Mighty Bargain Hunter

Welcome to the Carnival of Debt Reduction

Thanks for visiting!  Here are this week’s debt-reduction related posts:

• Steadfast Finances runs through several thought-provoking quotes on debt and paying interest.
• Debt Eagle show how to do debt settlement yourself.
• Silicon Valley Blogger warns about refund anticipation loans.
• The Smarter Wallet discusses the Dave Ramsey cash-only diet.
• Do You Dave Ramsey? does the emergency fund baby step.
• Ask Mr. Credit Card shows how to use credit cards for a debt repayment plan.

Thanks!  If you have debt-reduction related questions (or any other money questions, for that matter!) ask them over at Cash Commons.

Have a great week!

Posted in Carnivals, Debt Reduction | 3 Comments »

I’m jealous how well Lowe’s treated my wife

Lowe’s puts out scratch-and-dent appliances regularly.  These are display models, appliances that got slightly damaged by a forklift, or customer returns.  They’ll knock down the price for someone who doesn’t mind a little blemish on the appliance, or one that’s slightly used.

We’ve gotten a few good deals with scratch and dent appliances, but for me the shopping experience hasn’t been the same kind as shopping for a brand-new (i.e., full price) unit.  The units are taken as-is, where-is, with no reservations, and the employees on occasion haven’t been that willing to answer a lot of questions about the items.  (Not that they should, I suppose.)

Well, my wife really hit the jackpot with one last week, and they took really good care of her.  Our new house’s refrigerator/freezer is a side-by-side unit, and has less space than the one in our old house, which had the freezer compartment at the top.  We looked for another on Craigslist, but weren’t having much good fortune, so we decided to get a new one, figuring that in the long run the operation costs of a more modern unit would justify the extra cost up-front.

Off to Lowe’s she went.  She found a scratch-and-dent unit (18 cubic ft.) that originally was $499.  The “scratch” was literally that: a tiny scratch on the back bottom of the right side of the unit.  For this, they knocked off $100.  But wait!  There’s more.  She was able to use a 10% off coupon with this item.  Down to $359.  But that’s not all!  They had a deal running with free delivery on appliances.  She got free delivery.  The next day.

Yeah, Lowe’s treated her pretty well.

Posted in Deals and Steals, Shopping | No Comments »

Four budgets you absolutely have to make

A couple of days ago I went to a one-day financial planning class.  I got a few nuggets out of the class and I’ll share one with you here.

The instructor spent a few minutes on creating a working budget.  This part was pretty standard.  If you don’t have Quicken fired up, then

• Take a standard list of common spending categories,
• Gather up a month’s bank statements and pay stubs, and
• Categorize the month’s expenses.

This produces a good starting point for a working budget.  But that’s just one of the budgets he recommended drawing up.

He recommended four separate budgets which cover the present, a couple of what-if’s, and the future.  Here they are:

1. The current budget. This is the one that is based (largely) on current expenses, with a tweak or two for spending categories that you know may be too high or too low.
2. The dead-spouse budget. What if my wife died unexpectedly?  How would the spending categories change?  For starters, I’d need to consider day care for my daughter or some other arrangement.  My time commitments would certainly shift around a lot, and that would affect how much time I could spend doing other things to make money outside of my job.  Could I do the things she does now, or would I have to pay someone to do them for me?  More budgetary considerations.
3. The dead-me budget. What if I died unexpectedly?  My income would go to zero.  What would that mean for my family?  How would they manage without my paycheck?  Have I put in place enough other resources so that they can do what they need (and want) to do?  These questions give rise to a whole new set of numbers.
4. The retirement budget. What if I quit my day job?  What other benefits that are tied to my job stay, and what ones go away?  Do the income streams that remain add up to a comfortable existence?  This budget is another whole set of numbers.

What is the purpose of making these budgets?  The main purpose, for me, would be to put the spotlight on holes in my current budget. Take away my paycheck, and what’s left?  Take away my wife’s good works, and what slack do I have to assume?

Do the numbers still work? If they don’t, then I have work to do so that they do work.

Posted in Budgeting | 4 Comments »

Money Hacks Carnival: Middle Name Pride Day Edition

Happy Middle Name Pride Day, everyone!  There seems to be a bit of inconsistency as to what the proper day to celebrate MNPD is – Holiday Insights says that it’s “always March 10th” whereas the Wikipedia article says it’s on the Friday of the first full week of March as one of a number of festive days of Celebrate Your Name Week.

But no matter.  In the spirit of Middle Name Pride Day, whether on time or two days early, I will reveal my middle name to (hopefully) at least three people who don’t know it already.  I’ll also share some tweets from some followers who gave their take on their middle names.

Here are the submitted posts for this week’s Money Hacks Carnival!

My picks for this carnival:

• Darwin’s Finance runs down 401(k) loan rules and discusses the pros and cons.
• PT Money describes how credit card numbers are generated.  (Very interesting!)
• Balance Junkie relates financial literacy to green eggs and ham.  (Thank you!  Thank you, impressed-I-am.)
• ABCs of Investing explains in detail how to convert to a Roth IRA.
• My Dollar Plan runs down three tax deductions to help the unemployed.

@EverydayFinance mine’s “whatchoo talkin ’bout Willis”. I was mocked relentlessly as a kid but now I can laugh about it.

@thefrugallawyer Middle name is Starr. It was supposed to be my first name but wasn’t a good Christian name, so it went to the middle.

@centsiblelife middle name:Liann. Named after a cousin and the first syl. is both a repeat from my 1st name+ my Dad’s name.

@The_Weakonomist my middle name is “the”

• Live Frugally or Die Broke keeps a keen eye on #1: paying yourself first.
• Wench Wisdom quotes Prudent Bear on the disincentive to save.
• Rabbit Funds hops on an interview with the founder of MoneyDesktop.com.
• Dividends Value lists 18 stocks that are raising their dividend yield on cost.
• Free Family Finance reports a late-breaking story on politicians getting a fiscal clue.  (I can’t believe it myself, but you be the judge.)
• Green Sherpa suggests asking for directions if you’ve lost your financial way.
• Money Help for Christians explains the tax implications of Roth IRAs vs traditional IRAs.
• Good Financial Cents goes through how to make quarterly estimated tax payments.
• Consumer Boomer asks: “How much retirement income should you withdraw?”
• Provident Plan outlines how to create a budget and stick to it.
• Studenomics runs down some favorite time management tips.
• Wealth Pilgrim explains how to regain your mojo.
• Canadian Finance Blog has ten tips for going green and saving money.
• Money Ning suggests that investing in physical gold can cost you.
• Dough Roller lists credit cards that you can transfer balances at zero percent for a year.  (They do still exist, apparently!)
• Personal Finance Playbook explains effective yield.
• Steadfast Finances comments on investor psychology and losing out on profits.
• Stumble Forward reveals a scam.
• Len Penzo warns that fees can erode your savings account returns.
• Live Real Now has a February 30-day project.  (He can put two extra days in the month if he wants; it’s his blog!)

My middle name is Burnett.  It was my grandfather’s first name, and I carry it proudly.

Have a great rest of the week!

Posted in Carnivals | 4 Comments »