Squirrelers

Since 2010, sharing my journey to help you squirrel away your money and build net worth!

Winners Announced for the Squirrelers Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest!

By 4 Comments

I’m proud to announce the winners of the Squirrelers Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest!

First off, thank you to everybody that entered the contest or sponsored a prize. I greatly appreciate everyone’s interest, and time taken to participate.

For those of you who entered, you ended up filling out one of 904 entry forms for the contest. This far exceeded my expectations for the contest, and doesn’t even count the number of total entries from the forms and other ways to receive entries. It was great to receive such interest in this giveaway, and it’s really cool to see excitement from those who won.  One interesting statistical note: I estimate that about 75% of entrants were female.

For those of you who sponsored, thank you very much for being a part of the Thanksgiving Giveaway. Counting the $100 grand prize from Squirrelers, we had over $400 worth of prizes given away! What’s great is that when I let my fellow bloggers know about my goal of donating up to $200 to Cure Search, to help fight cancer in children,  their tremendous response helped make that happen. I said I would donate dollar-for-dollar up to $200 in total sponsored prizes, and that clearly happened.  Everybody – please check out these great sponsors, you’ll be glad you did.

Here are the prizes, sponsors, and winners:

  • Grand Prize: $100 Amazon Gift Card, from Squirrelers. – Winner: The Saved Quarter
  • Your Money: The Missing Manual, by JD Roth (Sponsored by Budgeting In The Fun Stuff) – Winner: Kelley
  • $10 Amazon Gift Card (Sponsored by Young and Thrifty) – Winner: Florence
  • $10 Amazon Gift Card (Sponsored by Wealth Informatics) – Winner: Terry
  • I Will Teach You to Be Rich, by Ramit Sethi (Sponsored by PF Firewall) – Winner: Paula
  • $25 Amazon Gift Card (Sponsored by Invest It Wisely) – Winner: Audrey
  • $25 Gift Card to a major retailer (Sponsored by (Barbara Friedberg) – Winner: Susan
  • $15 Amazon Gift Card (Sponsored by KNS Financial) – Winner: Sharon
  • $20 Amazon Gift Card (Sponsored by Money Crashers) – Winner: Loraine
  • Control Your Cash: Making Money Make Sense (Sponsored by Control Your Cash) – Winner: Gary
  • $20 Amazon Gift Certificate (Sponsored by Out of Debt Again) – Winner: Erica
  • 2 separate prizes of If I’m So Smart…Where did All My Money Go (Sponsored by Doug Warshauer) – Winners: Kamla and Marsha
  • $20 Amazon Gift Card (Sponsored by Everyday Tips and Thoughts) – Winner: Erica
  • $25 Starbucks Gift Card (Sponsored by Couple Money) – Winner: Karissa
  • $50 Wal-Mart Gift Card (Sponsored by Mr. Rebates) – Winner: Leon
  • $25 Cash via Paypal (Sponsored by Maximizing Money) – Winner: Roshawn Watson
  • How Rich People Think (Sponsored by Financial Samurai) – Winner: Holly

    •  

    The winners were randomly selected through use of random.org. All of the winners have been notified by me, with individual sponsors following up to deliver the prizes. 

    Again, thanks to all participants and sponsors!

    Dividing an Inheritance with Siblings

    By 34 Comments

    Good old sibling rivalries. They can take on many forms when kids are young:

    “Why is his curfew 11 o’clock, but mine is 10 o’clock?”

    “That’s my doll, go play with your own!”

    “I’m a better basketball player than you ever were!”

    As people get older, many of these childhood competitions and jealousies tend to fade. Sure, people forgive and forget. And, more importantly, we mature. Many people even get closer to their siblings as they get older.

    All is good, right?

    Sure…..that is, until they have to deal with dividing up an estate.

    Sometimes, when adult siblings have to deal with such situations, everything is handled well. It’s all fine, and people pull together and move forward in life. Other times, it’s a little different. I have a friend who recently had to deal with the very unfortunate situation of his mom passing away.  In a situation like this, money is the last thing that most people are thinking about. Including for my friend.

    He told me the story about how in the aftermath, he and his brother and sister assumed that the modest inheritance would be divided by 3 – in thirds for each of them, as documented in the will.

