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Inspiration from Van Gogh, Future Jobs, Teddy Roosevelt, and More
Once a month (or so), I share a dozen things that have inspired me to greater personal, professional, and financial success in my life. I hope they bring similar success to your life.
1. Starry Night – Vincent van Gogh
This has always been one of my favorite paintings. For years, I kept a poster of it on my bedroom wall above my bed so that I could gaze at it each night before I fell asleep. Something about Van Gogh’s style speaks to me in a very deep way, a way that really can’t be described in words.
So, why am I including this now?
Recently, my son brought home an art book that he checked out from the library. In it were beautiful prints of various paintings. He’s browsed through the book a lot over the last week or so.
13 Perks to Take Advantage of in College
Don’t miss out on college perks like your school’s gym, career fairs, student discounts, and free concerts. Photo: James Lee
Not to alarm you, but college is going to cost you a lot of money.
Okay, so it’s no shocker that college and money go hand-in-hand. And you’ve probably already accepted that college is going to cost you a nice chunk of change. Hopefully, you’ve made it a point to search for scholarships, apply for financial aid, and find other ways to reduce your college costs.
The Gradual Savings Strategy
When the time arrives to sign up for a retirement plan at work or open a Roth IRA, people are pulled in two different directions.
On the one hand, it’s very obvious that in the long term, saving for retirement is far superior to not saving for retirement. Retirement planning offers the ability to retire with some degree of comfort and often allows the saver to retire years earlier than the person who does not save.
Yet, on the other hand, it appears very painful in the short term. Like it or not, saving for retirement is going to cut into your paycheck, and if you’re already struggling to make ends meet, that is an incredibly bitter pill to swallow.
Quite often, when people are faced with this dilemma, they convince themselves that retirement is so far off that they can wait a little while to start saving. I’ll start saving in a few years when things are in better shape, they’ll say to themselves.
The True Cost of Debt
The cost of debt goes beyond the interest you pay. It can delay your retirement, and even limit your choices in life. Photo: Kenny Louie
By Doug Hoyes
Everyone knows that they have to pay interest when they take out a loan. It’s the price we pay to use someone else’s money to purchase something we don’t have the cash for today. But beyond that, it’s hard to comprehend just how expensive debt can be.
Generally speaking, we don’t really consider the long-term financial impact of taking out a loan, not to mention the emotional and economic toll carrying even a modest amount of debt can have.
Here are seven ways debt can affect your financial well-being.
Student Loan Consolidation: Pros and Cons
Combining all of your student loans into one may not taste as good as one-pot chili, but it could make your monthly payment easier to swallow. Photo: Jo
Graduating from college comes with the acknowledgement of great achievement — and, if you’re like 70% of graduates, a burden on your back in the form of student loan debt.
The average college grad leaves school with $40,000 worth of debt. But if you switched majors, transferred colleges, or went on to graduate school, you may be among the 19% that owe $50,000 and above, or the 5.6% who owe more than $100,000.
How to Maximize Your Meal Planning Dollars with Bulk Buying
Sammi writes in:
I really loved your article about meal planning for busy families. My husband and I have adopted this strategy and have been using it for about two months and our food costs have gone down a lot!
The only challenge we have is how to incorporate bulk buying into it. The closest grocery store to where we live is a Costco and it is the only one within walking distance so naturally we want to use it, but your meal planning strategy doesn’t use bulk buying at all.
How do you use Costco with your meal planning?
Sarah and I actually do use a warehouse club – Sam’s Club, in our case, as it’s the only one reasonably close to our home – to supplement our regular grocery shopping. The use of that warehouse club is actually integrated throughout our meal planning routine, so let’s talk about that.
The Unregulated World of Identity Theft ‘Insurance’
Many companies will sell you identity theft protection, but the industry is largely unregulated and rife with deceptive marketing practices. Photo: Eric McGregor
It’s all over the news: celebrity photo hacking scandals, digital security breaches at major retailers, and banks that have misplaced unencrypted backups of confidential customer data.
How to Find Affordable Health Insurance in 2014
Whether you’re self-employed, unemployed, or covered under an employer’s health-care plan, finding affordable health insurance can be a frustrating, time-consuming process. Throw in controversy around the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and finding accurate, reliable information can be a nightmare. Sure, cheap health insurance exists, but qualifying can be tricky, and you’ll want to be sure the coverage isn’t too skimpy to cover your needs.
In this article, I cover the true costs of going uninsured, what health-care reform means for you, and general tips that will help you get the best deal on health coverage. I also detail case studies on how two fictional shoppers found cheap health insurance.
An Introduction to Geocaching, My Family’s Favorite Frugal Activity
On a hot August afternoon, the five of us found ourselves in the shade of an old wooden bridge. There was a wonderful cool breeze blowing through the bridge’s underpinnings, so we sat down for a bit and took a few gulps out of our respective water bottles. When we checked our GPS, we found that we were surprisingly close to the cache. In fact, it looked like we were right on top of it.
Given that we were under a bridge, our eyes trained upward. We started looking through all of the nooks and crannies supporting the bridge, with our oldest son even climbing up there for a better look. Yet, we found no cache.
After a long time spent looking, we all agreed to give up, but just as we were about to walk away from the bridge, our youngest child shouted “Look!” On the ground, wedged in right next to a supporting pole, was the cache we were looking for.
How to Land Your First Client
Speaking at events or hosting a workshop at your local library can help you gain exposure, credibility, and new customers. Photo: Natural Step Canada
If you build it, they will come.
Wishful thinking. And unfortunately, it’s the mentality many first-time entrepreneurs have before opening their doors.
I, too, fell victim to this Hollywood logic. After putting the finishing touches on my first group of services and launching my website, I was certain the dough would come rolling in.
Well, it didn’t, and I was crushed. But I eventually rebounded and landed the initial client base I needed. If you’re in the same boat as I was once, here are some suggestions worth considering to get you over the hump.
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