Welcome to Sunday Conversation #7! If you would like to participate in next week’s Sunday Conversation, simply ask your question in the comments section of today’s post and I will respond next Sunday. Remember, any subject is on the table (but keep it family-friendly).

Sherri asks a follow up question to my ideas on how to find about a community when considering relocation.  “You say WHAT to look for in a new place to live, but I think the hard part is HOW to find out about those things in a realistic way. For example, when checking out schools, the information on the web is usually insufficient or lopsided. I think talking with live people who are there – prospective bankers, realtors, etc. – is more helpful. Who would you recommend to talk to, and what other avenues of gathering information would you use?”

I think some of the most objective opinions you can get are from area small business owners, and as you suggest, realtors.  Try to think of industries related to the type of information you are seeking.  For instance, if you are interested in schools, drop by a teacher supply store, or maybe a locally-owned children’s clothing store.  Owners there should be able to shed some light on the various school zones in the area.  For general “town gossip” there is no place like a hair salon or barber shop.  Stop in for a trim and talk up the stylist or barber to find out more about the area.

An anonymous commentator asks, “Do you think that psychotherapy is a good personal and financial investment? I have a severe anxiety problem and my pastor at church thinks that I need to address it through counseling before I get married in the next six months. I have checked with several behavioral health facilities and many charge 100 dollars or more an hour. I have good health insurance but it is a shame that even some of the best insurance (like mine) barely covers any of the cost of behavioral health visits.

I have plenty of money saved up and I have a very well paying job. But I could potentially spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on these sessions and it might be a rip off and/or not even work at all!

Would I be better off getting free books at the library or trying Yoga or something and saving the money? My fiance is very supportive but I don’t want this to be an issue in our marriage. Any ideas?”

First of all, I would highly value the opinion of your pastor because he knows more about your story, and has likely counseled dozens, if not hundreds, of people in his position.  From a purely economic standpoint, I can understand your concerns over the cost of therapy sessions.  Have you checked with your human resources office at work?  Some companies offer a number of free visits per year for behavioral health issues.  Personally, I would deal with this as I would any other type of health issue.  It has the potential to damage your relationship with your fiance, and could ultimately cause problems at work–affecting your ability to earn a good wage.  For those reasons, I consider therapy an investment in yourself.

Luke asks, “How do you find the time to do web work as well as spend enough time with your family?”

It isn’t easy. In fact, these last few weeks have been more challenging than ever.  This is the busiest time of year at my full time job, my wife is in an AirCast thanks to a severely sprained ankle, and I have been covering all household duties for the last several days.  To make more time for writing, without sacrificing time with family, I have adjusted my schedule a bit.  For instance, at the time of this writing it is 11:50 on Saturday night and I am catching up on writing while others are sleeping.  During the week I will typically rise around 4:30 to get in a couple hours of writing, site work, etc. before having a quick breakfast with the kids and then heading off to my full time job.  It isn’t easy, but I enjoy writing, and if I am ever going to make something of a side career out of this I will have to do it at odd times while I “earn a living” during “normal” hours and work in some quality time with the wife and kids while they are awake.

Dawnf asks, “I was wondering where is a good place to put the 3-6 month savings cushion? My bank suggests a money market fund so it’s liquid but I worry that I could lose part of my principle by doing this. I could stagger it in Cd’s that come due in different months & just take a risk I might have to crack it earlier to get a better rate or put it in savings? Just curious how others handle this type of an issue.”

We have the first $1,000 of our emergency fund in a local bank savings account earning a ridiculously low interest rate.  I have it there for the sole purpose of having immediate access to local, liquid funds.   The remainder of emergency funds and other savings are stashed away at ING Direct, earning a better interest rate, but one that does not necessarily guarantee us protection from high inflation.  Personally, it’s a risk I’m willing to take with these emergency funds because I don’t want the added risk of losing capital in the broader market.

If you are not concerned with inflation, but more with the risk of money market accounts versus CDs, I would suggest you go with what you are comfortable with.  However, most money market accounts and money market funds rarely, if ever, lose value like stock and bond funds do.  It is possible, but the likelihood is that your capital invested in money market funds is safe.

