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SPIFFYLINKS Great Links to Personal Finance |
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Give A Great Interview I know in my personal experience, the best way to beat anxiety and to land the job is to prepare a formal interview process. The way I see it, until I actually land a job, it IS my job to look for work. There is no better way to spend all of my idle time then to get my next job as soon as I can, as well as the highest income that I can. The interview itself is only a part of the process. In order to pull off the perfect interview, you need to consider the following: |
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Salary Negotiation - Show You Should Get A Raise Getting a raise is a process that you work on throughout the year. A raise is not only based on doing your job well, but being a genuine asset to the company. By becoming a genuine asset, documenting it, then letting management know, you can be better set to receive a salary increase. There are several steps you need to consider when trying to get a raise: |
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Finding Cheaper Transportation I got to thinking lately how everyone lately is talking about saving money by clipping coupons, but no one seems to be talking about longer term, larger expenses as much, such as transportation. According to HUD, 60% of household income is spent on housing and transportation. Considering that transportation is the second highest bill in a household, it's worth seeing if a viable, cheaper alternative is available. |
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Swine Flu Scammers Are Playing On Peoples Fears Unless you've been under a rock, you have seen a frenzy of news regarding a possible pandemic from the Swine Flu virus. Now it appears that scammers are trying to get in on the action, trying to make a buck off of peoples fear. |
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Buying An Air Conditioner A few years ago, I found that I had to take a crash course in air conditioning. My wife and I had just recently married, and we moved into married housing on campus, which did not have AC. What I found to cool off our tiny 600 sq. ft. apartment actually customizes very well to any type of air conditioning application that a person would need. The trick is to learn the few steps yourself, then customize this information to your needs for the most effective results. |
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Steps For Detecting Investment Fraud Since the economy has taken a tumble, I've noticed that there is a new wave of fraud that investors need to avoid. Whether it's work from home gimmicks, or get rich quick schemes, there are a lot of scammers out there that are desperate for your money. I have listed below some things to consider before you get involved in an investment. |
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Don't Count On Social Security To Be Enough For Retirement I know a lot of people are expecting to be a large part of their retirement. While Social Security can be the difference between living an OK retirement and living a good retirement, there are many things to consider before you finally walk away from work for the last time. By looking at your Social Security benefits and understanding a few things, you can better prepare for retirement. |
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Spending Dollars To Save Pennies I'm becoming concerned about one of the theories that several of my fellow blogger's have regarding using credit cards for bonus points. A lot of the suggestions that I read seem idealistic, spending the same amount of money as before, and also getting bonus points, as long as you always just pay off your credit card at the end of the month. While this looks great on paper, rarely does this implement well in life. There are several areas that people don't consider, were using credit cards for bonus points fail: |
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Your Financial Mission Statement I've never seen anyone any success without first mapping out a course of action. First they find a target, such as getting into a successful career in "X". Once they decide on a career, then they plan on how to get there, such as the college they need to go to, and break it down further, such as how to finance pursuing that career. Once people graduate and settle down, it seems that the idea of formally planning in your life falls apart. Having a financial mission statement can help you continue on a path in your life to achieve bigger goals, and maximize your happiness in life. |
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Predatory Marketing I've come across several times recently in which a family member or I had been a target of what I would call predatory marketing. Predatory, meaning to be deceitful or aggressive, so that they can sell you their goods. Such direct attacks are really direct attacks on your personal finances. Someone who wouldn't have been a consumer otherwise may be swayed in buying something they don't need or want, or could even have their credit dinged. |
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How To Choose A Contractor To Hire Maybe this should go into the "duh" section, but I've recently had a couple of friends that really got themselves burned (or nearly so) when they hired work to be done. I think that sometimes people hand a problem to an expert, and get lulled into the idea that things will be done correctly, then walk off. Missing out details, then paying someone to mess things up can be a real nightmare down the road. There are a few things that you can do to avoid problems: |
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A Fast And Dirty Lesson In Beginner Investing There are a lot of people who would like to get into investing, or becoming involved in a retirement plan, but are too intimidated by it. They feel that it is a very difficult and financially risky. There is a beginners level investment that you can do, that will produce better results than 95% of the mutual fund market, and that is to invest in index funds. |
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Avoid Being Scammed When Buying A Used Cell Phone Buying a used cell phone should be an easy task; find the model you want, go to eBay or any other reseller, buy one and save a few bucks. Unfortunately, buying a used cell phone isn't as easy as buying a lot of other items, like books or shoes. As you will see, with cell phones there can be a lot of strings attached. But doing just a little leg work, you can make buying a used phone worth while. |
