Monthly Archives: May 2009

Be Teachable

Posted on by  at  6:01 am
3

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.” -Proverbs 19:20

The weakest part of each person is where he or she thinks himself or herself the wisest. In the words of the great basketball coach John Wooden, “It’s what we learn after we think we know it all that really counts.” Those who are teachable and continually seek to improve and grow rarely contract the disease of pride.

Benjamin Franklin taught, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest” (Complied by Rev. Frederick S. Sill, A Year Book of Colonial Times, (New York: E.P. Dutton and Company, 1906) p. 15). Education and transportation are tools that get us to our destination. Over the years transportation has moved from the horse and buggy to trains, cars, and airplanes. Each new mode of transportation has enabled us to reach our destination in a shorter period of time. In the 1800s it took months to cross the plains to the west. Today, with improved tools, we can make the same journey in a matter of hours. Education is also a tool that can speed up your journey to financial independence and prosperity. Studies of those with a high net worth have revealed that they spend significant time each month on financial education (Thomas J. Stanley, William D. Danko, The Millionaire Next Door, (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996) p. 48, 71).  Studies also show there is direct correlation between the amount of time spent on financial education and net worth. The more you learn, the more you earn.

General Edward Braddock

During the French and Indian War, the British General Edward Braddock, age 60 at the time, employed the help of a Virginia militia. When one of the young 23-year-old Virginian soldiers who was well acquainted with the Indian mode of warfare modestly offered his advice, the haughty Braddock said, “What! An American buskin teach a British General how to fight!” (B.J Losing, Signers of the Declaration of Independence, (New York: George F. Colledge & Brother, 1848) p. 167). Braddock did not heed the advice and the British suffered a disastrous defeat and General Braddock was wounded by a shot through the right arm and into his lung. Following the injury to General Braddock, that same 23-year-old, with no official position in the chain of command, was able to lead and maintain some order and formed a rear guard, which allowed them to evacuate and eventually disengage. This earned him the title of “Hero of the Monongahela.” General Braddock was carried off the field by George Washington, the soldier whose advice he had rejected. Braddock died on July 13, 1755, four days after the battle. Before he died, Braddock left Washington the blood stained sash of his uniform. Washington carried the sash with him for the remainder of his life. Perhaps he carried the sash as a reminder of the cost of pride and of the necessity of being humble and teachable if he was to be successful in his efforts. Had Braddock listened to the advice of young George Washington, his life may have been saved.

George Washington was teachable and spent time each day reading. During his lifetime, Washington accumulated a library of more than 700 books, a great many which he studied closely. Washington’s step-granddaughter, Nelly Custis, wrote to one of Washington’s early biographers saying, “It was his custom to retire to his library at nine or ten o’clock, where he remained an hour before he went to his chamber. He always arose before the sun, and remained in his library until called to breakfast.”

This was a guest post by Cameron C. Taylor, author of the book Does Your Bag Have Holes? 24 Truths That Lead to Financial and Spiritual Freedom. www.DoesYourBagHaveHoles.org

Frugal Living Is Not A Competition

Posted on by  at  6:00 am
12

What a difference a few decades makes!  In the 1980′s capitalism was on the march as many technological advances were made.  An entrepreneurial spirit spread across the country.  That carried over into the 1990′s, and went into overdrive in the mid-to-late 90′s, where there were plenty of examples of on-paper employee millionaires thanks to hot IPOs, and “irrational exuberance” in the technology sector, particularly biotech companies.

Throughout this period the idea of frugal living was but an after thought, and those who practiced it were made fun of mercilessly.  We were labeled tightwads, cheapskates, and other not-so-polite terms of fiscal endearment.  After all, people were too busy comparing their net worth to try to save a buck.

Enter the recession of 2008.  Suddenly, frugal living made a comeback.  It seemed the cover story of every major media publication featured some variation of “ways to save money” or “ways to survive the recession,” or proclaimed the reemergence of frugality.  Now (some of) those same people scrambling for bigger houses, fancier cars and higher capital gains are trying to out-do one another again by scrimping, sacrificing, and poking fun at people’s purchases.  Nothing is ever frugal enough.

Sometimes the act of scaling back is traumatic enough to a family’s finances–cutting things altogether would send them over the edge.  Take my family for instance.  Last year we decided to go one year without expanded cable television service.  I wanted to cancel completely.  My wife and kids pointed out the number of educational shows we could watch on PBS, and the poor signal reception we would get from an antennae.  We compromised, and decided to drop back to basic cable, reducing our cable bill from $46 a month to $12 a month.  We made similar compromises in other areas of our budget.  At the end of the year, we decided to resume expanded cable and cut other subscriptions and forms of entertainment.

