MoneyWatch101

Investment Options

What would you do given the many options to invest? Would you go all out and just take a risk with the highest yield or would you play it safe with a CD. Either way you are doing an awesome job if you take the plunge and use all the investment options available now instead of all those live by the moment soon to broke people. HA HA. I want to illustrate without drawing, the different kind of options we all have to invest our hard earned dollars, unless you are one of the fortunate ones to get an inheritance aka Free money. What options you ask?

Continue reading Investment Options

Money Habits I am Doing Right

Life is a balancing act.

Many times I think back and I re-read some of my past blog posts and think to myself I might have used some harsh words to incite change upon myself and my readers. But my intentions were not to scold down or to say you are doing very badly at money management skills. I get caught up at times with my own short comings that I am my own worst critic, and I admit I use it to fuel the fire for this blog with great content. This time I am trying something different, and it is a post that probably has been around the block more often than not. But I am still going to share with all of you, what things I have been doing right financially speaking. I will answer for you all the money habits I am doing right.

When I do things right I am actually happier, because these things are in my happy go lucky financial rule book. No not really a book, but just good ideas I have in my mind at all times. Did all of you know that finance and money management is 80% behavior and 20% math? If you can maintain this balance in life you will always win with money. Given this I am going to share with you all the behavior rules I use in my life to stay in my personal finance lane.

Money Habits I am Doing Right:

1. I write this blog which keeps me accountable for my actions. (I can’t Believe it’s 1 Year already)

2. I am saving a good portion of my income. (About 15% soon to be about 20%)

3. I am on top of my investments and assets. (Mostly monthly and sometimes daily.)

4. I am thinking in a long term perspective for my money. (Not what can I buy with my next paycheck mindset)

5. I take the advice of other PF blogger’s / financial guru’s if it benefits me or awakens a need to an improvement change.

6. I look at time in a productivity mindset and look to maximize my efforts. (Always finding a balance between family and work)

7. I hate debt and am working on eliminating my school loans while not going into any other future debt.

8. I am always looking for a new book to read on finance as I still find it intriguing to expand my personal finance horizons.

9. I am excited to help others improve while helping myself become a better communicator. ( Face to Face and written)

10. I see options and opportunities that investing gives me now and can give me in the future. (Passive Income)

These are some of the things I am currently doing to better myself every day and improve my finances. I hope I can lead by example with these steps and help any willing person with a desire to improve their personal finance picture in these uncertain economic times. Will these steps increase your income? No, but with time and effort it can help anyone improve financially and with goal setting. Behavior modification is not very easy, including how to manage finances. That can be one of the most important things you can do to help yourself achieve life’s basic money goals. Goals were made to be accomplished and surpassed.

In an uncertain world we have to do our best to help us be better prepared if another recession, depression or emergency were to occur in our lives. A layoff or a reduction in income can pop up at any time for anybody working for somebody else. Can you live on less than you make if it were to happen to you today? If you can just get over living the paycheck to paycheck syndrome you have succeeded in a personal goal that many people find too daunting. I will do another post in the near future and list all the bad things I am doing because nobody is 100% perfect in this life. But remember to keep striving to achieve a better more balanced you in this life.

What are some of the things you are doing right with money behavior that you would like to share?

Rich Uncle EL

Pic is credited to the movie called Man on Wire.

Friday Quotes XIV

Friday’s Best Quotes:

-Goals were made to be accomplished and surpassed. – RichUncle EL

-What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. -Henry David Thoreau

-Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment.-John Rohn

-Time is always ticking people, never ease up on your goals because tomorrow comes faster everyday- RichUncle EL

-Completing goals makes you feel good, so why not add more to feel good forever-RichUncle EL

I get chills whenever I find a good quote that strikes a nerve. The Henry Thoreau quote did just that, even though you knew it because everyone goes through transformations in life by achieving goals, but to see it clearly and definitively with simplicity is something else. I try to make my goals attainable and easy in the short term and the difficult ones are longer term. But no matter what you should always have goals.

