Monthly Archives: May 2010

What Should I Do With An Extra Paycheck?

Posted on by  at  6:00 am
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This post is by Adam from Money Relationship. Check out how much debt he paid off last month.

I imagine many of you are like my wife and me. We get paid every two weeks. I get paid on Mondays and my wife gets paid on Wednesdays of the same week. So, that means we get 52 checks each for the entire year (combined). If you average those out per month, it is 4 checks every month except for 4 months where we get 5 checks. So, what should we do with the additional check in those months?

As it turns out, May is one of those months for us. I get an extra paycheck at the end of the month. Basically, we already spent the extra paycheck. My wife is going back for a graduate degree and we paid cash for the class that she is taking this summer. However, there are still a couple more months this year where it will happen again. Based on those facts, I came up with a few ideas of what to do with those extra paychecks. Feel free to mention some of your ideas in the comments!

Get Rid of Debt

Well, what did you expect me to say? ;-) For most of our extra paychecks, we are just going to put them on debt. It’s a great extra boost and can really help you gain some traction.

Save For Variable Expenses

We all have those variable expenses that seem to creep up on you at the wrong time. Those expenses can include car insurance, home insurance, taxes, gifts, etc. Placing your extra paychecks into a savings account specifically for those types of expenses will guarantee that they won’t surprise you when they become due.

Save For The Holidays

Have you ever wanted to pay for your Christmas gifts in all cash? Well here is your chance! Save those extra bucks specifically for this goal.

Just Spend It

This is the one that I do not recommend unless you are debt free. If you are, what’s wrong with a little splurge? How about that weekend getaway you have been dying to take? Want that new cell phone? Go and get it!

Open a Roth IRA

Use the extra cash to being (or continue) saving for retirement. The Roth IRA allows you to place after-tax money into an account that grows tax-free. That means when you retire you can take the money out and not pay a dime in taxes!

Go Back to School

This is something that my wife is doing. Her work pays for a part of it but we need to cover the costs up front. Using the extra cash to pay for the class ensures that we don’t go further into debt or rely on credit cards.

Save For a House

You could also use the extra paycheck to start a house fund. This will eventually be a goal for my wife and me but it is still a few years off. Heck, if you are debt free, you should also have a TON more money to set aside each month. We can’t wait until we get to that point!

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Of course, all of this depends on your living only on two checks per month! What else can you think of?

Weekly Roundup: Teenager Buys House With Cash

Posted on by  at  5:00 am
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Earlier this week, a friend passed along a great news story that I shared with fans on Facebook. An 18 year-old girl bought a house for cash with savings she earned participating in 4-H events beginning at the age of four. Yes, you read that right. She paid $40,000 cash for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom house. She splashed a little paint on it, fixed up the carpet, and now rents it to a relative.

What’s she doing with the $450/month rental income? Pocketing it to buy another home for her and her fiance after they get married. I wish I had half her financial-savvy at that age.

The Frugal Roundup

Nine Things I Do to Make Each Day Great. Great tips on reducing stress and building up some energy. (@The Simple Dollar)

How to Avoid Giving Gifts at Work. Ugh, this is a tough one. I typically get suckered in but these can really add up and bust a good budget. (@brip blap)

The 10 Worst Money Mistakes Anyone Can Make. A great list of things that could stop you from succeeding financially. (@Free Money Finance)

8 Tips to Effective Coupon Stacking. I haven’t tried this yet but I might give it a try in the future. (@Coupon Sherpa)

Best of the Rest

Free Summer Activities for Kids

Posted on by  at  5:00 am
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With summer just around the corner, it’s easy to wonder what to do to keep the kids entertained while they are out of school. For many, lavish vacations and trips to exciting places just aren’t options these days. Instead, many are trying to come up with summer activities for kids that are free, or at least don’t cost a lot of money. If you’re looking for some things to do this summer, here are some great ideas that won’t cost you hardly anything.

Good in Tent by makelessnoise on Flickr

1. Visit Your Local Library

If you haven’t stopped by your local library in a while, summer is the perfect time to do so. You may be quite surprised at what the library has to offer children of all ages throughout the summer. Not only do many libraries offer summer reading programs, many which involve prizes and parties, but many libraries also have other special events planned throughout the summer. Extremely hot days or rainy days can be well spent at the library, whether it’s just looking at books, or attending a scheduled event.

2. Check Out Your Local Movie Theater

Many movie theaters offer summer movie programs that are free (or maybe cost $1.00). The movies are often on weekday mornings, and typically are movies that are a bit older, perhaps last year’s hits. However, there are usually movies offered some days for small children, and other days for older children. Popcorn and soda may even be discounted during these special showings (our local theater offers popcorn for a dollar and drinks for a dollar). You won’t even have to resort to sneaking in candy at the movies! Not all theaters participate, but it’s definitely worth looking into in your area!