Here lately, I’ve noticed a shift in public sentiment towards frugality, and I suspect it may be a form of frugal burnout.  When people get burned out with a trend in their own lives, they tend to resent others who they perceive to be sacrificing less than them.  Many people are made to feel guilty if they are not practicing a frugal lifestyle.  Others are so condemned for spending money that they are literally ashamed to be seen with bags from high-end stores.  Give me a break.  Have we really come to that?

First of all, frugality is not a competition.  People have different levels of tolerance for all things frugal.  Some people like air conditioning, others enjoy working on classic cars.  They choose to spend their money on things that others perceive to be frivolous.  But that is simply a personal opinion, and how you choose to spend your money says more about your personal values than your level of commitment to the frugal living movement.

Of course, many of us practice frugality for reasons besides monetary gain.  We enjoy simple living, and believe in being wise stewards of resources (natural, economic, etc.).  But what you choose to do with your money is up to you.  Bottom line:  Please don’t become a self-righteous frugalist!

5 Reasons Not to Save Stuff for Later

Posted on by  at  6:00 am
21

Are you guilty of hanging on to things that you don’t use because of the belief that you “might need it someday?” It’s a common problem that leaves people dealing with a bunch of clutter.

This is especially a problem for people who are trying to save money because they believe that as soon as they get rid of the item they’re going to need it and they’ll have to go out and pay cash to replace it. The truth is that you rarely ever need this stuff and you may be losing money by keeping it.

Here are five good reasons that it just doesn’t make sense to save stuff for “someday”:

1.  It takes up room. You have to find a place for every extra item that you have. Many people have storage rooms, garages, attics, extra bedrooms and even full storage lockers filled with stuff. If you didn’t have stuff in here, you could make use of those areas and maybe even make some money off of them. You could rent out the extra bedroom or the added parking space to people who would use them. You could use those spaces as an office and get a tax break when you’re working from home or give up your art studio and work from the attic. Instead you’re just filling that space up with stuff.

2.  It takes up time. Imagine how much time you’d have if you added up all of the time that you spend sorting through your junk to find what you need, organizing it, moving it around the house (or from an old house to a new one) and cleaning it off when it gets filthy. That’s leisure time that you’re wasting right now.

3.  You end up with doubles. People think that they’ll save things for that one day when they need them but what ends up happening with people who have too much stuff is that they don’t even remember what they have. When they need something, they go out and buy another anyway because they’ve forgotten that they already have what they need (or they know they have it but can’t remember where it is). Then you have twice the junk!

4.  You can get cash for it now. A lot of the stuff that you never use could be turned into cash that you can use today. Sell it. If you really need it again later then you can always buy a replacement and consider yourself financially even.

5.  Reducing clutter reduces stress. Don’t you feel better when there’s less clutter around you? When your desk is all cleared off and your inbox is empty, your mind feels clearer. Imagine taking all of the things that you don’t need and just getting rid of them. You’re de-cluttering your life and it feels good!

This was a guest post by Kathryn Vercillo. Kathryn is a writer for Promotionalcodes.org.uk which gives away free promotion code deals (like this hotels.com discount code) and also publishes a frugal blog.

Weekly Roundup: Picking Up The Pace Edition

Posted on by  at  6:00 am
9

Before we get into the roundup this week I wanted to share a little site news.  Over the next few weeks I’m going to be experimenting with a revised blogging schedule (beginning next Monday).  I plan to publish both a morning and afternoon post each weekday, and continue my tradition of posting a lighter post on Saturday.  I may take Sundays off, or I may share an inspirational post if I have something in mind.

If you follow Frugal Dad via email, you’ll notice that on days I publish two articles you will receive one email with both posts (don’t forget to scroll down after the first article).  If you follow in a feed reader, or by bookmarking the site, you can simply check in any time to see what’s new.

One disclaimer:  Please don’t feel pressured to keep up with every single post.  I know many of you are comfortable with a once-a-day schedule.  In fact, 90% of the blogs I follow keep this schedule, and as a reader I admit to not following each article from those that post more frequently.  Still, I have a small handful of favorites that post twice a day, and I always look forward to both posts.  I hope you’ll consider me in that category, too.

