips

1) Stop Planning – I know, it almost sounds counterintuitive to what you should do to save money on your vacation. Typically, you’re taught to plan where you’re going in advance because if you wait until the last minute, everything will be much more expensive. While this is still the case for some items, there are benefits to waiting before choosing your exact destination. Websites such as TravelZoo or CheapCaribbean offer last minute deals on all-inclusive getaways and cruises all over the world. I once saw a weeklong trip to Aruba for only $800, which included the flight, the hotel stay, some events, and all of the food! Sometimes it pays to wait.

2) Stay Connected to Your Friends – With the help of Facebook, it’s pretty easy to stay connected to your friends today. And, since our world is becoming so globalized, your friends will most likely move to all corners of the world. While this may be tough to deal with at first (since you no longer get to see your friends every day), it provides a great reason to visit a new area on the globe and to do it for cheap (since you’ll be staying with your friend)! Just offer to pay for their food for the week and it’s suddenly a win-win situation.

3) Buy Groceries, Not Fine Dining – The purpose of your vacation is most likely to explore a new area that you’ve never experienced, not to eat at a chain restaurant that is prevalent in your own hometown. With a week-long vacation, it is much cheaper to go to the grocery store at the beginning of the trip than to eat out for every meal. This small tip could very easily save you $200-$400!

4) Learn From the Locals – No matter where you’re vacationing to, there will be “must see” attractions that are sent your way which aren’t really that great of an experience. Unfortunately, you won’t know this until your money is already spent! Do your due-diligence on this one and try to learn from the locals. Find a blog about local fun or connect with a friend or a friend that can give you some quick tips on what to see. Often times, the best attractions are the ones that are free!

5) Explore, Then Do – For many of us, when we go on vacation we feel like we have to hurry up and do as much as we can, but this is no way to vacation at all. Once you finally get home, you’re more exhausted than when you left, and you’re way poorer than you expected too! Instead of charging forward and doing a bunch of activities that are presented to you that first day, take it easy and go for a stroll around the city. Make a mental note of what you’d like to do and see. Not only will you enjoy yourself more, but you’ll have save some of that money in your pocket.

How do you save money on family vacations without skimping on fun? Let’s share notes in the comments below….

Photo: Stevendepolo

The post 5 Surprising Tips to Supersize Your Family Vacation appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

All of us know that we’re supposed to have a cash reserve right? There are always going to be emergencies that come along that we didn’t expect, and that’s when our cash reserve is the most important. So, why is it that many of us struggle to even have a comma in our cash reserve? We’ve gone through our whole lives attempting to save, but we don’t even have a thousand bucks in cash. Here are five reasons why your cash reserve might not be working.

1) It’s Too Accessible – Many of us are just trying to beef up our checking account and keeping our emergency money in with the funds we use to pay bills. When you do this, it’s just way too easy to dip into your cash reserve. Instead, you need a completely separate account that you can’t spend with a debit card. If you really need to use the money, you’ll have to make a transfer either online or at the bank. This small barrier will help keep your reserve safe.

2) Not Enough Flexibility in Your Cash Flow – One of the biggest reasons we dip into our cash reserves is because we don’t have enough cash flow from month to month. Money is so tight that the slightest unexpected expense leads us into our reserve. To ensure that your cash fund doesn’t go anywhere, you need to reduce your monthly expenses.

3) Too Much Instant Gratification – We live in a world where everyone expects to get what they want right now! I urge you not to be that person. Most of the time, what we want and what we need are two totally separate things. If you don’t need that special something and you’re going to have to dip into your reserve to get it, just don’t buy it! I know it can be tough to walk away, but there are always deals to be had elsewhere.

4) You’re Feeling Rich, Time to Spend – Everyone has their number where they start to feel wealthy. For some, this is $1,000. For others, it’s $10,000. When their cash reserve reaches “their number”, they suddenly feel like they are rich and can afford to spend some money, rather than just leave it in their account for a rainy day. My friends recently did this when looking for a car. Initially, they were only going to spend $6,000, but when their cash reserve kept growing and growing, so did their “need” to have an expensive car! All of the sudden, they spent $13k on a car rather than their initial plan of $6k. Now they’re feeling tight with money. Go figure.

