Financial Literacy Month Teaches Important Lessons For All Americans

By Patrick Bet-David

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Turn on the television or read the newspaper at any given time, and there are plenty of stories that have to do with money. Unfortunately, it’s usually negative news how people don’t have enough money and are struggling to get by. Sadly, the richest country in the world has plenty of people living in poverty. People everywhere are struggling with credit card debt, car payments, education loans and for the average person getting financially ahead seems impossible.

This April is National Financial Literacy month, and whether your finances are in order or not, it’s a good reminder for everyone to not only understand the basics of money, but to think about how to acquire more.

I grew up in Iran and the work ethic over there is completely different. My dad would leave very early in the morning and come home very late at night, and the only day I would see him was on Friday, the one day he was off from work. When you see Middle Easterners having so much success in America, it’s their amazing work ethic. They’re used to working six days a week and they don’t understand the 9-5 work philosophy of Americans.

The good news is there are some simple things everyone can do to take control of their financial situation:

Look for new ways to earn money

Americans seem so focused on saving money. If you’re not earning enough money, how can you save any money? If you’re serious about getting ahead, start a side business learning to cut hair, selling jewelry or iPhone cases, cleaning houses or whatever. It doesn’t matter what. Just start a business! With the opportunities presented by today’s technology, it isn’t that hard to do.

Next time you’re inclined to complain about not having enough money, really ask yourself if you’re doing everything you can to make more. Don’t be afraid to start a business, either. While it’s true that many small businesses fail, sometimes you just have to take the leap. Being successful in business can lead to a world of riches and opportunity.

Ignore the Joneses

We all know the expression, but the best advice is to ignore the Joneses altogether and live your own life. Get rid of the things you really don’t need. Cancel your cable TV. Stop drinking soda. Cut out Starbucks. Are you really using that pricey gym membership? Do you really need a landline these days? Only spend money on the basic essentials and don’t think of buying the extras until you have enough money than you know what to do with.

Be a smarter shopper

Make a promise to never pay retail for something and become a better buyer using websites like Overstock, Craigslist and eBay. Thanks to the Internet, getting a deal on items has become more commonplace. When you need to make a purchase, shop around. That savings will start to add up after a while.

Set your expectations high

Do you believe you can make one-million dollars? People usually make the amount of money they feel they are worth, and most people sell themselves short. If you have a high self-image, you will create a world for yourself that meets that self-image. Stop bringing yourself down and start building yourself up. Set your expectations high. Tell yourself you’re going to make $500,000 this year. You might not actually make that much, but you’ll be in the right frame of mind to start thinking like a success.

Get thick on cash

The notion that the American Dream is linked to buying a home is ridiculous. About 90 percent of middle-class America buys too early. When you have three years of your mortgage payment saved in cash, then you can buy a house. It’s much better to have liquidity. Cash gives you freedom. Get thick with cash before you think about major mortgage debt.

Both urgency and patience is important

Have patience while choosing what to do to make your money. Wealthy people typically choose one industry and become the best at it, and this can take time. Act with urgency because people think they have a lot of time when they really don’t. Finding the right balance of urgency and patience will help put you on the road to financial freedom.

As Financial Literacy Month approaches, make a commitment to better your financial situation. Making small changes in your lifestyle and spending habits, while looking for new ways to earn more money will change your life.

 

Patrick Bet-David is an entrepreneur, author and self-made success who emigrated from war-torn Iran to the U.S. and has made financial literacy his personal crusade. He came to America with nothing and built a financial services marketing empire, the PHP Agency. He is author of The Next Perfect Storm and Doing The Impossible. Visit http://www.patrickbetdavid.com/ and http://goasknewton.com/

Spring Break 2013 on the Georgia Coastline

Spring Break 2013 on the Georgia Coastline

After much deliberation, weather checking, and mind changing, I’ve finally decided where the kids and I are going for Spring Break 2013. We are hitting the Georgia Coastline for a little fun in the sun. We are going to do a driving tour down the coast from Savannah, GA to Jacksonville, FL.

Why the Georgia Coastline?

Because I’ve never been there even though I’m a Georgia native. It’s really ashamed because everyone says I should go to see it. I’ve heard of Jekyll Island my entire life but never got there. So I’m correcting this and going next week.

It will be a 4-day excursion to several points along the coast.

Initially, I wanted to go to Universal Studios in Orlando, FL because I’ve never been there, but I didn’t want to drive down and it’s not exactly original. Next I thought about hopping a plane to a new destination, but I didn’t find flights or prices that I liked. I thought about going to Chattanooga, TN to visit the Chattanooga Choo-choo hotel and Lookout Mountain, but the weather forecast called for rain all week. That would not make a very good Spring break. So I went to Weather.com to check out the regional weather and found out that the Georgia Coastline is supposed to be really nice during our break. Excellent!

