Archive for August, 2007

5 Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 31, 2007 (2:12 pm)

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spaceball1.gifspaceball.gif I think that if you learn a foreign language, you’ll not only improve your financial bottom line, but it can also enrich your personal life. Here are a couple of reasons to think about foreign languages.

1. Improve your employment income potential

2. Understand international arts, music, and culture

3. Enjoy traveling

4. Become a true global citizen

5. Meet new people

Here’s a wonderful video from Steve Kaufman aka. The Linguist. I enjoy his posts and presentations.

<[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZNYyR7-jUM]

Amazing things can be found at YouTube. He also has a program to help you learn languages.

Weekly Paycheck Review : August 24th

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 31, 2007 (6:57 am)


It’s Friday and I’m reviewing my paycheck. Here’s what I had budgeted and here’s what I actually spent:bills.jpg
Paycheck: $374.40

Expenses:
Joint Account: $160
Savings: $20
Gasoline: $47.29
Food: $3.63
Total: $230.92


Net Income: $ 143.48

The extra $100 went towards my emergency fund in ING Direct. I get 4.5% APY, which is a lot more than what my credit union offers. I tried to immediately take it out so I wouldn’t be tempted to spend it. 

The Simple Dollar has great explanations about emergency funds and automating your savings.

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How to Have Fun While Saving Money

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 29, 2007 (12:24 pm)

I ran across an article on MSN Money called, “Entertainment for when you’re broke“. I found some of the tips interesting and useful.

I wished I knew about the Spamalot prices when we went up to New York City this summer. I wouldn’t have minded shelling out $37 for a show. My little annoyance was that you would go the cheaper route because you’re broke. You don’t have to be broke to appreciate low cost entertainment. It’s not a major gripe, just an observation.

Money Saving Tips for Entertainment

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In addition to the cheap Broadway ticket advice they gave, I would also add some:

  • Find a restaurant with a fantastic early bird special and invite friends. There’s a local spot by us that offers 50 cent tacos and half off drinks. Get a drink, eat a bunch of tacos, and it will cost less than $15 for two persons!
  • Host a movie/video game night at your place. You provide the entertainment and drinks and your guests bring some food. It’s a win-win situation. The Nintendo Wii is a great game system for parties
  • Play tennis at the local parks. It’s free, you can hang with friends, and get a great workout.

The article is pretty good with some practical tips. It’s nice to see something on MSN that deals with real life ways to save money.

Here’s an excerpt from the article:

When I was in college, one of my favorite places to take a date was the symphony, which offered $6 tickets to students with IDs. After the show, I’d treat my date to ice cream. Total cost for two: less than $20.

Not a student? Use other associations to your advantage. For example, your job may offer discount tickets to amusement parks, sports arenas and other local events. Check out discounts offered through AAA, your credit union or your alumni association, too.

read more

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How to Be Rich Later and Live Well Now

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 27, 2007 (10:54 am)

I’m thinking that many people share our goal to retire comfortably without taking a vow of poverty now. It’s definitely possible, but sacrifices will have to be made. There’s no free ride, it takes work.

The trick is to decide what you’re willing to cut back on so you can save for the future. That’s for everyone to work out on an individual basis, but there are some universal concepts to follow.your_image.jpg

