Personal Finance News Saturday 6/22

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Smart Ways to Clear Clutter and Streamline Your Life

Real Simple readers share inspired life-organizing ideas.

Donate Household Stuff Weekly

At least once a week I find 10 things I can donate, give to friends, or throw away. I think better when I am not surrounded by clutter. Our whole family relaxes more when we are not in a pile of toys, newspapers, and magazines. It has taught us all to value a few good things rather than acquiring masses of objects that don't enhance our life.
Megan Shachat, Seattle

Next: Follow the Five-Minute Rule

 

 

To read the entire article from Real Simple readers:

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/organizing/clear-clutter-from-your-life-10000001035448/index.html

 

 

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great. -Tom Hanks

 

 

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com.

Personal Finance News Friday 6/21

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

How to Get the Best Deals at Thrift Stores

By Jeffrey Strain, Saving Advice.com

 

While it might be a bit more difficult to score great deals today than a few years ago, that doesn’t mean that the great deals no longer exist. They’re there if you know how to find them. I find that there is a sort of art to scoring great deals while thrift shopping. Here are 10 strategies I use to get the best deals at thrift stores:

Neighborhood Counts

When you go to a thrift shop, one of the biggest mistakes that many people make when looking for great deals is that they go to the closest shop to them. What you really want to do is go to the store which is located nearest those who have the highest income in your area. The reason for this is simple. Those people who donate with higher incomes often donate more expensive items and clothes. While these may eventually make their way to the other stores in the area (stores located in higher income areas often get more donations than they can use and send surplus to other stores that don’t get as many donations, but it is usually items that haven’t been selling on their store, not new items that have just arrived), you have the best chance of scoring a really good deal at the thrift shops located in higher income areas.

Know the Stock Day

Unlike regular stores which constantly restock items on their shelves, thrift stores often only restock a couple of days a week, with one day usually being the main restock day. Knowing this day and getting their early on it gives you the opportunity to look at the newest items on display before anyone else increasing your chances of finding a great deal than if the item had been on the floor for a few days. You can simply ask one of the workers and they will almost always be willing to tell you their restocking schedule.

Return Regularly

If you’re hoping to get good deals, you have to go to the thrift shops on a regular basis. You never know when something great is going to come in. Sometimes great deals arrive weekly while other times nothing good seems to come in for months. Since they don’t carry standard merchandise like regular stores, but simply sell whatever is brought in, it’s important to go consistently if you are to score the best deals. The more consistent you are in going on a regular basis, the better chance you have of being there when that great deal is put out on the floor.

To read the entire article from Jeffrey Strain, Saving Advice.com:
http://www.savingadvice.com/articles/2013/06/18/1015894_how-to-get-the-best-deals-at-thrift-stores.html

Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Failure doesn't mean you are a failure... it just means you haven't succeeded yet. -Robert Schuller


Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com.

Personal Finance News Thursday 6/20

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

I Will Graduate with $100,000 in Loans

By Jennifer Liberto | CNNMoney.com 

When Kelly Mears graduates from Union College in the summer of 2015, she will have $100,000 in student loans.

Armed with a political science degree, Mears will join more than a million Americans who have racked up breathtaking amounts of student debt.

 

Mears is also one of 7 million undergraduates caught in the middle of a debate in Washington over government-subsidized student loans, as interest rates are set to double to 6.8% from 3.4% on July 1.

"It just seems to be a part of the growing American experience to go to school, graduate and work off that debt for the rest of your life," Mears said.

Related: How did this happen?

Super-borrowers with $100,000 of student loan debt aren't the norm. The average student graduates with $27,000 of loan debt.

The New York Fed said those who borrow $100,000 or more are about 3.1% of borrowers nationwide. But it's easy to see how students get there, with four years of private college tuition running $116,000 on average, according to the College Board.

At Union, a small liberal arts school in Schenectady, N.Y., tuition is $58,000 a year, according to its website.

Related: What's at stake

When Mears was ready for college, her parents had just lost their home to foreclosure in Murrieta, Calif. But Mears fell in love with Union College when she started in 2011.

The South California native was attracted by the college's claim that it was affordable, and that it gave out lots of financial help. Mears mistakenly believed that she would qualify for more financial help than she ended up getting.

The school awards more than $60 million in financial aid to students from federal, state and other agencies, as well as from the school's own pockets, said Union College spokeswoman Christen Gowan.


To read the entire article from Jennifer Liberto | CNNMoney.com:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/graduate-100-000-loans-095900983.html


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
If you're not making mistakes, then you're not doing anything. -John Wooden

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com.

Personal Finance News Wednesday 6/19

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

6 Ways to Save Money This Month

By BENJAMIN FELDMAN, Credit.com

We all want to save more money. After all, none of us like the feeling of looking at our bank account (or under our mattress) and realizing that we have no money left and our next paycheck is still a week away. By saving a few dollars here and there, we can get some breathing room in our monthly budgets and hopefully start saving up for future expenses, as well.