5) No Incentive to Keep It There – Saving money is honestly pretty boring. When you put that money into a savings account, it probably earns 0.05% interest, which equates to a few bucks a year. Your savings don’t have to earn such a low amount though. There are some banks out there that will pay more than 1.0% for your savings, and if you have the will-power to have your reserves in your checking account, you could earn more than 3% at some credit unions. Getting $20 or more per month is way more fun than a dollar or two.

The post 5 Reasons Your Cash Reserve Isn’t Working appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

Have shows come automatically to your iPod! Use the 2 Guys iTunes page here.

Listen to shows on your smartphone! Try the Stitcher app here

Want to listen at your computer later? Right click the podcast and save the file to your desktop.

Wondering WHY  your budget, money and investments aren’t performing as well as they should? We have the answers on this week’s show. Also, we welcome the Makin’SenseBabe to the show, as she joins Dominique Brown and Len Penzo to discuss people who place restrictions on estates….you know those people who say “You can’t inherit my money unless you quit smoking….OR…..you can’t have the cash until you finish college….” Is that wrong? Should people do that with their money?

We discuss the new Stacking Benjamin’s podcast and how to subscribe next week to the new show AND we share our feelings about Iron Man 3…and much much more.

Just for fun, check out our brand spankin’ new logo:

As always, these notes will fill in during the day on Monday.

Podcast Show Notes

<> Open

<> Stat of the Week: 37% of people say they can reach their retirement goal without using stocks.

<> Shortwave: Ruling your inheritor’s lives after you’ve died. Should you?

<> Top 5 Money Management Systems

<> End Show

Iron Man 3 (Both Joe & OG saw it this week!)

(OG & Joe both…thumb sideways)

Stacking Benjamins notes

- New Feed Next Week

- 3 Shows During First Week (Mon/Wed/Fri)

- Please give us a review on iTunes and use social media to share the new podcast!

The post Systems for Better Money Management – 2 Guys & Your Money #40 appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

Mother’s Day is almost here. Did you buy flowers? Plan something special? Remember that Mother’s Day doesn’t have to be expensive to be fun…it needs to be personal and warm. If you think that expensive equals expensive and warm, I’d say that….yes…..you’ve drank the consumerism Kool-Aid.

This was too good to pass up. Here are some surprising Mother’s Day facts that you can share with the family (I recommend the ones about sex….follow up that conversation with religion and politics…..).

Enjoy!

Infographic brought to you by: Rather-Be-Shopping.com

What’s your favorite Mother’s Day memory?

The post Surprising Mother’s Day Facts appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

Every year I meet a couple people who tell me “I forgot to file my taxes.” How do you forget to file???? Here’s the steps to make it all right with the government.

Did you file your taxes this year? Did you know that nearly 10 million U.S. citizens fail to file by April 15^th each year? Some avoid filing on purpose, but many just plain forget. So don’t worry. If it slipped your mind, you’re not alone.

If you still have yet to calculate your refund/payment, do this immediately. Even though you’re late, the process is still the same. Get the appropriate forms and gather all of your tax information and either head to your accountant or calculate your taxes yourself (whatever it is that you typically do). Once you know whether you owe money into the government or if you’re getting a refund, you can take the next steps to file.

What Is The Penalty?

For most of us, we plan on receiving a refund each year. Some of us even plan on getting as much back at $4,000 or more. This shouldn’t really be your goal since you’re basically allowing the government to use your extra money interest free, but that rant is for another article I suppose. If you have always received some money back each year, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about for filing late. There is no penalty. I was actually surprised to learn this, but it makes complete sense. Why should the government charge you if they just get to keep your money a little longer. In fact, they would probably rather that you never filed your taxes!

If, however, you typically owe money into the government each year, then you will most likely have to pay in a little extra for your late payment. There are three types of penalties that you’ll have to pay: Failure to File Penalty, Failure to Pay Penalty, and Interest.

Failure to File Penalty

This penalty occurs because you did not file your taxes by the deadline and you owe money to the government. The amount of money you owe depends on how late you are to file. If you’re a month late, then you owe and additional 5% on top of what you already owe. For each month that it’s late, you have to add an additional 5%, up to a maximum penalty of 25% (if you’re 5 months late or more).

Failure to Pay Penalty

This penalty occurs when you file, but you just don’t pay the amount you owe. The penalty is 0.5% for each month that you have still not paid in full. There is not maximum penalty, so it’s definitely best to pay the full amount as quickly as you can.

