I have 2 siblings in University right now. Not going to to college or university wasn’t an option in my family. My parents value education very much and gave us every opportunity to make sure that we were able to go.  Having 4 children all destined for graduate school was not something they had anticipated, yet they were thrilled to be able to help out however they could.  When you make the decision to enroll in college it can be an exciting time. One of the most common phrases you hear before you have even made the decision to enroll in college is that you must go to college in order to get a great job that pays very well. However, the most overlooked phrase that no one bothers to tell you is that while you will get a great education and a chance at getting an even better job, you will more than likely come out of college with a huge amount of debt racked up. Just ask me, or 80% of PF bloggers out there.

However with a few good tips you can be on your way to going into college debt free, and coming back out almost virtually debt free. The one thing you really cannot avoid too much is your student debt, but there are good tips to help you learn how to pay off student debt in a short amount of time. Its strange that learned most of these from my younger siblings.

Become friends with your High school counselor

One overlooked tip is to become good friends with your high school counselor and there is a really good reason to this. You counselor is the one person that can explain and help you choose different options that are available to you before going off to college. There are many different things to look at in order to prepare for college. Some of those include certain high school classes that should be taken to help prepare you, and what kinds of colleges you would like to go to. They will also be able to help you with the most important part of this with what scholarships or grants are available to you as well. Both grants and scholarships do not need to be paid back and that is one important step in leaving college virtually debt free.

Stay close to home

You may be thinking this is the time you can break away from the nest and get as far away from mom and dad as you can. However it’s always not the best choice when you are trying to avoid outrageous college debt. When you are closer to home, you can help to trim down costs by commuting right from home. This helps with transportation costs and room and board fees that rack up as the years go on.

Avoid all the college “perks”

Even when you are at school they still try to get you to rack up more money with special items that seem intriguing at the time. One of the most dangerous items that can cause you to leave college with a large amount of debt that you should avoid at all costs is

• Credit Cards: There will be many credit card representatives from all the major card companies waiting to give you a shiny new credit card. They usually come with a “free” gift in tow to get you interested in signing up.

Books

One of the biggest expenses that you will encounter in college is your books. Campus books stores; although they do sell used books are still relatively pricey when compared to other places like Amazon.com. It’s always best to look online first to see if you can actually get your books much cheaper online before heading to the book store.

As you can see there are many different ways to save money while in college as well as avoid the normal debt that all college students usually fall victim to their freshman year in school. Once you start racking up the debt it can be difficult to try to pay off student debt. But as a good rule of thumb if you do start to encounter college debt before you leave school you should make consistent payments so you can come out of school with the least amount of debt possible.

Budget.

I know it may be difficult to budget, but budgeting can save you a lot of hassle later. Not only does it teach basic financial skills that are valuable in the future, it also helps control spending on non-necessary things. For example. going is part of the university experience but a set amount of spending money put aside helps over-spending and running out of money for food.

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. University Money Saving Tips is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

I don’t know how its Saturday already. This week seems to have flown by. One of my projects, DefineTO   (Define Toronto) was officially launched yesterday, and the site looks beautiful if I do say so myself. It was tricky and involved a few hours late into the night, but I am more than happy with it. If you get a chance, go ahead and read the intro blog post!  Let me know what you think.

You know when I mentioned that I take on more than I should? Well this week has been the perfect example of that. I took on 2 new projects that are bound to be long term, and I am actually very excited about it. Being away and working on launching 3 websites didn’t really leave a lot of room for writing. I did however read a lot of articles from my fellow bloggers this week.

Here are some great articles from the past week.

• The Beauty in Saving Your Skin and the Water Supply  – Sustainable Personal Finance.
• What is Wave Accounting? - Finance Triggers.
• How To Retire Early And Never Have To Work Again - Financial Samurai
• Save Money With Craigslist Retire By 40
• Could You Have A Frugal February?  Boomer and Echo
• Why I Got a Large Tax Return - Blonde on a Budget
•  Individual Opportunity Costs - Add Vodka
• How Money Can Improve Your Life and Make You Happier - Money Reasons
• Untemplate And Go Against The Grain - Untemplater
• Getting Out of Debt is Like Using a Public Restroom So Over Debt
• Practical tips for saving money? Not always. - Daily Money Shot
• A Feminist or a Bitch? - My Broken Coin
• The Importance of Buffering Your Life - Invest It Wisely

Giveaways!

• I am giving away 3 codes for H& R Block (Cdn only)
• The Wealthy Barber” – Review and Anniversary Giveaway Odd Cents
• $25 Amazon Giveaway – Stock Trend Investing
• $1,500, an Apple Ipad 2, a FREE VACATION and a $25 Amazon Gift Card - Easy Extra Money Online

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. Link Love: New Project Edition is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

The original idea for this post started with a rant I wrote about women not investing enough. I am now continuing in my series of Learning to Invest.

Incase you missed the first 3 parts, here they are:

1. Researching stocks the smart way
2. Using a Mock Investment portfolio
3. Choosing your first stocks

When you’re learning to invest, the research doesn’t stop once the mutual funds and other assets are added to your portfolio. Instead, it’s important to regularly monitor the performance of your investment choices so that you don’t end up with a portfolio that at best wildly differs from your starting goals, and at worst, proceeds to bankrupt you in the process, too.

