Frugal Dad » Roundups

Join Today’s TweetChat: Frugal Halloween Party Ideas

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:58:24 +0000

This afternoon (3:00pm EST) I’ll be participating in a Tweetchat hosted by the folks at WiseBread (tweetchat details). The theme for today’s chat is Frugal Halloween Party Ideas. I hear there may be even be a treat for a lucky participant, but you have to RSVP to be in the running for prizes.

Hope you can join us, and if you’re reading this late, check out the hashtag #WBChat, or just follow Frugal Dad on Twitter to get caught up on the discussion. See you there!

The Frugal Roundup

Avoid Financial Paralysis by Analysis. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in this situation – especially after getting out of debt and having a few more options with the disposable cash we freed up. And unfortunately, finances is not an area of life where you can make progress by simply making a move…somewhere…anywhere. More times than not it’s better to stay put, which only adds to the anxiety.

The Benefits of a Mortgage Sinking Fund. Saw this one in the latest edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance and found the idea interesting. Essentially, the plan is to save towards mortgage payoff in a dedicated account rather than making extra principal payments. When the balances meet, one check and your mortgage-debt free. I recognize the math probably doesn’t work in favor of saving, but I also like the idea of a giant emergency fund in this economy.

Reader Story: Saving for Retirement with More than Mutual Funds. I take a very similar approach, opting to use some of our money to invest in things outside of mutual funds in a formal retirement plan. I like the flexibility to tap the money before traditional retirement age.

Is Financial Faith a Good Plan? On the one hand, Neal is correct – you can’t plan for everything and unexpected events can certainly derail even the best plans. However, I agree that’s no excuse not to plan in the first place. Plan for the worst; hope (and pray) for the best.

New Walmart Price Match: What They Will and Won’t Match. This is a helpful post as I’ve heard a lot of buzz about the new price match policy at Walmart, but didn’t fully understand the rules. I don’t shop at Walmart much, but I suppose if they had something I really needed and it was out of stock at a better prices at a competitor, I might visit the store to purchase.

Is It Time to Refinance Our Mortgage?

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 12:12:44 +0000

Is now the perfect time to refinance our mortgage? Some experts seem to think so. We plan to pay off our mortgage early, so I’m not sure it makes sense in our situation.

However, if you have a rate over 5.5% or so, it might make sense for you to consider refinancing to a lower rate, particularly if you have excellent credit and could qualify for a rate in the 4.2-4.5% range. It would probably shave a couple hundred dollars a month off your mortgage, depending on how much you’d have to borrow. Is this something you’r currently considering?

It’s been a while since I did a roundup, but I’ve run across a few excellent articles and a couple new-to-me sites over the last couple weeks and thought I’d share them with you.

The Frugal Roundup

Reader Story: Winning the Lottery. Nice to hear a story about someone receiving a windfall and not blowing it entirely. (@Get Rich Slowly)

Building Wealth Using Dividend-Paying Stocks. Tyler shares his thoughts on building wealth the slow and steady way – by investing in dividend stocks. I’m a big fan of this strategy as well, but I’m waiting on a more significant pull-back to begin investing again. (@Debt Reckoning)

4 Personal Finance Principles That Would Make Your Grandfather Proud. Thoroughly enjoyed this guest post from Baker. I often stop and asked myself – what would my grandfather do - when making financial decisions. (@Art of Manliness)

Tips for Buying Second Hand Furniture from Thrift Store/Yard Sales. A couple years ago we found a nice leather loveseat with a working reclining feature at a yard sale. (@Balancing Beauty & Bedlam)

Ready to Invest: Types of Stock Orders. Know the difference in a market order and a limit order, and when to use one over the other? If not, read this post, which provides a nice summary of the two types of stock orders. (@The Wisdom Journal)

Frugal Fatigue. We’ve all experienced this at one time or another. I’ve found the best remedy is to budget a small splurge (with cash) and then get back after it the next month. (@Dividend Mantra)

One final note…the Frugal Dad Facebook page is approaching 3,000 fans. If you haven’t “Liked” us yet, please drop by and follow us there as well.

Anyone Planning to Downsize Car Because of Gas Prices?