    Then, when going through their mother’s home, they found a handwritten note from their mom, indicating that she wanted everything divided into fourths. Who, besides the 3 adult siblings, would get the other fourth? It would be my friend’s young nephew.

    My friend’s sister had spoken up at the time, and said that since this was their mom’s wish, based on the handwritten note they all found, they should follow her wishes and divide it into fourths. This meant ignoring the actual will, which indicated it would be divided in thirds. At the time, my friend and his brother – the two other siblings involved – quickly agreed. They were in a mournful state of mind and didn’t have the inclination to even discuss things.

    Fast forward months later, after their mom’s home was sold. As everything was to be distributed, my friend’s brother – the middle sibling – apparently had time to think about things a bit. He then sent an email out indicating that he thought everything should be divided in to thirds – as stated in the will.

    Needless to say, my friend was caught in the middle. Does he align with his sister and support the idea that things would be divided by 4 – to account for his nephew? It would follow his mom’s handwritten note, but not the earlier, formalized will. The will allocated 1/3 for my friend, instead of 1/4 per the note. He wasn’t sure how to handle this.

    Question #1: If you were in my friend’s situation, which position would you support, and how would you handle it? Please answer based on what you know up to now.

    Continuing the story, my friend’s sister was livid. She thought that her brother (not my friend) should show more kindness to his nephew (her son), and be fine with him getting 25% of the estate. According to her, this was her mom’s wish based on the note. Plus, in her view, she has more needs than her brothers since she has a young child, so they should consider that when dividing the estate.

    Question #2: What do you think of my friend’s sister’s view on this?  Please answer based on what you know up to now.

    So, the sister then sent an email to her brothers. She indicated that while their mother’s note indicated that it should be divided by 4, they could divide by 3 per the will. Additionally, if  they wanted to make a contribution to their nephew’s (her son’s) 529 account, they were welcome to do so.

    Question #3: What would you do if you were my friend’s brother, who took the initial stand of 1/3?  Please answer based on what you know up to now.

    Interesting situation!

    Here’s the outcome. My friend’s brother sent a note back, saying that he was OK with it being divided 28% per sibling (84% total for the 3 of them), then 16% for the nephew. The sister went ahead and agreed to it. My friend, at that point, decided he would go with the two of them and get the whole thing over with. He didn’t want to continue this tension, and just wanted everything to be over and done with. He stated that he thought that these are the types of things that can impact family relationships, and he just wanted to avoid that.

    I then asked him if his position would be different if it was, say, a multi-million dollar estate. He paused, and said, “well, um, you know…” I didn’t pursue it further, but his reaction told me that his response would have been much different in that case.

    Money talks, doesn’t it? 🙂

    Thankfully, all ended up OK here. Family is more important than material things.

    What are your thoughts on this situation, consider the questions above?

    Is Tipping Getting a Bit Out of Control?

    By 17 Comments

    Many of you might remember the story about The Crafty Waitress. This was the Squirreling Gone Wild series edition that described how a waitress tried to steer me towards giving her a tip of over 100%. The consensus was that she was playing games, and that I was probably being too generous by giving the tip that I did, which was about 12%.

    Now, typically, I give in the 15% to 20% range at a restaurant. My baseline is 15%, and I’m now in the mode of giving more if I feel the service was especially good, or if I sense that the server is down on his or her luck.  I don’t like seeing suffering…who does? And as readers here know, I’m a believer in stepping back and appreciating what we are lucky to have, and being generous with others. If the service is especially bad, I may go lower, but rarely to extremely low levels.

    Keeping these views in mind, there was an article in Yahoo! Finance that struck me as being a bit over the top. The topic was end-of-year tipping, and it provided guidelines for tipping in different situations during the holiday season. These were intended to be the “New Rules” for tipping during this time of year.

    First off, the article made the claim that:

     “Tipping 10 to 15 percent is old-school….. The new standard is 20 percent and up.”

    Really? As I said, I’m in the 15% to 20% range most of the time, with some variation. But is 20% and up the new standard?

    I’m curious what you think of this. Do you see this as a new “standard”? Maybe you do tip 20% at a minimum, and more power to you – but do you see this as a baseline for everyone to follow?

    Additionally, the article had a number of suggestions for different service providers. I’m cool with some of it, to be sure. However, I’m left puzzled at some of it as well. Here is a small sampling of 3 that jumped out at me, with the article’s suggestions (paraphrased here in blue), along with my own comments:

    Postal Workers:

    Article: $20, as they can’t receive more than that in cash, though personal goods can also be given. 

