Archive for July, 2009

Weekly Round Up: Messing Around With Video Games

By: Green Panda | Date posted: July 04, 2009 (8:00 am)

This week has a bit crazy with traveling to meet family and some other things. We’re currently enjoying the new TV and taking turns playing some games on it. I just finished the main storyline on Fable 2 and I’ll go back and play it to handle a few side missions. Right now, though, we’re playing Mass Effect.

I hope you have a great weekend!

Blog Carnivals

I really enjoyed the posts below. Being busy this week, I didn’t get to them until Friday, but it was worth the wait.

Top Personal Finance Posts This Week

  • The 10 Year Savings Strategy: Saving money after you’ve already handled the basics.
  • Negotiation Tips For Beginners
  • Credit Card Rates and Usury
  • Protect Your Identity – It Starts at Home
  • 40 personal finance lessons I’ve learned
  • Find The 2009 Sales Tax Holiday For Your State.
  • 12 Tasks for Your Mid Year Financial Checkup
  • How To Do a Background Check on Your Financial Advisor
  • FTC Video: An Inside Look At Business Opportunity Fraud
  • What to Expect in Traffic Court

    • Guide to Fixing Your Credit Report and Raising Your Score

    By: Green Panda | Date posted: July 03, 2009 (6:26 pm)

    Sometimes I get questions sent to me through the email. Some questions are very specific and some a bit more universal.

    I love when readers write to me!

    I love when readers write to me!

    Reader Asks a Question About Credit Reports

    One question I received through email this week was about credit reports and scores. Here’s the gist of the question:

    Should I pay [my] past due credit bills to better my credit?

    I told him that paying your past due bills will slowly build up your credit. Past due accounts lower your score and it could look bad if you are thinking of getting a mortgage, car loan, or even rent an apartment down the road.

    First off, I’d like to know where I’m starting from. You can do this by checking your credit reports.

    Ordering Your Free Credit Reports

    If you need to see what’s on your record,the Federal Trade Commission points you to the genuinely free link at annualcreditreport.com.

    The three nationwide consumer reporting companies have set up one website, toll-free telephone number, and mailing address through which you can order your free annual report.

    If you do not have Internet access, you can also call 1-877-322-8228.

    See if there are any mistakes on your credit report and fix them. See what accounts are most delinquent and work on catching up with them.

    Catching Up on Your Past Due Bills Helps You Raise Your Credit Score

    Miranda Marquit wrote a post on this blog about the effect of debt repayment  on your credit score:

    The largest consideration in your credit score is your debt payment history (35%). Do you pay on time? Do you always pay at least the minimum? Your credit score will take into account your payment history, and a reported late payment or a missed payment, on your debt obligations can have a big negative impact.

    Because the credit score is designed to let lenders and creditors know how reliable you are when it comes to repaying your obligations, it is no surprise that debt is a huge factor. Indeed, the credit score is almost entirely designed around how you handle your debt.

    Book Recommendations on Eliminating Credit Card Debt

    If you’re in a lot of debt and need a step by step guide to build up your finances, borrow from your local library or buy Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey or  I Will Teach You To Be Rich by Ramit Sethi. these books have practical tips on eliminating your credit card debt.

    I enjoyed reading both books and think they give concrete actions to help you with your personal finances. Read both and see which one fits you better.

    What advice do you have?

    Photo Credit: stefg

    »crosslinked«

    My Husband Got an HDTV

    By: Green Panda | Date posted: July 02, 2009 (10:04 pm)

    My husband recently made a big purchase and got his 40″ LCD HDTV.  He’s planned this for a while, trying to find a good deal with all the features he wanted.

    LCD TV

    This is the LCD HDTV my husband got in the living room.