I’m open to any feedback you have on this schedule, so feel free to comment or drop me a line any time.  Now let’s get on with the roundup, shall we?

The Fab Five

Debt Tsunami: The Ultimate Method For Paying Off Debt.  This is a debt snowball post on steroids!  But what else would you expect from “Man vs. Debt?”  I like the idea of any debt snowball plan prioritizing human emotion over interest rates, because those same emotions that got you in the mess have to be repaired in order to get you out.  (@ Man vs. Debt)

The Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights Act of 2009 Is Here: What Does It Mean For You – And What Might It Mean for the Future? I was planning to do a post on this one, and still might, but Trent covered the topic so well I thought I would just share his thoughts.  The “under-21″ clause has many people upset, and while I basically agree with anything that limits the use of credit by young people, I think this may be taking regulation a bit too far.  Not every 19 year-old deserves the extra scrutiny required to obtain credit, but some level of scrutiny should be required of a lender extending credit to anyone at any age…shouldn’t it?  (@The Simple Dollar)

Roth 401(k) – Frequently Asked Questions.  Imagine taking the best aspects of the 401(k) and the Roth IRA and combining them into one investment vehicle.  That’s almost what you get with the Roth 401(k), and this post answers some of the most frequent questions on the topic.  (@ Money Smart Life)

Travel Full-time for Less Than $14,000 Per Year.  This post had shades of The 4-Hour Workweek, and I loved it!  Not necessarily because I am able to implement any of these ideas with a wife and two small kids, but because it really gets you thinking outside the box.  Bonus:  Some pretty good travel tips included as well!  (@ I Will Teach You To Be Rich)

Child Proof Your Electrical Outlets to Cut Energy Costs.  From the “every little bit helps” pile comes this ingenious post from Kerry.  One could easily add these insulating foam gaskets to every outlet in their house for just a few bucks and a little time.  Bonus:  Kerry recently announced she’s authored a new book–397 Ways to Save Money.  Congratulations!  (@ Squawk Fox)

Best of the Rest

Carnival Participation

Since I haven’t mentioned it in a while, did you know you can receive free, daily updates from Frugal Dad directly to your inbox.  Simply sign up for a free email subscription, or follow along in your favorite feed reader.

Make Your Home Office Productive AND Comfortable

Posted on by  at  6:00 am
12

Recently, Frugal Dad posted an article on making space around your home more productive. The options given were:

  • Convert spare bedrooms, garages or back porches to a home gym.
  • Create a home office with just a feet of empty wall space.
  • Plant vegetables in a table top, square foot garden on your balcony or porch.
  • Turn your formal dining room into a den, study or playroom.
  • Create a reading and meditation nook.

I wanted to focus in on the idea of creating a home office. I have a few suggestions to make it both productive and ergonomic while still sticking to Frugal Dads’ idea of not taking up too much space.

Making Your Home Office Productive

If offices aren’t distracting enough, a home office can be even more distracting. Here are two basic, yet very influential, tips to keeping your home office productive.

Follow the Paper Trail & Keep it Accessible

When I took on my role at my company, one of the things I did was shadow the person who was training me for a few days. I have noticed that a lot of times “shadowing” becomes relaxation time and the biggest accomplishments wind up being office gossip, mastering the new coffee pot, and killer YouTube searches. However, I decided to look at the desk as a “system” and figure out an efficient paperwork flow chart.

What did I find?

  • She was wasting paper and money printing paperwork that was never used by anyone. These reports are available through the supply chain and inventory programs we use. She also saved an electronic copy to the company shared server, which is backed up in case of failure. I checked with compliance and asked if this paperwork needed to be printed, or if an electronic copy was ok. Turns out all we needed was an electronic copy.
  • She would print out a boat load of paperwork to cover her butt, and then toss it every month. Once again, these were all reports that were emailed to her. She printed them so her mailbox wouldn’t get full. I simply created an archive in Outlook and copy any important documents over. I also got a recycling container to limit paper waste.
  • Lastly, she would file urgent/important documents together with product forecasts and bills from suppliers. When someone asked her for a copy of ___, it would literally take 10 minutes to find the paperwork. I have since separated everything into logical divisions using the combination of a wire mesh paper rack and filing cabinets and can find paperwork within minutes.

These aren’t huge productivity killers, but it definitely made finding the important paperwork more difficult. It was also incredibly wasteful of natural resources and our companies money.