How to Plan for a Wealthy Future

  • Attack your credit card debt. This debt is the worst to have, as they typical have high interest rates. Have a plan to eliminate your balance and use your credit card wisely.
  • Live like college kids for a couple of more years. I’m not saying eat ramen and spaghetti everyday, but learn to live on a little. It does feel great to get a good paying job compared to your college jobs. Don’t spend your paychecks on getting new furniture and fancier clothes right away though. Instead use your better paying paychecks for family savings and investing first and slowly upgrade your home furnishings.
  • Put money into your retirement fund(s). Have it automatically taken out and you’ll never miss it. Ten percent is good, but if you’re limited on funds, at least go for what your employer matches. It’s basically free money. Starting early in your life is to your advantage since you’ll be utilizing compound interest.
  • Pay your bills on time and keep an eye on your credit scores. A huge part of your FICO score is determined by your payment history. Don’t be late and check your scores annually. When you two decide to buy a house, the diligence will pay off with lower interest rates and a lower mortgage.
  • Automate bills and paychecks. It’s one of the best things to do and will make your life so much easier. Our bills are usually consistent and we have bill payments automated. If the amount is different for a particular month, it just takes less than 5 minutes to change that.
  • Have health insurance. It would be a shame to lose all the money you saved because a hospital visit sucked it all up. The reality is if you don’t have any health insurance, you’re charged even more.  I’m not saying health insurance covers all bills, but it reduces it but a huge amount.

Well, that’s about it. It’s not rocket science, but it’s not a walk in the park either. Managing your money is an ongoing process. It’s up to you to decide if you want to build wealth or fight to stay on top of bills.

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Weekly Paycheck Goals: August 24

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 27, 2007 (8:37 am)

bills.jpg I can’t believe it’s almost the end of August already! Classes start tomorrow, so I’ll be a bit busy this week. I’m excited about a few of my classes. I feel my finance class will benefit me personally and this blog. I’ll include formulas and shortcuts to typical situations.

Here’s this week’s budget for my paycheck:

Paycheck: $280.65

Here’s my budget for it:

Joint: $160

Gasoline: $50

Savings: $20

Net Income: $50.65

Next week, I’m anticipating a higher paycheck due to working extra hours. All the extra pay will go towards my emergency fund at ING Direct.  After getting my emergency fund up, I’ll put the extra $80-100/month towards paying the principal in my car loan. I’m hoping to pay that as soon as I can. As you know car depreciate and I’m at the point where the principal on the loan is equal to the Kelly Blue Book value( a difference of $50 in my favor technically).  

Well, that’s the plan. Let’s see if I stick with it.

Sunday Cat Photo: Mouse Cowboy!

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 26, 2007 (7:32 am)

I saw this earlier this week and new this was the one for today!

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What to Do For a Legal Consultation

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 24, 2007 (11:42 am)

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Photo Credit: Nygtowl

To follow up on my post with free and low cost legal services, I included some tips that helped with the consultation about our car problem.

  1. Prepare. Practice ahead of time the way you’ll present your case. It helps your lawyer to grasps the big picture of the situation, so they can see how to proceed.
  2. Have paperwork organized. Have all your paperwork ready for the lawyer to review. Keep the originals and give them copies of everything that you have that is related to the case.
  3. Keep track of everything. Have a notebook and write down the time and summary of conversations that you’ve had regarding the case, whether it’s in person or on the phone. Give a copy to your attorney. This will help them see how far you’ve gotten, see what roadblocks you hit, and give a more detailed view of the case.
  4. Ask questions. This is a very big part of the consultation. Don’t be afraid to ask questions; your lawyer wants to help you. If you don’t understand something completely, please ask them to repeat it again. You want to be on the same page as your attorney.
  5. Follow their instructions. If you feel comfortable with this attorney and want to pursue this case, then listen to what they say. If you feel uncomfortable, find another attorney. It’s already a stressful situation, don’t make it even worse.

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Weekly Paycheck Review: August 17

By: GreenPanda | Date posted: August 24, 2007 (9:06 am)

bills.jpg It’s Friday and I’m reviewing my paycheck. Here’s what I had budgeted and here’s what I actually spent:

Paycheck: $280.65

Expenses:

Joint Account: $160

Savings: $20

Gasoline: $32.66

Food: $5.78

Credit Card: $15

Total: $233.44

Net Income: $ 47.21

I still got some left over money and that’s going to buffer my checking account. I just want to build up my stash. Classes start next week, so I’m excited and nervous. It’s my last semester, but I also I’m worried because my work and school schedule will be in full swing.

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