Do you have a question you would like to see answered here next week? Simply post a comment to this article below and I’ll include your question in next week’s Sunday Conversation.

Welcome to Sunday Conversation #6! If you would like to participate in next week’s Sunday Conversation, simply ask your question in the comments section of today’s post and I will respond next Sunday. Remember, any subject is on the table (but keep it family-friendly).

Luke asks, “My wife and I are considering a move away from our current area. What would you say are the most important things to look for in our future area (We hope to have kids before or around the time so you can factor that in)?”

Luke, I have some recent experience in this as my wife and I relocated (in-state) to a new city just four years ago. With one child and one on the way at the time it made for a stressful time, but a careful analysis made the decision a little easier. Here are the factors we considered:

• School System – We left an average system and moved to one of the top systems in the state. Since paying private school tuition is difficult on one income, we wanted to find a place with a good public education system.
• A Diverse Economy – What I mean by diverse is that there are plenty of opportunities within a short commute that cover a number of different markets. It’s risky to put all your career eggs in one basket based on a particular industry – especially in today’s market.
• Housing - A great measuring stick to use when comparing housing options in different cities is price per square foot. We moved into an area with a lower price per square foot, so we were able to buy a little more house with the same money than the place we left.
• Safety - Crime can hit anywhere, but some places seem to have more of it than others. Check out the local newspaper’s police blotter for a couple weeks to find out what types of crimes are being committed, and in what areas of town. This will give you some idea of where to avoid when looking for a place to live.
• Something to See and Do – It is generally not advisable to be situated too close to main attractions, but it is nice to be within reasonable driving distance to cultural hubs, outdoor parks and recreation, etc.

For more on finding a quality place to live, check out My Two Dollar’s post on the ten best cities to live and work.

Along those same lines, Dawn asks, ” I was wondering if you had an entry about the actual costs of buying your first home. I’d be interested in hearing about your experiences, if you got any surprises a few months after you signed (unknown expenses) like appliances breaking, etc?

Our situation was a little bit unique when we moved into our first home. At the time, my grandfather lived with us, so we scouted around the area we planned to relocate looking for a house with two master bedrooms – so he wouldn’t have to share a bathroom with two kids! It was difficult to find one on the market with this setup, so we looked at new construction. We found a house that was nearly complete, but we had input on colors, flooring, and fixtures.

We were fortunate nothing broke early on, and our builder’s warranty would have covered anything major. I do remember a few expenses like planting trees around the property (the builder planted two over-sized shrubs in the yard to satisfy the neighborhood covenant, but they were pathetic), and converting the lousy pine straw job to a nicer mulch product. One of my biggest expenses at the time was for my kids. I bought one of those “backyard play sets” and a trampoline for them, probably as a way to ease the transition of relocating. Looking back, I should have looked for a cheaper alternative, built it myself, and saved up for it. Live and learn!

Do you have a question you would like to see answered here next week? Simply post a comment to this article below and I’ll include your question in next week’s Sunday Conversation.

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Welcome to Sunday Conversation #5! If you would like to participate in next week’s Sunday Conversation, simply ask your question in the comments section of today’s post and I will respond next Sunday. Remember, any subject is on the table (but keep it family-friendly).

David asks, “Wow your site is doing really well for only having this blog for 6 months. I got a question for you, How much do you make/month from this blog? How much have you made cumulatively? When did it start to take off (if it has yet)? “

I’d rather not get into specific numbers, for a variety of reasons. Advertisers tend to frown on such disclosure, so I’ll just answer in general terms. The first two months Frugal Dad was live it made enough to cover hosting fees, the domain registration fee and maybe a dinner or two at McDonalds (value menu only!). It wasn’t until the third full month that I began to make enough money to really feel an impact. This probably makes sense considering the average blog folds within 90 days. In some ways, success is a matter of attrition – you have to outlast those who give up too early. It’s a shame though; many excellent blogs probably quit only a few weeks before they were set to really take off.