This article is for anyone who feels stretched financially. It will give you some ideas on how to save more money each month. Oh, and if you're actually keeping your money under your mattress please go sign up for a bank account! Keeping your money in a federally insured bank account is a whole lot safer than keeping it under your mattress. (You should also have a savings account set up, where you can earn interest as you save.)

Here are the first places you can look to shave some money off your monthly expenses.

To read the entire article from BENJAMIN FELDMAN, Credit.com
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/top-ways-save-money-month/story?id=19431345#


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Every day do something that will inch you closer to a better tomorrow - Doug Firebaugh

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com.

Personal Finance News Tuesday 6/18

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

Story: Reconciling Budget Differences

Scott was a money saver. Tiffany was a weekend spender. How one couple worked through their financial differences.

by Lynne Thompson/Focus on the Family

 

Scott and Tiffany* married at age 23. Scott had just graduated with his Bachelor's degree and starting graduate school, while Tiffany worked full time at an insurance office. Just as it happens to many young couples, it took only a few weeks living under the same roof for them to realize their financial incompatibility.

Here is their story and how they eventually made ends meet.

The problem as newlyweds

Tiffany's perspective: One day Scott called me into the office of our apartment to talk about a budget. I thought a budget was something that involved congress or the president. I had no idea what a personal budget was.

Scott showed me a printout of all of our expenses—everything from gas and groceries to hair cuts and what he called "fun money," which is cash that we could spend as we wished.

"This is how much income we make each month," Scott explained to me. "And each item in the budget shows how we spend it."

I told him that I needed more fun money. $4 a week was nothing.

"Where should it come from?" he asked.

"I don't know, just add it in," I said.

"Budgets don't work that way."

I got frustrated and left the room.


To read the entire article from Lynne Thompson/Focus on the Family:
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechallenges/managing_money/achieving_financial_harmony/story_reconciling_budget_differences.aspx


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
If your ship doesn't come in, swim out to it. - Jonathan Winters


Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com.
 

Personal Finance News Monday 6/17

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

How to Create Your Own Money Roadmap

By Kimberly Palmer | U.S.News & World Report LP

Bart Astor's "aha" moment came as he was listening to author Gail Sheehy give a speech about caring for her ill husband several years ago. Sheehy told the story of a doctor asking, "What are your goals for this stage of life?" That question struck Astor as a profound one, and one that he didn't have an answer to himself.

"Most of us who are 50-plus don't have an answer," Astor says. "I don't think we've thought much about goals since we were asked, 'What do you want to be when you grow up?'" So Astor started asking other people in their 50s and up about their goals, and he started writing about how baby boomers can achieve them. His new book, "Roadmap for the Rest of Your Life," grew out of those discussions. Astor, a writer and eldercare expert, recently spoke with U.S. News and shared these six tips for boomers looking to take control of their lives:

Embrace the opportunities of the boomer generation. Boomers grew up during the economically vibrant post-war years, and many of them had unprecedented access to top-notch education, health care and career options. "Our parents created a new middle class that didn't exist before the 1950s," Astor says. "There are so many effects of being in a generation that was the largest and richest this country has ever seen," he adds.

[Read: 20 Hot Money Moves for Summer.]

Women and minorities also broke new ground. "We really did change the world. ... My wife growing up could be a nurse, teacher or just get married. [Those limits] don't exist anymore," Astor says. Boomers also have more of a chance to reinvent themselves and their careers over the course of their lifetimes, he says, and technology makes it easy to launch a small business or telecommute, for example.

To read the entire article from Kimberly Palmer | U.S.News & World Report LP:http://finance.yahoo.com/news/create-own-money-roadmap-143539819.html


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. -Aristotle

Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com.

Personal Finance News Saturday 6/15

Phil's Personal Finance Tip of the Day:

4 Little-Known Reasons to Keep Your Credit Score High

By Chloe Sorvino | Manilla.com 

You probably know that if your credit score is relatively low, it will make it harder for you to buy a car or get a mortgage. But these days, there are countless other aspects of your life that your three-digit credit score impacts. From job prospects to student loans, find out some more reasons why you’ll want to keep your credit score high.

[More from Manilla.com: Financial Tracking and Budgeting Tips]

1. Applying for a job. Although the law varies by state, U.S. law permits employers to investigate your credit score before deciding whether they want to hire you. While they do need your written consent, you may want to think twice before refusing, which could keep you from getting the job anyway. Why do employers care about your credit history? It varies based on industry. For example, banks and accounting firms often look at credit history because positions in those fields could lead to the opportunity of fraud and embezzlement. They want to see how responsible you are and how good you are with your money. If you have a low score, that may signal that you have trouble being responsible with credit payments, and employers may dub you a risky hire for the company.

[More from Manilla.com: Manilla Mini: 5 Money-Saving Resolutions]

To read the entire article from Chloe Sorvino | Manilla.com:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/4-little-known-reasons-keep-124938067.html


Inspirational Quotes@Inspire_Us from Twitter:
Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. - Robert Collier


Hi my name is Philip J. Miano and I am the founder of PJM Personal Finance and Productivity Coaching specializing in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Bank Reconciliations, Goal Setting, Time Management, and Organizational skills. Please visit my website: http://pjmcoaching.com.