Here are a few key reasons why consistent maintenance prevents financial disaster:

• It allows you to adapt quickly to a changing market.
• Aids in the identification of under-performing investments.
• Helps pin-point assets with a high earning potential.

The best way to monitor your investment portfolio is to establish reasonable benchmarks for comparison early on.  In addition to setting long term goals, like ensuring you have enough for your retirement fund, you will also want to throw in some short term monetary goals, as well. For example, paying off a car loan, or becoming a home owner, are both achievable short term goals.

There are three primary types of benchmarks that you will use to monitor the behavior of your investments:

1. Peer Groups
2. Market Indexes
3. Personal Benchmarks

It’s important to learn how to use all three to establish the true behavior of your portfolio. After you have set your personal benchmarks, and established which market indexes are realistic to use for your individual portfolio, then the next step in learning to invest is indentifying when it’s time to cut non-performing investments loose. Although daily, weekly and monthly fluctuations are normal due to the volatile nature of the market, a fund that is no longer meeting the majority of your personal benchmarks over a pre-specified period of time is unlikely to help you reach the ultimate goal of financial freedom.

Tools that Will Help You Monitor Your Investment Portfolio

• A well thought out financial plan. One of the best ways to ensure that your investments are on track is to draft out a financial plan that clearly lays out how much financial risk you can allow yourself to take. In addition to making the decision to sell or hold stocks easier, a clear risk assessment will help prevent getting caught up in the moment and spending too much when your assets appear to be doing well. Ideally, this should be prepared well before you start buying stocks and adding mutual funds to your portfolio.
• TD Asset Management. If you are uncomfortable taking on the task of maintaining your portfolio alone, then you may want to consider hiring the help of a professional. For instance, the team behind TD Asset Management can not only help you set up customized goals, but they can also help you identify which assets are no longer worth pursuing. Sometimes, the best way to learn how to predict and monitor market behavior is by watching someone else with experience do it – at the very least, don’t forget to ask for advice.

Final Words on Monitoring and Maintaining your Portfolio

While it’s important to understand that your investments will constantly change, you should always keep their overall behavior under close observation. If you don’t, your portfolio may end up deviating from the financial goals you are hoping to achieve – which would undermine the entire point of learning to invest in the first place.

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. Monitoring your Investment Portfolio is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

Income diversification or multiple incomes seems to be the trend of the month right now. Its seems like everyone is hopping on the bandwagon. I, personally, love the idea and am working hard at finding different routes to be able to feel financially secure.  Let me preface this by saying that I have always been a spender, but I have always worked. Hard work to me is part of the course, but I do get bored rather quickly. So in order for me to stay focused on one task for a long period of time, I need to feel mentally stimulated. Being bored equals sloppy work, and sloppy work is simply not acceptable.

We all have fears, some have completely irrational ones like talking on the phone, some,  like myself, fear being unemployed. I fear waking up and not having a source of income. I fear not being able to take care of myself and therefore relying on others. Actually, I think what scares me the most is relying on others. I bet a lot of people have the fear, but there are very few that do something about it. We live in a culture where being unemployed isn’t seen as a scary thing since people can rely on the social system. I don’t want to think about that as an option. One of my biggest dreams is to become a vega-bond  and travel the globe. While building a passive income stream might not be on the top of my list, I do want to have multiple channels of revenue coming in so if/when I decided to take a sabbatical and go live in Honduras, I have enough to cover my bills.

My friends refer to me as the “do-er”. I like making plans and starting right away. I usually lack the self control of waiting around to mull an idea over. If I think I should do something I jump right in. Thats how I started blogging. I came across a few blogs, read them all weekend, found Yakezie and took the plunge. That is also how I started my side business.

You may have read about the 30K challenge last year. The challenge is one of the ways that I am motivating myself to diversify my income stream.

Benefits of income diversification:

• Peace of mind
• Income security
• Increased income
• Write-offs*
• Ability to expedite debt repayment

I like knowing that I can walk away from any part of my work life and still have a steady income. Income that I can increase exponentially based on the amount of work I am willing to put in. Don’t get me wrong working full-time at a steady job is fantastic, but I don’t have the security of knowing that I am my own boss and that my future is in my own hands.

There are a ridiculous amount of resources available out there that can help provide different channels for secondary income. All it takes is a bit of research. Sometimes you have to fearless to start a new business or become an entrepreneur. There is a bit of luck, a lot of hard work and some foolishness involved, but the peace of mind that comes with it is very worth every second of extra work.

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. Benefits of income diversification is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

This year my taxes will be extremely complicated, and knowing that I paid $100 to my fantastic accountant and will have to again, I decided that I will give both Turbo Tax and H&R Block a chance this year. I will be doing a thorough write up when I get my T4 in the mail- which should be at the end of Feb. Seriously, my employer waits until the last possible day. I am excited to see what the outcome of my side business, blogging and regular income will be.

I want to start off by saying that being a Mac owner is a bit of a pain when it comes to doing your taxes online. Most companies don’t have software you can download so you miss out on some of the bells and whistles.