If you want to succeed at them one key thing that many do not do is to write them down. I cannot stress how easy it is for people to forget what they thought last week. If you had a goal last week and didn’t accomplish it, I can make a bet that 50% of the time that goal was forgotten. Life is a blur for many and it is best for all of us to keep good records on paper or electronically of goals, innovation and business ideas. Just the other day I heard on a radio show how someone sold their idea to a business for 5 million dollars. You never know when your idea will be the next big thing.

(Tip: Put your most important goal on the refrigerator and watch you achieve it)

Hey maybe you would like to share a current goal or maybe what your favorite quote is by leaving a comment below.

RichUncle EL

Spending is not the root of Happiness

spending money is not the root of happiness — Hey you if you spend more than you made today, it doesn’t make you any Happier.

I have come across a few people who like to live for the Now in life. They are always going out and doing everything in their power to be present at numerous events while negating their future security. I ask myself when I see this happening, what kind of void are those individuals trying to fill? Don’t get me wrong I enjoy a good party from time to time when it’s important to me, but all that spending those people are doing strikes me as a red flag. Twenty years later those people are going to be wondering and most likely regretting why didn’t I prepare for my future.

Continue reading Spending is not the root of Happiness

Blog Anniversary and 100 Posts

My Blog is 1 year old and I have published 100 posts since beginning my online journey. Two milestones that I am very proud to share with all of you today in this website. Time goes by fast and for me at times it feels like it is going 100 miles per hour. I truly hope all my readers have enjoyed the content I share with all of you in this personal finance endeavor.

I have shared with you personal stories with facts sprinkled in regarding investing, savings, personal finance, car related and frugal topics. As I think back to the first post I ever wrote, I could read that post and just laugh all day long, because I have come a long way in my writing style. I now agree 100% that when you do something and take good records of whatever it may be that you can see how you evolve and improve from the beginning to the present and into the future.

Confidence and enjoyment in what you do can eventually lead you to overachieve in anything you want to do in life. That is exactly what has happened to me with this blog and in general when it comes to discussing personal finance with others. In life one must open up and share with the world that passion hidden inside of you.

I tend to think that by doing this blogging and sharing my ideas with all of you I am helping my readers evolve and open up as well. Money doesn’t have to be secretive and taboo. In other words money issues that you may have should be shared so that you can get much needed support from others and improve upon them. Bad habits can be transformed into good ones. Life can take a turn for the better by making money useful in your life, instead of a crutch. Every single penny that you have working for you can make a big change in your future assets. I guarantee that you will never regret having a huge amount of assets to fall back on when the time comes. Time is always ticking people, so never ease up on your goals because tomorrow comes faster every day. What is my mantra and the one piece of information I want you to take away from life: Save, Save, and Save some more.

Comment and let me know if I have inspired you in anyway and I will appreciate the feedback and recognition you have given to this blog.

If you feel compelled to share a bit more email me at moneywatch101 (at)gmail(dot)com on how this blog has helped you in anyway and you will be featured in a blog praise page.

Blog Anniversary and 100 Posts

Thanks for being a valued reader,

Rich Uncle EL

What I did to save a buck

An unfortunate event took place on my way to work on a recent Friday morning. I make my usual stroll to my car about two blocks away from my apartment building and that’s when I saw the travesty right in front of my eyes. My 1999 Camry was hit and my driver side mirror was shattered in pieces and hanging for dear life. Well you know, what was my first thought when I sat down in my car? How much is this going to cost me? See picture below for your viewing pleasure.

During my lunchtime chat with a co-worker I reveal my recent incident and he quickly tells me a story of a similar situation he went through several years ago. It cost him about 200 bucks back then to fix. Now my mind is checking off the dollar signs to the tune of $400-500 because:

1. His accident was a few years ago and Inflation will get the best of me.
2. His car is a newer Camry and I figured newer parts should be cheaper to find.
3. His mirror didn’t need a complete replacement with some body work / painting involved.

NOW I am freaking out because as you already know I am not fond of spending money on miscellaneous transportation costs. It’s the next day and now I have a plan to get at least three estimates from local body shops and go with the best price and customer service I receive. It’s more important to me for the work to be done quickly and efficiently than the overall price.

Now for the Details:

Estimate 1: Body Shop closest to my house- $225 to order part, paint and Install.

Estimate 2: Body Shop about a mile away- $210 to order part, paint and Install.