Interest

In addition to the traditional penalties, the government also want’s the money back with interest. While this amount changes all the time, it is currently set at 3% interest per year, but it is calculated based on every day that your return/payment is late. Again, it’s best to pay this sooner rather than later.

Basically, to sum it up, if the government owes you money, you have nothing to worry about. Just file your taxes and you’ll receive your check shortly, with no penalty. If you owe money in, then you’ll have to pay quite a few penalties. So, rather than play the “wait and see” game, you should calculate your taxes and file them as soon as possible.

Photo: 401(k) 2013

The post I Forgot To File My Taxes appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

Only one episode left! Man, are we excited for the launch of Stacking Benjamins on May 20th.

On this episode we kick guests to the curb to gift you with another of our famous Top 5 lists: The Top 5 Most Overrated Investments. PK discusses inflation. We give a lucky listener a copy of Jean Chatzky’s Money 911. Of course, we top it all off by talking about the movies we saw this week.

As always, more detailed show notes will appear here during the day on Monday.

Show Notes:

<> Open

<> Stat of the day: New Study….Money DOES make you happier.

<> PK’s Fractional Sense: Inflation in your portfolio

<> Let’s Give Something Away: Jean Chatzky’s Money 911 is going to a lucky listener this week.

<> Top 5 Most Overrated Investments

<> Movies:

OG “Unforgiven”

Joe “42″

The post The Most Overrated Investments – 2 Guys & Your Money #39 appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

Before working from home, I spent a ton of time in the car and could justify XM Radio. After a long day on the road, I wanted good television or a movie available on a whim. That led me to investigate Netflix and finally sign up. At that point, I had two subscriptions monthly: XM and Netflix.

That was just the beginning.

I love the Tour de France, so when changing my cable over to dish, I signed up for a premium package. At the time I felt lucky. The total number of channels I was about to receive dwarved the cable lineup and the price stayed exactly the same. Bonus!

Oh, but I wasn’t done.

We’re Detroit Tiger baseball fans, so through our Xbox (and its Gold subscription annual fee) we sprung for the MLB Baseball season ticket so we could watch our favorite sports team. Of course, ESPN shows a full slate of sports over my satellite provider, too, also through the Xbox.

In short: I’m wired to the gills…and paying for it.

Paring down my electronics

You may think, “Man, he’s wasting money hand over fist!” In the old days, when I owned my business, nothing could have been further from the truth. Sure, I was spending every month on subscriptions, but I was also able to justify the expense by the large sums of money I was bringing home. Now, as a financial writer, I don’t see that same level of income. I also find that because I’m wired to the internet constantly, my needs have changed. I enjoy reading blogs and perusing Flipboard.

It’s time to cut back.

First, I need a plan. This is the plan:

Satellite

It’s time to broach the subject with Cheryl: I’m investigating options such as Roku, that would allow us to stream channels via the internet over our television. I also have discovered that I can get the Tour de France over the internet. If I’m streaming this event over the internet, I can save tons of money.

Cost of Roku (x2 for two televisions): $160
Cost of Hulu Plus: $8 / mo.

Cost of Tour coverage: $20

Savings from Cutting Satellite: $80 / mo.

Total Savings: (COST of $80 first month, then monthly savings of $72 per month – July, which will be savings of $52)

XM Radio

This is a no-brainer. We have XM in two cars now…we’ll pare it back to a single vehicle. While I can hear the frugalistas yelling, “Get rid of it completely!” I travel too much to do that. We’ll keep it in the car we constantly travel across country in, but dump it in my car. I’ve gone from 45k miles per year in the car to less than 5k, while our primary car has already been driven 55k miles in just over a year.

A holdover from my working days: I have the expanded sports package to hear every sport, rather than the ½ and ½ (they totally rip you on this) in my existing car.

XM Radio Subscription cut savings: ($14.50/mo.)

Total Savings: ($14.50 / mo.)

Netflix:

If you listen to our podcast, you’ll know how much I enjoy movies. I saw 72 films last year alone. However, the disc service isn’t getting the use from me that it once did. Sure, I want it around Oscar time to watch my favorite flicks, but now I can stream videos for a low fee through the iTunes store or Amazon. There’s no need for Netflix on my monthly subscription. I love the original programming and access to older television series available through Netflix, so I’m holding onto that subscription for now:
Cutting to Streaming Only Savings: ($12.00/mo.)

The Big Finale

Total Savings: $98/mo. (except the first month, when I’ll pay $180 for two Roku boxes and July of each year for Tour de France, when I’ll only save $78 on July bill).

