Young & Free Tennessee Blog

Living Young & Free Show Episode 055: Co-Signing Loans, Working While In School & Improving Your Finances One Month at a Time

Y&F Tennessee Team — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:35:04 +0000

Michelle from New Mexico goes over the details of co-signing a loan, Darryl in South Carolina gives some tips on how to make money while in school and Janelle from Michigan goes over a month by month strategy to improve your finances.

You can also download all of the episode as a podcast from iTunes and you can watch all previous shows!

The Y&F Tennessee Team

GUEST BLOG: International Year of the Co-operatives

Y&F Tennessee Team — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:04:31 +0000

This blog is compliments of Michelle over at youngfreenewmexico.com.

Each year, the United Nations declares a whole year to be dedicated to something--typically, something that can unite nations for social or economic change and growth. In past the past, the UN has dedicated years to Education, Human Rights for All, and even the Potato.

This year, the UN declares 2012 as the International Year of the Co-operative.

First off, what is a co-operative? In short, a co-operative is a business owned by a group of people for their mutual benefit. It is officially defined as "an autonomous asociation of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through jointly owned and democratically controlled enterprise." There can be food co-operatives, health co-operatives, and financial co-operatives--like credit unions, for instance.

The UN's goals for this year are to raise awareness about co-opertives and their contributions to socio-economic development, promote growth of co-operatives among individuals and institutions for socio-economic empowerment, and encourage governments and regulatory bodies to establish policies, law, and regulation conducive to co-operative formation and growth.

Basically, the goals for the International Year of the Co-operatives (IYC) are the same as the goals for the Young & Free Program: to raise awarness and involvement of an organization that is socially and economically beneficial to the individual as well as the community.

And that's where we come in. All Young & Free partners will be involved this week in the IYC, promoting co-operatives and the UN's official involvement because, after all, credit unions are co-operatives. We're here to help spread the good news and join the movement, hoping to educate as many as we can that co-operatives build a better world, that it's about human need, not greed, and that they are successful value-based businesses.

For more information about IYC, head on over to the IYC's official website. Also, check out this awesome video about co-ops and their stories. And, if you have one, submit it!

Keep cool my babies!

Michelle

Living Young & Free Show Episode 054: Buying Used, Kicking Procrastination & 10 Financial Commandments

Y&F Tennessee Team — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 01:30:25 +0000

Alex in Tennessee talks about buying used, Dex from Alberta gives tips on kicking procrastination and Seth in Maine shares financial commandments.

You can also download all of the episode as a podcast from iTunes and you can watch all previous shows!

The Y&F Tennessee Team

MERRY CHRISTMAS! from Young & Free Tennessee

Alex Oliver — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:38:08 +0000

Wishing each and every one of you a very merry, Young & Free'y Christmas!

Day 5 | Y&F Days of Christmas: "Last Minute Gift Ideas"

Alex Oliver — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 04:33:30 +0000

Day 5: Last Minute Gift Ideas

Christmas is only 5 days away! Exciting...unless you have yet to do ANY shopping.

Assuming that the reason you haven't shopped for anyone yet is because of your busy schedule, I'll simply list some great last-minute gift ideas on the cheap with a video from last year! Enjoy!

Winter gear from The Board Room, Inc! TBR always has amazing selection and their crew is second-to-none when it comes to helping you make the right decision for the action sports athlete on your list. Go ahead, try 'em!
Fun, ridiculous gifts. You can find all types of absurd gifts that are sure to get a laugh from local drug stores like CVS and Walgreen's...things like the Snuggie, Slanket, or other crazy "As seen on TV" items.
Homemade gifts. I keep coming back to this one, maybe it's a sign? Homemade adds sentimental value (assuming you put a half-decent amount of time into it).
Gift Cards (choose wisely).
Visit local Knoxville-based shops on Market Square or out west - places like Bliss, Rala, The Board Room, Glowing Body, etc will have tons of ideas and gifts within budget.
A puppy. ...just kidding. Don't give anyone a puppy. Time, money and heart-ache if it has to get returned (but maybe that's just the cynic in me).

For more great ideas, check out this article on USA Today!

Living Young & Free Show Episode 053: Holiday Shopping Savings, Holiday Savings & Last Minute Gift Ideas

Y&F Tennessee Team — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 01:00:25 +0000

Kaylie in Ontario goes over ways to shop and save at the Holidays, Matt from Indiana talks about how you can save up for the holidays and Lee in Alabama shares some last minute gift ideas.

You can also download all of the episode as a podcast from iTunes and you can watch all previous shows!

The Y&F Tennessee Team

Day 9 | Y&F Days of Christmas: "Keep Your Wits About You"

Alex Oliver — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:45:49 +0000

Day 9: Keep Your Wits About You

It's been very talky-talky on the Y&F Days of Christmas countdown, so instead of something elaborate today - just be inspried.

