Good Idea: Trying to save money on flexible entertainment costs.
Bad Idea: Developing an addiction to any thing for any purpose. Addiction, by nature, reduces the ability of the victim to make rational choices. Debt reduces your choices of how to manage your money; addiction reduces your choices of how to spend your time. Addiction is a form of revolving debt that demands payment in time, which, as we all know, IS money.
First of all, most people don't buy homes from homebuilders; they buy them from other homeowners. So this would only work for a small percentage of people.
Second, home-builders are just that - if they wanted to flip real estate or sell homes they'd have become investors or realtors. Why would they want to completely change and expand their business model just for the "opportunity" (plus lots of risk) of taking your old house off your hands?
Third, a homebuilder wouldn't have an easier time of selling the property than the owners themselves (especially through the use of realtors). And why on earth would anybody sell their home to a builder for less than the market value when they can sell it to somebody else for the market value? (No matter what they'd always be getting a worse deal from the builder than they could on the open market,).
At best, your proposed system would simply add a middle man which would ultimately increase home prices for everyone.
Having all your tactics exhausted, where would you turn as a final recourse. Is small claims court, collection agencies or other such third party involvements worth it. Or would it be better to eat the loss (depending on the amount owed I assume)?
Thanks for this post. As I start doing freelance editorial work, this is an issue that I expect will come up. This is great advice for dealing with slow clients.
As the former accounting/bill-paying manager of a small nonprofit, I can attest to the fact that sometimes we simply forget to process an invoice. A phone call always works better than an email. And I agree that you should invoice small amounts as they come up--otherwise, the company's own accounting mechanisms could be screwed up by receiving a larger bill than expected.
However, I'm surprised by the advice to charge interest on delinquent invoices. Is that widely done? I have never had a company or consultant charge my company interest for a late payment.
As a printer in a small town, my dad had a restaurant owner that didn't pay him for new menus, business cards and advertising.
When my grandparent's anniversary came around, he brought the whole family to that restaurant. When the bill came, he told the waiter that he'd take it off the restaurant owner's tab at the print shop.
From then on, it was cash up front of course, but for the money he was already owed, it was easier than arguing with the guy.
Hi Mrs. Casanova, I posted Amazon links to the games on this post. Some of them are actually quite cheap on Amazon. For example, Puerto Rico is $30 with free super saver now.
Regarding selling things to non-drivers, we've come up with a solution to this in our quest to de-clutter our home. When we list something, we put right in the title or price that it's X price if you pick up and Y price if we deliver. We live thirty minutes outside a metro area so not only do we make extra money this way, we attract more interest from city dwellers. My husband works in the city anyway so it's no big deal for him to swing by and drop off an item and collect the money. It keeps us from having to deliver for free to non-drivers and people have all been happy to pay an extra $20 or $30 for this when we're selling items over $100.
@R.P.K. - Many insurance companies will insure you after a certain amount of time has elapsed since your surgery with proof of your clean bill of health. That time frame varies, but is often about 5 years. When was the last time you applied?
I find that some of my friends just don't get it when I say I have decided to spend less on going out, for example. They argue that it will only cost £10 when in fact I know it will end up being quite a bit more. It is difficult to explain that I have had a change in my attitude to money, without offending or sounding judgmental.
I am working on getting the hang of balance between who I am now and who I was.
Great Post! I am also an avid fan of Eurogames and own and have played everything you mentioned many times with Agricola being my current favorite. If you are looking for more economic board games, I would recommend several of the train games such as Age of Steam or its derivatives, any 18XX game (long and can be very difficult), or even things like Chicago Express. You could also try games such as Indonesia, Scepter of Zavandor, or Brass. If you ever have any questions about Eurogames, feel free to contact me on BGG, my alias is Sailsa. Happy gaming!
Which game would you recommend most for two players? My husband and I love Settlers of Catan (it wouldn't fall under your list, since it does include an element of luck -- dice), but it's no fun with just two people.
My wife and I frequently play boardgames; we've found them to be a relatively frugal way to spend time together. We play San Juan more than Puerto Rico, and the buy-produce-trade element is interesting from an economic point-of-view as well: how do you get your economic engine going?
Another one we like is Monopoly Deal Card Game--this game clearly teaches to bank some savings before you invest, because you may lose your investments without savings in your bank.
btw, if you're on the Geek, look me up: "didaskalos."
I think this concept is very good, but in practice is very challenging. This could be over-simplified very easily. I'm a real estate investor and am here to tell you that the holding costs of real estate, with or without a renter, are vast and can be quite costly over the long run. That doesn't necessarily mean that the builders can't make out like bandits over the long run, but it's difficult to quantify and plan for the upkeep of a house or many houses that they would have to hold in the meantime, let alone the cost of property management if they choose to rent them, which I see as the only financially viable option with them being able to do a program like this. Your mileage may vary, but this is my take. For what it's worth, I'm also a mortgage banker and get to see how long houses sit on the market day in a day out as well. It's beginning to pick back up, which is certainly positive.