H&R Block’s software is easy to use, and because I wanted to get started and test the software out, I went ahead and did my brother and his best friend’s taxes.

The good news for students is that there is a FREE version to use online, and I would students to go ahead and try it out. I made my sister do her own taxes online and she was done in a few mins. I can’t promise that this is the case for everyone as my baby sister is a genius.

I don’t know if I have mentioned this before, but I am huge sucker for clever marketing, and the H&R Block is hilarious.

I was going to wait until I did my taxes to give a breakdown of what the software was like for small businesses, but I played around with it and really found the software easy to use. I have an update soon, anyhow.

So on to the contest. I am giving away three codes for the online software. This will be fantastic for PC users, although there is another option if a Mac user won.

There are THREE ways to enter (for a total of 3 possible entries):

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. Tax Software Giveaway H&R Block (3 Chances to win) is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

Welcome to this week’s carnival. I picked Rainman, mostly because I am watching the movie as I put this post together.

Ps. Does anyone remember this song?

Savings:

Set Up Automatic Saving For Success posted at Novel Investor.  It is an automatic saving plan will successfully end all the worry and procrastination we have with our finances and force habit change. Let’s work smarter and start automating our savings.

Canadians are also not fortunate enough to get coupons on fruits, veggies or meat. All of the coupons are on non-perishable items. Most of our money goes on fruits, veggies and meat, and every now and then you’ll get some coupons on dairy items.Eddie presents Canadian Extreme Couponing, Is There Such A Thing? posted at Finance Fox.

Steve presents Saving Money and Time Through Automation posted at Money Infant. Automation is one of the keys to unlocking your financial freedom. Chances are you already automate some of your savings plans like 401k and emergency savings

Credit:

Jen presents The Downside of Using Credit Cards Responsibly posted at Master the Art of Saving.In the personal finance blogosphere, youll find many mixed views regarding the usage of credit cards. Some will say theyre evil and you shouldnt ever use them, others will say go ahead and use them as long as youre responsible. On top of those, youll find those who suggest only using them for emergencies. Here’s my take on using Credit Cards Responsibly!

Aloysa presents How Realism and Creativity Can Help You Get Out of Debt posted at My Broken Coin saying “sometimes I get frustrated with my life and myself because it seems that paying off debt is an endless process, a perpetual torture of saying no, a continuous refusal to spend on something that makes me happy”.

There are plenty of reason why you should consolidate your student loans: lower interest rates and lower monthly payments. There are some very good reasons why you shouldn’t consolidate student loans, read more to find out why. Shaun presents Why You Shouldn’t Consolidate Your Student Loans posted at Smart Family Finance

Jeremy Waller presents A Financed Lifestyle is No Lifestyle At All posted at Personal Finance Whiz saying “I was looking at my credit card today the one with the nearly $18,000 balance when it hit me. I finally saw my credit card as something other than just a method of payment. My credit card has been my chief enabler, lifestyle financier and knew things need to change”.

Jason presents Back to Cash posted at Live Real, Now, saying “if it weren’t for my side hustles, we’d have been growing our debt recently. As of the beginning of this month, our credit card has once again been relegated to automatic bills, the gas station and online purchases”.

Mike presents BMO World Elite MasterCard Review posted at Rewards Cards Canada.
The BMO World Elite MasterCard gives you the highest travel redemption rate in the industry, and new cardholders receive a welcome bonus of 15,000 Elite Rewards points.

Mike presents Credit Card Rewards For Students posted at Rewards Cards USA.If you are student unable to qualify for a “regular” rewards credit card, a student rewards card can be a reasonable alternative.

D.J. presents Steps to Take If You Have Bad Credit posted at The Family Wallet. saying “your first reaction after learning about your credit rating may be to become stressed out or even dismayed over your financial situation. However, keep in mind that this is a temporary situation, and there are things you can do to turn your situation around”.

Investing:

Ken Faulkenberry presents Making Probability Theory Practical for Investment posted at AAAMP Blog, saying anyone who tells you they know what the stock market will do in the short term is either a fool or a liar. Understanding investment probability theory will help investors avoid short term prognosticators and concentrate on a long term investment plan.

Philip Taylor presents How to Start a Web Design Business Installing WordPress Websites posted at PT Money Personal Finance, discussing how he used designing WordPress websites to make some extra money when he moved into full-time blogging. Post includes getting started, finding clients, and other tips.

Dan presents Epic Rally Ensues as Europe Burns. Haven’t We Learned Yet? posted at ETF Base, saying “people pay too much attention to the headlines. If Greece and the PIIGS scared you out of the market, you’re missing an epic rally. Lessons Learned?”

When you first start investing, you may be scared that you will lose money. Putting your money at risk is never easy especially when you have fear that you will lose that money. Well, there are a few ways to reduce or minimize the risk of losing money. Melissa presents Diversification to Reduce Risk posted at Fiscal Phoenix.

Through the ages, a lot of wisdom has been passed down generation to generation by story telling. Humans have gone from sitting around the campfire listening to the tribal elder relay fables to watching movies. We learn lessons every day from watching movies.Here are some lessons I believe we can learn from Secretariat. Marie at FamilyMoneyValues presents Financial Lessons from the Movies – Secretariat posted at Family Money Values.

