Archive for February, 2010

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5 Ways to Wipe Out Your Credit Card Balances.

The following is a guest post from by Jordan E. Goodman with Bill Westrom, Authors of Master Your Debt: Slash Your Monthly Payments and Become Debt-Free.

Now, you really want to pay off your balances once and for all, don’t you? Here’s all you need to know about that. In truth, paying off your balances is simple; there’s nothing complicated about it. But it’s not easy, because it does require sacrifice and scraping together the cash that will get it done. Here are five techniques you can easily put into practice to pay off your credit card debt.

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debt
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Money Quote Friday – Reputation Edition.

“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.“– Warren Buffett

Sometimes I wonder if people spend any time thinking of the possible negative effects of what they are doing, rather than only concentrating on what they are gaining in the present. Think about it, and have a great weekend.

quotes
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Avoid Giving The Gift Of A Gift Card.

This guest post comes from Michael, a contributing editor of the Dough Roller, a personal finance and investing blog, and Credit Card Offers IQ, a credit card review site.

Every year, there are certain dates on the calendar where friends and family expect to receive a gift. Whether it’s Christmas, Valentines Day, a birthday or some other special occasion, the gift buyer can go through a stressful time in looking for the perfect gift. Part of the gift itself is the pain and suffering that others have to go through in order to get you something, and I’ve always been of the mind that giving cash was a cop-out; something that meant “I really didn’t want to think about your gift, so go buy whatever you want”.

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gifts
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Completed My Move From BofA Over To Charles Schwab Bank.

Phew – that was more work than I thought it would be! Sure, I could have moved a boatload of money from one of my ING accounts to Schwab to cover any expenses, changed all my automatic bill pays, and hoped for the best – but I didn’t. Instead I did it slowly over a month or so, changing my direct deposits right after they went through for January, changing my e-bills as soon as they were paid for January, and slowly funding the Schwab checking account with money from my BofA savings account. As of this morning, all my e-bills have been moved, all my direct deposits have been redirected, all my automatic payments (like for my Subaru) are switched over, and my BofA check card has been removed from my wallet. There is still a few hundred bucks left in the account just in case I missed something that may yet come through, but otherwise I am completely switched over. And so far, I think it’s the best decision for my banking needs that I could have made. I considered moving to a credit union, which are fantastic, but I also wanted to consolidate 5 different brokerage accounts to the same place/company – so I also opened a new Schwab brokerage. This will make tracking all this stuff way easier now!

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banking
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Lemonade the Movie: A Free, Must-Watch Documentary To Inspire You.

If you haven’t already seen, or possibly haven’t even heard of, Lemonade the Movie, you need to go watch it ASAP. I watched it online last week for free and was terrifically inspired by the 35 minute film. It is about what people who were once paid to be creative for a living do when they’re laid off – it was great. Way too often I hear people complain about the fact that they hate their job or their boss, yet they stay in the very place that drives them crazy for years and years. Well, most of the people featured in this documentary got laid off from jobs they actually liked…and used it as a catalyst to discover things they enjoy even more. It’s about 16 advertising professionals who lost their jobs and found their calling, encouraging people to listen to that little voice inside their head that asks, “What if?”. This same little voice plagued me for years in the corporate world before I finally had enough and just said “enough” – and walked out the door without a backup plan. And I haven’t looked back since. Sure, sometimes things are tight and sometimes they are going really well…but I work for myself, doing something I enjoy, and there is still food on my table and a roof over my head. What more could a person ask for? Well, the people in this film are doing practical things that they love and making it work. It should be a “must-see” for everyone as a reminder that you don’t have to stay in a job you hate – you have other options if you start brainstorming a bit. Take a look at the trailer for the film:

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Lifestyle
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