My favorite tool is excel for Disney World vacation planning.
It's great to keep track of the early park openings and extended park hours, as well as all those great dining reservations, and especially the not to be missed parades and special events.
would love to win this software. Thanks for the opportunity!
I met two couples earlier this week who have chosen to live on a boat. Each couple has their own boat and they travel all over the place together. Each had their family dog that they took with them.
They told me stories of people who work on the Internet from their boats and travel the world. So, I know it's being done, but like you, I'm not sure exactly where to start. I guess I should read the book :-)
Great subject matter. I have found that the more I make the more I spend. It is tough to be frugal when the money is flowing in. I have my retirement plans in place but I like to spend the "extra" Payday.
Once a family starts it is tough to leave a job you hate to find your passion. Different story if you are single.
A credit card company called my brother wanted him to accept
one of their cards. He is employed and in a good financial shape. But he pretended to be very happy, after all, he said, he was unemployed, and own money to everyone and it would be great to have access to credit that they were offering. He said that the voice of the person who was calling was getting more and more lower and the lady said that when and if he wanted he could to go to bank and finilly she hung up.
I've never really seen it broken down that way before. Its quite motivational---makes me want to continue to pursue my passion so I CAN quit my day job, and so I CAN reitre early, and so I CAN spend more time with my son!
For the past three years my husband has used Open Office's spreadsheets to manage our finances. It's really easy to use and it's FREE. Can't beat that.
I'm almost embarrassed to say that I am nowhere near that organized. I keep my personal spending logged in a simple word doc. When I remember to, that is. Luckily my husband keeps track of that on his spreadsheet too, and gives me a heads up if I go too crazy in any given month.
My favorite tool on the computer has got to be excel- you can do JUST about anything with it- keeping finances together, inventory control when selling used kids clothes, assisting with blog giveaways, it's just my go-to business program!
This is not as simple as you suggest. I have tried for the better part of thirty years to find something I am passionate about. I have yet to find anything that interests me enough to be my day job, let alone something I do a day job to fund. Not everyone has a passion.
I use Microsoft Money, and I like it okay (good reports, good search capability), but sometimes I feel frustrated with it. I certainly don't like that you only "buy it" (RENT it) for a couple of years and then you HAVE to buy it online again in order to keep using it. That's lame.
1-2 vanilla beans for every cup of vodka you use (I find them pretty inexpensively at World Market, also check international grocery stores)
Just cut the beans into 1" pieces and put them into a nice decorative bottle. Add the vodka, stopper it, and in about 2 weeks, vanilla extract! After the vodka is gone, your gift recipient can even refill the bottle with more vodka - the beans are good for 2-4 bottles worth of extract!
You can even drink this stuff straight - I heard from a foodie friend who received it that this tastes wonderful!
I keep track of day-to-day receipts using Microsoft Money 2007. (I've been strongly considering switching to Mint.) Then, I enter monthly data into a Google Docs spreadsheet.
The problem starts with education. As a whole, we do a poor job instilling strong personal financial habits in our children.
Couple that with the fact that most college graduates are already under the heavy thumb of debt by the time they graduate and things get out of hand quickly.
This lack of discipline only intensifies two of the points made in the article - instant gratification and lack of accountability.
Case in point - my wife and I are friends with a couple who seem to buy a new car every nine months. Tomorrow, they plan to drive half way across the state to look at a fancy sports car to replace a car they bought seven months ago that is "dying."
I asked what "dying" meant and was told it need a new transmission. So, they are going to replace a $1,500 expense with a $40,000 one. Oh, and they'll roll their negative equity on the "dying" car into the new one. However, they weren't willing to pay their church $80 per week for childcare as they felt it was too expensive.
Even if you're doing what you love, in order to make a living at it you have to be dedicated and energetic about it. If you like blogging, basket weaving, beer brewing, or whatever you still have to treat it as a job if you plan to make money.
JD at Get Rich Slowly has said that he loves blogging, but that it sucks when he has to do it all the time. Doing anything as a job will suck because you HAVE to do it, so pick something that pays well and devote yourself to becoming the best at it.
The reason work sucks is because it's something you're forced to do. Once you retire and have enough money to live without working, then work becomes not so bad. You know in the back of your mind that you can quit and go do whatever you want anytime you want to. Nothing is making you be there.
We use Quicken Deluxe. It took FOREVER to learn and set up but it was well worth it. I love that I can balance all our accounts in one place, generate budget reports for our family budget talks, and pay mu bills WITHIN the program.
As nut growers, of course we eat tons of nuts -- nut loaf, waldorf salad, cookies, walnut pie -- if you can put a walnut or almond in it, we eat it. Every year, we freeze probably 60 pounds of each in gallon zip-locs and never have any problems, except when the occasional bag breaks. Makes the dog happy, though...
