Debt Free Life Hacks

Remember that time when you lost $100? It was in your pocket, and somewhere along the way, it must have fallen out when you went into your pocket for something else. Memories like those are painful. You likely have a memory of money you've lost gambling, investing, and so forth. Losing cash is more painful than the joy of winning ( based on a concept called Loss Aversio n). Life can be chaotic. Occasionally you forget things you had, accounts you opened, deposits you made, and other balances due.  Let's talk about finding the money you lost or didn't realize was missing. There are a few ways you can locate this money.  Unclaimed Funds - Treasury Hunt One place you could check is  Treasury Hunt.  Treasury hunt allows you to search for matured savings bonds or missing interest.  With Treasury Hunt, you can see if: You had a savings bond or treasury security that's no longer earning interest but uncashed. A loved one who passed  had matured bonds that stopped ...

700 Pairs of Shoes and a Closet Full of New Clothes While standing in line at a department store, I chatted with another customer waiting to check out. During this conversation, she shared that she had about 700 pairs of shoes and a walk-in closet full of clothes that still had their tags. I didn't know the why behind her shopping or the collection of merchandise she had acquired, but I couldn't help but wonder what type of thought went into the constant shopping that she alluded to. Have you ever gone shopping for an item or two and left with many other things you did not intend to buy? Why does that happen? Why weren't you able to stick to your list? It happens to the best of us, but what can we do to keep it from getting the best of us?  The ABCs of Making a Purchase I introduce the ABCs of Making a Purchase. The next time you're about to buy something out of the blue or just because, maybe consider the following: A sk and A rticulate✋ Ask yourself why. Why are you...

There is a good chance you are paying for something you could get for free. What do I mean? Many companies are beginning to offer bundled products and services which means there may be some opportunities to save on some of your reoccurring expenses.  Ways to Save We all have expenses in our lives that are reoccurring. Think of some subscription services or apps that you pay for every month. First, it's a good idea to evaluate what subscriptions and apps you are actually using. Do you pay for several streaming services but only primarily watch one? If so, maybe it's time to cut the ones you're not watching and save a little dough. That's one way you can bring down your monthly expenses, but not the focus of today. Let's talk about saving using existing connections. T-Mobile Offers Service providers are now tacking on additional bonus items to entice customers. For example, with some T-Mobile plans, you can get Netflix. Do you know what that means? That means you may ...

Have you checked your credit report lately? If you answered no, why not? Under federal law, we are all entitled to receive a free credit report annually from each of the three credit bureaus. During the pandemic, there is even an option to receive free weekly access to our credit reports online! Now, what's your excuse? What is a credit report? A credit report is an organized report of your credit history and activity. Credit info is reported by the three major credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.  Why are Credit Reports Important? Credit Reports are important for many reasons and one reason we often hear about is how it impacts your credit score. The information reported can impact crucial areas of your financial life. You want to make sure the information reported is accurate, complete, and up to date. This is especially important before a major financial event such as applying for a loan or credit card as the information within your reports may affect the interest...

  A popular approach to paying off debt is something called the Debt Snowball. The idea is that you would make a list of your debts from lowest to highest and then begin to pay down debt starting with the smallest debt and working down the list. This is an excellent way to pay down debt when you need a little extra motivation to push you to achieve your debt payment goals. Those small wins along the way can help give one a sense of accomplishment and hopefully encourage follow-through.  Use the Snowball for Savings I think this approach could be helpful with savings too! A widely used rule of thumb is that we should have an emergency fund that will cover 3-6 months of non-discretionary living expenses. These are expenses that are fixed and would have to be paid even in a situation where you have a loss of income. Think mortgage/rent, car notes, credit card bills, insurance ( life, health, auto, home/renter's ), food, taxes, and utilities.  Saving for a 3-6 month emergency...

The most obvious topic right now is inflation, but everyone's talking about inflation so I'll just move right along.  I recently watched a documentary about a major collapse in the financial banking industry that happened many years ago. When the company filed for bankruptcy, a lot of people lost their jobs and potentially even more. One of the former employees said something in the interview that sort of hit me. She said that amongst all the things that she lost, her vehicle had been repossessed because she could no longer afford to pay the note.  Now alone, that may not seem like that big of a deal - this happens to people sometimes.  But she went on to say that it was the first car she had bought for herself and she only had four months left on the note. That part, to me, was the devastating part; I mean could you imagine? To come so far and then have nothing to show for it. Ouch!😭 Pay it Off If You Can Now I know that every situation is different so I will not assume...

Humans have some horse-like tendencies. Before you get offended, let me explain. I recently went horseback riding for the first time and during that ride, I learned a lesson or two. We chose a private ride instead of a group ride, so there were just three horses including mine. Well, as we were riding, a large group with maybe 15+ horses and riders was passing us. They were going left, and we were going right - well, should have been going right. Unfortunately, my horse Laredo decided to go off course and go left with the group. My memory lapsed and I was unsure of what to do, I tried to do as I had been instructed, but Laredo did not want to turn around. Without getting too far into the weeds, what I learned that day, was that horses are social animals who exhibit herd behavior explaining why he wanted to follow the other horses.  People are similar, often following the crowd. This tends to happen in many facets of life, but we also see this in the world of finance and investing. ...