Hope for your financial life and beyond

What Ritz Crackers ‘n Cheese Dip Taught Me About Breaking Routines

January 31, 2014 by 25 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #26 - “And Elisha prayed, and said, ‘Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.’ Then the Lord opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw.” - II Kings 6:17

Ritz 1I have a guilty snack pleasure confession to make. I love Kraft Handi-Snacks Ritz Crackers ‘n Cheese Dip. Four crackers…compartment of processed cheese…sealed together in perfect harmony. Simply pull the plastic tab off the top and enjoy the yummy cheese ‘n cracker goodness. And only 100 calories to boot.

I’ve loved these all my life despite one annoying feature about the product…the little red stick. The 2” red stick has never worked for me. My irritation revolves around two things: cheese distribution and cracker stability.

First off, if you want the same amount of cheese on all the crackers you have to control how much cheese is spread onto each cracker. The stick makes this difficult. I usually end up putting too much cheese on the first cracker and then having none left for the last one.

The stick is also renowned for breaking the cracker in half, unless you hold it daintily with your pinky up like you are sipping a cup of tea. The cracker must be laid out on a completely flat surface or there is a greater than average chance the cracker splits when the stick spreads on the cheese glob. Don’t try to hold the cracker in the palm of your hand or between your thumb and index finger either. Neither of those methods solves the soft cracker vs. hard stick problem.

Clearly I have issues.

I’ve put up with that red stick for 25+ years, resigned to the fact I have to use it. That all changed recently, when I had a Handi-Snacks revelation.

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Random Fun Tagged With: , ,

Why Does Toys R Us Want My Phone Number?

January 30, 2014 by 18 Comments

No“Your phone number?”
“No, thank you.”

“And your zip code please?”
“No, thanks.”

“Can I get your email to complete the transaction?”
“No.”

“And would you like to save an extra 5% today by signing up…”
“No…GAAAAWWWW, can I just give you my money and go home!?”

I don’t ever say the last one…out loud. But at the checkout line, I’m usually thinking it and feeling just like this screen shot of David Tennant from Doctor Who.

Is it just me, or is it getting harder and harder to complete a simple transaction anymore? Why can’t I just pay and leave with my stuff? Why does Party City want my zip code? My email I get…they just want me for their mailing list…but my zip code? And what’s up with asking for my phone number? Toys R Us does that ALL…THE…TIME.

Am I just being too sensitive? Maybe I’m turning into a cranky old curmudgeon. “Hey kids, get off my lawn.”

Turns out, stores can learn quite a bit by the extra piece of information that you volunteer at the checkout line. I’ll admit — my initial motivation for not giving this information was just to get out the door faster, but now that I’ve read about it, I’m not going to be giving personal information at all anymore.

Why Stores Want Your Personal Information

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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: , , , ,

When a Snowfall Brings Panic, Excitement and Pressure

January 29, 2014 by 19 Comments
Atlanta traffic in snow II

Downtown Atlanta Tuesday Afternoon

You may have heard a fairly substantial snowfall swept through the southeast Tuesday dropping anywhere from 1-3 inches of snow in greater Atlanta where I live. For those of you living in a mountain region in the west or north of the Mason-Dixon line in the east it’s OK to scoff. I grew up in Ohio so I know a major snowstorm when I see one.

This wasn’t it.

Except for Southerners it is. We simply don’t have the equipment to deal with the road conditions as they deteriorate.

Few salt trucks.

Fewer snowplows.

Still fewer drivers with experience in snowy road conditions.

This storm left many motorists stranded and children stuck at school throughout the night. Many roadways are still a parking lot this morning, as ice developed overnight in the below 20 degree weather.

There is a wide range of emotions produced on a days like this. I’ve noticed that which one people express depends on their situation and who they are. Furthermore, and more importantly, how people deal with the situation and handle their emotions may influence how they view the outcome of the entire day.

