most recent 30 from http://www.ourluckydime.com 2010-09-07T09:10:04Z http://www.ourluckydime.com/feeds/user/58 http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/122/how-to-budget-holidays-spendings/124#124 MrChrister 2009-10-17T21:49:07Z 2009-10-19T05:16:01Z

<p>Firstly we set a reasonable amount. This means that amongst our families we have decided that adults won't get each other gifts, only kids get gifts. With that simple limitation we can save a good deal.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/116/saving-for-larger-purchases/117#117 MrChrister 2009-10-15T03:50:11Z 2009-10-15T03:50:11Z

<p>How about figuring out (or just guess) what the monthly payment would be if you put it on a credit card or got a loan? Put that number into your budget and move those dollars into your savings account. This way, interest works for you instead of against you, and you still can't splurge.</p> <p>This doesn't mean you don't put money in savings, and you can't skip your retirement, but paying yourself for the big planned purchase. If you can't cram it in your budget, you can't afford to buy it.</p> <p>For me, this also has the double edged sword of looking everyday at the thing I want, reading reviews or looking at the photos and comparing products. I feel fully informed when I buy, but I more or less torture myself until I get something.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/110/which-online-broker-should-i-use/111#111 MrChrister 2009-10-13T23:28:34Z 2009-10-14T23:18:07Z

<p>I have a SchwabOne account. It happens to ties to my high interest checking account as well. I like it and tools on the site pretty well, but I don't make trades very often.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/112/playing-the-credit-game/115#115 MrChrister 2009-10-14T19:46:23Z 2009-10-14T19:46:23Z

<p><a href="http://www.credit.com/" rel="nofollow">Credit.com</a></p> <p>This site will take some personal information (it has to) and give you a credit score with lots of detailed info from one of the credit bureaus. So you can get a pretty good idea what your score is, and how it is calculated.</p> <p>All bureaus are a little different, but the generalized tips and explanations they put on this site hold true for the entire credit score concept.</p> <p>I did this, and so far nobody called me, no excessive emails and I keep a regular eye on my accounts and no fraud. It seems scary to pop your SSN into a website, but this one seems legit.</p> <p>Here is the <a href="http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/2009/09/29/your-credit-report-card/" rel="nofollow">article that I read that pointed me to the credit.com site</a>.</p> <p>Also, and this cannot be stressed enough: <strong>If you can't pay your balance every month in full, cut up the credit card.</strong></p> <p>Do not descend into debt to build up your credit score. I think that is a myth, have credit, use it if you like (I use my card for almost all purchases) but pay that sucker off. I am personally finding myself in a bit of a hole because I have used credit to pay for some emergency purchases (home heating system that died and some medical bills) and I can't catch up.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/108/how-does-investing-in-other-currencies-work MrChrister 2009-10-11T17:10:15Z 2009-10-12T19:21:12Z

<p><a href="http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/86/if-i-want-to-hold-some-of-my-cash-reserves-in-other-currencies-how-would-i-do-it" rel="nofollow">http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/86/if-i-want-to-hold-some-of-my-cash-reserves-in-other-currencies-how-would-i-do-it</a></p> <p>How does this work? Where does the profit or loss come from? I have heard of this as a strategy and I keep hearing about the value of a dollar, but the value of a dollar only makes sense to me in terms of what I can buy with it.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances/107#107 MrChrister 2009-10-11T15:30:25Z 2009-10-11T16:39:12Z

<p>Using quicken (and mint.com) mean I only really need to punch a couple of update buttons to get all my transactions. Spending 5 minutes a night confirming I really spent the money keeps my balances up to date and I can watch for fraud for free.</p> <p>Another benefit is after using Quicken for years, I finally started to use the budgeting tools and they work pretty well once you understand what quicken wants me to do with them. (Once I start looking at the budgeting reports in both sites I can spend an hour planning stuff out, but I only do that once or twice a month, but I enjoy it)</p> <p>Mint has very simple budgeting tools, and most importantly of all it sends emails to my wife who then knows when we went over our budget. We agreed on the numbers and mint makes it very easy for her to keep track of where we are. She doesn't want to log into a website everyday.</p> <p>Quicken however allows for more granular control of budget items. While mint is either every month of every few months, Quicken allows me to plan large expenses like insurance in the month they happen. There are more reports for the budget in quicken, and I can customize my own for my needs. Quicken's budget can be setup for the whole year and I can have a snap shot of how I am doing monthly or for the whole year.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/100/when-is-it-ok-to-allow-foreclosure-on-a-house MrChrister 2009-10-10T20:15:23Z 2009-10-11T12:23:56Z

<p>In summary</p> <ol> <li>The house became an investment when I moved 200 miles to take a much better job</li> <li>The house is $40K upside down in the mortgage</li> <li>I have stable renters, but they only pay 60% of the mortgage.</li> <li>I am not technically in hardship. I am only $100 or so in the red each month</li> <li>My loan is a single 40 year fixed, that is 2 years old</li> <li>I bought the house with an ex-wife and refi'd at the peak of the market into my name only as a favor to the ex. That added $400/month to my budget.</li> <li>My credit is currently very high 750-800 range.</li> <li>I am currently renting, have a 1 year old child and a very stable job</li> </ol> <p>The issue and reason I want to ditch the house is I don't see how I can get my family ahead in life with losing $100/month. What if my car breaks down? What if I have some hospital bills? What if we get robbed or some other thing. There is no padding in the budget.</p> <p>I have been told many times that as an investment house, I am not eligible for any of the bailout consumer assistance programs.</p> <p>My ultimate feeling is that as an investment, this house sucks. I can't get out of it any other way than foreclosure since the market won't buy a house at the value I would need. I don't have any cash to make up the difference and take the loss. The only reason I think I should be paying is the "I-took-the-load-so-I-need-to-pay" rationale, which is becoming less and less ration the deeper into debt I go.</p> <p>I understand my credit will be whacked for a few years. But I can save $800/month without this house and that will allow me to be debt free and actually save some money in short order.</p> <p>Besides any moral issues, what feedback do you have? What am I not thinking of?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/101/does-diversification-also-mean-who-you-have-your-portfolio-with MrChrister 2009-10-11T06:35:10Z 2009-10-11T09:41:43Z