NETSPEND HAS JUST RECENTLY STARTED THIS PATHETIC MARKETING PLOY. THEY ARE LOSING CUSTOMER IN DROVES FROM TERRIBLE CUTOMER SERVICE AND TO WALMART WHO RECENTLY CAME OUT WITH SAME TYPE OF CARD. I HAVE BEEN WITH THIS COMPANY FOR 3 YEARS WITHOUT MANY PROBLEMS UNTILL RECENTLY. A COMPANY CHARGED MY ACCT 35.00 AFTER I USED THE CARD WITH THEM 8-9 TIMES CHARGING 1.00, FIRST I CALLED NETSPEND TO DISPUTE THE CHARGE. I WAS TOLD BY A PLEASANT INDIAN GENTLEMAN TO NOT WORRY THE MONEY WOULD BE IN MY ACCT IN 6-7 DAYS. I THOUGHT THIS WAS WONDERFULL, UNTIL I CHECKED AND FOUND OUT THAT I HAD TO DOWNLOAD A DISPUTE FORM AND FAX IT TO NETSPEND. 2 WEEKS LATER I RECEIVED A LETTER ASKING ME TO FAX THE SAME INFO TO NETSPEND. I CALLED AND WAS TOLD IF I WANTED TO ATTEMPT, YES ATTEMPT TO GET A REFUND I HAD TO SEND THEM THE INFO AGIN. I DONT HAVE A FAX AND SPENT 4 DOLLARS ON THE FIRST FAX AND DONT SEE THE VALUE OF PLAYING GAMES WITH NETSPEND. I JUST BOUGHT A WALMART CARD FOR MY ONLINE PURCHASES, AND TO TRANSFER MONEY TO MY DAUGHTER, WHEN SHE NEEDS MONEY IN AN EMERGECY. ps
Harvesting or recycling rainwater for your garden or to be used in the toilet is an excellent way to conserve water. Given that water is a scarce resource in some parts of the US including SoCal, spreading awareness on ways to conserve water is a great idea. You will find some useful tips on how to save water at http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html
Nothing is moving quickly in our town. Homes are on the market for months. Even modest houses are being cut up into smaller rental units. Crazy. With area job cuts, potential buyers are leaving.
Good Idea: Trying to save money on flexible entertainment costs.
Bad Idea: Developing an addiction to any thing for any purpose. Addiction, by nature, reduces the ability of the victim to make rational choices. Debt reduces your choices of how to manage your money; addiction reduces your choices of how to spend your time. Addiction is a form of revolving debt that demands payment in time, which, as we all know, IS money.
Clark Howard.
First of all, most people don't buy homes from homebuilders; they buy them from other homeowners. So this would only work for a small percentage of people.
Second, home-builders are just that - if they wanted to flip real estate or sell homes they'd have become investors or realtors. Why would they want to completely change and expand their business model just for the "opportunity" (plus lots of risk) of taking your old house off your hands?
Third, a homebuilder wouldn't have an easier time of selling the property than the owners themselves (especially through the use of realtors). And why on earth would anybody sell their home to a builder for less than the market value when they can sell it to somebody else for the market value? (No matter what they'd always be getting a worse deal from the builder than they could on the open market,).
At best, your proposed system would simply add a middle man which would ultimately increase home prices for everyone.
Having all your tactics exhausted, where would you turn as a final recourse. Is small claims court, collection agencies or other such third party involvements worth it. Or would it be better to eat the loss (depending on the amount owed I assume)?
Thanks for this post. As I start doing freelance editorial work, this is an issue that I expect will come up. This is great advice for dealing with slow clients.
As the former accounting/bill-paying manager of a small nonprofit, I can attest to the fact that sometimes we simply forget to process an invoice. A phone call always works better than an email. And I agree that you should invoice small amounts as they come up--otherwise, the company's own accounting mechanisms could be screwed up by receiving a larger bill than expected.
However, I'm surprised by the advice to charge interest on delinquent invoices. Is that widely done? I have never had a company or consultant charge my company interest for a late payment.
As a printer in a small town, my dad had a restaurant owner that didn't pay him for new menus, business cards and advertising.
When my grandparent's anniversary came around, he brought the whole family to that restaurant. When the bill came, he told the waiter that he'd take it off the restaurant owner's tab at the print shop.
From then on, it was cash up front of course, but for the money he was already owed, it was easier than arguing with the guy.
Hi Mrs. Casanova, I posted Amazon links to the games on this post. Some of them are actually quite cheap on Amazon. For example, Puerto Rico is $30 with free super saver now.
MOneysavingmom.com - this blog writer seems to make it so easy! THanks!
Regarding selling things to non-drivers, we've come up with a solution to this in our quest to de-clutter our home. When we list something, we put right in the title or price that it's X price if you pick up and Y price if we deliver. We live thirty minutes outside a metro area so not only do we make extra money this way, we attract more interest from city dwellers. My husband works in the city anyway so it's no big deal for him to swing by and drop off an item and collect the money. It keeps us from having to deliver for free to non-drivers and people have all been happy to pay an extra $20 or $30 for this when we're selling items over $100.
@R.P.K. - Many insurance companies will insure you after a certain amount of time has elapsed since your surgery with proof of your clean bill of health. That time frame varies, but is often about 5 years. When was the last time you applied?