Emotion 1: Panic

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Filed Under: Current Events, Planning Tagged With: , , ,

Grappling With the “Should I Retire Early?” Question

January 27, 2014 by 40 Comments

Old couple on beach61? 65? 73? No, I’m not referring to home run records set during various Major League Baseball seasons by Roger Maris (1961), Mark McGwire (1999) and Barry Bonds (2001) respectively. Those numbers represent ages - ages people may be looking at to mark the end of their career and the beginning of their retirement. In fact, we could also put in numbers like 55, 50 or even younger as many look to create enough wealth to retire early.

Clearly a person can retire at any age they choose. However, to receive full benefits from the Social Security Agency will require a person to work until a certain age based on when they were born. For example, I was born after 1960, so full retirement age for me isn’t until age 67 according to the Social Security website.

Like all other age brackets, I could begin to receive benefits as early as age 62. However, those benefits would come to me at a reduced rate. The calculation used by Social Security is based on the number of months once I retire until full retirement age is reached. In my case that would be 60 months if I retired at age 62.

Retiring early at age 62 sounds great but would really cost me. I would turn a potential $1,000 benefit into only $700, a 30% reduction. Ouch! (Social Security has a great chart here showing all the ages and reduction percentages.)

So how can you decide when to retire? Here are some questions to consider - three in each category related to career, finances and lifestyle.

Retirement Career Questions

Do I enjoy my job?

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Filed Under: Retirement Tagged With: , , , ,

Providing For Your Own Is Always Right

January 24, 2014 by 18 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #25 - “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” - I Timothy 5:8

Let it go

Let it go

I was saddened the other day when I went to visit the site of a personal finance blogger I had begun to read and saw that as of December 31st he had discontinued writing. I wouldn’t say we were close blogging friends or anything but he had commented here and I had commented at his site. Plus we were social on Twitter, so I guess that counts for some connection, right?

He left a really nice closing letter explaining why he was going on an indefinite blogging hiatus. That’s a really nice touch. Nothing says “I don’t care” to your readers like suddenly disappearing into thin air without leaving so much as a whisper as to why.

His reason for stopping - personal issues.

Blogging has become an integral part of my life. I have loved connecting with people online, sharing my story and hearing theirs. Outside of my family and faith, nothing is giving me as much pleasure right now as building this site and being social with people online.

But if I came across some personal issues or my family needed more of me for some reason, I would gladly give it up.

Well…reluctantly…sadly…but gladly.

So I say “Kudos” to my colleague for being responsible and recognizing what held more value.

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Filed Under: Blogging, Hidden Nuggets Series, Relationships Tagged With: , , , ,

Planning to Ignore the Obamacare Mandate? Here’s What You Need to Know

January 23, 2014 by 19 Comments

The following is a guest post by Carter Smith from PrivateQuote.com.

tax on backTo paraphrase Shakespeare, a tax by any other name would still smell as vile. But the Obamacare tax, otherwise known as the “individual mandate,” may be an exception. While I am not suggesting that you avoid the tax, it is clear that many people intend to do just that. A recent Gallup poll found that 34% of Americans intend to thumb their noses come tax time instead of holding them.

This article will provide facts (not rumors) about what the mandate is, how much it can cost you, how the IRS may or may not enforce it, and how to protect yourself should you choose not to comply.

How the Mandate Works and What It Could Cost You

Make no mistake, the individual mandate is a tax disguised as a penalty. The Supreme Court said as much when it ruled the mandate constitutional. It is designed to force reluctant taxpayers to purchase health insurance through the problem-plagued exchanges if they are not covered by their employers.

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Filed Under: Insurance, Taxes Tagged With: , ,

Why I Value the Advantages of a Debit Card

January 22, 2014 by 23 Comments

transaction machineDebit or credit?

It’s a passionate debate in the personal finance world as to which type of card people are better served carrying.

I’m of the mind that both can be used responsibly to assist people with their money management and achieve their financial goals. The key word in that last sentence though was “responsibly” and of these two options, credit cards are by far the tool with the most potential for spending abuse.