Investor Junkie presents You’re a Patsy If You Buy Facebook’s IPO posted at Investor Junkie starting that Facebook recently announced they are going public. Mark Zuckerberg plans on making approximately $40 Billion from the IPO. While I do think Facebook is a great company and amazing success story, you have to be a patsy to invest in them.

Andy presents The 6 Most Reliable Ways to Save For Retirement posted at My Retirement Blog. Many Americans are planning for retirement earlier than ever. While the reality is that tough economic conditions may force them to retire years later than they wanted, this is having the dual affect of encouraging more foresight and planning.

PITR presents Why Cash Flow is Important posted at Passive Income To Retire.Find out why cash flow is important in an early retirement plan. The importance of cash flow rests the 2 ways it helps me fulfill my dream.

Daniel presents Lending Club Returns at 15.87in Fbruary 2012 posted at Sweating the Big Stuff saying “I started investing in Lending Club in 2011, and so far my returns have been stellar. Using some smart criteria, I’ve been able to crush the average”.

Ryan presents Why Your Children Should Open a Roth IRA at Age 18 posted at Early Retirement Investments.

Budgeting:

Many of the activities required to become a self-made multimillionaire involve forsaking conventional wisdom and overcoming adversity. One must have resolve and courage to do so. Let’s explore three ways courage can be instrumental in building wealth. Roshawn Watson presents Do You Have The Courage To Be Wealthy? posted at Watson Inc.

For young people with whom eating out is a way of life, it is easy to lose control of your budget without knowing it. Try giving yourself a weekly allowance in cash to help you bring it back under control. Check out One Simple Way to Rein In Your Dining Spending posted at Everyday Money Info.

Given the different way people manage, or don’t manage, their finances, what one tip would I give anyone? Choose a budgeting method and don’t give up.Sabrina presents The Number One Tip for Budgeting Success posted at Frugal Living.

Beating Broke presents Creating a Simple Budget the Beating Broke Way posted at Beating Broke, saying “here’s how we have the budget set up at the Beating Broke household”.

Career:

Sometimes using your social network to find work can backfire on you. Additionally, helping members of your social network to find a job can also be a real problem, resulting in reputation damage. Sustainable PF presents Be Careful When Using Your Social Network as Part of Your Career posted at Sustainable Personal Finance.

Most landlords look for employment records and need income statements etc. So what do you do if you work for yourself and need to move and find a place on your own? Everything Finance presents Freelancers: How to Rent Apartment When You Are Self-Employed posted at Everything Finance.

Dividend Ninja presents It’s Only Castles Burning posted at The Dividend Ninja. Investor Seth Klarman, founder of the hedge fund Baupost Group, wrote a book on value investing, called Margin of Safety: Risk-Averse Value Investing Strategies for the Thoughtful Investor. Read an update on Klarman’s activities.

Kevin presents How I Quit My Job and What I Plan to Do Next posted at Invest It Wisely.

Other:

Wayne presents How to Have a Cheap Vacation posted at Young Family Finance. Find out how to have a cheap vacation. The poor economy shouldn’t ruin your right to get away.

Remember years ago, when you could walk into a bank or a bar and they would greet you by name? If you visited an establishment enough, you would be known as a regular. This is not a desired outcome and here is why. A Blinkin presents Loyalty is for Losers posted at Funancials.

Around the corner is a marketing explosion that will allow us to shop while visiting our favorite social media site. It’s going to happen. Is it a good idea? Dr Dean presents Giving Credit Card Info to Social Media: Come On! posted at The Millionaire Nurse Blog

101 Centavos presents Travel Like a Boy Scout posted at 101 Centavos, and by that, we don’t mean humping it with a sleeping bag, pack frame and tent, and hot dogs over a campfire. Merely to be prepared, as best as you can…

Suba presents The Definition of Broke: What Does It Mean? posted at Broke Professionals

There are tons of insurance you do not need. Whether it is flight insurance, cancer insurance, or others, do not buy extra insurance that you do not need.Hank presents Five Insurance Policies That You Do Not Need posted at Money Q&A.

Jester presents How to Accept Advice from Others posted at The Ultimate Juggle, asking who do you ask for financial advice. Find out who you should be asking for financial advice and learn how to accept it gracefully.

Kyle presents Make Money Playing in Scrabble Tournaments posted at The Penny Hoarder. If you’ve got a knack for the game, we’ve got a few tips on how to make some extra money playing the game professionally…

MR presents Do You Look Poorer Than You Are? posted at Money Reasons asking, “do You Look Poorer Than You Are? Apparently, I do! A lady at work thought I was much poorer than I really was,..”

Negotiation can be a powerful tool to save you money, yet many people never negotiate because they think it is in poor taste or they are afraid their attempt at negotiation will be denied. In my experience, more than half of the time you try to negotitate, you will be successful.KT presents Improve Negotiation by Being Willing to Walk Away posted at Personal Finance Journey.

ohn presents The Best Travel Tip I Ever Learned posted at Married with Debt.Don’t be scared of the words fine dining. Going to a chain restaurant, or a non-fine dining restaurant doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be saving money.