Enjoy:

(via roz)

Day 10 | Y&F Days of Christmas: "Gifts on the Cheap"

Alex Oliver — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 01:03:02 +0000

Day 10: Gifts on the Cheap

Christmas gifts can get expensive! It's time to give your wallet some love, and still make those on your list feel like they received the best gift ever. I spoke with Jessica - ORNL's marketing guru (and my boss) and her advice was rad: "Try giving an experience rather than a gift!"

Share an experience. For those on your list who you really care for, give an experience rather than a valued gift! Consider a winery (locally: Blue Slips), Biltmore trip (North Carolina), quick convenient vacations to nearby locaitons, a trip to Dollywood, a tour of the Jack Daniels distillery, or a trip to create some art together - whether pottery or painting!

Utilize Groupon, Living Social and other social media sites! Groupon and Living Social rock year-round! Be sure and check 'em out for the latest and greatest deals around town - you can score a ton of awesome ideas and gifts on the cheap!

Make it at home! Homemade gifts offer both sentimental value and big savings on your checking account!

Buy it online, NOW! Buying gifts online can save a ton of money - plus you can typically avoid sales tax and often times even score FREE shipping! Pretty, rad - eh? This time of year is especially big for many online retailers - so you can likely take advantage of great savings and reasonable ship dates - just make sure you can get it delivered before Christmas!

Got any other gift ideas on the cheap? Let me know in the comments below!

Day 11 | Y&F Days of Christmas: "Giving Back"

Alex Oliver — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:10:57 +0000

Day 11: Giving Back

Tis the season to be merry! It's time to share that good holiday spirit - and what better way than giving back to your community?! Donating your time to a good cause is incredibly beneficial to both those you're helping - and yourself! If you find yourself stressed out, drained, unenthused, unappreciative...whatever - it's time to give back!

There are many who are less fortunate than you and I, and although we may not have a ton of money - we do have the ability to give back with our time or other donations.

VOLUNTEER! It's called the "Volunteer State" for a reason! Grab a group of friends and figure out a date that works with everyone's schedule to volunteer.

Pick an organization. Once you and your friends have picked a date to help out and volunteer, it's time to pick your organization. There are an insane amount of opportunities in East Tennessee to give back! Visit the City of Knoxville Volunteer page (here) to get some ideas!

Spread the word! Post on your blog, Facebook and Twitter that you're volunteering. Share the date and organziation you're benefiting and see how many volunteers you can round up!

Don't have time to volunteer your time? Donations (both financially and in offering) are a great way to give back! The Angel Tree encourages donations of both money and/or items to help give every child a Christmas with gifts! Just $12 can give (2) children a Christmas to remember! Plus, food banks always accept non-perishable food items if your cash-flow is limited!

A crazy Holga pic from a Young & Free trip to volunteer at the VMC downtown!

Again, giving back is super easy! If you have a way to give back that I didn't mention above, be sure and comment below!

The 12 Young & Free Days of Christmas

Alex Oliver — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 02:52:08 +0000

First of all, thanks for your patience in the lack of updates recently here on the blog! To put it simply, my bro just got married on Saturday...so between prep/family/the actual wedding/etc - it really wacked out the schedule! It went great though, so thanks for your patience.

Cool, so we're good now? awesome.

There are only 12 more days until Christmas! (I just had to type it to believe it) Crazy, crazy - but I'm stoked! The question that remains is: are YOU ready? My hope is to get you totally ready - in spirit, shopping and SAVING! In the next 12 days, I'll be hitting you with gift ideas on the cheap, ways to celebrate, last minute shopping advice, ways to give back, tips on rush delivery, holiday recipes on the cheap - and more!

So let's do this!

Day 12: Create a shopping list and BUDGET!

One of the easiest methods (that will seem so incredibly obvious to you uber-organized folks out there) is to simply create a shopping list and budget for those on your list. First things first, know how much discretionary budget you have for the holidays. For example purposes let's say you're gonna spend $100 TOTAL (covering everyone on your list).

Prioritize by amount. In other words, you're likely going to spend more money on your girlfriend then, say, your dog. First write down all the names --- then prioritize. This will help clear your head.

List gift ideas beside each person. This will be easier for some, and impossible for others (the classic "what do you get for the person who has everything" line goes here). Just give it a go trying to force yourself to write ONE thing for each person.

Get creative. Working within budget can be difficult. Allocate actual amounts to each person and get your brain spinning. What can you make homemade as one of those gifts? Making a gift at home can save money and add sentimental value. Do you have artisic ability? Consider creating and giving some of your art to those on your list (photos, paintings, videos, crafts, pottery, etc).

Go online and price-shop. Compare values across all retailers - some things may be cheaper to buy online, just make sure you have delivery BEFORE Christmas (sometimes rush delivery can counteract your original savings on an item).

Don't overgift. Trust me, your mom will still love you even if it's not Louis Vuitton. The biggest thing here is to avoid abusing your credit card! Don't spend money you don't have. Stay within budget.

-----

There ya have it! The countdown is on - The 12 Young & Free Days of Christmas!