I was one of those who succumbed to that potential for abuse. Consequently, my wife and I closed all our credit card accounts years ago and moved strictly to cash and debit cards. That little decision did more to change our spending habits and boost our success with money than anything else.

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Filed Under: Debt, Saving, Spending Tagged With: , , ,

How I Come Up With Blog Post Ideas

January 20, 2014 by 41 Comments

ID-100140261Have you ever struggled coming up with content for your blog posts? Whether or not you are a beginner or a seasoned professional, my guess is there have been times when ideas to write about were hard to come by and you suffered from the dreaded writer’s block. When this happens it can be very discouraging and stressful.

I experienced this early in my blogging career. It was as though everyone else had posts to publish day after day and my well had already run dry. Nothing was flowing and I felt my blog was in danger of getting shut down before it even really got started.

So what did I do?

For starters, I didn’t panic. Whenever you start something new it takes the mind some time to adjust to the newness of that thing and begin thinking along those lines. Blogging is no different. Eventually the mind will adapt itself to the concept that you are now a writer and that it needs to be thinking about writing topics - not who’s going to be voted off the island this week on Survivor.

The second thing that I did was pretty dramatic and literally changed the direction of my blog. From then on, and with a few other things I’ve learned along the way, I’ve had little problem coming up with ideas to write about.

Expand Your Horizon

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Filed Under: Blogging Tagged With: , ,

Feed Your Pleasures and Break the Bank

January 17, 2014 by 10 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #24 - “He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.” - Proverbs 21:17

ID-10035317I’ll bet they really knew how to throw a party in King Solomon’s day.

His reign ushered in the peak of ancient Israel’s wealth and prosperity. Buoyed by the successful reign of his father King David and endowed with special wisdom from God, Solomon’s kingdom produced so much wealth, the Bible has this to say about it in I Kings 10:27:

“The king made silver as common as stones in Jerusalem…”

How’s that for wealthy? And everyone, rich and poor, was able to benefit.

The rising tide lifted all boats.

So you can see why I think parties were commonplace, especially at the palace. At the minimum they lived in extreme opulence. We know Solomon’s throne was made of gold and overlaid with ivory. That’s pretty sweet.

With all this wealth at his fingertips Solomon could pleasure himself with anything he wanted.

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Spending, Vices Tagged With: , , ,

My January Fuss-a-Thon at Business Owners Has Begun

January 16, 2014 by 9 Comments
Form_1099-Misc_2013

Download this form at IRS.gov

2014 has begun, and for me, and most other accountants, that means the start of busy season. This is because we are assisting our business clients with year-end issues – and sometimes “assisting” turns to “fussing at”. With a smile, of course.

So, what do I need to fuss about the most? Here are two things (out of many) that an accountant wants you to know and do regarding year-end business issues.

1099s

What I am referring to here is Form 1099-MISC. This form is an information return that you as the business owner are required to give to certain vendors. The rules change from year to year, but for now, here’s who gets one:

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Filed Under: Taxes Tagged With: , , , ,

This One Stock Chart Could Make or Break You Over the Next 20 Years

January 15, 2014 by 22 Comments
ID-1008905

Wall Street

My investment plan is pretty simple - invest in retirement and non-retirement stock and bond mutual funds and sprinkle in a little real estate investing along the way. I invest for the long-term and don’t pull money out of the market at the first sign (or really any sign) of a downtrend. Instead, I continue to invest monthly during a downturn to pick up more shares of stock at lower prices.

Because this is my philosophy, I don’t pay attention to the day-to-day fluctuations of the market. I quit listening to CNBC and other financial news programs years ago. While some of the programming was tolerable, they are news organizations, interested in ratings and what’s happening with the markets in the short-term. The majority of the opinions I heard on any given day about the state of the markets and what I should be doing accordingly, didn’t jive with my long-term investment strategy.

One aspect of investing that has always intrigued me though is the stock chart. When these pop up on the news channels or I see one online (like I did yesterday) I often take notice.

Short-Term Market Charts

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Filed Under: Investing Tagged With: , , ,
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