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:20:28 +0000

Here we go again. Gas prices are nearing the $4/gallon mark in my neighborhood, and I know they are approaching $5/gallon where some of you live.

While it hurts to fill up my truck these days, I don’t plan on trading it in for a smaller car. I like my truck. It’s paid for. It’s comfortable (I’m a big guy and would look awfully funny in an electric car the size of a golf cart). And I like being able to haul stuff, especially since I’ve been working on some home DIY remodeling projects the last few months.

In fact, I was a bit insulted on behalf of those who have to drive trucks for their business when the president suggested those driving a truck should “think about trading it in” or stop complaining about high gas prices. Easy to say when you aren’t hauling lawn mowers or bricks or construction equipment and tools for a living.

Run Gas Charges Through a Gas Rebate Card

One way to combat high gas prices is to run all gas purchases through a gas rebate card like the Discover Open Road card. The card offers a $10 cash rebate on your first five fill-ups, a 0% intro purchase and balance transfer APR for the first 12 months, and has no annual fee.

The Frugal Roundup

The Thrift Store Junkie Strikes Again. We recently picked up a craft table for the kids at an old antique store and saved a couple hundred dollars over the price of new ones.

Types of Stock Charts. I’m no technical analyst when it comes to charts, so this intro to the various kinds of charts was helpful.

What To Do When You’ve Got Too Much Debt. Two important things to remember – you always have options on how to attack the debt, but first, you have to make the decision to attack it. Complacency never got anyone to debt freedom.

How I Spend Money. J.D. shares his thoughts on frugal spending. I always enjoy seeing how others spend their money.

Men’s Reading List: 34 Books About Being a Man. Naturally, I like this list because most of the recommendations are written in contrast to most of the “sitcom” men we see today. You know, the goofy, bumbling, effeminate males portrayed in many of today’s television shows.

Where’s the Roundups?

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 18:08:47 +0000

It’s been a while since I shared a link collection. Weekends have been busy, and my time outdoors have driven down my time spent reading other blogs. I still accumulate great posts to share, but they don’t come at a pace conducive to a weekly roundup.

Going forward, I plan to simply share links when I have a quality collection, but probably not the same time every week (and probably a smaller amount of links in each post – easier to digest). Perhaps this will work better for both of us.

These 7 Foods are a MASSIVE Waste of Your Money. Makes you stop and think before paying a premium for certain “organic” foods. Put those savings into more “high-value” foods listed in this piece.

You Can Afford It…but Should You? Even if you can afford something, you have to consider what you’re giving up by spending the money. There is always a trade off.

7 Things You Don’t Want to Skimp On. Remember the difference between cheap and being frugal. Cheap people will skimp on anything. Frugal people refuse to skimp on the few things they consider most important.

Emergency Preparedness on a Shoestring. It makes sense to adequately prepare, but supplies sure are expensive. Consider these tips to put together a stockpile without breaking the bank.

10 Hard Truths About Blogging. While I’m not blogging for a living, I am blogging to support a living. And these “hard truths” are worth considering before taking up blogging (or any entrepreneurial endeavor, for that matter).

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Spent – The Game of Life, 2011 Edition

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 01:36:36 +0000

I ran across a great exercise (via the article The Harsh Reality of Living with Next to Nothing) called Spent. It’s a website that challenges visitors to make it through an entire month living on very low wages. I made it to the end of the month once or twice, but only after making some very tough decisions. This certainly helps prioritize expenses (and makes you grateful for the things you can afford).

The Frugal Roundup

This is Why You Can’t Make Money in the Stock Market. Perhaps this is why it pays to be a contrarian investor. Sell when everyone else if getting in at the top and buy when everyone is selling at the bottom. Takes a lot of fortitude.

How Anyone Can Retire In 10 Years (or less). I really enjoyed this one because it is very thought-provoking. Often we focus on making big bucks to become financially dependent, but the expenses side of the equation are just as important. (via The Daily Crux).

Cheap Ways To Buy Dividend Stocks. High quality, high-yielding stocks with a long history of increasing dividends may be the safest play of all over the next couple decades.

