Gather Little by Little

The most taboo topic of this century will probably be money. You probably know most of what needs to known about your family or your best friends, but do you know about how much they make, how much they have in debt or how much they spend each month? This is so taboo that even couples are reluctant to “open their books” to their better half.

I have recently received a copy of Get Financially Naked by Manisha Thakor and Sharon Kedar. Since I have enjoyed this book and I truly believe that any couple should team-up their personal finance, I have decided to review the book and giveaway a free copy (see below for more details).

What is “Get Financially Naked” About?

This book has been written mainly for women that are looking to talk about debt, savings and how to manage money with their spouse. While the book is primarily written towards women, most advices found in this book can be applied by men too.

This is a perfect start for people who are not too sure about how to manage money in a couple and what to say to make sure that the discussion doesn’t turn sour.

What I Really Liked About This Book:

Throughout the whole book, you have access to several exercises (including visualization, questions and a question grid). I like those kinds of books because it gives you the opportunity to think about what you just read and start practicing what you just have learned. On top of that, you can write in the book so you are sure to not lose your notes when you are done reading.

Before thinking of discussing money with someone else, I think it is a great idea to really determine your relationship with money. The first part of the book is dedicated to exercises that will help you understand how you see your own personal finances.

When you know what you are talking about, the book concentrate on communicating with your spouse about money. It really helps open up the discussion about money and includes answers to question such as “when is it okay to bring up money with my mate?” and “What if my partner is not receptive?”.

Once you and your spouse have agreed, the book leads you to a small guide on how to manage your money. It explains 5 steps to manage your money correctly:

#1 How much home can we really afford

#2 How much car can we comfortably afford?

#3 Will we ever be able to retire?

#4 The stork has arrived, are we financially prepared?

#5 What financial obligations do we have to all our loved ones?

Final Thoughts

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I find it very practical and useful, I would have liked to see more information about savings and investing money. Overall, this is a great book for those who are not sure about their relationship with money and how to discuss it with their spouse.

Now the Giveaway!

Please add your comment if you want to win a free copy of Get Financially Naked. I would like to know if you are talking money with your spouse?

The winner will be announced next week.

Author: Mike.

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We often leave the house for days at a time and I have developed several habits that save us money and protect our belongings.

• Turn down your hot water heater. Most homes in the United States have natural gas powered hot water heaters. When you are gone, obviously you do not use any of the hot water, but if your hot water heater regulator is set too high, the water will continually cool down and have to be reheated again. If you do not need the hot water, there is no reason to keep it hot. Do not turn your hot water heater off, but set it at a lower setting so that it only has to run once a day or once every two days. Just remember to turn it back on before you take your first shower when you return home . . . you could be in for a cold surprise!
• Turn down your heat. Same principle as the water heater, but you need to be aware of how cold you can allow your home to be without freezing your pipes. Err on the side of caution here. A plumbing accident is far worse than spending a couple extra dollars to heat your home. Where we currently live, I can turn the heat completely off, because the sun warms our house every day – even when the outside temp is below zero. In our former house, I could not turn the thermostat below 50 degrees F because of the freezing issue.
• Leave a light or two on, but make certain that the lights are CFL bulbs. I typically do not like compact fluorescent lighting, but if the lights are going to be on for a couple of days or a week, it is worth the time to change the bulb. Leaving a light on will give a feeling that the home is occupied, but more importantly, it allows passersby or police to see into your home. If the light is turned off unexpectedly, this can also be a warning to neighbors.
• Protect important papers. Your important papers should be in a safe place when you are out of the house. Fire can start when you are out of town, floods too. Birth Certificates, deeds, social security cards, titles, insurance forms are all items that are very difficult to replace if damaged – and if they happen to be stolen . . . well, identity theft is one of the worst things that can happen to you nowadays.
• Stop your mail delivery. This is really important. Mail is the most common way for your identity to be stolen. Do not allow mail to pile up in your mailbox. Go to the USPS website and hold your mail. Sometimes we have a trustworthy neighbor pick it up and store it for us – same with the newspaper.
• Trash pick-up. If we leave on a trash day, we will put out our garbage, but ask a neighbor to pull the cans back up by the house after they are emptied. If it is a long time until trash pick up when we leave, we lock our trash in the garage. Better to miss a trash day than to let someone dig through your waste.
• Water. Most of you will not have this problem, but I used to turn off the water to the whole house because we had a couple of faucets that dripped. I also wondered from time to time if the neighbors “borrowed” some of our water from the hose when we were out of town.
• Wash the dishes. This might not save you a lot of money, and I know that none of you would ever leave the house in disarray when you leave for vacation, but for the rest of us, isn’t it nice to come home to clean tile, vacuumed carpets and an empty sink?

Happy Trails!

Article by Stew

Photo by korona

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A while ago, I hosted a contest for “IN Cheap We Trust”. I thought of gathering some of those great frugal tips in one post so you can use them for 2010! I have selected my favorites among them:

#1 Eat less meat (from the market) (this is not only good for the size of your wallet but for the size of your belly too!):

Reduce by half the meat you normally eat and replace with vegetables.

Establish a once a week meatless meal.

#2 Shop with a calculator:

This will help you keep up with your budget and make sure you don’t overspend.

