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Beat The Odds and Save Money by Doing It Yourself

03.26.2011 by Matt Jabs //

So… we’re inundated with many thousands of advertisements every day.  Almost everywhere we go and everything we do involves ads… and it’s really hard to get away from it.

Here are just a few of the ads you will experience today:

  • Television ads in your living room.
  • Radio and billboard ads while driving.
  • Website ads while browsing the Internet.
  • Mobile ads while using your phone.

Alongside all these ads you will also see signage ads everywhere!  Store signs when driving down the road, placemat ads when dining out, packaging ads when shopping for anything, etc., etc., etc.

Despite what we may like to believe… these ads strongly effect not only the way we shop, but also the way we think!  Think about it… If this were not true, marketing would not be a multi-billion dollar industry.

Buying solutions

Let’s assume you want to start your own seeds for your garden this year.  How would you go about it?  What would be the first step you would take in finding a solution that delivers the results you’re looking for?  Chances are you would go to your local hardware and/or lawn and garden center looking to purchase a seed starting solution – and I’m sure you would find something that would help you start seeds.

But did you ever think to make your own solution using free and/or scrap materials?

The truth is, unless we force ourselves to think of creative solutions, we will always end up at the store paying more for a solution someone else created and marketed to us!

Creating solutions

If you haven’t already picked up on this, I like to stick-it-to-the-man whenever possible.  Sometimes that’s a blessing and other times it’s a curse!

Don’t worry… in this example it’s a blessing.  🙂

Consider the following seed starting solution that uses free materials found around the house or somewhere close by.

  • 3 bales of straw
  • 1 piece of plexiglass
  • Dirt

Arrange the 2 bales of straw horizontally against the south wall of your home.  Arrange the 3rd bale parallel to your home at the far end of the other bales creating a box.  Fill the box with dirt (only up to the foundation, do not pile dirt against your siding.)  Plant your seeds.  Put the plexiglass over the box.

You have just created a greenhouse to start your seeds in… for free.  Water it several times each day and enjoy the proceeds.

The challenge

The point is… stop automatically thinking you need to buy consumer solutions and force yourself to think creatively about alternative DIY solutions that save you money.

Next time you think you need to buy something I challenge you to think of how you can do it yourself.  Make sure to let us know what you did in the comments.  🙂

Here, I’ll start.  Instead of buying “stoppers” to go behind the tires of our pop-up camper I used pieces of wood instead.

For more reading on this topic I suggest the book Early Retirement Extreme by my friend Jacob Lund Fisker.

Other solid personal finance articles

  • One More Year Before Comfort
  • Do You Need a Financial Advisor?
  • 10 Ways To Make Money Writing Online – If you have read many articles on the internet in the last few years, then you may have heard this phrase: “Content is king.” With such demand for content, it logically follows that writers would be in demand as well!
  • Interactive Brokers Discount Brokerage Review
  • Finding Health Insurance When You Are Self-Employed
  • Market Corrections: Do You Buy, Sell or Ignore? (I ignore!)
  • How Much Control Should The Government Have? (I say Less!)
  • What Happens If Your Broker Goes Out of Business? – Ever wonder what happens if your stock broker fails? Well, here’s the answer.
  • How to Become An Independent Contractor – If you’re having trouble finding work, you can actually launch your own business by becoming an independent contractor and find work faster – here’s how and why.
  • What You Need to Know About the Standard Tax Deduction
  • When Should I Take Social Security Benefits?
  • Extension to File Taxes vs. Amended Tax Return
  • Amazon Mom Review – Free Amazon Prime As Well As Discounts
  • How to Save Money with Your Mortgage
  • How to Lower Your Mortgage Payments – There are three good ways to lower your mortgage – refinance, challenge your taxes, or reduce your insurance expenses.
  • How Much Money Do You Have to Make to File a Tax Return? – Do you really have to file taxes if your income is low?
  • Nuances of Completing Your College Savings Application Correctly – Here’s the steps you need to know to fill out your college savings application correctly.

Categories // Money Management, Rally, Simplify Tags // DIY, Rally, Reduce Expenses

Free Tool To Help Eliminate Credit Card Debt

03.12.2011 by Matt Jabs //

About a year ago I began investing in peer to peer lending loans via Lending Club.  My NAR (net annualized return) was around 11% until I let a defaulted loan slip by unmonitored.  Even with the default my current NAR stands at 8.3%, which is still a solid ROI in today’s economy.

