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Sound Money Advice for You & Michael Jackson’s Kids – DFA Tip of the Week

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Michael Jackson's Orange Zipper Jacket

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” Luke 19:17

There are many small ways to reduce costs in our every day lives, so to help do just that each week I post a money saving “Tip of the Week”.

This weeks tip involves…ways to boost your savings!

The King of Fads

Back in the 80’s Michael Jackson was not only The King of Pop — he was also The King of Fads.

If a company could get MJ to endorse their product, it would instantly blast off into the realm of over-night success.  Just consider for a moment his orange jacket with 100 zippers pictured.  What kid growing up in the 80’s didn’t have, or at least desparately want one of those?  Where they a necessity?  Was it practical?  Absolutely not… but it was “cool” and that is a testament to the power & influence of the infamous King of Pop!

A lot of fads come & go be it clothing, housewares, automobiles… there is always some new & exciting product that advertisers & culture dictate as “must haves”!  If you pay attention to these trends you will see that all of them come & go with the passing of time.  Most of them don’t even last an entire season… rushing into our lives, then fleeting away just like the passing of another day.

Today I wanted to offer up some tips that will NEVER go out of style! These are sound money tips that can be employed by you, or by Michael Jackson’s kids.  It doesn’t matter who you are or how much money you have, you still need to manage it wisely.

Instead of spending your money on the latest fads & trends, inventory your stuff to see what you already own then make it useful or give it to charity & write it off on your taxes.  Then take all the money you save by not buying loads of new toys, clothes, household items, etc… and establish an automated plan to save your money.  Focus on saving percentages of your money.  Even if you can only save 1%, then save that 1%.  Then establish progressive goals to save progressively higher percentages as time goes by.  It doesn’t matter if you are saving $5 a month, or $500,000 a month — just save whatever you can.  Trust me… you will never miss the difference!

My wife & I use Capital One 360 for our banking needs, which I highly recommend.  Capital One 360 has an awesome feature called their “Automatic Savings Plan” that allows you to automate your savings in whatever way you wish.  We are currently saving 5% of our money, but have progressive goals in place to increase that over time as we pay off more debt & inch closer & closer to financial freedom & independence!

So What’s The Answer?

mj4

Here are my tips for boosting your savings:

  1. Spend less than you earn! Michael Jackson’s kids are being left with a legacy and rumor has it, not a whole lot more.  Just like the rest of us, they need to learn how to properly manage their finances, and save their money!  Remember… no matter how much dough you have, you can only make so many cookies!
  2. Now matter how “little” it is… just make sure you save something every month! As I mentioned above, don’t worry about how much your are saving… just start saving.  You will be amazed how fast it adds up and how you will never even notice that small percentage of money no longer funding your bad spending habits!
  3. Set savings goals! Create both short-term & long-term savings goals… that way you know where you are heading, what you are trying to accomplish, & can receive encouragement as you reach your smaller goals enroute to your more long-term goals.  A few of my long-term goals include reaching $100,000 saved, and also saving 50% or more of my income.
  4. Automate your savings! Take the amount you decided on in tip #2 and set up a plan to automatically save that money every month.  The best advice I can give you is to set it up in some automatic format, so you do not have to think about doing it every month.  See if your bank offers an automated savings plan.  If they do not, consider opening an Capital One 360 savings account which allows for automatic & easy money distribution.  Remember… just set it & forget it.
  5. If nothing else – hide it well! If you’re one of those people who just wants to hide their money… just make sure you hide your money in a safe place.

Remember… saving your money never goes out of style!

Whether you are the ever-famous children of the late Michael Jackson, or if you are just a regular Joe… saving your money is something that will be fashionable until the end of time!

Click here to see all our past DFA Tips of the Week.

DFA is passionately dedicated to helping people break the bondage of debt & work toward financial freedom using biblical principles.

Downsize and Simplify Your Life – DFA Tip of the Week

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There are many small ways to reduce costs in our every day lives, so to help do just that each week I post the money saving “Tip of the Week”.

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” Luke 19:17

This week’s tip involves…simplifying your life by downsizing your possessions!

A Common Problem

A lot of people are experiencing a steadily increasing amount of stress & discontent related to unquenchable desires and/or a paycheck-to-paycheck type existence.  Many of us have been following the ever-so-common path of college, career, & consumerism – like so many others – only to wind up with a big house, a bunch of debt, and a restless state of mind!  Many times we end up feeling that our lives would be better if we could just get that raise at work!

As an alternative to dwelling on the absence of desired salary increases – over which we have no control – we’re better served to focus on reducing our possessions and lowering our expenses.  It stands to reason that taking charge of what we can change and forgetting about what we cannot are necessary predicates to the increased financial well-being we seek.

Thinning out & streamlining your “stuff” is a great way to start taking charge of your own financial destiny, and will likely yield any or all of the following benefits:

  • Reduced clutter
  • Reduced stress
  • Reduces expenses
  • A smile on your face
  • A little extra money on the side
  • A jump start to your very own Debt Free Adventure!