3. Camp Out In Your Backyard

Do you have a tent? Why not put it up in your backyard and go backyard camping one evening? Try building a fire in a fire pit and roasting marshmallows or making s’mores. Catch fireflies at dusk and grill hotdogs. You don’t have to drive far to have a rustic experience. If you feel like you don’t have the place in your own yard to do these things, consider asking a friend who may have a better area if you can use their yard to camp out. They may even want to join you, making the experience all the more fun.

4. Create Crafts

Maybe your children enjoy art projects. There are countless ideas on the Internet that can be found for neat craft projects that are easy to do with your children. Many ideas use items that you would already have around the home to create fun, beautiful projects. Make a game out of cleaning up the mess too, so that you don’t get stuck doing all the messy work.

5. Enjoy The Outdoors

Go for a bike ride together, draw with sidewalk chalk, play in the garden hose, plant flowers, go fishing and take advantage of the beautiful weather. Kids love playing outside, and it can be fun for the whole family. Just make sure to use sunscreen, and take along some bug spray.

There are so many summer fun ideas available that don’t cost a thing. Check with your local museums and zoos for summer specials as well. They may offer discounts on certain days or weeks of the summer. Keep your kids busy with things to do this summer so they stay active and enjoy their time away from school. It is possible to plan summer activities for kids that cost very little, yet will still make it a summer they will never forget!

10 Disney Vacation Tips and Lessons Learned

Posted on by  at  5:00 am
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disney2005 115 by mrkathika on FlickrThis past February, the Frugal family loaded up our SUV and headed south to Disney World in Orlando, FL. Even though our kids are a little older than most first-time visitors, we looked forward to their reaction. Fortunately, we located a few good Disney vacation tips ahead of time, and while there, we learned a few lessons of our own. Now we are fully educated on things like the Disney Park Hopper passes, fast passes, the dining plan and a few other Disney secrets.

10 Disney Vacation Tips (and a Few Lessons Learned for Next Time)

1. Fast passes rock, if you can get them. We didn’t really get into the Fast Pass system until the second day, but wished we had figured it out sooner. Basically, with Fast Pass you can get a ticket for each member of your party at a particular ride and return during the time window on your ticket to be ushered past the people in line and right up to your ride. We didn’t spend more than 10 minutes waiting on rides for which we had a Fast Pass.

Couple important notes. All members of your party must be inside the park for your park tickets to dispense a Fast Pass. I learned this the hard way when I got up early to get Fast Passes for the ride Soarin’.  After waiting for the park to open, and nearly sprinting with hundreds of others to the Soarin’ ride, I found out Fast Passes cannot be redeemed unless the owner of the park ticket has entered the park that day. Bummer.

Fast passes go quickly for the most popular rides. Pick one or two rides you really want to get to in each park and try to get a Fast Pass, else you’ll be waiting an average of 90 minutes in line to ride.

2. Rides dump you out at gift shops, hold on to your wallet! Walt Disney World has marketing down to a science. It was no surprise that most major rides dump you out in a gift shop. While we did spring for a magnet or two, and even a family picture on one of the roller coasters, most times we tried to make our way out as fast as possible!

They should give the following post-ride instructions to frugal folks, “When exiting the ride and entering the gift shop, hold on to your wallets, keep your heads down, hands in your pockets and run!”

3. Be ready to walk, and walk, and walk. I forgot to pack my pedometer for the trip, and refused to buy another, but I’m guessing we easily walked five miles a day looping around the parks, walking to and from shuttle pickups, hotels, etc.

One excellent tip a friend shared from their Disney vacation was to catch a few sit-down shows in the various theaters, even if you don’t think you’d be interested. The theaters are air conditioned, have comfortable seating, and offer a 15-20 minute break from standing and walking. We particularly enjoyed “It’s Tough to Be a Bug” in Animal Kingdom and the Monsters Inc “Laugh Floor” in Magic Kingdom.

4. Bring something to occupy kids while in lines. This counts as a lesson learned, because it isn’t something we prepared for ahead of time. Disney involves a lot of waiting. Waiting for rides, waiting for food, etc. Consider letting kids take along a portable game system (Nintendo DS, for example), music player, book, etc. Boredom is highly contagious while waiting 70 minutes for a ride.

5. Consider purchasing the Disney dining plan. I did not keep meticulous receipts from our meals (after all, we were on vacation), but I am convinced our decision to purchase the Disney Dining plan was a good one. With my mother-in-law included, our family of five would have had to pay around $65 for quick service meals, and close to $200 for buffets and restaurant meals.

6. Make reservations at sit-down restaurants, unless you enjoy burgers, chicken fingers, and mini carrot cake desserts every meal. Speaking of restaurants, we quickly grew tired of the quick-serve menus. Sure, burgers and fries, or chicken fingers, make for a decent lunch on the run, but after a while they get hard to stomach.

We only made reservations for three or four meals, and I wished we had done more. We enjoyed the Beirgarten in Epcot’s Germany section, Ragland Road Irish Pub in Downtown Disney, and Tutto Italia, also in Epcot (now this was authentic Italian food – delicious!).

