2014 September

My Parents Were Frugal but Sometimes I’m Not

September 29, 2014 by Brian 1 Comment

Today I’m guest posting and commenting at the personal finance site Club Thrifty. Click the link below to find out ways that my spending patterns differ from those of my parents.

By every inch of the definition my parents were thrifty. They shopped for clothes at second hand stores, always bought used cars and could sniff out a sale with the best of them.

They had to be. There wasn’t another option on a social worker’s and private school teacher’s salary. It was live that way so as not to go without…

I’m completely thankful for the example my parents set in regards to the wise use of money. I’ve carried many of those same principles of frugality and budgeting into adulthood, although some like budgeting took me longer to grasp. I haven’t completely followed in their path though and some of the differences sometimes bother me.

Click here to continue reading at Club Thrifty…

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Filed Under: Spending Tagged With: Habits, Spending, Thrifty

The Do’s and Don’ts of Taking Selfies In Our Narcissistic World

September 26, 2014 by Brian 19 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #57 - “Who would form a god or mold an image that profits him nothing?” - Isaiah 44:10

Earlier this year I stumbled across this news report that blew my mind. A student broke the leg off a valuable early 19^th century replica sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera in Milan, Italy. He didn’t accidentally bump into the Drunken Satyr sculpture (like my kids might do), which depicts a follower of Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, passed out in a drunken state. It wasn’t quite that simple.

The reason the leg broke off was because the student was sitting on it…to take a selfie.

What is the world coming to?

We Live in a Selfie World

There is no denying it. We live in a selfie world. The preponderance of people flipping the image-capturing system of their camera 180 degrees to take a picture of themselves by themselves is growing with epic proportions.

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Random Fun Tagged With: Behavior, Narcissism, Rules, Selfies

Pushing Through An Identity Crisis: 31 Straight Days of Writing

September 24, 2014 by Brian 43 Comments

Who am I?

Have you ever dealt with an identity crisis, not sure of who you really are?

Do you wear multiple hats and thus stumble for the right words when people ask, “So, what do you do?”

Did this ever lead to an impasse where you weren’t quite sure how to present yourself?

I’ve been there in every form and fashion since I started writing on this blog over two years ago. At the beginning I still was teaching high school and always felt the blog writing was an add-on to any conversation. When people would ask me “What do you do?” I’d respond by saying I was a teacher and then somewhat sheepishly add how I was writing a personal finance blog on the side.

The first part about teaching people could relate to and was met with the typical follow up questions one might expect when inquiring about someone’s career. The add-on about blogging produced nothing. The statement crash landed.

The experience continued earlier this summer when I began to lead with “I’m now a stay at home dad.” Same results.

It’s hard to convince yourself you are something when nobody sees you that way. All people could see in me was teacher or stay at home dad. They didn’t see personal finance writer.

I’ve come to realize that wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own. You are who you say you are. People will follow your lead and respond accordingly.

Turn Pro In Your Mind

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Filed Under: Blogging, Goals, Inspiration Tagged With: Blogging, Challenge, Discipline, Writing

My Very First Rant: Change Your Mattress Every 5-7 Years?

September 22, 2014 by Brian 60 Comments

What’s this…a rant at Luke1428? Brian doesn’t do this kind of stuff. He’s inspiring and calm with a dry, witty sense of humor thrown in on occasion. Rant-y is not his style.

Except today because I’m all fired up about mattresses of all things. Specifically a commercial I heard run on a local radio spot here in the Atlanta area. I won’t mention the national chains name because a) it’s irrelevant and b) the commercial was actually quite bad in my opinion. (Ever think you could do better as a marketer than the people putting commercials together nowadays?)

This commercial’s action message challenged consumers to replace their mattress every 8 years. I shouted “What?!” out loud when I heard that (and I never do that in the car). Think I actually scared myself…and the driver in the car next to me at the red light.

I thought to myself that there is no way this could possibly be true. Does the mattress industry really suggest that consumers replace their mattress every 8 years? Well, when I got home and started doing some research I realized it’s even worse than that.

Current industry suggestions are that consumers replace their mattress every 5-7 years.

Give me a break!