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Save Money With A Amish Electric Fireplace? I'm a little apprehensive today writing about my topic, considering this is April Fools Day, however the topic itself is quite serious. My wife has brought to my attention a full page ad in our local newspaper regarding an Amish Electric Fireplace. The add explains how the unit is really a wood fireplace mantle made by Amish craftsmen. The best part is, the Amish install a very efficient electric heater that they have a monopoly on. The heater is so efficient that you can save a great deal of money on your heating bills, and also have this great looking fireplace mantle, for only a few hundred dollars. Buy several to heat your house, and they will pay for themselves in one winter. |
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Find a Mentor For Your Career If you're wondering why I'm writing about mentors in a personal finance blog, it's for a good reason. While mentors can help you greatly in your personal life, they can also help you with your personal finances as well. I was once told "if you want to learn how to make a million dollars, ask a millionaire". While I have yet to find my millionaire, I have found people who have helped me personally, and upon occasion, even financially. |
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When it Makes Sense to Pay Off a Zero Percent Loan I know most people think that once they get a zero percent loan on a purchase, that it would never make sense to accelerate paying that debt off. There are a few times, however, that paying off a zero percent loan makes a lot of financial sense. |
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Paying off Debt vs. Investing A lot of people that I know have very strong feelings as far as whether to use "extra" money left over each month to either pay off debt, or to put into investments. It's a no-brainer to pay off an 18% credit card, because in most cases, you will not be able to find an investment that will have that high of an interest rate. But what if you were considering paying off a 5% car payment, and you had an investment opportunity to earn 7% during the same time? |
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Marginal vs. Effective Tax Rate for 2008 I've talked to some neighbors recently, regarding personal income taxes, and found that there were several that seemed to be confused about the difference between marginal and effective tax rates. |
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Tax Planning - Refundable vs. Non Refundable Tax Credits There are two types of credits that you have in your yearly taxes, refundable and non-refundable. Refundable tax credits will allow you to receive a refund on taxes you have overpaid. Non-refundable tax credits will pay toward your tax bill until it reaches zero. If you made any overpayments during the year and have non-refundable tax credits, the IRS will get to keep that overage. Tax planning is key to maximize future tax returns. |
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How to Settle Credit Card Debt Myself
A lot of people lately are wondering if you can settle credit
card debt without a "credit counselor". |
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Your FICO Score Now Counts Authorized Users A year ago, Fair Isaac removed from credit scores what is referred to as an "authorized user". The concern with authorized users (rightly) is that they are able to game the system, inflating their credit scores. Oddly, a year later, Fair Isaac has brought authorized users back into the picture. What is an authorized user, and how do they manipulate their credit scores? |
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Wills do not Avoid Probate Court, Where Living Trusts Avoid Probate
Completely Most people believe that when they make a will, that they have eliminated as much pain and suffering to their heirs upon their death. This unfortunately is not the case. Wills still require your loved ones to go through a costly probate proceeding, which can take up to 2 years before it is settled, and property can be distributed. The best process to avoid these problems is to create a living trust. |
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Taking Out Debt Right Before Bankruptcy Often when people are ready to take out bankruptcy they will consider, just for a moment, racking up extra debts beforehand. There are a huge number of reasons to avoid even considering this. |
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3 Harmless Activities that Will Lower Your Credit Score The credit industry generally rewards borrowers with higher credit scores for their good credit habits. Unfortunately, their are some very good financial activities that you can participate in that will actually hurt your credit score. These activities include: |
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Obama's Economic Stimulus Package (American Recovery and Reinvestment Program) President Elect Obama on January 3rd released a video highlighting what he refers to as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Program. This is a brief summary of the 4 minute video, which highlights his plans: |
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Contribution Limits for 2008 and 2009 401(k)'s The IRS has maximum contribution limits that allow individuals and employers to contribute to a 401(k) plan. The limits to these contributions are listed below: |
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2 Tips to Lower Your Monthly House
Payment Although the economy has been rough over the past year, you may find the benefit of lowering your monthly house payment. I'm not referring to the nasty ARM payments that have sent this market tumbling in the first place, but rather 2 simple techniques that will lower your monthly house payment at a fixed rate, and keep it there throughout the life of the loan. |
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Tax Stimulus Rebate for 2009 There are currently several plans in the works to stimulate the economy by giving families tax stimulus rebates. Here are the current proposed plans. |
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Stop Impulse Purchases (Buying)
Probably one of the biggest challenges that people face
financially is stopping impulse purchases. An impulse purchase
is a purchase that overrides the normal decision making process
in the brain, and is often more emotional than logical.