#3 Compare prices and sizes of products:

Sometimes, companies package bigger sizes with a similar price to the smaller package.

#4 Justify any purchases over $50:

By justifying more important purchases, you will reduce impulse spending since you have think twice about the reason you have to spend money.

#5 Review insurance premiums once a year:

Chances are that with a little bit of shopping, you will find better deals and pay cheaper rates for your home and auto insurance.

#6 Double check your Grocery bill:

Since grocery stores always changing their rebates, it happens often that prices are not right on your register. Therefore, you can go to the courtesy counter and get the item for free.

#7 Start your fitness routine at home:

Instead of paying $600 a year for a gym, you can start your own fitness routine. You will probably have to pay the same amount during the first year to build your equipment, but you will save for the years to come.

#8 Clothes Swap with your friends and family:

Did you know that most clothes that are being thrown away are only used for 30% of their lifespan? Most people drop their clothes because they are bored of wearing them. Why not swap your clothes with friends and family? The only downside is that you need to find people of your height and weight.

#9 Pay cash, don’t spend change:

If you pay everything cash and save all the change your receive, you will be able to increase your savings account on a weekly basis while maintaining a balanced budget.

#10 Go public about your spending:

For those who maintain a blog or are not shy to share with your friends and family, you can publicly establish savings goals and stick to them. The fact that you go public with goals will enforce your motivation to achieve them.

#11 Crock pot power:

The crock pot is a marvellous invention since you can prepare your meal in advance and it cooks while you are not at home. You will eat healthier food and save money on eating out for the days you don’t feel like cooking. Once you are home, you only have to serve and enjoy! If you never had ribs from a crock pot, you are missing something!

Author: Mike.

Image source: alancleaver_2000

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As we all consider our financial futures and commit ourselves to more prudent use of our resources, be sure to go through your budget line by line. Spend a few moments on each item to brainstorm on ways to reduce or eliminate that cost. Here are some places to start:

• Cable – Seriously, this might be the biggest and most senseless budget drain around – especially if you have broadband internet. If you are in a budget crunch, but still insist on paying for cable . . . I do not have much sympathy.
• Alcohol - That stuff is more expensive than gasoline . . . if you can live without it, great! If you must have it in your life, find ways to reduce this expense. I do not have any tips since I do not drink, but mooch off your friends if you must.
• Internet - I write a blog so I definitely do not want you to get rid of your internet. Actually, nowadays, I think that the internet might be a way to save money.  You could “piggy back” on a neighbor’s wireless signal (with permission, of course) or maybe check on how much it might cost to get wireless internet from your mobile phone provider . . . or maybe you could even get by with a dial-up connection . . .
• Insurance – Insurance is a monthly expense, so a two or three dollar savings is worth going out of your way for since it will add up to larger savings over time. Talk to your agent and consider different options: higher/lower deductible, do you still need full coverage on your car, different people living in the home, etc. Sometimes just the implication that you might be shopping around is enough to get a deal.
• Paper Goods – I am focusing on ways to reduce our use of toilet paper, napkins, paper towels and the like this year. There has to be a better way . . . The best thing that could happen is for my 2 year old to quit needing diapers. As I solve this problem, I will pass along any tips that I find.
• College Loans – if your college loans are low-interest, there are many ways to delay or reduce your payments in order to pay down other more expensive debt. Talk to your loan provider to consider your options.
• Out to Eat – Not all of us can completely remove restaurant expenses from our budgets and an out-to-eat habit is sometimes hard to break. Always use coupons, look for 2-for-1 deals, drink water, share an entree – all good ways to reduce the amount you spend going out to eat without actually staying home and cooking your own meals – a far better option, by the way . . .
• Coffee - Remember the idea that, for many of us, started our frugal journey – the Latte Factor? If you are still spending big bucks on your java habit, 2010 might be the year for you to cut that expense and free your money for other more important things!

How about you? What budget areas are you pruning or purging this year?

Article by Stew

Photo by shimgray

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Congratulations to Alabama! I’m not really a fan of the Tide, but Ron is. Here are some articles that I found interesting this week and I hope you can find some useful tips:

Being Frugal found 101 Ways to Cut Your Spending This Year! I need to go through this list again.

Amateur Asset Allocator posted an article that might help me out: 401k Hardship Withdrawal Rules since I cashed out an IRA account this last year. I hope to qualify under the “money to pay your mortgage in an attempt to avoid foreclosure” exception.

Frugal Dad warns us that Delaying Roth IRA Contributions One Year Could Cost You $74,000. Yikes!

Another warning (I’m starting to sound like Mom) comes from Mighty Bargain Hunter: not tracking your spending can have repercussions. Yep.

Did you know that life insurance benefits are not taxed? (:whisper: Don’t tell the Democrats) I assumed they were taxable at least under the estate tax. Jim at Bargaineering compares life insurance benefits to car insurance benefits – not taxable. Life Insurance dividends might be taxable. Check out his post for more details.

Christian PF commends the giving spirit that is still alive and well in the United States. I think that Americans would give even more if taxed less . . .

Hope your first week of the new year was a good one! Have a great weekend and do not just spend money, spend time with family. The Stew household went sledding today. It was a blast!

Article by Stew

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