SB presents The Pro’s and Con’s of Preparing Your Own Taxes posted at One Cent at a Time.The author explains pros and cons of preparing your own tax return. The things to consider before think of doing it alone. Read for details.

Financial Advice:

Miss T. presents Staying Positive in a Bad Situation posted at Prairie Eco Thrifter.If you are experiencing hard times, you are not alone. People all across the United States are struggling financially. The current economic situation has created financial struggles for many people and for some the outlook is bleak. When you are in that place of stress, fear, and worry it is hard to stay positive or see any reason to be happy. But finding a way to be happy is the most important thing that you can do.

Krantcents presents Invest Your Tax Refund or Send It to Me! posted at KrantCents. saying “Invest your tax refund or send it to me! It is all about choices. What are you going to do? I know some will pay down debt, add to savings or fund an IRA. If you are going to go out and spend it on dinner, clothes, electronic toys or something that will break, wear down, etc they you’re better off sending it to me!”.

Darwin presents Insane Success Stories That Drive Me Crazy…But Shouldn’t posted at Darwin’s Money, discussing how each time you hear an incredible success story and think “that could be me!”…consider how Survivorship Bias is influencing you.

Echo presents First Time Home Buyer: HBP Or TFSA? posted at Boomer & Echo.This post explains the benefits of a first time home buyer using the Home Buyers Plan (HBP) or TFSA for a down payment.

If you own MLPs, it can be quite a pain to manually enter those pesky K-1s. But if you do your taxes in TurboTax, there is a way to automate most of it! Money Cone presents How to View Your Schedue K-1s Online and Import Them Into Turbo Tax posted at Money Cone.

Graduating college is an exciting time in your life. You are finally on your own and facing many important decisions such as what career path to choose or where to relocate. Decisions made now can have a big impact on your potential income and living expenses. If I could offer one piece of personal finance advice to a new college graduate it would be to start saving money as soon as possible. Here are several other tips to get you on the road to financial success.Paul Vachon presents Personal Finance for College Graduates posted at The Frugal Toad.

Ashley presents Battling Your Savings Fears posted at Money Talks Coaching. Fears regarding savings fall into three main categories. Saving for emergencies, saving for college, and saving for retirement. Dealing with savings fears is much like dealing with debt fears. You need a plan and then a way to track that plan.

Jeffrey presents How to Afford Expensive Things posted at Saving Advice. There are no magic bullets, shortcuts, or secrets to affording big ticket items. If you want something that is beyond your current means, there are sensible and stupid ways to go about getting that item. Too many people opt for the stupid ways, to the detriment of their finances.

Evan presents How Much Is Your Security Worth? posted at Smart Wealth.The cost is high for a home security system; the monthly fees will never end as long as you have the system but is peace of mind worth the price to you?

Business

Glen Craig presents How to Deduct Your Moving Expenses posted at Free From Broke .See how to deduct your moving expenses from your taxes. Keep in mind that the move has to involve your employment or, in some cases, the military.

Justin presents Want to Invest in a New Startup Company? Think Medical Software posted at Budget Snob, stating that the software industry has been recently ranked as one of the best places to start a new business in. With that in mind, knowing that paper records are still the most common way of storing information is crucial to your investment acumen and here’s why; more and more medical records are being mandated to switch to electronic filing.

Jeffrey presents Wealthy, Successful Bloggers: Don’t Simply Follow Their Frugal Advice posted at Money Spruce, saying “I often wonder if I’m brainwashing myself with the stuff I just want to hear. Lately, I’ve been reading a lot of blogs, books, and other advice about self-employment and starting your own business. I’ve mostly convinced myself that working a 9-5 job isn’t the key to happiness and success in my life”.

Corey presents Saving Money on Car Insurance posted at Steadfast Finances. Read ways to save money on Car Insurance.

Frugality:

Kay Lynn presents Save Money by Living a Simpler Life posted at Bucksome Boomer.Doesn’t it just make sense to live simpler? The fewer things you own, the fewer maintenance costs you will have, and the more you will save in the long-run! Live a simpler life, and you will start seeing your bank account grow beyond your wildest dreams!

Amanda presents The Ins and Outs of Social Buying Websites posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “social buying sites are no longer a new experiment for frugal people. I’ve learned many things about social buying websites that I’d like to share with you to help you with your own purchases”.

Young presents Tips for Living in an Expensive City posted at Young and Thrifty. stating “the cost of living is ridiculously high and it can be very expensive to live, work, and play. Other cities can be notoriously expensive to live in, namely Los Angeles, New York, Paris, London, Toronto, Montreal, Singapore, Tokyo… the list goes on. So here are some ways I thought of to save money while living life up in an expensive city”.

Jeremy Biberdorf presents Buy An eReader & Save Money On Books posted at Modest Money stating that for some people, books can be a major expense. At $10-20 each, the price can really add up a lot if you read much. Many people are discovering the convenient way to save money on books, buying an eReader. Learn more about why you should consider buying an eReader and find out which model may be best for your needs.

There is only one true secret to saving money that can be applied to almost any purchase you will ever make in your life, and that is stacking. What exactly is stacking? Well it is an art form really – something that you become really good at over time with lots of practice. SavingMentor presents The Biggest Secret There Is to Saving Money? Stacking posted at HowToSaveMoney.ca.