Not bad….nearly $1,200 a year and I’m not missing out on any of my entertainment options!

A Giveaway: How About Winning A Great Television?

Nothing helps you streamline all of this media like a quality television. Luckily, I’m part of a big giveaway this month to help you get just that! I know, you can thank me later. However, by spending just a few moments following some good financial blogs on Twitter and liking them on Facebook, you’ll be signed up to win a Samsung UN50EH6000 50-Inch 1080p 120Hz LED HDTV!

Check it out:

(That’s an affiliate link, if you’d prefer to just buy one!)

If you’d like cash for annuities, you’ll love the folks who helped us bring this contest to you, by the way. It’s great to have partners to give this stuff away, isn’t it?

The contest ends May 31, so enter quickly!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The post My Plan to Save $1,200 by Streamlining Subscriptions AND a Giveaway! appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

What type of job do you have? Are you trying to climb the ladder in Corporate America, but don’t have the money to drive around in flashy cars and brand new designer clothing? Well, let me tell you a secret. You don’t need to spend a lot of money to fit into the corporate world. Sure, it helps to look the part, but rather than rack up your credit cards with mountains of debt, it’s much wiser to pay for your clothing with cash.

“But clothes are expensive!” you might be thinking, “…and to get quality pieces, you’ve got to pay top dollar.” I’ve heard these complaints many times before, and while they sound relevant, they are absolute myths. First of all, sure, clothes can be expensive if you buy them from the retail store when they’re not on sale, but this is a complete waste of money. And, if you think that spending more money means that you’re getting higher quality goods, you’re absolutely wrong there too. Much of the time, you’re just paying for the designer name, not the quality of the clothes.

Avoid paying retail prices. Let’s explore where you can get high-quality clothes for less than half the cost of retail.

Second Hand Stores

Many people stick their nose up at the second hand stores, but hear me out on this one. Don’t head down to your local slummy second hand store because they’re going to have slummy looking clothes. Instead, drive yourself to the nearest ritzy town and walk into their “gently used” stores. You’ll quickly notice that the clothing there is far different than from the bad part of town, and it’s severely cheaper than at the retail store!

Platos Closet

This store sells gently used clothing as well, but you know that it’s in good shape and that it’s the latest fashions. They often have more trendy items, which could only be used for “weekend wear”, but the men might be able to find a few dress shirts, slacks, or dress shoes as well. For the ladies, dress shoes can easily be found here, and at a far reduced cost from retail. Other items that can be found are skirts, dresses, and plenty of accessories.

Search Online

There are many big players coming onto the online scene these days, and since they don’t have the liability of a huge retail store on their books, they can charge far less for their clothing than the other guys. For big events, it might make sense to rent clothing. My daughter is headed to the prom in a dress from RentTheRunway.com. On top of this, you could check out RetailMeNot.com and find a promo code to reduce your overall bill even more!

The Key to Dress For Success

These three areas are a great place to search for some new clothes, but be smart with your purchases For women, when you purchase a new wardrobe, don’t buy complete outfits that can only be worn together. Buy versatile pieces that can be interchanged with one another. When you buy a few neutral colored skirts, a few solid colored blouses and a couple of decorative scarfs, you end up with not just two outfits, but 10+ outfits that can be worn all different ways! While men generally don’t buy matching sets, the same is still true: focus on clothing that can easily be worn in multiple combinations and you’ll be able to lower your cost while still looking great.

The post Dress For Success Without Breaking the Bank appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

Own a business? Insurance can be such a pain. Here’s one way to take the pain out of insuring your company auto.

We are all aware of how important it is for a company to possess the correct insurance for its vehicles.

This is particularly true if the majority of an organization’s operations center around the transport of goods and services. In this respect, van insurance is all but essential for the security of ongoing operations and it is even becoming more common for customers to decline the services of a company whose vans are not insured.

While the importance of van insurance can’t be overstated, many owners are nonetheless hesitant to ask for van insurance quotes due to a fear that they may be prohibitively expensive. However, a great deal of money on insurance policies can be saved if a few simple guidelines are followed. These savings are especially pronounced when insuring a fleet of vehicles. Let us have a brief look at some of the ways to save money when applying for a van insurance policy.