Sherry asks, “Hi, may I ask where do you get the images for your site? They are very clear and beautiful.”

Thanks for the compliments on the photos here at Frugal Dad, but unfortunately I have very little to do with it! I use photos from flickr.com. A word about using photos from Flickr – I recommend sticking to those under the Creative Commons license and including an attribute with link back to the flickr page where you found the photo. Other photos may have rights reserved and prevent you from using them anywhere.

Katy asks, “Have you had advertisers contact you, or are your ads affiliates?”

Yes, I usually receive several advertising requests per week. Most deals work out, but a few fall through. When advertising is thin I supplement with affiliate ads via my membership through LinkShare. <–Here’s a link if you are interested in signing up.

Kelly asks, “How do you deal with anonymity issues? You are anon. on this blog, am I correct, yet you mentioned putting your blog address on business cards etc for traffic reasons. Do you feel a conflict, or has the amount of exposure through this route been small enough so that you don’t worry about it?”

Early on every personal finance blogger has to make a tough decision – to remain anonymous or not. I started out blogging anonymously, but had a few media interviews that wanted to use my real name. Fortunately, I had decided not to include any “real” numbers such as my salary earnings, networth, etc. so I really had nothing to hide. Interestingly, the business cards don’t have my name listed, but my next set probably will. My first order just had my site name, URL and a few taglines to describe the blog. I typically drop these off in fish-bowl drawings at restaurants, leave a few around the grocery store aisles, or include them in the envelope with a paper bill, etc.  On the rare occasion anyone asks me about the blog I give them a card so they can look it up later.

Luke asks, “In the years leading up to having kids, what is your advice for a family to prepare?”

Despite what people will tell you, kids are not that expensive. One of the biggest mistakes I hear people make is to put off having kids for financial reasons, as if they are waiting for the perfect time to have kids. My advice to couples is if you are with your soulmate, you both want to have kids, and you are reasonably established (have a secure job, insurance, etc.) then by all means start trying to have children. If you wait for everything to be perfect you may wait forever. Having said that, there are a few things you should consider before having kids:

• Try to pile up at least a three-month emergency fund in case there are complications with delivery and both parents are required to take an extended leave from work. This is more important than debt repayment, so for eight or nine months make this your priority and continue to make minimum payments on debt.
• If you have debt, and your emergency fund is already in place, try to eliminate as much debt as possible before your baby arrives. During those first couple years you and your spouse will be preoccupied with taking care of baby, and don’t need the added burden of a pile of debt.
• Try to settle into your job and your home before kids arrive. Psychologists say that the most stressful events in a lifetime are typically around child birth, moving, changing jobs, death and divorce. We relocated a couple months before our second child was born, and changing jobs, buying a new home, and having a baby made for a very stressful few months.
• Consider adding to your current life insurance. Many times two-income couples carry only a minimal amount of life insurance, usually provided by their employer. With a baby entering the picture it is a good time to add term-life policies outside of your employer’s plan.

Gretchen asks, “Who does the cooking in your house? Or are you more of a go-out-to-eat type of household?”

My wife does the majority of the cooking in our house, but I am the “Grill Master,” so I handle any required grilling. I am an able cook, but my wife is better, so unless she is not home or out of town she handles most of the cooking duties (and my kids are thankful!). We do eat out occasionally – at least once a week. However, even then we try to look for restaurants where the kids eat free on certain nights, or there are two-for-one deals or similar. The $5 foot long sandwich promotion at Subway has been a popular one in our household!

Marci asks, “Does this blogging feel more like fun or like work? Enjoying your blog!”

Thanks Marci! For the most part I enjoy it, too. I do have to confess that it is more work than I imagined it would be before I started. Many people have the incorrect perception that bloggers just write up a post and publish it in a matter of a few minutes. Not so. I usually spend half an hour or so planning, researching, brainstorming for new posts, and another half hour or so writing them. Then I have to locate graphics, include any relevant links, etc. and then schedule it for posting. Since I write at more than one location I have to repeat this process to produce articles for multiple sites, and work on any freelance writing projects I’ve taken on. I’m also in the very early planning stages of putting together a book manuscript to shop around, so any free time (you know, between 1:00am – 2:00am) is spent on organizing my thoughts around a book idea. All this, in addition to my full time job and family time keeps me pretty busy, but I wouldn’t quit now if someone paid me to. Well, unless they paid me A LOT!