Emily presents Frugal Tips That Go Too Far posted at Evolving Personal FinanceShe lists 10 frugal tips that made me think “No way!” when she read them and why we would never try them. She then list 10 tips that we actually use and a few we would consider.

Education:
Amanda L Grossman presents A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: Timeshares Included in Social Buying Site Travel Deals posted at Frugal Confessions. It seems that Timeshare and Travel Deals can not be combined. Read about Amanda’s experience with them.

A college degree is still essential for staying competitive in the job market. Therefore, finding ways to reduce or eliminate college debt is essential for long-term financial success. Here are some ways that students entering college now (and their parents) can minimize their debt load over the next four years:How to Keep Your Student Loan Debt Low posted at Little House in the Valley.

Teacher Man presents Apple vs The Textbook Industry posted at My University Money. It was recently announced that Apple will soon be entering the textbook industry. The technology titan is apparently bored with dominating its current niches and sees a market that they believe they can make a solid profit in. I think this is a fantastic thing for students and textbook costs.

Kelli presents What is income based repayment of student loans? posted at ReadyForZero Blog.This article goes into detail about the Income Based Repayment program that Pres. Obama has introduced to help students pay off their student loans acc to what they earn and how to tell if you qualify etc.

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. The Carnival of Financial Camaraderie- Rain Man Edition is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

I am as blind as a bat without my glasses and normally have at least a spare pair in my purse along with contacts. Because I wear my contacts anywhere between 14-18hours a day, sometimes my eyes reject them and decide to turn puffy and red. I like to call those days glasses days or saturdays. People may buy glasses and contacts for health benefits or for fashion, I wear my mine to function. At one point I own about 7 pairs of glasses. They slowly disappeared when I started wearing contacts, but I still buy a one of 2 pairs of cheap glasses to keep around the house, in the car, or at work.

You may recall when I got caught in a Groupon Nightmare because of my glasses a few weeks ago. That was my attempt at buying at an actual store, mostly I like to shop online for things now. It may be a side affect of blogging ALL THE TIME.

You many have noticed a lot of online stores popping in social networking sites. They even guarantee a cheaper price compared with an offline store.  Although buying online is risky especially  if the site is rather new, but as long as the interface is user friendly, I usually give the site the opportunity. Anyway, before buying online it is still a really good idea to have a prescription from an eye care practitioner and have checked it regularly.

1. Check your Insurance

My health care plan covers eye exams every 2 years. It differs with different providers. In Ontario children under 18 are covered for 1 exam per year. Its free so get your eyes checked, people. (Can you tell I was pre-optometry undergrad?)If you have a health insurance, check it first if vision coverage is included and look for the benefits for contact lenses.  Why? Take advantage of the percentage discount for every purchase or get an annual allowance for the cost of your contacts and the exam for contact lenses. For example, I can spend up to $200 every 2 years on glasses. These can include contacts, prescription glasses or prescription sunglasses.

1. Evaluate your buying sources

You can buy your lenses from an optical store, mass merchants, internet sites or online stores and from your eye doctor.  Again, it is still imperative to have a prescription from a doctor.  Although there are times you may find that buying online would be cheaper from your eye doctor or from an optical store.  If you have an optical store near you, you can buy it there since an optician who is on-premises provides eye exams and contact lens fittings. Tip: Also get your contacts fitted the first time. Some brands don’t work well as others.

Check these online retailers for cheap and reliable glasses and contacts:

• Clearly Contacts  My go to source for contacts. Keep an eye out for bulk discounts and coupon codes
• Coastal Contacts Same as above but for Americans.
• Zenni Optical       The best place for Glasses for under $7. The quality is pretty decent, too.
• 39 Dollar Glasses  Pretty self explanatory.

Other online retailers that I found:

• Specsavers
• GKB Optical
• Frames Direct 
• Eye Buy Direct
• Glasses Unlimited 
• Goggles 4 U 

Most sites are very user friendly and allow you to download a little rule to take measurements. You also need your original prescription handy.

1. Comparing Prices

Before you go shopping for lenses, make sure to  compare prices from an optical store, mass merchants, internet sites or online stores and from an independent eye care practitioner.  Not just for the price lenses but also with the shipping costs and handling rates because charges may vary.  Prices may change often and sometimes there will be no charge at all.

When you visit your eye doctor for an examination or for a follow-up for your lens prescription, it is best to ask the prices of your replacement lens.  You can call or visit any optical stores for the price quotes.  You can also check prices on the internet.  Also its a good idea to ask for any available rebates.

•  Avoid shipping costs

You can avoid costs of shipping by ordering in large quantities. It’s really better to buy in bulk. I normally ask my siblings or friends if they need contacts or glasses and put through bulk orders. This way I am covered for contacts for the entire year.

•  Don’t be an impulsive buyer

Whether you are buying from online or in the actual store, don’t shop impulsively and always have a budget. It is really easy to get carried away when you see glasses for $6.95.  For online, may be the rates is cheap but delivery charge will cost you more.  For offline, it is better to ask the representative of the optical store if you can get any discounts or any bundled products and services. I like to barter with my optician, especially if I have to pay money out of my pocket.