The Rainforest Cafe, just outside of Animal Kingdom, offered the most unique dining experience (this wasn’t on the Disney plan, but served as our “splurge meal”). While it didn’t require reservations, Pizza Planet was a big hit for lunch with the kids in Hollywood Studios (Toy Story fans will recognize this one).

7. Staying inside the park may not be worth the premium price. When I visited Disney as a child, my mom and I stayed outside the park. However, when planning for our family’s first trip, many people told us how nice it is to stay inside the park. Sure, logistically it was nice to be close to the park entrances (we stayed at the Beach Club, a five minute walk from Epcot), but it came at a premium.

The inside-the-park resorts are very expensive, and we found that our family of four plus my mother-in-law were too wiped out to enjoy any “Magic Hours” when Disney resort guests could stay past regular closing hours. If we go back to Disney, we’ll look for somewhere to stay outside the park with a more frugal price tag.

8. Watch the Magic Kingdom fireworks show at least once. The fireworks show over the castle was one of the highlights of our trip. If you want to get close to the castle, arrive early. However, there is an advantage to viewing from afar – as soon as they are over, you’ll be closer to the exit when thousands of visitors make their way for the gates.

We made the mistake of camping out right next to the castle, which was nice for the show, but it took forever to work our way through the crowds to the exit. And it got very claustrophobic for my son (6) who doesn’t like being “squished” as he calls it.

9. Bring along disposable ponchos and a hat. Even though we left in February, there were a couple days where the temperatures climbed well into the 70s. I wished I had thought to bring along a hat, but fortunately we did pick up a few disposable ponchos before we left for those afternoon Orlando thundershowers.

10. Consider visiting in early spring or early fall. Both times of the year are cooler than summer months, and early fall was often cited as the best time to visit – right after older kids go back to school in September.

Bonus Tip: Disney World allows visitors to bring along a backpack. All bags are searched upon entry for security. We packed bottled water and a few snacks, ponchos, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, a small first aid kit (pain medicine, band-aids, etc.), a copy of The Unofficial Guide to Disney World 2010 (this was by far the best book we read on all things Disney). This pack served as our bug out bag while at Disney.

Additional Resources:

For those of you who have visited before, what favorite Disney vacation tips can you share with fellow readers?

Multi-Generational Households Offer Many Benefits

Posted on by  at  5:00 am
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After my mom’s death last September, my wife and I (and our kids) moved to a new home configured to allow my grandfather to live with us. After my parent’s divorce when I was very young, my grandfather assumed a father-figure role for me my entire life. In fact, I think of him as a dad, and he often calls me “son.” We remain very close.

While my grandfather has enjoyed relatively good health, even into his 80s, there are a number of things that were becoming difficult for him. We moved in together with the idea we could help him, but as it turns out, it has been a mutual blessing.

By diannam on Flickr

Impact on Young Children

I believe it is good for young children to be around older generations when they are young. Growing up, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents while my mom was working, and even when she wasn’t. We were always very close. As I got a little older, my grandfather and I took frugal camping trips up and down the East Coast – from Florida to Maine (and even Canada).

Those camping trips provided some of the fondest memories I have of my youth. Just the two of us, in an old van my grandfather rigged to double as a camper. No distractions. No television. No games (other than cards and a chess board). We packed a cooler of meats and rations, and cooked by camp stove nearly every night. He shared stories from his youth as one of nine brothers and sisters growing up in the depression. He shared war stories from his time in the Marines in Korea and Vietnam.

My children are now hearing many of these same stories, and learning more about that greatest generation. It has made them more frugal, more mature, and more engaged in things like history and politics.

I would even venture to say my grandfather’s proximity to his great-grandchildren has kept him young as well. Losing his daughter (my mom), was an especially difficult thing for him – for any parent – to go through. Rather than grieving alone, we are all together, and surrounded with the youthful optimism of children that helps offset the sad times.

Financial Benefits

The financial benefits are obvious – rather than my family paying for a home, and my grandfather paying for living space, we all live together and pool our resources. Obviously, with a wife and two kids, we eat the bulk of the food, use the majority of the utilities, and take up the most space. But we worked out an arrangement with my grandfather that allows him to still save significantly over buying or renting, while helping us offset some of the monthly household costs. It’s a win-win situation.

Is a Multi-Generational Household Right for Everyone?

Of course not. Just as there is no one-size fits all solution to most family issues, sharing living space with parents, grandparents, and children doesn’t work for everyone. Some parents wouldn’t want to be around their kids and grand-kids 24/7. I get that. Sometimes you need a break.

Not everyone has a home with a spare bedroom, in-law suite, etc. configured to allow a parent to move in with them while maintaining privacy for everyone. Others may not be able to sort out the sharing of expenses and allow it to become a relational issue that would cause more harm than good.

However, if you have the opportunity to share your household with an older member of your family, I encourage you to consider the benefits. You will likely find that they offer much more to your family than you can repay with cheap living space.