Do you have a question you would like to see answered here next week? Simply post a comment to this article below and I’ll include your question in next week’s Sunday Conversation.

photo by OiMax

Welcome to Sunday Conversation #4! If you would like to participate in next week’s Sunday Conversation, simply ask your question in the comments section of today’s post and I will respond next Sunday. Remember, any subject is on the table (but keep it family-friendly).

Luke, from Money and Fitness Blog asks, “When did you “officially” start Frugal Dad?”

FrugalDad.com officially launched on December 28, 2007. Looking back, it would have been easier to wait a couple days and officially launch on January 1, 2008, but I had a couple days off of work around the holidays and I was eager to get the site up and running.

Beth and Kelly were interested in my logo. Beth asks, “I’m curious about your logo, which is nice, by the way. You mentioned it cost you $9.99. Where’d you have it done”

My logo and Entrecard artwork was done by Pete at Blog-Logos. He does great work, and is a pleasure to do businesss with. If you are interested in a logo, or redesigning your current logo, I encourage you to contact him.

Do you have a question you would like to see answered here next week? Simply post a comment to this article below and I’ll include your question in next week’s Sunday Conversation.

photo by OiMax

Welcome to Sunday Conversation #3! If you would like to participate in next week’s Sunday Conversation, simply ask your question in the comments section of today’s post and I will respond next Sunday. Remember, any subject is on the table (but keep it family-friendly).

Luke, from Money and Fitness Blog asks, “I was going through the site the other day and I believe you actually have not been writing on the blog for all that long. My question basically is if you have any advice for someone like myself who is trying to spread the word of their site?”

Early on, I took advantage of free advertising mediums such as Entrecard, Yahoo Answers (answer questions on your subject matter and include a link to your site – don’t spam them or you’ll be booted), and a few others. To this day the only costs associated with running Frugal Dad have been my original template purchase ($5), logo creation ($9.99), and of course regular hosting fees. I have done zero paid advertising for Frugal Dad.

Another great way to spread the word of your site is to leave thoughtful comments on other blogs in your niche. Be sure to leave your website’s address in the URL section if given the opportunity, but it isn’t necessary to include your URL in the text of the comment. Most bloggers consider this spam and it isn’t exactly welcomed. Take some time to read the post before commenting and add value, or add some of your personal experience, to the article. “This was great-thanks!” doesn’t cut it. You should also consider a similar approach to engaging in forums related to your niche. Just include a link in your forum signature and jump into the conversation by adding value to the discussions.

Take your message offline. A mistake many bloggers make is they fail to mention their site in offline communications, and even emails. Early on, I made up some inexpensive business cards with my site name, URL, and a few short phrases describing the content. I drop these off at doctor’s offices, post them on bulletin boards, leave in tip trays at restaurants, and on set a few on top of gas pumps. I also include them in any paper bills I pay, and gave a few out to family and friends so they can pass them around as well. When sending email be sure to create a signature with your site URL and include a link to your subscription page or email subscription link.

Offer to write a guest post. Guest posts are a great way to share your content with other audiences. Most blog owners will accept guest posts, but be patient if you don’t see it up and running in a couple days. Many times bloggers bank several days worth of posts and schedule a few days in advance. Your guest post may do better sandwiched between related posts, or at the end of a series of posts, so sit tight.

Finally, use weekly roundups or a similar format to highlight other blog posts you enjoyed during the past week. Bloggers enjoy seeing their content discussed and highlighted on other blogs, and will frequently reciprocate with a link to your content down the line.

If you would like to get my thoughts on a topic of interest, simply post a comment to this article below and I’ll include your question in next week’s Sunday Conversation.

photo by OiMax