•  Always do your research

Before buying something, I always check to see where I am going to get the most bang for my buck.  I  do my own estimations of the cost like shipping (for online purchases), fare or gasoline (if I need a trip for a certain store to shop) and time value if it is all worth it.

• Never assume anything

May be you will find this seller who has lesser expensive for specific lenses but it doesn’t mean that other lenses he has are also less expensive.  Keep in mind that we still have to do our research and compare prices to any optical store, mass merchants, internet sites or online stores and from your eye doctor.

Summary:

I have not found an optician who can match the prices that I find online and thats why  I tend to buy my contacts and glasses online every other year. The year that I have to submit my receipt to get reimbursed I go to my optician as my health care provider is picky about where I can buy my glasses from.  The point is that if you are paying out of pocket, especially for contacts, do your research and buy online. The only drawback would be for glasses because it rather hard to try them on.

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. The Ultimate guide to cheap contacts and Glasses. is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

The original idea for this post started with a rant I wrote about women not investing enough. I am now continuing in my series of Learning to Invest.

Incase you missed the first 2 parts, here they are:

1. Researching stocks the smart way
2. Using a Mock Investment portfolio

Learning to invest involves a lot more than someone simply telling you which shares are most likely to end in good and bad investments. After you move past using a mock portfolio, you will quickly find that while it seems pretty straight forward in theory, actually learning how to predict the direction the market will predominantly move in is considerably more difficult than it sounds.

Before you continue any further, here is a brief list of some very important terms you should become familiar with:

• Buy, Sell and Hold: These are exactly what they sound like – you will start off buying shares or mutual funds, monitoring them over a period of time, and then deciding whether you would like to sell or hold onto them.  During the course of your investing career, you will slowly start to learn how to identify when it’s the appropriate time to execute each action. The only way you can learn how to do this is through trial and error; no one can accurately make these predictions for you.
• Balance Sheet: This is an important part of your market research, and it’s where you will learn more about the company as a whole. For instance, in a company’s balance sheet, you will find how much debt they owe, their behavior of their inventory, and of course their cash flow, as well.
• Earnings Growth: The earnings growth is also a pretty straightforward term – it’s simply a measurement of net income. Oftentimes, investors will look at the earnings growth over a period of several years to predict the future numbers.
• Mutual funds: In the simplest terms, a mutual fund is a collection of assets in which you, as the investor, have the ability to withdraw from at any time. As a beginner to investing, you will most likely do better putting your money into mutual funds than you will single stocks. While there is still fluctuation in a group of shares, they are less likely to experience the extreme up-and-downs that single stocks can.
• Single stock: Again, this is exactly what it sounds like – an individual stock that you are investing in – which is often very difficult in terms of predicting its behavior. In general, it’s usually advisable to avoid single stocks when you’re first learning to invest with a real portfolio. However, it is a good idea to keep practicing with them in your mock portfolio so that you get the hang of predicting their behavior over the course of 52 weeks.
• Price-to-Earnings Ratio (P/E): To determine the P/E of an entire company, or even a single share, you will need to first find out what it’s earned over a 12 month period after taxes. Once you have this number, you will then need to divide the market capitalization by the after-tax figure that you determined. This is an equation that you will need to learn how to use in order to determine the overall expense of a stock or investment. As a general rule of thumb, try to avoid stocks that have a high P/E when you’re first entering the stock market; the higher the ratio is, the more likely you are to lose money on it. Of course, this isn’t always true, and some people experience an enviable rate of success with so-called “risky” investments. However, until you are comfortable predicting market behavior, this is a poor choice for your first investment.

Important Tips about Choosing Your First Stocks

1. Don’t base your decisions on the price. Similar to many other aspects of life, a cheap price doesn’t always translate into a sound decision. On the other hand, an expensive price tag isn’t the best way to determine value, either. The only way you can determine whether or not you should invest your money into a share is by crunching the numbers yourself, and taking the time to dig deeper in the history of the company.
2. Take the time to do your own market research. Although you shouldn’t be afraid to ask for advice, don’t forget that relying solely on other people’s recommendations will only lead to failure. No one can accurately predict the stock market; you can only try to make sound judgments based on past behavior.
3. Remember to check the highs and lows. Speaking of making decisions based on past trends, make sure you always take the time to analyze the full picture. For individual stocks, you should at least go back one full year because they fluctuate a lot.

On a final note, when you’re learning to invest, it’s important to fully assess your risk. You should never go into an investment assuming that you’re going to walk out with fuller pockets – even though you will be purposely weeding out the bad investments for the ones that have a higher potential for being profitable. Instead, choose the amount of investment capitol that you start with by examining how much money you are prepared to lose.

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. Learning to Invest- Choosing your first stocks is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

Ladies, I want to start off by sharing the best commercial I have seen in a while. It has David Beckham, in his underpants. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

The awesome Rafiki from Upendilife tagged in the PF meme thats been going around.

Here are the rules:

1. Post these rules.
2. Answer the 11 questions from the person who tagged you.
3. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag.
4. Tag 11 people and link them to your post.
5. Let them know that you tagged them.