    Deciding What He was Looking For

    Here are some features my husband was looking for:

    • 38″ to 42″ HDTV
    • LCD (LEP or DLP would be great, but too expensive)
    • 1080p
    • high contrast and low latency
    • He was looking for something that would be good for playing video games. (A favorite past time of his. )

    Knowing what he wanted, he spread the word to his friends to keep an eye out for anything that met his criteria. People would let us know if they saw something that may be of interest to him.

    Figuring Out His Budget for the TV

    Once he decided what he wanted, we looked to find prices. We looked up 42″ LCD HDTVs in Google, Costco, Walmart and Amazon to get a ballpark figure. The prices were around $660-$845 for what he wanted.

    What’s important at this step is to set a general idea of how much it would cost to get what you want. Later on, as you get closer, you can focus on getting a better deal and haggling. You just need a number to start saving.

    Build Savings for Your Big Purchase

    He was able to purchase the TV at a good deal by not rushing into a purchase. He was patient and waited for a deal to pop up to take advantage of.

    My husband does not currently have credit cards, so he planned ahead that he would pay all up front. He set something aside into his individual savings for a TV.

    My husband can mentally separate what money belongs to what savings goal. All of his individual savings goes into one savings account deemed the ‘I want this’ account.

    I prefer creating a specific sub savings account for a goal to help me stay motivated and focused. I automate deposits into my savings account. I don’t take chances and I protect myself from spending from my emergency fund or another goal’s account.

    It took a few months, but he got what he wanted. He would’ve preferred 42″ but it hasn’t really been that big of a deal for him.

    Looking for more information on buying electronics?

    If you’re looking for more tips, I wrote a longer post on making major purchases like TVs and computers. It’s a pretty useful post; talking about extended warranties, price protections, and some specific tips on price comparing.

    What about you? Do you have any tips for making big purchases?

    June 2009: Progress Update

    By: Green Panda | Date posted: July 01, 2009 (8:00 am)

    Wow, the year is halfway over! The last week in June has been an eventful month personally. The key word this month was hectic. The days flew by and I felt as if went by too quickly.

    I’m finding personal finances coming into my life besides this site.Yesterday I helped my mom automate some of her bill payments during a visit and I talked about the pros and cons of bill pay and auto debit.  My friend was asking about the difference between Roth and traditional IRAs. A buddy asked about the deal we got on the tv this month.

    It’s nice to chat with others and learn how they handle their finances and why.

    Our Financial Goals for 2009

  • Debt: We would like to pay off my car loan by March 31, 2009. Goal Met.
  • Debt: I’d like to reduce our expenses in June by 10%. Not Met This Month.
  • Spending: We’re going to limit eating out $100 this month. Goal Met.
  • Savings: We want to have 6 months worth of expenses saved by July 31, 2009 . We also want to build our house fund. Not Met This Month.
  • Health: I want to lose 12 lbs by July 31, 2009. On track.

    • How We Did in May on Our Financial Goals

    Debt: Things were looking good until my VW’s check engine light came on. We had the catalytic converter replaced for my Jetta and that set us back $700.

    Spending: We grabbed Salsarita’s when we went to see Transformers 2 last month and we only went out one other time for dinner. We went to a pub, split a rib and briquette combo, and enjoyed some drinks. All in all, not bad.

    Savings: We dipped into the emergency fund to fix the car, so the emergency fund has to be replenished a bit.

    My blog income will be directed towards joint savings and personal expenses.

    Health: Man vs. Debt’s PF Blogger Weight Loss Challenge is still going on. I’m using the Lose it app to keep a food diary for this contest. It’s been eye opening so far, as I realize how easy I make unhealthy choices.

    By the way, check back tomorrow to see how the Alpha team is doing so far.

    How are you doing?

    Now that the year is halfway done, I’m asking all my personal finance bloggers to share their progress with their financial goals.

    How is everyone else doing with their 2009 goals? Have you had some unexpected changes?

    Related Blogs

    • Related Blogs on June 2009: Progress Update

    This blog uses the cross-linker plugin developed by Jan Hvizdak, owner of Aqua-Fish.Net