<p>I only have one bank and one investment bank, but I have several accounts among the two institutions. Should I open other accounts as part of a diversification pattern? </p> <p>Is it advantageous to act on the good opening offers that many banks hand out, or just stay with one broker to simplify things?</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/61/how-does-the-olympics-benefit-the-host-citys-economy/103#103 MrChrister 2009-10-11T06:55:49Z 2009-10-11T06:55:49Z

<p>While the basic good items are jobs from tourism, construction, advertising and the huge effort it takes to support not only the athletes and their equipment, but also the swarms of visitors.</p> <p>The downsides will include the easy options of extra police, public health services and expenses for housing and moving people around. The additional bureaucracy and marketing campaigns could result in a negative outcome money wise.</p> <p>But more than just the economy, the city gets the intangibles from being an Olympic host</p> <ul> <li>Fame (to attract business and citizens)</li> <li>Infrastructure (those stadiums don't get torn down when the Olympics are over)</li> <li>Graft (it is the city "leaders" who push so hard, they must profit in some way)</li> </ul> <p>It is probably best for the top of the economy to host the Olympics, worst for the bottom and indifferent for the middle. But the Olympics can be a major source of pride and city improvement with new stadiums and roads and transportation as well as policies and laws that help keep things clean and orderly.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/97/whats-your-favorite-money-cartoon/102#102 MrChrister 2009-10-11T06:46:23Z 2009-10-11T06:46:23Z

<p><img src="http://thisishistorictimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/editorial%5F20090525.gif" alt="alt text" title="Mastercard" /></p> <p><a href="http://thisishistorictimes.com/page/25/" rel="nofollow">http://thisishistorictimes.com/page/25/</a></p> <p>This guy's political cartoons are pretty great too. Good sense of humor and I like the art a lot. Bookmark his site and support this guy.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/81/steps-to-take-when-buying-a-house/99#99 MrChrister 2009-10-10T17:15:36Z 2009-10-10T17:15:36Z

<p>Be sure you look at lots of houses. 50 doesn't seem like a high number. Your real estate agent won't like that, but you really need to see lots of neighborhoods and lots of features before you can really get a feel for what you want.</p> <p>Remember your real estate agent isn't really working for you. They are working for themselves and will do their best to sell you anything. The sooner you close, the sooner they get their money. You do need them to show you houses and you need them for home tours, but always remember who they are working for when they give you advice. I don't mean to foster an adversarial attitude, but the wisdom is to look out for yourself.</p> <p>Also be sure that whoever does the home inspection is highly reliable. Choose your own inspector if you can. You would much rather spend a few hundred bucks to learn that the house you love is in bad shape than buy a house and learn on your own.</p> <p>Next consider the neighborhood. You will be stuck with these people. Don't buy in a dying neighborhood. Make sure you visit the home during morning and evening commutes, when people are home, and on the weekend. You need to know who you live near.</p> <p>All this advice comes from buying a house I kinda regret.</p>

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/69/is-there-a-fund-of-green-energy-companies MrChrister 2009-10-15T04:15:05Z 2009-10-15T04:15:05Z

Do you want to invest because you like the concept or because you believe there is a future?

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/116/saving-for-larger-purchases MrChrister 2009-10-15T04:10:30Z 2009-10-15T04:10:30Z

How big we talking here?

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/108/how-does-investing-in-other-currencies-work/109#109 MrChrister 2009-10-13T04:19:25Z 2009-10-13T04:19:25Z

Very complete. I had to read it a few times, but I think I get the picture.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/84/how-to-decide-on-mutual-funds/85#85 MrChrister 2009-10-11T17:21:21Z 2009-10-11T17:21:21Z

Once you find a fund with those requirements, would you say a fund is a fund is a fund?

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/40/envelope-system/45#45 MrChrister 2009-10-11T17:14:26Z 2009-10-11T17:14:26Z

Also, how do I ease into it from a all credit card system?

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/40/envelope-system/45#45 MrChrister 2009-10-11T17:13:45Z 2009-10-11T17:13:45Z

Do you put real dollars in the envelope, or just play money to represent the dollars?

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/40/envelope-system MrChrister 2009-10-11T17:12:17Z 2009-10-11T17:12:17Z

I am cashless as well. I can track everything on a credit card balance with the intent of paying it off every month. This has failed when I got to where I couldn't pay it off each month. How can I improve that with envelopes?

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/2/529-college-savings-plan/11#11 MrChrister 2009-10-11T17:04:16Z 2009-10-11T17:04:16Z

+1 for Clark Howard.

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/28/simplifying-your-finances/107#107 MrChrister 2009-10-11T16:39:29Z 2009-10-11T16:39:29Z

added some details to the question

http://www.ourluckydime.com/questions/100/when-is-it-ok-to-allow-foreclosure-on-a-house/106#106 MrChrister 2009-10-11T14:57:50Z 2009-10-11T14:57:50Z

Thank you for the response. No, I don't want any moral issue responses, I have already spent a half year coming to the decision and have spoken to all the important people in my life regarding the choice