To be honest I am not too sure about the tagging part since it seems that a lot of people have been tagged already, so I will ask that you pick 2 questions and answer them in the comments. Of course, you are welcome to play along and repost this on your blog as well.

These are the questions that I am supposed to answer:

1. What is one thing that brings you joy that requires money?

My toys. ie my consumer products. I love my Macbook. It truly brings me joy. Yes, I know that its a sad answer.
2. What would your ideal retirement be like?

I want to be sitting in a villa in Santorini without a care in the world. Alternatively, I want to be financially secure with my friends and family where-ever they happen to be.
3. Do you use a mac, windows or a linux based computer?

Mac, but I own 2 PCs as well.
4. What got you into blogging?

Gail Vaz Oxlade and Krystal from Give Me Back My Five Bucks.
5. Do you love your current job?

I like it enough.
6. Do you have any pets?

I have 2 birds, 3 fish. My birds are fully trained and fly around the house when I open their cage. They are super smart.
7. What is the most important thing to you on earth?

My family.
8. What is one thing that you miss that has either entirely disappeared or is slowly disappearing because of technology?

Great question. I would say human interaction and discretion. It seems even though the opportunity to speak to different people has increased through social media, people are losing the art of discretion and tact. I miss the time when people were discrete about their personal lives. I am guilty of this as well, and try to justify by being semi-anonymous.
9. Do you think the recession is still a valid argument for people not doing something about their financial situation?

No. I am a big believer in paving your own destiny. There is always something that can be done.
10. How do you start your day?

Doing a few minutes of yoga or going for a run, ahhh who am I kidding, I normally check my email.
11. What is one skill you dream of learning?

I’d like to learn code, or, if that fails, learn how to drive standard. I’m easy like that.

So what about you? Pick any 2 questions and answer them in the comments!

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. Tag-time is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months

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I have a love and hate relationship with taxes. Every tax season brings up mixed emotions. Although taxes aren’t on anyone’s fun to-do list, they are a necessary part of achieving financial freedom. Scratch that. They’re just a necessary part of being an adult, period. I know a lot of people like owing money instead of getting money back because they don’t want to lend the government a tax free loan, but I like to think of tax season as a way to access my money that I have been saving all year long. I know its wrong, but it works for me. My taxes come and go directly towards my loans. I don’t see them so I don’t think about spending them. Next year will be my first year without having any school credits to use and let me tell you  that I’m not looking forward to the mess, especially since I have a side business and make an income with this blog. However, they go by a lot faster if you’re prepared for tax season ahead of time, and you’ll eliminate a lot of the frustration and last minute guess work, too.

Here are a few tips to get you ready for tax time:

1. Set up all your business related expenses in a separate file. If you have a small business, then you will need to make sure that all of your business-related documents are separate from your personal expenses. In order to keep expenses as separate as possible, it’s always a good idea to have two different bank accounts, as well – one personal, and one for business. This will make it a lot easier to file taxes, and if you plan on having someone else do them for you, then your accountant will thank you!
2. Put together a list of loans, investments and other borrowed expenses. Not all loans are created equal; however, some of them actually work in your favor when tax time rolls around. Make sure you take the time to write up a list of all the loans that you took out that were used for investment or educational purposes.
3. Organize your receipts and other necessary documentation ahead of time for tax write offs. Even though you may never have to show anyone your receipts, you should always keep them on file just in case you receive a tax audit. Scrambling at the last minute to find all the receipts isn’t fun, and it causes unnecessary stress that can be completely avoided. Additionally, it makes figuring out what which write offs you qualify for a lot easier, as well.
4. Find a tax professional that you trust. Although it’s possible to fill out tax forms without an accountant, it’s always a good idea to at least run your forms past someone who is familiar with tax laws before you turn them in. It’s important to remember not to fall for the first cheap tax advisor that comes your way; despite the fact that you may be saving a few bucks upfront, in the long run, you’ll thank yourself for shopping around a little bit. If you make sure that all of your paperwork is neatly organized, you won’t have to pay as much for a consultation, either.
5. Look into incorporating your small business. In addition to helping you fill out your forms properly, an experienced accountant can also explain how to Inc. a business, and if it would benefit your situation. I have this and I can’t even begin to describe how fantastic it is. Yakezie
6. Keep all important documents in one easy to find spot after you sort them. Although this may seem self explanatory, you’ll thank yourself for keeping all of your tax documents in one place – especially if you’re doing the last minute tax time scramble. This includes finding and organizing all of your employment stubs, mileage logs, and major purchases – if applicable.

If you weren’t ready for filling out tax paper work this year, then you still have time to make sure that next year’s tax season goes much smoother. Make sure you take note of what could have been easier this year, and always remember to file receipts away as soon as you get them. In fact, you may want to consider investing in an electronic receipt scanner and file system so that you don’t have to keep track of stacks of paper. This is what I use and it honestly saves my life and stops me from going super crazy in March.

Don’t forget – the easiest time to get ready for tax time is well before the forms are due.

Thank you for being a subscriber! I'd love it if we could carry a conversation in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter so go ahead and add me, I'd love to hear from you. How to get ready for Tax Time in 6 easy steps. is a copyrighted post from: Thirty Six Months