    My view:  I think it might be a nice thing to do, maybe practical too.  Maybe it’s worth it, if they’re nice, they deliver in lousy weather, and/or you don’t want your mail to get lost?  Honestly, though I never have given a postal worker a tip, I just haven’t thought about it. I’m not necessarily against it, either. I just don’t think it should required by any means, and I don’t think anyone who doesn’t give a postal worker an annual holiday tip is stingy or violating social norms.

    Personal caregivers, such as daycare teachers:

    Article: Give each teacher $100 to $300, and consider joining with other parents. In some cases, it’s expected.

    My view: It’s probably smart to do something nice for your kid’s teacher. This is someone who spends a significant part of the day with your child. That’s a big deal.  However, here’s where I differ:

    1. Each teacher gets a large gift? That seems excessive.  If your child has a primary teacher, AND several others – this can get really expensive. .
    2. It’s often expected? Why? Now, we annually gave $100 gift card to a past daycare provider, who was absolutely fantastic. She earned my respect and did a really, really, great job when my daughter was younger. Honestly, I would want to help her if she needed help in the future, out of appreciation for her past meaninful work. I’m still very thankful, and her work meant a lot to me. But why should holiday tips be expected, no matter what your view on the teacher?

    Skycaps, porters, and hotel doormen you meet along your holiday travels:

     Article: “The skycap at the airport typically gets $2 to $3 per bag…… If you are running late and they are of particular assistance, then add $1 to $2 per bag. A flat $20 goes a long way in saying ‘thank you.’ “

    My view: A flat $20? I don’t think so. I don’t exactly have a formula for this, but I might tip $2 for the first bag, and $1 for each extra one. But why $20?

    Overall, I think this “socially expected” holiday tipping is a bit over the top. Sure, I get the notion of tipping the kid who delivers the newspaper…if you still get one these days, that is. I get the idea of doing something nice for your child’s teacher, and am all about that. Teachers rock.  But these amounts are out of hand, and shouldn’t be near-mandatory.

    I’m all for holiday spirit, and for generosity in general. But social pressures for giving tips is a bit ridiculous. People should give it they feel like giving, and if they actually think that the potential recipient has done a great job.

    Of course, this doesn’t apply restaurant workers, hair stylists, or others who get tips for services throughout the year. They rely on such tips, and deserve to be tipped. Rather, I’m talking about things like the $20 tip to the skycap at the airport.

    Tipping in general has seemingly become pushed upon consumers in recent years. I see tip jars everywhere, at coffee bars, takeout places….I even saw one at a convenient store. Not a “take a penny, leave a penny jar”, but an actual tip jar. Why?

    I look at it as follows: you are paid to do a job. If you do it well, your employer will keep you, maybe give you a raise, and maybe even promote you. But you are already paid to do it.

    Is this old fashioned? Are social norms changing, where tips are become commonplace and even expected in situations where they were not before? Are we slowly migrating to an overall model of compensation that includes a variable, customer-driven component?

    Maybe things will get to the point where if you buy a sweater from a retailer, you’ll be “encouraged” to tip the sales associate. Or, maybe if you’re on flight across the country, it will be “assumed” that you’ll tip each flight attendant that helped you. Maybe, if you go to the grocery store, you’ll be expected to tip the employee who answered your question about which aisle carries ketchup?

    Generosity is a great thing. It’s just that when it’s forced through societal pressures,  some charm and meaning can get lost.

    Any thoughts?

    Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest Update, and Black Friday Recap

    By 4 Comments

    Happy Cyber Monday! It’s back to work (or school) for many of us. Hopefully you had a great weekend, and if you’re here in the U.S, a great Thanksgiving Day as well!

    Speaking of the holiday and shopping, I have a couple of updates for you:

    Squirrelers Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest

    Thank you to everyone who entered the Squirrelers Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest!  The giveaway closed on Thanksgiving day. There was a tremendous response, with more entry forms completed than I had expected.

    The next steps are for me to continue getting the entries processed and organized, and then have the winners selected through random.org. At that point, I’ll contact the winners. They will have one week to respond and confirm acceptance. If there is no response, or a winner does not want his or her prize, a new winner will be randomly selected.

