Mylife101 Archives - Page 4 of 4

What is the Happiest Money Moment You Ever Had?

I think we all have had a few great, unforgettable, happiest money moments to hit our lives. I like reminiscing on random things like this, because frankly our past can somewhat shape the future. How did the happiest money moment creep into your life? Did you have control over it or was it just pure luck? I bet I am going to get some very interesting stories from my readers.

The point for this post was triggered by me just remembering a time when I was happy due to either getting a small downfall or finally achieving a great money goal. I will share the happiest money moments with all of you and I want you guys to just try to remember one you can share as well. Those moments were given to you for a reason so why not remember them and honor the moments.

What is the Happiest Money Moment You Ever Had?

The first ever paycheck
The first time I found a dollar bill on the street
The first time I received a bonus check
The first time I invested my hard-earned money
The first time I found over a 100 dollars
The first time I saw a thousand dollar+ check in my name
The first time I received a Holiday bonus check
The first time I saved 5 grand
The first time I paid for Candy with Cash

Now that I have shared with all of you please be so kind to return the favor, we all can appreciate talk like this because it let’s us connect better with a topic (Money) that is deemed negative most times. Just writing about all of these memories makes me smile. I worked really hard for my very first paycheck and cashing it was a euphoric experience, after I received the cash I was thinking wow this is all mine. I immediately made a budget in my mind, that I would save half and spend the other half.

Back track 7 years and I was running to the candy store during lunch time in middle school to buy some goodies with the dollar bill my father gave me that morning. I couldn’t believe all the stuff I could buy back then with 1 dollar. Now things are different, kids are lucky if they can get 4 candies with 1 buck. That candy would last me about a week and you can bet that I ate each and every one. Now I am looking towards the future for a few more happy moments with money that I can be proud of, maybe I can share them with you in the future.

If you leave a comment I will add this post to one of the happiest moments with blogging.

Thanks for the support follow by Bloglovin, Twitter, or Facebook.

Rich Uncle EL

How I started Blogging

Would you like to know how I started blogging? OK I think this story should be told by all the bloggers out there in the blogosphere. It establishes how each of us got started in the crazy journey to reading an insane amount of posts and then eventually writing another thousand posts. The time frame was 2007 and I had some debt I wanted to get rid of, I read the Dave Ramsey book called,The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness and this gave me a better direction for my money goals. But my thirst for more didn’t end here, in early 2008 I searched in Google for money and debt articles, I believe the site directed me to Get Rich Slowly. Talk about having good SEO. I started to see that this blog was the real deal, not only do they have 100 thousand followers on RSS, the site gets a ton of comments.

Continue reading How I started Blogging

Bad Money Habits

As you remember from a few months ago I wrote a post about all the great things I am doing right with my money and how this will lead me to prosper in the world of personal finance. Well this is the follow-up to that post as I will divulge all the bad money habits I am currently dealing with and will attempt to fix and or correct in the near future. As I mentioned before and you have heard a thousand times in your life, nobody is 100% perfect. But maybe you can join my club and be in the 98% perfect organization.

Continue reading Bad Money Habits

What makes your World go Round?

OK I have come to the realization that we all go through life for a specific purpose. Problem is that many still do not have an idea of what that may be. If you can just stop checking your Facebook status or Instagram pictures every 10 minutes, then you too can ask yourself what makes my world go round? It can be something within you that you still have not realized or maybe the vision you once had is a bit fuzzy. I think if everyone can just analyze this for 30 minutes a day maybe you can actually have some direction and purpose in life.

Continue reading What makes your World go Round?

The Ups and Downs of Life

This idea just came to me like a bolt of lightning and I thought why not talk about some of the good things and bad things that have taken place in life throughout the years. I tend to remember only the major things that have happened to me as a normal person should, and why not share them with all of you as a way to reveal a little more about myself. I will attempt to keep things in a financial aspect, but I might sneak in a few that are not about money.

Life does not revolve around money, but this website is based on perfecting good money management behaviors. So I will list both life goals and money goals.

The Ups of Life and Money:

1. I graduated from 2 Universities – Bachelor’s / Master’s Degrees in Hand.

2. The day I received my Toastmaster’s Competent Communicator for completing 10 speeches.

3. My first non spam approved comment on my blog. (Whoo Hoo)

4. Holding the free and clear title for my cars, thus having them paid for. (Three times)

5. Finally achieving credit card Debt Free Status. (Peace Out Chase and Citi)

The Downs of Life and Money:

1. School Loan Debt for my Master’s

2. Not Investing enough in the 2008 – 2009 market crash. (Could have made a killing)

3. Buying an overpriced gas guzzler for 32K when my income was only 45K.

4. Not finding Dave Ramsey / PF Blog World sooner.

5. Accumulating a bunch of useless stuff. (Wasting income on nothing)

OK I had to think a bit about the downs in life as it is always harder to remember bad things. I tend to sway on the optimistic side of life. Do you always think about the good things or bad things? By doing this you guys now have a greater sense of who I am and what I have accomplished to a small degree. I hope to keep adding to the ups in life in the near future but wish to avoid all the downs.