Clutter-Free: The Zero-Accumulation Household. I like the idea of one-in-one-out. That’s sort of how we handle monthly subscriptions, etc.

Putting Food on the Table When You Can’t Make Ends Meet. Unfortunately, this post will be relevant for far too many. My best advice to those facing a real hardship: do your very best to be self-sufficient, but don’t be too prideful to ask for help if you truly need it.

How to Make a Bug Out Bag: Your 72-Hour Emergency Evacuation Survival Kit. I always enjoy getting a look at others’ bug out gear. I just about always find some inspiration to add to our collection.

Should You Use an Inheritance to Pay off Debt? I say pay off your debt and move on with your life. Make the inheritance a true blessing by avoiding the behavior that led you into debt in the first place.

Best of the Rest

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Ever Bought Discounted Gift Cards?

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:00:31 +0000

Ashley Grimaldo has agreed to live on discounted gift cards for the month of March. To me, that’s a challenging proposition, given that you have to spend quite a bit of money up front and attempt to live on it the remainder of the month. However, I do like the idea of buying a $50.00 gas card for $45 or so.

Anyone ever had experience buying discounted gift cards to spend on regular purchases later?

The Frugal Roundup

Insights from Warren Buffett’s Letter to Shareholders. I’ve been an admirer of Buffett’s for a long time. I don’t always agree with his outlook, but hard to argue with his overall strategy.

Cheap Movie Deals from Groupon, Redbox, and Amazon. I like cheap entertainment as much as anyone.

A Bushel of Gardening Tips from Readers. We’re assembling square foot garden boxes and planting seeds and plants at the moment.

17 Uses for Stale Bread. Speaking of reusing things, here are a number of uses for bread that started going a little stale. Personally, my son and I like to take old bread to a local pond and feed the ducks.

8 Reasons To Use Your Credit Card. Somewhat counter to what you normally read on a personal finance-related blog, but it’s actually very smart advice.

36 Amazing Uses for the Lowly Plastic Grocery Bag. I use them for trashcan liners, to carry my brown bag lunches to work, and several other of the uses mentioned here.

Best of the Rest

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Weekly Roundup – What Big Thing(s) Are You Saving For?

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 09:00:22 +0000

I’d like to find out what kinds of things people are saving for these days – beyond a rainy day. Remember, I advocate saving for sunny days, too!

What’s something you’d like to own, or like to experience, in the next couple years, but aren’t willing to go in debt for it? I’ll go first.

I want to buy an RV. A travel trailer to be more accurate. I did a lot of frugal camping with my grandfather growing up and I want to create some of those same memories with my kids. I also like that a trailer or RV could double as a bug-out vehicle if things really hit the fan. I’ve got a small, dedicated savings account started and I’m watching the prices of late model, used trailers.

Your turn.

The Frugal Roundup

Save Money by Trading Down Your Home. We are quite content in our home now, and instead of trading up, we’ve decided to stay put and downsize when the kids head off to college.

Budget Protests and the Financial Impact on Our Family. A first-person account from a fellow blogger dealing with fallout from the Wisconsin protests (and budget crisis).

Eight Minutes to Financial Success – Minute #4: Minimize Electronic Temptations. This reminds me that Amazon Prime is one of the best things I ever signed up for and the worst thing I ever signed up for.

Ten Economic Charts that Will Blow Your Mind. Numbers don’t lie. Our economic outlook is bleak.

What Frugality REALLY Means: It’s Not About Being Cheap. Amen! So many people assume frugal people are cheap. I’ve found that to be quite the opposite.

Craft the Life You Want: Setting Up Shop or The Importance of Where You Live. My wife and I used to dream of life in the Pacific northwest, with cooler temperatures and proximity to the mountains and the ocean. But for now, we’re quite content to stay put.

The Worthlessness of Net Worth. Net worth is a horrible measuring stick for comparing wealth, because often those with the highest net worth’s are only that way on paper.

Best of the Rest

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Weekly Roundup – Inflation or No Inflation Edition

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 09:00:28 +0000

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, recently told us again that there is little evidence of inflation. Sometimes I wonder if I’m on a different planet than the people inside the beltway. My grocery bill is higher. It costs more to fill my car. My utilities are going up.