What did I actually Spend: $35 for a driver’s side mirror found at a local junk yard, 55 to paint and Install part at body shop number 2. $90 dollars total.

So there you have it folks I saved about $120 because I took matters into my own hands and tracked down the exact auto part I needed and hustled my way to getting some huge savings. I stopped at the second body shop because the owner was cool and very open and honest about the details of the job. Because of this I gave him my business.

These tactics can be used by anybody if you just take the time and make a plan to negotiate and save some dollars. I could have just given in to the first body shop estimate, and been happy with the first quote given. But luckily for me that I am never 100% trusting with service quotes, plus I love to shop around for better deals. Never ever forget to get a second opinion in anything you need to get done service wise. Because different people charge different prices at different times, and it may help you tremendously if one of those individuals is in a good mood.

Examples of Price Quotes/Estimates to save a buck:

Car Insurance
Life Insurance
Home Insurance
Home Repairs
Car Repairs
Car Loans
Mortgage Loans (Good Faith Estimate Docs)
Any type of tutoring / lessons
Financial Advisor Fees
Cable / Cell / Internet Services

Now is the time to Comment if you have a cool story on how you saved a buck by taking matters into your hands.

Watch your Money!

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RichUncle EL

Richer by 288 Times

Have a 150 grand lying around?

Can you believe this? The Super rich have 288 times more savings than the normal American. Compound that by 4% and you have a pretty decent interest income. I must say I didn’t fully agree with all the hoopla surrounding the top 1% and all the wall street protesters, but the facts are very clear and right in front of our noses. The Super rich are richer by 288 times the median income. How can the top 1% be so abundantly prosperous and the average person not be? The economic system if taken to extremes will not sustain another meltdown.

Did you know that the system is based on good faith and that most of your money is not all accounted for in banks or brokerage firms. Let me explain a little further for those of you who do not know. Most financial institutions use about 80-90 % of your money to lend out to others or to re-invest again for their future gain. If the system were to collapse it could be the end of monetary policy as we know it. The actual figure the computer displays out to you and millions others just like you, is a figment of your imagination because guess what, you’re actual money is the mortgage of some other person and the bank is the administrator of your assets and another person’s debt.

I am not telling you all this so that you can run over to the bank tomorrow and hit the eject button on your money, but to get you to think a little bit about what is actually occurring behind the scenes. Things are not as rosey as the media is making it seem. One day it’s OMG we might go into another recession and the next day the media is all about how great of an economy we have. They can not seem to make up their minds or just maybe the powers from above and the ultra rich are making the media outlets run the happy go lucky stories so that a political / monetary uprising do not occur.

Richer by 288 X the median Average article: Net Worth Article

So if you can sit down and digest the article you just read in the link above about the super rich and the income disparity affecting our nation, How do you feel? Do you now feel a bit of compassion for the wall street protesters? Do you even care that somebody has 288 times more savings than you do?

RichUncle EL

Pic above is credited to Icon Airplane Co. Toys of the Super Rich!

Friday Quotes XIII

Friday’s Best Quotes:

The message is sent for you to think and maybe act, not for you to ignore it. -RichUncle EL

My life is my message. -Mahatma Gandhi

With all the tools out there today, the message is easily implemented unless you get in the way of yourself.-RichUncle EL

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure. -Bill Cosby

Success has a simple formula: do your best, and people may like it.-Sam Ewing

What can I say this week I heard the message of what I wanted my quote theme to be this week. Life is very complex and we go through many different stages in our short lives, but the one thing I tend to stress is to try and capture every little bit of it in your own special way. Many people get caught up in their lives that they fail to see the big picture.

Gandhi’s quote is so simple yet so remarkable. He defined what passion really is for the whole world to see. I think to be able to express yourself you first have to lead by example. I like to give my readers random quotes from my head because it is what I am currently thinking and feeling. Also it may provide you with a relief from the usual money talk out there in the PF world. Many in the media most likely have quoted a quote once in their lives on air. Why did they do that because quotes are powerful in expressing the intended message in a concise phrase?

What a list this week. Which one is your favorite and which one will you implement in you’re life?

Watch your money!

RichUncle EL