An Inconsistent Message

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Filed Under: Spending, Travel & Health Tagged With: Commercials, Mattresses, Spending, Travel & Health

Give Up to Go Up: Spending Money For Personal Growth

September 19, 2014 by Brian 8 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #56 - “…Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God…” (Hebrews 11:24-25)

Today and tomorrow I’ll be immersed in all things personal finance as I’m attending a conference in New Orleans known as FinCon. Finance professionals, bloggers and financial news media from around the country will be engaging one another on the current trends in the industry. I probably won’t see the craziness that might happen at an event like Comic Con or Dragon Con but I’m looking forward to it nonetheless.

I’ve read over the past few weeks that some of my colleagues were able to afford the conference trip through travel rewards received from their credit card. I think that’s awesome for them, as they will be getting a nearly free stay in The Big Easy. I’m completely off credit cards though so that option is not available to me.

Once I factor in all the expenses - conference fees for my wife and I, our hotel stay, food and travel expenses from Atlanta - we will spend over $1,000 for this trip. That seems like a lot of money and maybe it actually is for a three-day conference for two.

The more difficult part is that I’ll be missing one of my daughter’s volleyball games and two of my youngest son’s T-ball games. It’s his first season playing so I’m really looking forward to being there for him. Yes, there will be other games but I’m sad at having to miss two of them.

In the end though, shelling out the money and missing family time are all sacrifices I’m willing to make for the trip because this one thing I know…

You have to give up to go up.

Giving Up to Go Up

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Filed Under: Hidden Nuggets Series, Leadership, Spending Tagged With: Leadership, Moses, Sacrifice, Spending

Saving Money Throughout College

September 17, 2014 by Brian 19 Comments

Enjoy this guest post today from my blogging friend Glen at www.howtosavemoney.guru.

As Brian has been talking all things college lately, I thought I would chime in with my own take on how college students can save money.

Avoid borrowing more money than you need

When I was first told that people in the US borrow money to go and live on campus (essentially borrowing to pay rent), I actually couldn’t believe it. Not only that, but my friend (who is from the US) told me that it is common place for students to do this.

I live in Australia, and while there certainly isn’t as many colleges to choose from as there are in the USA, the idea of getting a loan to pay for accommodation close to college just wasn’t an option.

Instead, I decided that I would attend a local college and utilize the public transport system to get to and from my classes. I had to plan my journey to fit within the transport timetable, but I also saved so much money.

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Filed Under: College, Saving Tagged With: College, Saving

The Ups and Downs of My First Month As a Stay at Home Dad

September 15, 2014 by Brian 38 Comments

Even though I announced in May I was leaving my 17 year career in education to become a stay at home dad, it’s only been one month since the kids have gone back to school and I’ve been truly alone.

Boy, the house is eerily quiet from 8 am to 4 pm when Kim and the kids aren’t here. I don’t know how the dog has done it the past few years being cooped up in the garage when we were all at work. Sometimes I turn on the radio or the TV just to create some background noise.

Despite the quiet, I’m loving my decision to this point. But it hasn’t all been perfect. I’m finding some things challenging that I didn’t expect.

The Downside of Being a Stay at Home Dad

1. No set schedule

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Filed Under: Blogging, Marriage, Work Tagged With: Blogging, Distractions, Schedules, Stay at home dad, Stress

An Amazing Offer From the Coolest Inheritance Story in the Bible

September 12, 2014 by Brian 8 Comments

Hidden Nuggets Series #55 - “And the younger of them said…Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.” - Luke 15:12

Inheritance is a hot topic in the Bible with the word being mentioned over 200 times. There are some unique and compelling stories that involve the assets of one generation being passed on to the next. We find everything from women receiving an inheritance - which was uncommon in the culture of the time (Numbers 27), a younger brother “stealing” it from another (Genesis 27), and a woman being redeemed in an inheritance transaction by a man who would become her husband (Ruth 4).

Fun, fun stories that show not only how lives can be changed and futures altered but the passion, tension and questions that can surround the wealth transfer process.

For my money, the most memorable inheritance passage of the Bible didn’t even literally occur. It was a parable, a fictitious story told by Jesus in Luke 15:11-32. While the ultimate message of the story was to expose the corrupt and selfish nature of the religious leaders of the day, it brings other memorable truths that can’t be ignored.