Planning the Trip

I needed to decide exactly were we would go along the coast and what we would see. I went to the exploregeorgia.com website to find information about the Georgia coast and things to do there. It was pretty general with a few suggestions and Georgia Coast itineraries but it was mostly for adults. Not exactly want I was looking for. I found a website that had pretty extensive detail about the Georgia Coastline that gave me a good idea about what could work for our needs.

I went to the AAA website to plan my trip. I was able to chart my course to see how long it will take to go from Atlanta to Savannah to Jacksonville. It’s 5-hour trip driving non-stop but we will make several stops to see the islands off the coast, go to the beach, and check out a few museums and historic places.

The AAA TripTik app is a great travel planning tool that lets me plot out points of interests and add to my itinerary. Here is a sample of that it looks like below.

 

AAA TripTik overview

 

Planning my trip from start to finish using AAA TripTik

It looks like a lot going on but it’s about choosing what I wanted shown on the map. Then I hovered over the map to see what points of interest I wanted. The pop-up bubble showed a summary, details, and reviews from Trip Advisor (which I thought was really cool. Next I clicked Add to Itinerary to include it in my trip.

AAA Places

 

Finally I saved my trip. Below is a summary of my itinerary with all the stops I plan to make. I used the AAA mobile app to see my trip and get the directions on my phone.

AAA Saved Trip

 

To get the TripTik on my mobile phone I had to enter the ID. Here is a visual of the mobile phone view of my itinerary:

photo

Then I downloaded my trip…

photo (1)              photo (2)

 

I can now see my trip on my phone and follow the directions….Success!!!

photo (3)    photo (4)

We are almost set now that the trip planning is done. Now I have to decide what hotels we will stay in. The choice is between a standard chain hotel or a quaint bed and breakfast.

I’ll let you know what I come up with in the next post.

Where are you planning to go for Spring Break 2013? Do you think you will use any trip planning tools? Have you used any in the past?

5 Simple Ways to Stockpile Cash Before Tax Time

5 Simple Ways to Stockpile Cash Before Tax Time

Jar of MoneyBY CATEY HILL

While you’re probably imaging the flat-screen TV or Caribbean vacay you’ll take with that tax refund, the reality is that many of us won’t get anything from the IRS. Even worse: We might owe money.

That’s why it’s important to build up a little cushion of cash now: It can mean the difference between repaying the IRS and them hounding you for cash for months to come (ick!). Here are five things you can do to easily build up a stash of cash in time for tax time.

1. Don’t overpay for gas
It’s tempting just to get gas from the station near you, but that’s often not the cheapest. Instead, use the GasBuddy app to find the least expensive gas in your area. You can sometimes save 20 cents or more per gallon this way, which can mean big savings!

2. Ditch costly impulse buys
You know the drill: You go into a store knowing you just need a few little things, but somehow end up busting your budget. To prevent that from happening, practice the five-second rule: Before you put anything in your basket or cart, wait five seconds, during which time you’ll ask yourself “do I really need this?”.Most of the time the answer is no, so move on to what you do need.

3. Sell your stuff smartly
With a site like UltraPawn.com, you can safely and easily sell stuff like old jewelry and electronics. They’ll send you money for the items within 24 hours. Now that’s quick cash!

4. Go green
To keep from overspending, “go green,” which, in this case, means only taking cash with you when you leave the house — no credit and debit cards allowed. It’s impossible to overspend when you can’t access more money!

5. Pick up a side gig
No one likes to think about extra work, but to earn cash fast, consider picking up a side gig like landscaping, babysitting or house cleaning in your spare time. You can use a site TaskRabbit.com to find these gigs, or tap into your Facebook or LinkedIn network to ask people if they need help with little tasks.

 

Catey Hill, Personal Finance Writer and Author of Shoo, Jimmy Choo! -A Modern Woman’s Guide to Spending Less, and Saving More

The Easiest Way to Create a Budget

The Easiest Way to Create a Budget

FreeDigitalPhotos.netCreating a budget can be intimidating. We see all the different variations and hear all the different opinions and it gets overwhelming. Fortunately, there is a way to create a budget that is easy and actually makes sense. It takes into account your income and relieves the guessing game.

Using the percentage-based budget method is easy because you are basing your budget on a recommended percentage of your income. These percentages are what most personal finance gurus recommend to live a sustainable life.