Know the Difference Between Cheap Insurance and a Cheap Insurance Policy

Basic liability is by far the least expensive form of protection, but businesses should opt for more comprehensive packages. Quotes for liability van insurance cover only the most basic of needs and may not be adequate in case of fire or theft. Thus, a cheap policy may actually cost the business an inordinate amount of money in the long run should an incident occur. The company needs to weigh risk versus reward and recognise that having a more robust package will protect the business as well as give customers a feeling of security and trust.

Insure a Number of Vehicles Simultaneously

Let us assume that a business currently has a fleet of six vans in operation. For each van, the owner is paying an average of £100 a month utilising different policies. Therefore, his aggregate cost will be £600 for all of the vehicles. This equates to a total of roughly £7200 a year. Let us further assume that only basic liability is included in this pricing. Now, we should imagine that the business owner opts to choose an umbrella package after browsing a number of offers on the internet. For this package, each van will be insured at £80 per month; a total of £480 for all six. This results to a total of £5,760 each year. This represents a savings of £1,440 per year. In five years the owner would have saved the original £7,200 from the prior policy. Furthermore, umbrella packages tend to be more comprehensive and can often be tailored around a company’s specific needs.

Research the Top Providers like AXA Business and Compare Pricing Strategies

With a simple phone call or an online search, a wide range of prices can be found for similar policies. It is important to note that the discrepancies between differing companies may have as much to do with the commissions paid as they do with the quality of the coverage itself. There is nothing wrong with contacting a provider and informing him of a competitor’s quote. This may result in a price being substantially lowered, as they never want to lose a potential client to one of their competitors.

Install Safety and Anti-Theft Devices

An excellent way to lower van insurance premiums is to equip a commercial van with anti-theft devices or additional locks. It should be remembered that the safety of the cargo being transported will directly correlate with the cost of a certain policy. Installing such devices can help lower the price of premiums. Another way to save money on insurance quotes is to park a van in a secured lot or a parking garage. This will lessen the chance of a break-in or theft and will likewise help bring prices down.

These few simple steps can help save a substantial amount of money for van insurance. As demonstrated with the earlier example, these savings will accrue over time and can be placed directly back into ongoing business operations.

The post How Much Can You Actually Save with Cheap Van Insurance? appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.

Have shows come automatically to your iPod! Use the 2 Guys iTunes page here.

Listen to shows on your smartphone! Try the Stitcher app here

Want to listen at your computer later? Right click the podcast and save the file to your desktop.

Monday, Monday. It’s the perfect day to peer out the window and dream about…..well, how about traveling around the world on less than it would cost to sit at home?

It sounds good to us, too, which is why this week on the show we interview Adam Shepard. Maybe you’ve read the book reviews, so you’ve heard everyone else’s thoughts about Adam. Now let’s hear Adam’s story from his own mouth. He’ll talk about fighting bulls, his favorite countries around the world, the places he’d never return to in a million years, and more. Of course, he’ll talk about how he saved up the $20k to take the trip in the first place. Inspirational? It was so inspirational I wanted to get off the interview and tell Cheryl we were leaving right now.

Here’s Adam:

Want another one?  Here’s Adam bullfighting:

We’ll tell you how he ended up in the bull ring on the podcast.

The rest of the show ain’t slouchin’ neither (welcome to Texarkana, folks!). OG & Joe discuss the stat of the week (a third of the population ENJOYS doing their taxes!), the shortwave gang discusses the fact that 41% of people surveyed say they can’t contribute to a retirement plan because their bills are too high, and PK discusses the ridiculousness known as benchmarking.

Of course, that autographed Jean Chatzky book is still up for grabs, so you could win that, too. All you have to do is guess the name (and this is our easiest name-guess ever).

Finally, we discuss the future of the show. Three show left until this grasshopper becomes a butterfly.

PS – Oh, yeah! I almost forgot movies! OG saw Lincoln, and Joe saw Oblivion.

As always, show notes will appear magically throughout the day on Monday.

Show Notes

<> Open

<> Stat of the Week: 36% of people enjoy doing their taxes

<> Adam Shepard: One Life Lived

<> PK’s Fractional Sense: Benchmarking

<> Let’s Give Something Away

<> Shortwave: Can’t Afford To Save???? Huh????

<> End Show -

- The future of the show.

- Movies: OG – Lincoln (thumb up) Joe – Oblivion (thumb sideways–movie isn’t as advertised)

The post Around The World In Less Than $20k – 2 Guys and Your Money #38 appeared first on The Free Financial Advisor.