There’s also growing concern over food shortages. There are more foreclosures to come. We’re still down about 7 million jobs from when this downturn started. We’ve spent (borrowed) an insane amount of money in the last decade. I’m no economist, but surely this has to catch up with us in the form of inflation.

The Frugal Roundup

The Less You Need, the More You Have. Managing wants and harnessing contentment are two keys to living within your means.

Nine Lessons in Wealth-Building from The Millionaire Next Door. As a fan of the book, I really enjoyed this post.

10 Tricks Burglars Use. When the economy goes down, crime rates typically pick up. With that in mind, here are some great tips for making your home look like less of a target. (via The Daily Crux)

How to Take Time Off from Work. Are you as intentional about taking time away from work as you are about going to work?

When Faced With Financial Disaster, Can You Live Without These Things? What could you give up (and not give up) if things hit the fan?

What Is A Dividend? I like to think of dividends as supplements to capital gains and hedges against losses.

Sewing without electricity. Sewing is something I’d like to learn…to fix buttons, make small things like caps, etc.

Best of the Rest

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Your Money Ratios by investment adviser Charles Farrell aims to make the process of preparing for the golden years less complicated—and less anxiety provoking. Farrell developed a series of simple formulas to help readers understand what they need to be saving based on age and household income, while taking as much of the irrational emotion out of the equation as possible.

Weekly Roundup – Rich Man, Poor Man Edition

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 09:00:51 +0000

The first link listed in this week’s roundup references a great article which outlines the secrets of getting rich. Well, it’s not much of a secret, really, but so few heed the advice. Start investing early, take advantage of compounding interest and never lose money.

Seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Wish I had read it 20 years ago!

The Frugal Roundup

Rich Man, Poor Man (The Power of Compounding). I thoroughly enjoyed this article as it addresses one of the financial wonders of the world. (via The Daily Crux)

Prioritizing Your To-Do List: Getting the Right Things Done. I really like the way this list of priorities can be sorted by various metrics, making it easier to see what really belongs at the top depending on your goals.

Some Deeper Thoughts on Peer-to-Peer (P2P) Lending. While Lending Club has been good to me, I understand (and agree with) many of the points presented here.

22 Manly Ways to Reuse an Altoids Tin. I’m partial to the mini survival kit, but there are several other great uses for these tins.

Bootstrapping Your Start-Up Business with Little or No Money. I started Frugal Dad for less than $50, which obviously has much lower overhead than more traditional businesses.

7 of the Best Free Finance Apps for the iPhone and iPad. I don’t have an iPhone (but the Verizon edition has my attention) or an iPad, but if I did, these would be on my list of downloads.

The Five Best Countries To Retire To. New FD contributor Laurel probably agrees with at least one of the countries listed here.

Best of the Rest

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Weekly Roundup – Anyone Have Experience With Perkstreet Financial?

Jason (Frugal Dad) — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 09:00:19 +0000

I currently run our utility and gas purchases through our credit card to simplify the monthly bill-paying process, and to earn some cash back rewards for things we’d have to pay anyway. Of course, we pay off the credit card balance each month.

I’ve heard commercials for Perkstreet Financial and their cash rewards debit card, and I’m hoping readers may have some personal experience to share regarding the product.

If I decide to sign up I’ll be sure to provide my own review in a future post.

The Frugal Roundup

30 Years, 30 Things I’ve Learned About Money. David shares some important reflections from his first 30 years.

How to Get Free eBooks for your Kindle. I got a Kindle last year and have enjoyed reading the free classics as much as I have new releases. While I do enjoy some of the features of the Kindle, I admittedly miss the feel (and smell) of a real book.

The Tiger Mother and You: Are We Preparing Our Kids for a Better Financial Future? The comparisons between Chinese and American moms got a lot of coverage over the past week because of a popular WSJ article. This post looks at the financial education comparisons.

By The Numbers: 16 Temporary Tax Season Jobs. One of these opportunities could serve as a pretty good side hustle during tax season.

Seven Monthly Bills Most People Have, and Seven Ways to Reduce Each Bill. Excellent ideas for reducing seven of the largest monthly bills in most household’ budgets.

Best of the Rest

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