Find Your Balance of “White Space and Color”

In publishing and art, white space is used to de-clutter, to make things less confusing or overwhelming. White space is emptiness, it is nothing. Without white space, you risk your information being lost down an abyss… never to return. The idea of white space is 100% applicable to your office.

All you need to do is look at this office to realize that:

What are some things that immediately jump out at you? Obviously, the paperwork. If you asked him or her to find you a document, could they do so easily? This person needs a better organization system. Once that is solved, it would be a good idea to make this desk a little more “homey” by adding some flowers, desk “ornaments” or pictures on the wall. If you spend a lot of time at your desk, you need to enjoy it!

What does a well-organized desk that utilizes “white space” look like?

Notice the flowers, lighting on the desk, papers filed on the right in both an organized and accessible manner, and the usage of wicker accessories to give the desk an even more “homey” feel.

Making Your Home Office Ergonomic

If you work at your desk for at least a few hours every day, you probably know the feeling of a sore back, eyestrain, aching wrists, and stiff knees. Well, that doesn’t have to be the case. The idea behind ergonomics is that you design your work area for maximum productivity, safety, and comfort.

Hands and Wrists

The largest contributing factors to the soreness you feel in your hands and wrists are the keyboard and mouse you are using.

You’ve probably seen the funky ergonomic keyboards before. What’s the idea? The soreness you feel in your hands and wrists is due to blood circulation being cut off to that area. This is because people typically have their hands angle in towards the center of the keyboard (think of the “G” key as the focal point with your forearms pointing at the key coming from the corner a bit). Optimally, though, your hands and wrists should be in a straight-line with your forearm.

There are plenty of keyboards that can help in doing this, but here is one: Kinesis Freestyle Solo Keyboard. What are the advantages? It has a zero-degree slope so that you are not extending your wrists. The keyboard can be split into a left and right piece, further aiding comfort and ensuring you keep your hands, wrist, and forearm in a straight line.

And what kind of mouse can help relieve stress placed on your hands and wrists? One of them, the Evoluent Vertical Mouse 3. And I was so taken by the first review on Amazon, that I couldn’t do the product justice:

In terms of my experience with this product, I have assisted several thousand workers with mouse-related injuries over the past 13 years, working for 10 years as a rehabilitation ergonomist […]. I have recommended the Evoluent literally thousands of times and have found it to be highly effective in the rehabilitation of upper-limb disorders, when used correctly.

In terms of training/qualification, I have an MSc (with distinction) in Health Ergonomics,[…]. My thesis was on ‘The Influence of Workstation Layout on Working Postures.’ I have taught many professional courses on computer ergonomics. I am currently (2008) engaged in my PhD at Purdue University, USA. I have been a full member of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society since 2004.

Let me say at the outset that I take mouse injuries very seriously; they are far more prevalent than keyboard injuries, and may be far more disabling. I am ‘independent,’ by which I mean I do not sell any products, neither am I paid to endorse any products. As a professional ergonomist, I strongly believe paid endorsements are unethical. I am paid by my clients to give impartial, effective advice, that’s all.

Lower Back

Back injuries are also common from sitting at a desk because of poor posture either related to the height of the seat or the angle of the seat. One way to fix the issue is get a chair that has the ability to adjust its height and angle at which the back rest contacts your back.

However, chairs can get quite expensive. A cheaper alternative would be to elevate your legs while sitting at your desk. Elevating your legs naturally takes some of the pressure off of your lower back. One tool to help you in this quest is the Kensington SoleSaver Footrest. The foot rest has 3 variable heights and 3 variable tilts you can choose from. By using this during extended periods of sitting at a desk, you will increase circulation and decrease pressure on your lower back.

The healthy body can only tolerate staying in one position for about 20 minutes. That is why sitting on an airplane, at a desk in an office chair, or at a movie theatre becomes uncomfortable after a short time.

If you don’t feel like buying it, at least get up and stretch every 20 minutes. Or put some phone books down there to elevate your feet somewhat!

Go Get Some Work Done!

Hopefully, following Frugal Dad’s advice to utilize space in your house for a home office accompanied with my advice to make that home office both productive and ergonomic will set you up for success!

I only touched on 2 ways to increase productivity and 2 ways to improve ergonomics, so there are plenty of others out there. If you have any more suggestions, please bounce them off of me and the readers in the comments!

This was a guest post from MLR @ My Life ROI. If you like this post, check out his website or subscribe to his feed. MLR is currently giving away a gift card to Global Giving for his RSS subscribers.