When is the last time you took an inventory of the items in & around your home to decide whether or not you actually need, use, or even want them?  Chances are, if you did take a home inventory, the amount of unnecessary stuff you have would blow your mind!

Normally an overabundance of useless possessions exists in direct correlation to an empty savings account & financial instability.

So What’s The Answer?

Go through every room of your home with a pen & pad of paper and ask yourself these questions:

  • Do you need it? Need…not want.
  • Do you use it? If you have not use the item with the last year or two, you can safely rid yourself of its burden.
  • Do you believe in it? Your belief system may have changed since you originally saddled yourself with it.
  • Does it do more harm than good? Making positive choices can be awesome turning points in our lives, be it financial, physical, or spiritual.
  • Do you even want it anymore? Past purchases made in haste often lose their luster after just a short while.  This is a common reality and just one example of the empty promises of rampant consumerism.

Make sure you do not limit this philosophy to your possessions alone; you can also successfully apply these questions toward your habits & services used.  You may decide to sell your DVD collection, quit a bad habit, cancel your TV service, install a rain barrel or may decide to do all four!

Remember that you do not need to do everything all at once.  This exercise can be something you do over the course of one week, or something you do over the course of one year!  My wife & have been actively taking inventory of our behaviors & belongings since the beginning of 2009, and intend to do so continually for the rest of our lives.  Slowly but surely this practice of downsizing and simplifying our lives is yielding great results, both expected and unexpected.  This weekend we found several items that we either never use, no longer enjoy, and/or no longer believe to be beneficial to our lives…so we’re selling them on eBay!

What about you??

Click here to see all our past DFA Tips of the Week.

DFA is passionately dedicated to helping others break the bondage of debt using biblical principles.

Lower Electricity Costs by Reducing Standby Power – DFA Tip of the Week – 5/18/2009

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There are many ways to reduce costs in our every day lives, so to help do just that each Monday (or maybe later in the week) I will post a money saving “Tip of the Week”.

“And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.”  – Luke 19:17

This weeks tip involves…reducing your electricity bill by turning off certain breakers.

The Problem

I’m sure you’ve heard it before…your cell phone charger (and/or other electronic devices) hog power even when not in use.

Standby power (aka vampire power, phantom load, low power mode, or leaking electricity) – energy consumed by devices when they’re plugged in but not in use – costs the average American household between $200 – $300 a year and typically accounts for 5 – 10% of total residential electric consumption.

Today I will show you my action plan to reduce this problem in my home.

Here are examples of devices in your home that drain standby power as long as they are plugged into a live power source:

  • Satellite DVR boxes
  • Notebook (laptop) computers
  • Home audio systems
  • Televisions (especially rear projection)
  • DVD players
  • Microwave ovens
  • Cell phone chargers
  • Night lights – most people leave them plugged in & running 24/7/365
  • Alarm clocks – electric ones of course

One common solution you will hear is to install power strips in areas with many electronic devices – such as your entertainment center or office desk.  I have a easier, quicker, & cheaper solution!

So What’s The Answer?

To reduce the consumption of standby power in our home, without paying for a bunch of power strips, I looked no further than our home breaker box.

First I strategically marked any breaker not requiring a live power connection during the course of a normal day with blue tape, then added a quick & simple step to my daily routine.  Every morning before leaving for work I head down to the basement and flip any breakers marked with the blue tape.  When I get home, I head back down to the basement and flip the breakers back to their live position.

I made sure not to include breakers connected to necessary appliances such as my refrigerator, freezer, and range oven (because I don’t like resetting its digital clock every day).

Some may find this information incredibly useful while others may deem it a waste of time.  To the latter I remind you that every penny counts and the more areas you cut costs, the quicker you reduce your debt, and the quicker you’re able to reach financial freedom.  I have been employing this tip for some time now and find the implementation into my daily routine was adopted with nearly zero inconvenience.  The most time consuming part of the entire exercise is deciphering which breakers you can flip and which you must leave powered on.

On that note let me tell you why we leave some on:

  • Garage – because we didn’t leave it on at first then came home in a rain storm and couldn’t open the garage door!
  • Sump – do I really need to explain this one?  Okay, I will…we don’t want to come home to a flooded basement.
  • Furnace – I’m still debating whether or not I could turn this off.  Right now I am doing so in the summer, but not in the winter.
  • Basement – because we need light in the basement in order to turn the breakers on & off.
  • Family room, kitchen lights, master bedroom, microwave, and range (as mentioned above) are all left on because they have digital clocks that I got sick of resetting every day.  This sort of defeats the purpose, so after writing this post I’m recommitting myself to turning these off, then just resetting the clocks.  I’ll probably just never reset certain clocks, like on the range since there is a battery operated wall clock right next to it.

What do you think?  Is this something you would implement into your life to save a few hundred bucks a year?  Before you answer, let me leave you with this famous yet brilliantly simple quote:

“A penny saved is a penny earned!”

– Benjamin Franklin

Click here to see all our past DFA Tips of the Week.

DFA is passionately dedicated to helping others break the bondage of debt using biblical principles.