After having the default lower my NAR I now carefully watch the loans I invest in and am quick to offer them up on the secondary trading platform if the borrower looks like they’re getting into financial trouble.  I have successfully dumped 2 other troubled loans, reclaiming about 80% of the value as opposed to losing the entire amount.  All in all, I highly recommend investing through Lending Club.  If you’d like more info on this, read my Lending Club review.

That brings me to todays tip for readers… if you’re trying to get out of credit card debt I recommend checking out Ready For Zero.  It is not a debt settlement company but rather a free service that helps people eliminate credit card debt.  The reason I’m mentioning their service in tandem with my Lending Club investments is because Lending Club uses ReadyForZero to verify the credit card debt of loan applicants.  After reading about it I thought I’d mention here in hopes that it may benefit someone.

From the Ready For Zero site:

“Are you ready to get out of credit card debt? ReadyForZero is a free online financial tool that lets you track your credit card debt, explore options, and make and follow a plan to eliminate it. This is a gimmick-free program, not a debt settlement or similar service.”

If you end up signing up and using it… be sure to share your experience in the comments.

From other great PF blogs

  • My Debt Story, Our Debt Story – A new blog started by a good friend of mine (I love promoting solid new blogs.)
  • Different Types Of Canadian Financial Advisors – Which Is Right For You?
  • Planning for Uneven Retirement Spending
  • This is Why You Can’t Make Money in the Stock Market
  • Increasing Our Extra Mortgage Payments
  • Guide For Life After College
  • 7 Proven Credit Builders
  • The P’s of Evaluating a Financial Advisor
  • Where to Keep Your Emergency Fund – Nowadays there are not as many options as in the past for safe investments with moderate returns. But here are a few safe places to create your “rainy day” fund.
  • How to File an Amended Tax Return
  • When Do You Need to Buy Long Term Care Insurance?
  • Mortgage Applications Rise Even As Rates Inch Up. Is It Time To Buy Or Refinance?
  • Best House Selling Tips
  • 10 Best Home Based Businesses
  • When is it Best to Itemize Your Taxes?
  • How to Negotiate Your Medical and Dental Bills – Tips from an insider for saving money on your medical and dental bills.
  • What To Do with Your Tax Refund. Ideas for responsibly using your tax refund.

Categories // Debt, Rally Tags // credit cards, free, Lending Club, Rally

Rediscover Your Dollar Store Link Rally

03.06.2011 by Matt Jabs //

In the midst of all of the advertising we’re bombarded with on a daily basis it’s easy to let the ads do our thinking for us… I just did it the other day.

I needed envelopes and instead of thinking where I could get the best deal, I just ran out to Staples where I picked up a 125 pack of security envelopes for about $13 after tax.  I thought the price was about double what it should be but needed the envelopes and figured I just had to bite the bullet… so I did.

The next day Betsy made me stop at the dollar store for something she needed and guess what I saw… security envelopes… for a dollar.  There were only 40 in a pack, but that’s still 4x cheaper than Staples, for the same product.  Why so much cheaper?  It’s thanks to all that advertising that made me think of Staples before the Dollar Store!

Luckily I hadn’t busted into the pack of envelopes from Staples yet, so I purchased the Dollar Store envelopes and plan to return the envelopes to Staples next time I’m out running errands.

Moral of the story?  We can’t forget to rediscover our Dollar Stores, and to cut through all the advertising and think for ourselves!

From other great PF blogs

  • Happily Ever After: Money Matters You MUST Discuss Before Marriage
  • Home Equity Loan vs. a Hone Equity Line of Credit.
  • What A Financial Advisor Can And Cannot Do For You
  • Picking Mutual Funds: Don’t Just Look at the Winners
  • The Mortgage Tax Deduction Myth
  • 8 Reasons To Use Your Credit Card
  • How to unlock your Ontario LIRA or locked-in retirement account
  • How To Teach Kids About Money And Get Results
  • How to Start a Business with No Money | Want it Bad Enough?
  • Zions Bank Review
  • Education Tax Credits Can Help Pay For College Costs
  • Save Money By Joining a CSA
  • Spousal Benefits and Social Security Strategies for Married Couples – When it comes to Social Security benefits for a married couple, choosing the right strategy matters.
  • The Best Airline Miles Credit Cards
  • Why Chasing Bank Interest Rates is a Waste
  • Do You Really Want to be Your Own Boss?
  • Don’t Chase High Dividend Stocks
  • The Case for Automating your Finances

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