I wish we all could eliminate or avoid the downs in life, but it makes us in someway better individuals as it builds up character. After a down event you come out stronger in overcoming obstacles in life. Do you agree? Also sometimes a down event leads to a major up event in life. For example rags to riches stories of somebody getting laid off and then starting a crazy money making business. I have read a few of those over the years.

Have you recently gotten over a down event in your life? I hope you get motivated to make your own ups and downs list. If I can recall any more ups and downs later I will do a part two to this post.

Stay safe everybody in the East Coast as a major storm is headed into my neck of the woods.

Rich Uncle EL

Pic credited to Jay Fine.

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

Time is Money

Have you heard this saying before? If you answered yes then you are not alone, this phrase is one of the most popular phrases of our time and for many decades. Benjamin Franklin is quoted as the originator of this quote. But do you take it for what it is literally or do you really grasp the meaning behind it? I have this exact quote up on this website if you look 45 degrees to the right you will see a cool watch with money representing the old adage of the phrase.

Even if you are not obsessed with the meaning like I am, I think we all can use our time more effectively. Can I ask you a simple question? What would you be doing right now if you did not have to work for earned income from a job? If you ask me that question I would probably be doing something relating to sports. Biking, running, swimming, strength training, basketball, even rowing for gosh sakes, all of these activities is what I would do be doing. I would alternate each one of these every day until my bones yelled at my brain to stop the torture I am placing on them. I am exaggerating of course, as I am a family man and I will definitely spend the majority of the time with them, I cannot be that selfish.

At times I wonder when I am at lunch all those guys I see on random occasions, bike riding around town as if they are already in the retirement stage and can do as they please. Well if you plan now early in life you can realize it sooner than later, because you guessed it, Time is Money and money can buy you time. Freedom from being tied down to a desk, from scrubbing a deli counter, or from doing the myriad of jobs in this world. The ultimate Freedom is a sweet pleasure only a few folks and retirees can speak of. But you might say to me, RichUncle EL I like my job and I’ll say to you, more power to you and ask you, but would you do it if you had an income stream of 5 grand a month from investments? What will be you’re answer? You will never know because you are not taking the steps to gain the freedom to live your life the way it is supposed to be. I see people who waste funds living great now, but how long will that last or how long will you have to work later to pay for your retirement because you live extravagantly now.

The average person works about 35 to 45 years and then retires tired and jaded because it took so long to be free. Now why would anybody want to be so far away from freedom for the majority of their life? If you could make or take a few small steps now that may potentially save you 15 years later, why wouldn’t you do it? Most people get corporate jobs to gain financial freedom, but does it really buy you that freedom if you do not take advantage now.

Continue reading Time is Money

Memorial Day, Boston, and Cheers

What a great weekend I must say. My family and I made the trip to Boston, MA for a three day weekend initially, but things changed. More on that later. I always attempt to do first time things when traveling to a destination away from home and we can successfully say we did a few. Guess what we did? Finally hit up cheers to get a few drinks. The Cheers bar thing has always been on my mind as a subliminal bucket list thing to do, now I can cross it off. JP Lick’s is a great place to get ice cream and even though it was my second time there the ice cream is so good that it feels like the first time. The only downside to the trip was that we had to cut the weekend short to two nights instead of three.

First Time Events:

-Cheers Bar
-Trampoline Event
-Rizzo’s Pizza
-Drove Non-Stop from Boston to NJ

What did we Spend:

-Hotel – $224
-Food- 85
-Kids Activities- $24
-Cheers- 35 (Got a Mug)
-Gas- $70
-Tolls- $10
-Parking- $20
-Ice Cream- $25 (JP Lick’s)

(In the Food category all drinks are included with that amount)

All in all we spent about $500 dollars for a two day trip to Massachusetts. Even though it was a budget buster weekend we enjoyed every minute of it. We visited family, friends, and just spent a few fun filled days with each other in another state. I probably should take the family away more often since we all had a great time, but the Mrs. is in school every weekend and I would never consider going without her. The funny thing about the weekend is that we did everything spontaneously because the original plans to go to Maine fell through, maybe we will go there next year.

What were your plans this weekend did you go away or did you stay home bound? No matter what you did I hope you enjoyed spending some dollars for those great experiences with your loved ones. That’s the one category in my budget that I actually do not feel guilty spending dough on.

So since I recently went on a mini-vacation I will answer a giveaway J.money is doing with hotel club.

What is the best tip for saving money on travel?

My answer to this mysterious question would have to be, if you are traveling to an international island destination to book the hotel separate from the flights. In my research with my previous travel plans I have saved between 200-500 dollars when I reserve them separately. For example some resorts have a direct number that you can call or a reservation website. This only will work if the resort offers this direct booking service. If not you are limited to the vacation packages on the web.

Comment below to let the readers know what you did and how deep you went in your pocket for all the fun you had over the Memorial day weekend.