I Want It All and I Want It Now

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Filed Under: God's Provision, Hidden Nuggets Series Tagged With: Heaven, Inheritance, Love

8 Important Questions to Ask When Setting Up An Inheritance

September 10, 2014 by Brian 14 Comments

It’s hard enough to deal with the topic of our own death let alone what will happen to our possessions once we pass away. Setting up an inheritance can get complex and technical.

The aftermath of what we do could lead to a potential mess as this 2012 article from Fox News demonstrates:

“Heirs of a wealthy New York art dealer were left a $65 million sculpture [named “Canyon”]…The bequest comes with a $29 million tax bill, but since the piece includes a stuffed eagle, it can’t be sold…federal law makes it a crime to possess, transport, sell or otherwise convey a bald eagle, whether it is alive or, as in this case, stuffed…placing a value on an item that cannot be sold is no easy feat. The venerable auction house Christie’s placed the value of “Canyon” at zero. The IRS initially put it at $15 million, then jumped the figure to $65 million…”

Most of us will never have to deal with numbers that large. But it’s no wonder we get confused with our heirs, the courts and the IRS to account for. It all seems like a big tangled mess.

So what should we do?

Well, the wrong answer is to ignore the wealth transfer process. With better planning the wealthy art dealer mentioned in the article above could have avoided placing this conflict in the lap of her family. Perhaps asking some relationship and technical questions would have eliminated some confusion and helped the inheritance pass with greater ease.

Inheritance Relationship Questions to Ask

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Filed Under: Giving, Planning, Taxes Tagged With: Giving, Inheritance, Planning, Taxes

Should I Leave An Inheritance To My Children?

September 8, 2014 by Brian 46 Comments

If statistics are any indication, I’ve reached the halfway point of my life. Unless the genes of my grandfather on my mother’s side get passed to me, I’ve only got about another 40 years to go. It’s a sobering thought but not one that keeps me awake at night.

These two realities of life I know to be true:

1. Our death will occur at a fixed moment in time.

2. Nobody knows exactly when that moment will be.

So death displays aspects of certainty (we will die) and uncertainty (when?). I find that dualistic nature fascinating. Perhaps that’s why issues surrounding death and what will happen after we are gone remain difficult to discuss. We simply don’t like thinking about anything that relates to the end of us.

But we have to think about it for there is so much at stake. Mess up our death and it could impact those left behind for generations to come.

Who Inherits My Stuff When I Die?

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Filed Under: Kids and Money, Planning Tagged With: Death, Inheritance, Kids

4 Sneaky Ways to Save More Money and a Giveaway!

September 6, 2014 by Brian 10 Comments

Enjoy this guest post (and giveaway!) by Brent from VOSA. Brent’s a world record holder, inventor, engineer, entrepreneur, world traveler & eternal optimist. You can read more of his writing about personal finance, entrepreneurship and travel at VOSA.com.

Do your personal finance habits have you lost?

Left sock, right sock. Left shoe, right shoe. Right shoelace, left shoelace.

That’s the routine I’ve followed when putting on my shoes for as long as I can remember.

It’s so engrained into my mental and muscle memory I literally have a hard time doing it any other way even when I try.

Now I’m sure there are some behavioral psychologist reading this saying “claaaasssiiic O.C.D.”.

O.C.D. or not, habits like this rule our lives more than we know it.

Just think about how you put on your shoes, or the first three things you do every morning when you wake up, or how you respond when someone ask you “how are you?”

Chances are, that you too, have some standard routines that you weren’t aware about until just now.

Don’t get me wrong, habits are a great thing. They allow us to save mental capacity for when we have to make bigger and more important decisions than which sock and shoe I should put on first or weather you should brush your teeth before or after your shower in the morning.

Studies have proven that willpower is a finite element that you can exhaust over the course of a day.

This is why you’re more likely to eat that piece of cheesecake at 11 PM after a long and stressful day compared to 9 AM when you’re putting out fires and savings lives at your day job.

How Habits Form

Knowing how habits can govern your actions can help you financially. In this post I’m going to focus on four different sneaky ways to use habits to save more money.

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Filed Under: Budgeting, Saving Tagged With: Budgets, Habits, Saving, YNAB Software

My Parents Were Frugal but Sometimes I’m Not