2011 April | Green Panda Treehouse

Archive for April, 2011

Yakezie Challenge Time

By: MD | Date posted: April 08, 2011 (6:00 am)

We asked you guys what your financial life stage is? It’s an important question to address because if you want to improve your situation you need to understand where you stand at the moment. From then you can work towards improving your situation.

Let’s share the links now:

1. The Risks of Private Student Loans @ The College Investor.

2. How One Late Payment Can Kill Your Credit Score @ Financial Samurai.

3. Working With a Financial Adviser: Selecting the Right Planner @ Consumerism Commentary.

4. When Is It Okay To Dip Into Your Savings? @ Yes, I Am Cheap.

5. My Cell Phone Was Stolen – Part 1 @ BITFS.

6. 3 Dividend Stocks That Offer Good Passive Income @ Buy Like Buffet.

7. Where is my 2011 Tax Return? @ MJTM.

8. 99 Cent Pricing Strategy @ Canadian Finance Blog.

9. How to set up a bicycle repair company @ ERE.

10. Why do you bank with who you bank with? @ Punch Debt in the Face.

11. Pinterest: Pinning your DIY inspiration @ The Centsible Life.

12. True Story: What Happens When You Can’t Pay the Restaurant Bill @ Len Penzo.

13. What Is Included in Your Credit Report? @ Not Made of Money.

14. An Overview of Chapter 7 and 13 Bankruptcy @ PF By The Book.

15. Last Minute “Blogging as a Business” Tax Tips @ Young and Thrifty.

_{»crosslinked«}

Posted in Blog Round Ups | No Comments »

Affordable Sports and Training For You

By: MD | Date posted: April 07, 2011 (6:00 am)

Affordable Sports and Training. Staying healthy with no money is possible. It’s actually what I would recommend you all try. Too often do I see newbies to the fitness community get all caught up with joining a gym and buying all of the fancy tools that go along with working out. You know what I mean? I see newbies buying the most expensive Nike running shoes, a slick track suit, an over-priced gym membership, and ridiculous amounts of workout supplements. What’s the point of all of this? Whatever happened to keeping it simple and at home exercising?

I wanted to discuss affordable sports and training, and how you can get in shape this Spring on a tight budget:

Performing body weight at home exercises.

There’s nothing like setting a new record for consecutive pushups or squats in your living room. Instead of worrying about the bench press or fancy squat machines, you should start off by performing body weight exercises at home. You’ll be shocked when you see how sore you get after trying to pull off that new pushup record. The best part about all of this is that you can do it while watching tv at home. Next time you find yourself idly sitting on the couch and just watching sports, you should try to perform a few body weight exercises. At first it will be annoying. Once you get into the habit, you’ll really start to enjoy these at home exercises.

Embrace the park for training.

With summer just around the corner, it’s a perfect time to take advantage of the park. I have younger brothers so if I ever want to work out on a warm day, I drag one of them to the park to kick the ball around or to go for a jog. There’s nothing better than going for a nice run on a Spring evening. Give it a try, you might get hooked on it.

Join a community sports team.

If you want to get moving and be held accountable for it, joining a sports team can be the ideal option for you. My dad is in his 50s now and he still plays soccer every Sunday morning with his friends. No matter what your age is or what your favorite sport is, you can always find a team that’s looking for an extra player. Playing on a sports team is beneficial for you in many ways, including:

An opportunity to socialize.
Meet new friends.
Be apart of a team.
Practice your leadership skills.

Try one of the many at home exercise programs.

If you’re willing to spend a little bit of money you can purchase one of the at home exercise programs that are out there. These programs usually come in the form of a DVD set and they allow you to train at your own convenience. This means that you can train at 4 in the afternoon or 4 in the morning, as you prefer.

What are some common at home exercise programs? The ones that I have tried include the P90X workout and Crossfit. You can purchase the videos online (I won’t be posting any links) or you can find some sample videos online. I’ve tried both of these workout programs and they’re amazing if you’re dedicated enough to perform them on a consistent basis. Since consistency is key the main challenge is getting into the habit of sticking to the routines. It’s really easy to get lazy and forget about the workouts. You can start off by having a workout partner so that you guys can hold each other accountable for training. You’ll find that training becomes so much more enjoyable when you’re doing it with a good friend. The other bonus once again is that by working out from home you guys can work around each others busy schedules.

Affordable sports and training are very possible. If you start to embrace at home exercising you’ll find yourself getting in shape without worrying about your tight budget. Don’t let money become an excuse for not being in shape. The only thing holding you back is yourself.

What are some other ways you can find affordable training methods to get in shape? What did I miss?

(photo credit: hamedog)

Posted in Eating Out and Groceries | 2 Comments »

Baby on the Way: Life Insurance & Making a Will

By: Green Panda | Date posted: April 06, 2011 (5:00 am)

Having a baby on the way can be exciting as you are preparing for his or her arrival. However, it can also be stressful as you start looking at the financial implications of expanding your family. I wanted to share some tips and thoughts on two big financial and legal decision you have to make: life insurance and wills.

Are you ready with a sound life insurance policy? Do you know the two major types of life insurance policies available? Have you already prepared a will? How will you need to update it for you child?

Do You Have Life Insurance?

Life insurance comes with two major types of policies – term and whole. Each has it’s own pros and cons. You have to weigh for yourself what is best for you and your family.

Which Type of Life Insurance is Right for You?

Term life insurance will cover you for a specific amount in a specified time period, such as 10,20, 30 years. If you die after the term ends and you haven’t gotten a new policy, then you will not be covered. Between the two options, it’s usually much cheaper with premiums. We both have term life policies at our home.