Marketers often exploit impulse purchases in either having a
consumer buy something that they don't need in the first place,
or to sell an item at a higher price. |
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Chart of Debt Snowball (Affects of
Exponential Decay on Debt Snowball) Everyone has heard of the debt snowball, that is paying off the highest interest debt first, then afterward going after the next highest debt. There has actually been a lot of debate (arguing) about whether the debt snowball really matters so much in the beginning, since a lot of people would prefer to go after just the smallest debt first, no mater what interest rate is tied to it. The idea is along the emotional idea that if someone is heavily in debt, at least they will have the feeling of accomplishment, and will then have a better mentality to fight the debt. To try to put this argument to (somewhat) a rest, I thought it might be a great idea to actually see what affect the debt snowball method had by applying it to a chart. |
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Call Your Telemarketer (Highlights
for Children) - Is This How Bad the Economy Has Become? I was sitting at home, contemplating my next article, when I received a call from the magazine "Highlights For Children". I wasn't surprised at getting a telemarketing call from them, since we did give a subscription of the magazine to my niece for her birthday. When I answered the phone, I received a strange message from the machine calling me: |
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How to Increase your Credit (FICO)
Score in Four Easy Steps Increasing your credit score is a lot easier than you may think. The trick is to show that you have a history of various types of credit, and that you manage them well by paying them on time. You can do this in 4 easy steps: |
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Questions to Ask Yourself Before
Filing for Bankruptcy A lot of people are hurting lately due to the credit crisis, some in which are now contemplating bankruptcy to get out of debt. If you do chose to file for bankruptcy you have to consider whether you need to file for chapter 7 or chapter 13, and see how it effects your FICO score. In my writing I'm not going to pretend that I have an easy answer for you, it's actually a very difficult decision that you need to talk to family and friends, and your lawyer, regarding how to proceed. In the end, you must keep in mind that you are the sole person responsible for your decision. Before you make your decision however, I do have several things that you should consider: |
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Helping Family and Friends (and
Protecting Yourself) During the Credit Crunch There are a lot of people that are getting hurt by the financial crisis lately. The problem that we face is that a lot of these people will be asking for help to get themselves through hard times. Often, they request that we do something that also financially exposes us as well. If you are strongly inclined to help someone out of their financial predicament, you have to make sure that the risk to you is limited. Always have any financial transaction that you have with your friend in writing, and always be prepared that may not get your loaned money back. I've compiled a list of several common situations that you can help a friend with, that you can limit your own exposure to: |
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Refinancing Your Home One of the things you may consider during this housing and market crunch is to refinance your home. The Federal Reserve has just dropped the federal funds lending rate to 1.5%, and it's emergency lending rate to banks by 0.5%, to 1.75%. With these current cuts, you may be able to refinance your home, as banks are now in a position to give you a better deal. |
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Exponential Decay and the Stock
Market I know that the past few days have seen the stock market have huge drops in prices. The big problem that we are encountering is whenever analysts mention stock prices dropping 3% one day and 5% the next, a lot of people will assume that a stock has dropped 8%. What a lot of people are not considering however is the effect of exponential decay |
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Three Great Ways to Pay Off Debt A lot of people while paying of debt, do not try to subscribe to a discipline to do so. Having a formal method to pay off bills will not only financially free you from your debts faster, but will also significantly increase your credit score as well as reduce your stress. Stop borrowing money and set a reasonable budget for yourself to spend per month. |
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How to Manage Unpredictable Income There are many careers such as sales that pay a great salary over the course of a year. The problem is that even with the great yearly income, monthly upswings and downswings in income are a financial nightmare. There are several things you can do when you have a unpredictable income. |
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Two Methods for Creating an Effective
Budget Creating a budget is the most effective method for accomplishing your financial goals. Having a budget and knowledge of how much you have spent will help you take ownership of your spending. |
| This site is for entertainment purposes only. David Nofsinger is
not a financial advisor and no information found on this site should
be construed as financial advice. SpiffyLinks Personal Finance Blog, and SpiffyLinks Personal Finance Magazine are all property of SpiffyLinks.com. Copyright © 2008, 2009 SpiffyLinks.com Inc., All Rights Reserved |
| Who is David Nofsinger? I am an Economist who graduated from Kansas State University, and former President of a NAIC investment club, Kansas City Investment Exchange.
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