What a great post. I had a similar idea in my post do you have a secret? http://www.theleantimes.com/?p=861
I find that some of my friends just don't get it when I say I have decided to spend less on going out, for example. They argue that it will only cost £10 when in fact I know it will end up being quite a bit more. It is difficult to explain that I have had a change in my attitude to money, without offending or sounding judgmental.
I am working on getting the hang of balance between who I am now and who I was.
Great Post! I am also an avid fan of Eurogames and own and have played everything you mentioned many times with Agricola being my current favorite. If you are looking for more economic board games, I would recommend several of the train games such as Age of Steam or its derivatives, any 18XX game (long and can be very difficult), or even things like Chicago Express. You could also try games such as Indonesia, Scepter of Zavandor, or Brass. If you ever have any questions about Eurogames, feel free to contact me on BGG, my alias is Sailsa. Happy gaming!
Hey Xin,
Which game would you recommend most for two players? My husband and I love Settlers of Catan (it wouldn't fall under your list, since it does include an element of luck -- dice), but it's no fun with just two people.
I love board games but I have never heard of any of these. Are they hard to find? Where can you buy them?
My wife and I frequently play boardgames; we've found them to be a relatively frugal way to spend time together. We play San Juan more than Puerto Rico, and the buy-produce-trade element is interesting from an economic point-of-view as well: how do you get your economic engine going?
Another one we like is Monopoly Deal Card Game--this game clearly teaches to bank some savings before you invest, because you may lose your investments without savings in your bank.
btw, if you're on the Geek, look me up: "didaskalos."
Great list! I'd be interested in reading a list of the best video games that have financial elements as well.
I think this concept is very good, but in practice is very challenging. This could be over-simplified very easily. I'm a real estate investor and am here to tell you that the holding costs of real estate, with or without a renter, are vast and can be quite costly over the long run. That doesn't necessarily mean that the builders can't make out like bandits over the long run, but it's difficult to quantify and plan for the upkeep of a house or many houses that they would have to hold in the meantime, let alone the cost of property management if they choose to rent them, which I see as the only financially viable option with them being able to do a program like this. Your mileage may vary, but this is my take. For what it's worth, I'm also a mortgage banker and get to see how long houses sit on the market day in a day out as well. It's beginning to pick back up, which is certainly positive.
Cheers!
NETSPEND HAS JUST RECENTLY STARTED THIS PATHETIC MARKETING PLOY. THEY ARE LOSING CUSTOMER IN DROVES FROM TERRIBLE CUTOMER SERVICE AND TO WALMART WHO RECENTLY CAME OUT WITH SAME TYPE OF CARD. I HAVE BEEN WITH THIS COMPANY FOR 3 YEARS WITHOUT MANY PROBLEMS UNTILL RECENTLY. A COMPANY CHARGED MY ACCT 35.00 AFTER I USED THE CARD WITH THEM 8-9 TIMES CHARGING 1.00, FIRST I CALLED NETSPEND TO DISPUTE THE CHARGE. I WAS TOLD BY A PLEASANT INDIAN GENTLEMAN TO NOT WORRY THE MONEY WOULD BE IN MY ACCT IN 6-7 DAYS. I THOUGHT THIS WAS WONDERFULL, UNTIL I CHECKED AND FOUND OUT THAT I HAD TO DOWNLOAD A DISPUTE FORM AND FAX IT TO NETSPEND. 2 WEEKS LATER I RECEIVED A LETTER ASKING ME TO FAX THE SAME INFO TO NETSPEND. I CALLED AND WAS TOLD IF I WANTED TO ATTEMPT, YES ATTEMPT TO GET A REFUND I HAD TO SEND THEM THE INFO AGIN. I DONT HAVE A FAX AND SPENT 4 DOLLARS ON THE FIRST FAX AND DONT SEE THE VALUE OF PLAYING GAMES WITH NETSPEND. I JUST BOUGHT A WALMART CARD FOR MY ONLINE PURCHASES, AND TO TRANSFER MONEY TO MY DAUGHTER, WHEN SHE NEEDS MONEY IN AN EMERGECY. ps
All I can say is great discussion. I love all your thought provoking posts. It takes great genious to say hey what about this? And why the hell not?
1961, Des Moines, Iowa
My parents bought a new house, and the builder/realtor bought their old house, and credited the sale price on the new house they bought
Harvesting or recycling rainwater for your garden or to be used in the toilet is an excellent way to conserve water. Given that water is a scarce resource in some parts of the US including SoCal, spreading awareness on ways to conserve water is a great idea. You will find some useful tips on how to save water at http://www.bewaterwise.com/tips01.html
Get Rich Slowly was the first personal finance blog I read, and it's still my favorite.
Get rid of clothes you don't wear so that you know what you have in your closet so you don't have to go out and buy more stuff
This is great way for those who can not find time to join music class to learn music.
Nothing is moving quickly in our town. Homes are on the market for months. Even modest houses are being cut up into smaller rental units. Crazy. With area job cuts, potential buyers are leaving.