I love the bulk bins at both our local supermarket and health food store. I have had problems with bringing home moths, though, so bags of bulk foods also get popped into the freezer for a day or so to kill any extra protein living in there.
Anytime you cook from scratch, you are going to save money. Bulking up your meals with inexpensive, tasty, and nutritious ingredients like beans and rice can really help, too. I grow a lot of my own veggies and tons of herbs, which is not any harder than growing houseplants.
Is a simple tool. Excel. I can create whatever format works best for me. I found when I purchase budget software, I end up not needing certain things and I feel it was a waste. I can also color coordinate my entries (little bit nerdy :) )
This was exactly the point of my article: to help people find resources to wade through all the noise and find the small amount of signal.
You can't simply make sure they are independently validated. There are dozens of different companies that validate carbon sequestration projects, and they vary widely in their standards.
The UN Gold Standard I mentioned in the above article is, as its name suggests, felt to be the most rigorous by the environmental organizations and scientists that created the concept of carbon trading in the first place.
Even within that standard, there's wide variance. Tufts University has done excellent research on this. I used their table, which is also included in the UN e-book on the topic, as a guide in choosing a carbon offset for my recent car purchase.
They list the following as the most important questions to pose any company:
This is a neat post. I've found a way to combine my lifelong creative passion (writing) with my passion for raising my kids by writing about the experience of raising them. I'm starting to make some decent money at it, too.
Sierra Black - embracing the wild heart of parenting at www.childwild.com
Mint.com has become my major source of information, though I wish it auto-updated my account information a little more often without me needing to log in. Still, it really helps to get a good picture of where my money is going.
Saving for retirement by making a 401k contribution is getting harder and harder. The general theme of how the money system works and how debt drives that engine makes me want to figure more ways to save enough for that early retirement.
Great post! My passion is to write manga (Japanese comics). And you know something? Every comic book artist that isn't too well known can be found at your local coffee shop, McDonalds, or Wal-Mart. Why? Because it's one of the most difficult ways to make a living, even if you're exceptionally talented.
I love the post by the way. I've just recently taken some of my projects off of the back burner and am using that "spare time" to take care of them.
Yes, I wouldn't mind a chance at getting. A must have in this day in age. Thanks for a chance to win.
My favorite tool is excel for Disney World vacation planning.
It's great to keep track of the early park openings and extended park hours, as well as all those great dining reservations, and especially the not to be missed parades and special events.
would love to win this software. Thanks for the opportunity!
I met two couples earlier this week who have chosen to live on a boat. Each couple has their own boat and they travel all over the place together. Each had their family dog that they took with them.
They told me stories of people who work on the Internet from their boats and travel the world. So, I know it's being done, but like you, I'm not sure exactly where to start. I guess I should read the book :-)
Great subject matter. I have found that the more I make the more I spend. It is tough to be frugal when the money is flowing in. I have my retirement plans in place but I like to spend the "extra" Payday.
Once a family starts it is tough to leave a job you hate to find your passion. Different story if you are single.
I would love to win this. We use the earlier version and my son keeps bugging me to buy it so we can upgrade.
I have 4 children who are always using it for reports, etc...
A credit card company called my brother wanted him to accept
one of their cards. He is employed and in a good financial shape. But he pretended to be very happy, after all, he said, he was unemployed, and own money to everyone and it would be great to have access to credit that they were offering. He said that the voice of the person who was calling was getting more and more lower and the lady said that when and if he wanted he could to go to bank and finilly she hung up.
I've never really seen it broken down that way before. Its quite motivational---makes me want to continue to pursue my passion so I CAN quit my day job, and so I CAN reitre early, and so I CAN spend more time with my son!
For the past three years my husband has used Open Office's spreadsheets to manage our finances. It's really easy to use and it's FREE. Can't beat that.
I'm almost embarrassed to say that I am nowhere near that organized. I keep my personal spending logged in a simple word doc. When I remember to, that is. Luckily my husband keeps track of that on his spreadsheet too, and gives me a heads up if I go too crazy in any given month.
My favorite tool on the computer has got to be excel- you can do JUST about anything with it- keeping finances together, inventory control when selling used kids clothes, assisting with blog giveaways, it's just my go-to business program!
This is not as simple as you suggest. I have tried for the better part of thirty years to find something I am passionate about. I have yet to find anything that interests me enough to be my day job, let alone something I do a day job to fund. Not everyone has a passion.
I use Microsoft Money, and I like it okay (good reports, good search capability), but sometimes I feel frustrated with it. I certainly don't like that you only "buy it" (RENT it) for a couple of years and then you HAVE to buy it online again in order to keep using it. That's lame.
1-2 vanilla beans for every cup of vodka you use (I find them pretty inexpensively at World Market, also check international grocery stores)
Just cut the beans into 1" pieces and put them into a nice decorative bottle. Add the vodka, stopper it, and in about 2 weeks, vanilla extract! After the vodka is gone, your gift recipient can even refill the bottle with more vodka - the beans are good for 2-4 bottles worth of extract!