Consider Your Unique Situation

Your situation is unique so be sure to consider all your financial obligations. If it is still overwhelming, consider simplifying your finances by talking to a finance professional, reading a good personal finance book, or taking a financial literacy course.

Recommended Budget Percentages

The recommended percentages for dividing your income are as follows:

 

Charitable gifts 10-15%
Saving 5-10%
Housing 25-35%
Utilities 5-10%
Food 5-15%
Transportation 10-15%
Clothing 2-7%
Medical/Health 5-10%
Personal 5-10%
Recreation 5-10%
Debts 5-10%

Here are a few great articles to read further:

Basic Percentage Budgeting

http://liveloveleslie.com/2011/06/16/basic-percentage-based-budgeting/

A Deeper Look into the Percentage-Based Budget

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2010/10/07/a-deeper-look-at-the-percentage-budget/

How To Work Off a Percentage Based Budget, and Save At Least 10% of Your Income

http://www.improvingyourworld.com/finances/how_to_work_off_a_percentage_based_budget_and_save_at_least_10_of_your_income_001906.html

10 Recommended Category Percentages for Your Family Budget

http://www.leavedebtbehind.com/frugal-living/budgeting/10-recommended-category-percentages-for-your-family-budget/

A few percentage-based calculators to create an easy budget:

Green Path Calculator

http://www.greenpath.com/university/calculators/budget-percent-calculator.htm

Crown Ministries Calculator

http://www.crown.org/Tools/Calculators/Budgeting_SpendingPlan.asp

Insurance You Can Probably Do Without

Insurance You Can Probably Do Without

By Jason Alderman

Courtesy FreeDigitalPhotos.netI’m a big believer in having the appropriate amount of insurance, especially when it comes to your health and personal liability. But if money is tight and you want to get the most bang for your buck, there are a few types of insurance you can probably do without – or that may duplicate coverage you already have elsewhere:

Extended warranties. When you buy a car, appliance or electronic device, the salesclerk usually will try to sell you an extended warranty. These policies often duplicate coverage already provided in the manufacturer’s warranty. Plus, many credit cards provide an additional warranty on items purchased with the card.

Smartphone insurance. After shelling out big bucks for a smartphone, you might be tempted to buy replacement insurance. Just be aware that you’ll probably pay a hefty deductible and likely receive a refurbished phone, possibly not even the same model. My advice: Keep your old phone to reactivate in case you drop or lose the new one.

Flight accident insurance. The risk of dying in a plane crash is miniscule and already covered by regular life insurance. Also check your credit card cardholder agreement, since many cover such accidents for tickets purchased with their card.

Child life insurance. Life insurance is intended to provide economic protection for a person’s dependents, so unless your children are movie stars supporting you, this coverage is probably unnecessary. You can better protect their future by stowing those monthly premiums in an emergency savings account or buying additional term life insurance for yourself.

Pet insurance. With veterinary treatments now rivaling human medicine (organ transplants, chemotherapy, etc.), you could easily spend a small fortune keeping Fido alive. Before buying pet insurance, however, compare plan features carefully and weigh the expense you’d pay out over your pet’s lifetime. For example, monthly premiums increase with your pet’s age, deductibles and copayments are typically higher than for human coverage and there are usually predetermined per-year and per-condition caps. Plus, preexisting and hereditary conditions usually are not covered.

Rental car insurance. In most cases, the optional insurance offered by car rental agencies duplicates existing coverage you already have. However, before automatically rejecting agency coverage, ask your insurance company and credit card issuer whether you are fully covered for rental cars. A few considerations:

  • Coverage through your auto policy often expires after 30 days or less of renting the car.
  • Sports cars, luxury models, SUVs and trucks are often excluded.
  • Travel outside service areas typically is forbidden – especially across foreign borders or in rough terrain.
  • If you don’t carry comprehensive and collision coverage on your own car, your insurance may not cover a rental. Also, ask whether such coverage is limited to your own car’s value, since most rentals are new.
  • Ask what happens if you violate rental agreement terms (e.g., driving recklessly or allowing unauthorized drivers).

Specified disease insurance. Some people take out supplemental health and life insurance against specific conditions such as cancer, heart disease or stroke. Before buying, make sure you have adequate major medical insurance, which already covers such conditions. And carefully review the policy for restrictions. For example, many cancer insurance policies won’t pay for outpatient care or cover skin cancer, and impose fixed-dollar limits on specific procedures.

When it comes to your budget – and your family’s security – it pays to know which insurance is essential and which you can probably skip.


Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. To participate in a free, online Financial Literacy and Education Summit on April 17, 2013, go towww.practicalmoneyskills.com/summit2013.