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Life insurance: What to do when you’re ready to self-insure
Life insurance is a vital consideration in financial planning. Thing is: You might not need as much as you think, if anything at all …
This is a guest post from my friend Eric Rosenberg, a personal finance blogger and podcaster at Personal Profitability in partnership with Mason Finance. He writes about personal finance, credit cards, entrepreneurship, and technology.
Life insurance is an important part of a personal finance plan, as it protects your loved ones from a loss of income in a worst case scenario. But your life insurance needs may change over time. If you follow a good savings and investment plan, you can eventually build up so much in savings that you don’t need life insurance any more. That’s a great situation to be in, but what should you do when you reach that point?
20+ ways being fat costs you a ton of money
Being fat is no picnic, but the fact that fatness costs extra money adds insult to injury …
Being fat isn't the end of the world, but it isn't a picnic, either.
I've struggled with weight for the majority of my life, so the costs — physical, emotional, and financial — aren't new to me.
Thankfully, I'm finally on the way to losing some weight, after hitting my highest weight ever.
(Follow my weight loss journey over at Deflabbify.com!)
20+ ways that being fat costs money
Here's a big list of ways that being fat can cost you money.
Your food budget is higher
Not surprisingly, if you eat more food, you pay more money. Eating too much made me fat, and staying fat means I need more food. It's a vicious physical and fiscal cycle.
7 budgeting lessons learned over 6 months
Last night we got our budget together for the sixth month in a row. Here are a few budgeting lessons we've learned along the way …
One practice we've continued after completing our journey through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University is monthly budgeting.
Last night marks the sixth month in a row we've done it, and it does indeed get easier each time, just like Dave promised.
“Giving each dollar a name” — allocating in advance how every dollar of income will be spent or saved — has a lot of benefits, not the least of which is that we finally see where our money goes from month to month.
Budgeting lessons
The first times we did the budget were a little rough. Lots of questions, and arguments about this or that.
Seven places we spend more on food to save time
We've cut our grocery budget substantially. However, we hold on to a few conveniences to save time, even though they cost a bit more …
We used to spend a lot more than we really needed to on food.
Between putting our entertainment expenses on a budget, and putting a few principles to work, we managed to cut our grocery budget in half.
Could we cut out more? Sure. But at the same time, we don't want to make things so hard on ourselves that we backtrack.
Part of this is to be selective on which things we go all-out Daczyczn-level low-cost on, and which things we settle for kind-of low-cost things that save time.
The one reason I wish I still had my landline
VoIP phones save us a lot of money over what we used to pay for our landline, even after equipment purchase. This one weakness caught me off guard, though …
Over the past year, we cut expenses (and commitment) by (a) switching our cell phone providers and (b) switching our landline to a VOIP (voice over internet protocol) phone.
I've been very happy with both our Republic Wireless service and with our Ooma Telo.
With the savings, we can get a nice dinner each month, every month.
Up until last week, I really thought there was no downside to these devices.
16 hard-earned marriage money lessons
Marriage is a great teacher. This post gives 16 hard-earned money lessons from my sixteen-year marriage to the best bride in the world …
We just celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary a bit ago.
I hardly can believe how quickly the time's gone (and it seems to just be going faster)!
I've certainly grown up a lot about how I interact with my wife regarding money (as has she). Here are sixteen money lessons I've learned over the past sixteen years married to the best woman in the world:
1. Money can cause really bad fights.
If you're married, or even if you're just starting in a relationship, this isn't surprising at all.
At the beginning of our marriage, I was really bad about letting things build up to the point when something money-related — anything, really — would set off a giant argument. It really looked like it came out of nowhere from her perspective.
Why you need to watch for your bills
Ever joked with a cashier: “If it doesn't scan, it's free, right?” Well, no, it's not. Just like you still have to pay your bills, even if you don't receive them …
I sauntered over to the Money Stack Exchange site for the first time in a while, and found this question:
I signed up for a line of credit through a store, and ended up being approved. What I didn't know was there was a fee associated with opening up the card which was charged to the card.
After 3 months I had a change on my credit report citing a delinquent account. I called the creditor and told them they had not sent me any notification of owing money and that I took a huge hit on my credit. The creditor acknowledged they had been sending the bill to the wrong address but did not rescind the hit on my credit.
Fancy serial numbers: Frequently asked questions
You've got questions about your fancy serial number. Here are some answers …
After publishing hundreds and hundreds of articles here, these articles on fancy serial numbers and currency errors have been some of the most popular:
I get a lot of questions about particular serial numbers and errors, both in the comment sections of those posts and through my contact form.
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding fancy serial numbers, along with answers and resources.
I have a $1 bill with [serial number]. Is it worth anything?
It's definitely worth at least $1.
10 ways procrastination costs you money
Procrastination kills. Also, procrastination costs. Here are ten ways that procrastination can cost you …
Being disorganized can cost you money.
Being fat can also cost you money.
Now for more bad news:
Procrastination can cost you money!
Here are ten different, exciting ways that waiting until the last minute can suck money out of your wallet:
Government shutdown: Furlough survival resources
When government shutdown looms, it pays for affected employees to be prepared for the worst …
When government shutdown looms, a lot of things hang in the balance.
If the government shuts down, various actions are triggered, including closing of national monuments and museums, suspension of non-essential services, and furlough of many government employees.
Government shuts down, but government reopens
The good news for the affected employees, even after a lapse like this, is that the government has started up again fairly quickly, so the effects of the shutdown are temporary.
Still, though, it's wise to prepare, both mentally and fiscally.
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