Understand that a term life insurance policy doesn’t have a savings component to it. You can invest the difference in savings between the two types of policies and come out ahead. Term life insurance is an option to consider as you move towards becoming self-insured in the future.

Whole life insurance is a bit more complicated as it’s an insurance policy that contains some savings portion to it. For some people the benefit of this policy is the cash value piece to it. Some policyholders find comfort in having some ‘forced savings’ built in.

You have to sit down and decide which insurance policy fits your family’s finances better. When you have an idea of what type of life insurance policy you need, it pays to compare rates with different, yet reputable insurance companies.

Do You Have a Will Ready?

No one likes to think of the end of their life, but being prepared for it can ease the emotional and financial burden to your surviving loved ones. What do you ned to include in your will? Here are some ideas to get you started:

Name Your Executor - Who is legally responsible to carry out your wishes? Think very carefully before selecting this person.
Name the Guardian of Your Child(ren) - Another huge decision that you’ll need to really think through on. Make sure you check with the person to see if they are able and willing to handle this huge responsibility.
Asset Distribution - Be as clear as possible on who gets what.
Debt Repayment - Ease the difficult process by stating how you want final expenses and remaining debts settled. You can have one of your financial accounts designated to handle the transactions.

Using a will template as a guideline can help you get started, but you’ll still need to make sure all your bases are covered. You need to make sure that your will is valid in your state and that your will executor is able to follow through on your last wishes.

What is Your Financial Life Stage?

By: Kristina | Date posted: April 05, 2011 (7:00 am)

One of the first rules of Financial Planning is to determine our Life Stage. Certain factors such as our age, marital status, family status, and employment status all help determine our Life Stage. Our Life Stage is one rule of Financial Planning that will help us determine how we should save, spend, or invest our money.

The Five Financial Life Stages

Starter is the first life stage of financial planning. A starter is usually a single person who spends their money before they save it. Starters are starting to experience debt and have most likely accumulated some debt already. The debt is most likely in the form of student loans or student credit cards. Starters are also experiencing a bunch of financial firsts, such as buying their first car, starting their first job, and moving out on their own the first time.

Builders are the next stage of financial planning. Builders may be engaged, married, or have their first child. Builders are starting to build their lives and their families. The financial needs of Builders do not yet require the needs of a financial expert; they are financial beginners and therefore seek financial advice from their family and friends. Builders are also borrowers; they may be applying for their first mortgage.

Establishers are the third life stage of financial planning. Establishers are usually married and may be upgrading from their first home to a bigger home. People in the Establisher Life Stage may be planning or having their second (or third) child. Their finances are becoming more sophisticated and therefore they may seek professional financial advice. Establishers are savers as their focus is on their future and their retirement.

Accumulators are the next life stage of financial planning. Accumulators are looking for financial convenience as they are almost in the last Life Stage of financial planning. Accumulators have grown up children and may also have grandchildren. Their focus is paying off their mortgage and saving for retirement.

Preserver is the final life stage of financial planning. Preservers have no more kids living at home and they are usually mortgage free. Preservers are usually conservative investors who are looking for security and income over growth. Baby Boomers are usually Preservers who are already retired or will be retiring very soon. People in the preserver Life Stage are looking for personal financial service and have sophisticated financial needs.

What is your Financial Life Stage?

Posted in personal finance | 3 Comments »

Spend? Save? Or Invest?

By: Kristina | Date posted: April 04, 2011 (9:00 am)

Depending on our current financial situation, we may all use our money in different ways. We may want to save our money in cash just in case of emergency, we may want to spend our money on nice things, vacations, and dining out, or we may choose to invest our money for the long term. Regardless of what we choose to do with our money, it’s good to know that we have options.

We should save our money if…

We have a specific short term goal such as a vacation. Short term goals are goals within a year that don’t require us to invest for the long term.

Short Term Savings should always be accessible which means they need to be liquid. In case we have an emergency we will need access to our short term savings.

An Emergency Fund Savings Account could be used to cover the cost of expenses during months when our income may be lower or our expenses may be higher.

The amount of short term cash savings that we should have definitely depends on each person’s individual situation. Some people continuously save 5-10% of their annual income, and some people save until they have the equivalent of 3 months gross salary saved in their account.

Investment options for short term savings goals are cash savings such as Money Market Mutual Funds and T-Bill Mutual Funds. High Interest Savings Accounts are also a good option for short term savings.

We should spend our money if…

We have bills. There is no point in saving our money if we have bills to pay. Our monthly bills should always be paid on time, before we think about saving.

We have debt. Accumulating interest on Student Loans, Credit Cards, and other Debts is never good because the cost of borrowing increases over time. It is better to pay off high interest debt than it is to save money at a lower interest rate.

We really want to do something, experience something, or try something new. I never feel guilty about spending money on a new experience such as travelling or eating out a new expensive restaurant. I recently spent a day at a Spa and treated myself to a facial as well as a massage. I have never been to a day spa before and I wanted to try it. It won’t become a regular habit, so I didn’t mind paying to try the one time experience.

We should invest our money if…

All of our bills are paid and have no other need for the money. If we have a disposable income every month I suggest that we invest for the long term. Long term investments can be more profitable.

We can afford it. If we have a monthly income that allows us to invest for the long term then we should take advantage of it. We shouldn’t invest if we are going to end up in debt at the end of the month.

We are saving for a long term goal such as buying a house or our retirement. Long term goals are usually 5 years away or longer.

Investment options for long term savings goals are Mutual Funds, Stocks, and other risky but potentially profitable investments. The longer time frame that we have to invest, the less we are concerned about fluctuations in the short term and therefore we can take more risk. If we want to buy a home in 5 years and we want to retire in 25 years, we shouldn’t have the same investment options for each goal.

Photo by Boetter

Posted in Budgets and Bills | 3 Comments »