365 Ways to Live Cheap! By Trent Hamm

This is not a book recommendation, although we’re sure the book by one of our favorite blogger’s Trent Hamm, 365 Ways to Live Cheap!, is great (it’s on our to read list). However, over at Trent’s blog, The Simple Dollar, he is doing a series throughout 2012 based on this book.

 

Everyday in 2012, there will be a post about one way to live cheap. We’ve been following the series so far this year, and there are some great ideas. Certainly, the ideas are not for everyone, but if you’re looking for some creative ways to cut your expenses, you can find them here.

 

Please check out his introduction post for the series and the first idea on how to live cheap. And if you haven’t already, take a look around The Simple Dollar. There are some truly inspiring stories and ideas.

 

Keeping Things Positive

This morning, over at Good Financial Cents, Jeff Rose did a post titled “YOUR attitude IS Everything – Don’t Quit on Yourself.” The idea is once you give up hope on being able to accomplish something, then you are going to fail at doing it. If you have no hope, you won’t try, and if you don’t even try, you won’t succeed.

 

This idea that “attitude is everything” is very important when dealing with your finances. Unfortunately, many people who are dealing with financial problems have a hard time staying positive. It can be very difficult to stay hopeful when you are dealing with a job loss or seemingly insurmountable debt. Then, as time passes and you see yourself making little or no progress, you start believing that the situation really is hopeless. That you’ll never be able to move past your financial difficulties, so why bother trying at all?

 

There are so many different aspects to finances that hopelessness can affect. You may think you will never be able to retire comfortably, so why bother saving? Or that you’ll never be able to fix your credit problems, so why does it matter if you stop paying on your debt? Finances are stressful to deal with, and it’s very easy to lose a positive attitude while working through them.

 

As Rose states:

• Once you have given up hope, you have failed.
• Once you truly believe that there is not better outcome for your life, things will never improve.
• Once you make that mental shift into permanent negativity, all is lost.

 

So how can you stay positive? Part of the reason we spend so much time talking about goals is that they can go a long way to helping you stay positive. While one big goal, like paying off all your debt, can seem hopeless, turning that goal into smaller steps you can work your way through, like pay $100 extra towards debt this month, can help keep you positive. You’ll have a feeling of accomplishment at completing the small steps while still working toward your big goal. If you try tackling everything at once, it would be very easy to become overwhelmed.

 

Also, as Rose discusses, even if you think your own situation is hopeless, don’t give up on your kids or grandkids. Do you want them to see you hopeless? Or would you rather use your financial burdens as an example to your family, to help them? Rose states, “What about younger people that you could influence to make sure they aren’t faced with the same dilemma.”

 

We realize that keeping a positive attitude may be very difficult for some, and that it’s easier said than done. However, it can make a big difference on how you deal with your finances, so try to find ways to push out negativity and keep moving forward.

 

 

• Disclaimer: The information on this blog is not meant for specific financial advice. The ideas/opinions stated are not suited for everyone, and readers should use their own judgment in applying them in their financial lives.

 

Month in Review

We’re sorry we missed last week’s post! There was an unexpected bout of the stomach flu.

 

Here is January’s review of blog posts.  We hope you find something you enjoy!

 

Get Rich Slowly – Don’t Forget Regret – Use It Instead – Everyone makes decisions they regret, some more than others. If you regret or feel guilty about a financial decision you’ve made, instead of trying to forget it, learn from it and make changes in the future to avoid repeating it.

 

Get Rich Slowly – Stealth Savings: Sneaky Ways to Fatten Your Account – If you have trouble saving, whatever the reason, find some “sneaky ways” to help you put money aside.

 

The Simple Dollar – Changing Dreams – Your financial goals and dreams can change as time passes. Make sure you prepare yourself for handling those different dreams as they change.

 

WiseBread – How to Go on a Financial Detox – A rich life often has little to do with the amount of money you have.

 

Please let us know if you have a favorite financial blog that you think we should be reading.

 

 

Getting Your Finances In Order

Throughout the year, it’s easy to get distracted from your finances. Other things in life take up your time and energy, often leaving your finances in the background. As 2012 gets underway, consider setting some time aside to make sure your finances are in order. Working on the following now can help you avoid problems throughout the year when time gets away from you.

 

• Review your budget – Take the time to review your budget, checking for any obvious changes that may need to be made. Research lower cost alternatives to expenses that seem to have crept up over time. Reallocate dollars that went unspent to expenses that had a shortfall. And if you don’t have a budget yet, create one!

 

• Review and update your financial goals – Review the progress you made in the past year on your financial goals and add any new goals you may have. Take time to consider what your next step might be in advancing those goals. If your goals are no longer relevant in your life, think about what you want to do with any funds you may have collected for that goal.

 

• Review your credit report – Help ensure that your identity is safe and that your credit report reflects accurate information. (www.annualcreditreport.com)

 

• Prepare for tax filing – Even if you know you will be filing an extension, start collecting all the relevant tax information and documents as they start coming in. Ensure everything is ready and in order before you sit down to do your taxes or send the information to your tax preparer to avoid delays and mistakes. Also, if you find that you are getting a large refund or owe a large amount, take the time to review and adjust your withholding to put more money in your pocket throughout the year or ease the pain of a large tax bill next year.