You can even drink this stuff straight - I heard from a foodie friend who received it that this tastes wonderful!
I keep track of day-to-day receipts using Microsoft Money 2007. (I've been strongly considering switching to Mint.) Then, I enter monthly data into a Google Docs spreadsheet.
The problem starts with education. As a whole, we do a poor job instilling strong personal financial habits in our children.
Couple that with the fact that most college graduates are already under the heavy thumb of debt by the time they graduate and things get out of hand quickly.
This lack of discipline only intensifies two of the points made in the article - instant gratification and lack of accountability.
Case in point - my wife and I are friends with a couple who seem to buy a new car every nine months. Tomorrow, they plan to drive half way across the state to look at a fancy sports car to replace a car they bought seven months ago that is "dying."
I asked what "dying" meant and was told it need a new transmission. So, they are going to replace a $1,500 expense with a $40,000 one. Oh, and they'll roll their negative equity on the "dying" car into the new one. However, they weren't willing to pay their church $80 per week for childcare as they felt it was too expensive.
Even if you're doing what you love, in order to make a living at it you have to be dedicated and energetic about it. If you like blogging, basket weaving, beer brewing, or whatever you still have to treat it as a job if you plan to make money.
JD at Get Rich Slowly has said that he loves blogging, but that it sucks when he has to do it all the time. Doing anything as a job will suck because you HAVE to do it, so pick something that pays well and devote yourself to becoming the best at it.
The reason work sucks is because it's something you're forced to do. Once you retire and have enough money to live without working, then work becomes not so bad. You know in the back of your mind that you can quit and go do whatever you want anytime you want to. Nothing is making you be there.
We use Quicken Deluxe. It took FOREVER to learn and set up but it was well worth it. I love that I can balance all our accounts in one place, generate budget reports for our family budget talks, and pay mu bills WITHIN the program.
As nut growers, of course we eat tons of nuts -- nut loaf, waldorf salad, cookies, walnut pie -- if you can put a walnut or almond in it, we eat it. Every year, we freeze probably 60 pounds of each in gallon zip-locs and never have any problems, except when the occasional bag breaks. Makes the dog happy, though...
I love the bulk bins at both our local supermarket and health food store. I have had problems with bringing home moths, though, so bags of bulk foods also get popped into the freezer for a day or so to kill any extra protein living in there.
Anytime you cook from scratch, you are going to save money. Bulking up your meals with inexpensive, tasty, and nutritious ingredients like beans and rice can really help, too. I grow a lot of my own veggies and tons of herbs, which is not any harder than growing houseplants.
Is a simple tool. Excel. I can create whatever format works best for me. I found when I purchase budget software, I end up not needing certain things and I feel it was a waste. I can also color coordinate my entries (little bit nerdy :) )
This was exactly the point of my article: to help people find resources to wade through all the noise and find the small amount of signal.
You can't simply make sure they are independently validated. There are dozens of different companies that validate carbon sequestration projects, and they vary widely in their standards.
The UN Gold Standard I mentioned in the above article is, as its name suggests, felt to be the most rigorous by the environmental organizations and scientists that created the concept of carbon trading in the first place.
Even within that standard, there's wide variance. Tufts University has done excellent research on this. I used their table, which is also included in the UN e-book on the topic, as a guide in choosing a carbon offset for my recent car purchase.
They list the following as the most important questions to pose any company:
1. Does the company invest in projects that truly reduce emissions and at the same time benefit the local population and ecosystems?
2. Are your emissions calculated correctly?
3. How is your money used?
4. Does the company work transparently?
Sierra Black - embracing the wild heart of parenting at www.childwild.com
This is a neat post. I've found a way to combine my lifelong creative passion (writing) with my passion for raising my kids by writing about the experience of raising them. I'm starting to make some decent money at it, too.
Sierra Black - embracing the wild heart of parenting at www.childwild.com
Mint.com has become my major source of information, though I wish it auto-updated my account information a little more often without me needing to log in. Still, it really helps to get a good picture of where my money is going.
We use Quicken at home, and mint.com on the go. Both work well for what we need.
Saving for retirement by making a 401k contribution is getting harder and harder. The general theme of how the money system works and how debt drives that engine makes me want to figure more ways to save enough for that early retirement.
Two of my favorites.
Great post! My passion is to write manga (Japanese comics). And you know something? Every comic book artist that isn't too well known can be found at your local coffee shop, McDonalds, or Wal-Mart. Why? Because it's one of the most difficult ways to make a living, even if you're exceptionally talented.
I love the post by the way. I've just recently taken some of my projects off of the back burner and am using that "spare time" to take care of them.
Thanks for the inspirational post =]