 

• Set up automatic bill pay – If you have not done so already, and it’s a service your bank offers, you should look into automatic bill pay. This will give you some relief during the year by paying your bills for you, so you won’t have to worry about setting aside time monthly to do so.

 

Obviously, doing the above will not make working on your finances during the year optional. You will still need to spend time on your finances, even if it’s just to make sure you’re avoiding mistakes and problems. But, the above steps will help set up your 2012 finances right.

 

 

• Disclaimer: The information on this blog is not meant for specific financial advice. The ideas/opinions stated are not suited for everyone, and readers should use their own judgment in applying them in their financial lives.

 

Starting Off 2012

Sorry we missed last week’s post. We extended our Holiday vacation!

 

Now that 2012 is here, have you thought about what you want to occur this upcoming year? Have you considered any goals you’d like to set for yourself and how to start working toward them?

 

Resolutions are always big this time of year, though as many people will admit, they often only last a few weeks, maybe even a few months, but they rarely lead to permanent changes in your life. Why do you think that is? There are a couple of different reasons we feel like New Year’s resolutions often fail.

 

• Too Broad – If your resolution is to exercise more, have you decided what that entails? How many times a week are you going to work out? For how long? Doing what activity? At what time of day? If your resolution is too broad, you won’t have any real, tangible way to make a change.
• Too Big – People often make huge resolutions and try to jump in 100% and get everything done at one time. Then, as time passes, enthusiasm starts to fizzle out, either from lack of results, lack of true commitment, or any other possible excuse people make. Weight lose is a great example since it is a popular resolution. Instead of immediately cutting out everything bad to eat and going crazy dieting and exercising (which often leads to either giving up completely or losing weight and gaining it all right back) think about small, truly sustainable things you can do to realize your resolution. Make one small change at a time and you’ll be more likely to succeed. The weight may come off more slowly, but you’ll be less likely to give up because you feel deprived or frustrated.

 

Do you have a resolution that involves your finances? Maybe there’s something you want to save for or maybe you want to pay down your debt. Does your financial resolution fit one of the descriptions above? Do you have a plan on how you’re going to realize it?

 

Why not turn your resolutions, financial or otherwise, into goals instead? A goal is something much more tangible. It’s something that you’ve planned for and that you have steps in place to realize.

 

How do you turn a resolution into a goal? Just think about it. If your resolution is paying down debt, think about what that entails. Decide on the best debt repayment plan for you life, decide how much extra a month you can afford to use towards paying it down. Then, once you’ve decided on a plan, begin taking small steps to start moving toward that goal.

 

Of course, not all goals are successful just because you’ve planned them out. However, they will be much more likely to be successful than unplanned resolutions. If your New Year’s resolutions are important to you, don’t set them aside until 1/1/13.

 

 

• Disclaimer: The information on this blog is not meant for specific financial advice. The ideas/opinions stated are not suited for everyone, and readers should use their own judgment in applying them in their financial lives.

 

2011 In Review

It’s hard to believe 2011 is already over. It was Ironclad Finances first full year, from January through December. We’ve definitely enjoyed it, and hope that you have too. So, we thought that we would share some of our favorite posts from Ironclad Finances in 2011.

We want to thank all of our readers! We appreciate the support and hope that you have found value from reading Ironclad Finances.

This will be our last post of the year. We’ll be taking the next couple of weeks as vacation to spend time with family and friend for the holidays. We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! We’ll see you again in 2012.

•  All Your Worth Series

 Anyone who has been reading Ironclad Finances for any length of time knows we’re a big advocate of “The Balanced Money Formula” from All Your Worth by Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi. At the beginning of 2011 we wrote a series about that formula, and we often reference it in other posts.

Book Recommendation: All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan by Elizabeth Warren & Amelia Warren Tyagi

All Your Worth: The Balanced Money Formula

All Your Worth: Making Adjustments

All Your Worth – Making Adjustments to “Savings”

• Planning for College Series

 We reviewed some of the options out there for someone who is planning for college, either for themselves, their child, or someone else. While the series was not as in depth as we could have gotten with these different options, we wanted to provide a good starting point for people who are concerned about saving for college and don’t know where to start.

Planning for College

Section 529 Plans

Coverdell Education Savings Accounts

Roth IRAs for Education

Uniform Gift to Minors Act/Uniform Transfer to Minors Act

• Family Vacation

One of the highlights of 2011 was our family vacation in April to Disney World.

•  Buying a Fixer-Upper House

 Written from Dawn’s own experiences with buying a fixer-upper house.

•  Dreams vs. Goals

 Having a dream is different from having a goal. We wanted to look at that difference and stress the importance of  concentrating on financial goals.

•  Lower Paying Jobs

 What should you be doing if you are faced with having to take a lower paying job than what you’ve been used to? This post deals with an issue that too many people have recently had to deal with.

•  The Automatic Millionaire Series

 Another great book, The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach, gives a simple plan to becoming a millionaire over the course of your working career. We wrote about some of the different steps in more detail.

Book Recommendation: The Automatic Millionaire by David Bach

The “Latte Factor” and “Pay Yourself First”

“Make it Automatic”

What About Debt?

• Have You Started Christmas Shopping Yet?

 A post that is very relevant to this time of year!

 

 

• Disclaimer: The information on this blog is not meant for specific financial advice. The ideas/opinions stated are not suited for everyone, and readers should use their own judgment in applying them in their financial lives.

 

Planning Your Budget for 2012

If you haven’t done so already, December is the time to review your budget and plan ahead for the coming year. If you set aside an hour or two in the next couple of weeks to review 2011 and plan for 2012, you won’t regret the time spent away from the holiday season.

Review 2011

Look back at you finances from 2011. If you had a budget, compare what you actually spent to that budget. Did you track close to your target? Don’t get too caught up over a few dollar here or there, but if you see any major discrepancies (spending hundreds of dollars more than you planned for), those are the areas that will need some tweaking for 2012. If you were on target with your budget, that’s great!

While looking back over 2011, think about any changes you would like to make. Is there something that you’re currently paying for that you no longer want or need? Has something changed in your life that makes a new expense important? These are the things you will need to decide while planning for 2012.

If you have never set up a budget for yourself before, now is the perfect time to do so! Check out our All Your Worth series for some ideas on where to start.

Planning 2012

If you hit your budget for 2011 and don’t feel the need to make any additional changes, before finalizing the same budget for 2012 you should still consider any cost that you may not have accounted for (i.e. potential higher rates for utilities, insurance, etc.). Then, if you feel comfortable with how everything looks, you have a plan for your 2012 budget that you can feel comfortable with.

Unfortunately, this often is not the case. A budget is very much a “best case scenario” and your actual expenses don’t always come in very close to target. So, if this is your situation, you’ll need to make adjustments.

If you have a non-essential expense coming in at more than you budgeted, like your entertainment or hobby allotment, make it your goal for 2012 to cut back to hit your targeted number. It can be a simple matter of paying closer attention to your expenditures on a monthly basis so you don’t over do it.

If you are spending more then you budgeted on the must haves, it’s possible that you were unrealistic in your amount (you thought you could get by with $40 a week in fuel but you actually need $50). If this is the case, then readjust the numbers to a more realistic target. Then, if you have to, compensate by taking that needed amount from elsewhere (often from non-essential expenses).

It’s also possible you came in under budget in a category. If you spend significantly less than you budgeted, and you are comfortable with what you spent, shift those dollars elsewhere.

If your situation is uncomfortable and you feel like your expenses are too high, you may have to consider reviewing your cash flow and deciding if you need to make any major changes or cutbacks in your expenses.

Again, December is a great time to do this whether you have a previous budget to review or you are starting from scratch. Start the New Year off with a realistic plan to help you make decisions throughout the year.

 

• Disclaimer: The information on this blog is not meant for specific financial advice. The ideas/opinions stated are not suited for everyone, and readers should use their own judgment in applying them in their financial lives.

 

Month in Review

Here is November’s review of blog posts.  We hope you find something you enjoy!

 

Get Rich Slowly – Spend on the Things You Do Every Day – When you’re spending money, don’t spend it on the things you do one time or that you want to do, spend money on the things you actually do every day.

 

Good Financial Cents – How to Tap Your IRA With No Penalty – The situation where you can pull money out of your IRA with no penalty (other than retirement after age 59½).

 

The Simple Dollar – Is Your Home an Investment? – In today’s housing market, can your home be considered an investment for you?

 

The Simple Dollar – What Makes for a Rich Life? – A rich life often has little to do with the amount of money you have.

 

Please let us know if you have a favorite financial blog that you think we should be reading.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

We aren’t doing our regular weekly post today, but we just wanted to say Happy Thanksgiving! We appreciate all of our readers and hope that you enjoy your holiday with family and friends.

 

 

“A Mindful Life”

There was a great post last week over at The Simple Dollar. Trent Hamm wrote “A Mindful Life,” a post about curbing your impulses and really thinking about how your decisions will affect your life.

This post reminded us of the book we reviewed her a few months back, The Real Cost of Living. Both underline that many of the choice you make in your lives will have a major impact, either personally or financially, often both.

Hamm discusses how in his younger years, he let impulse drive his decisions without consider how it would affect his future. Because of this, he ended up in a very bad place financial and unprepared for many of the roles he ended up playing in his life (like parenthood).

However, he made the decision to live “a mindful life,” where he made decisions after considering how the decision would affect his life. Doing this helped him to live a more fulfilling and success life, both personally and financially. Hamm says: “The biggest change that I’ve made in my life over the last several years is to simply start thinking about all of the little actions I take.”

Going back to The Real Cost of Living, you will often find that when you really think about the decisions you make everyday and consider the pros and cons, you will often find that the outcome is just not worth it. Even if it seems like something you should do based on your lifestyle, be mindful of all the consequences as well as the positives before acting and you’ll be more successful.

 

• Disclaimer: The information on this blog is not meant for specific financial advice. The ideas/opinions stated are not suited for everyone, and readers should use their own judgment in applying them in their financial lives.