    Sponsors: I’ll let you know when you your winner has confirmed, so you can coordinate sending the prize.

    Once again, here are the prizes to be awarded, along with sponsors:

     

    Stay tuned!

    My Black Friday Shopping Experience

    So, on Thursday night I had to run out to get a few basics. I stopped at the local Walmart around 9pm, and it was next to empty. However, I saw these barricades and yellow tape at different points in the store, which appeared to be set up in anticipation of a huge crowd that would be coming. I talked to the cashier on the way out, and he mentioned that there would be tons of people coming in by midnight; in fact, they would arrive well before.

    By the time I left the store it was probably just 15 minutes later, maybe at 9:15. As I walked to the parking lot, I noticed a small wave of people that had stepped out of their cars and proceeded to walk toward the store. Looking further out, I saw headlights of multiple cars, as another stream of shoppers was descending upon the store.

    Clearly, the hysteria was just around the corner.

    As I drove off, I saw a Toys R Us storefront with those same type of barricades and yellow tape all set up. No customers were there yet, but apparently they were expecting a big line at some point in the early morning hours.

    So, with this long set up, that Thursday night experience motivated me to achieve the following Black Friday shopping haul:

    Nothing.

    Zero, zinch, nada.

    I decided not to go out and fight the crowds, no matter what the excitement might be.

    I recognize that for many people, Black Friday shopping is a sport. They train for the competition by becoming knowledgeable about who is offering what deals, at what locations, and at what times. Taking that into account, and considering that I don’t have any pressing shopping needs (besides some clothes), I decided to stay on the sidelines.

    Hey, at least I can know that I had the ultimate bargain Black Friday: I SPENT NOTHING!

    What about you?

    Did you partake in the shopping festivities on Friday?

    Happy Thanksgiving

    By 4 Comments

    Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope that you’re fortunate enough to enjoy the holiday with people that are important in your life. If you’re viewing from outside the U.S., and it’s not a holiday where you are, my wishes extend to you as well!

    As this is a time for us to give thanks for what we have, and this is a blog geared toward personal finance, I would like to bring up the idea of giving thanks for the resources that many of us are lucky to have.

    Now, some of us are in better financial position than others, and we all have varying degrees of financial stress. I would like to have more….who wouldn’t! That said, today is a day where as I reflect, I’m very thankful for what I do have. Sure, I view family and health as most important. But in terms of resources, I’m thankful I have what it takes to put food on the table and have shelter. It’s a big deal, considering how many folks in different corners of the world are living. Heck, even some folks among us struggle big time.

    So, as I spend time with family, eating and maybe having football on in the background, I give thanks for the abundance. It’s a great thing!

    I hope you enjoy the day

    Festival of Frugality #257

    By Leave a Comment

    Welcome to the Festival of Frugality #257!

    This week’s Festival will be the Thanksgiving Football Edition! Yes, here in the U.S. we celebrate Thanksgiving in late November, and many of us mark this day by eating a big meal, traditionally with Turkey. For some of us, having the football games on television is a part of the whole experience with family. For some others, it’s not the case at all. Regardless, the football games have found their way to being a part of the holiday here in the States.

    With that introduction, here are this week’s selections:

    Editor’s Picks

    Did you know that Thanksgiving games have been a part of the league since it started in 1920?

    FMF presents What Does “Lowest Prices of the Season” Mean? posted at Free Money Finance.

    Cheapskate Sandy presents Getting The Bang For Your 99 Cents posted at Yes, I Am Cheap.

    John presents Is it Frugal, Stealing, or Just Plain Cheap? posted at Passive Family Income.

    June Tree presents How College Students Can Save Money posted at The Digerati Life.

    Other Great Posts

    Did you know that for the 3 Thanksgiving Day football games, Detroit and Dallas are regular hosts? The third game rotates.

    Mike presents The Frugal Approach to a College Education posted at Saving Money Today.

    Ken presents 3 Poor Savings Habit and 4 Tips on How to Overcome Them posted at Spruce Up Your Finances.

    Heather Shaw presents Frugality ~ Family Friendly Frugality posted at Family Friendly Frugality.

    Briana Ford presents Best Ways to Make Money on Craigslist posted at The Dough Roller.

    Jeff Rose, CFP presents Prepaid Debit Cards Usually More Expensive Than Checking Accounts posted at Jeff Rose.

    Did you know that no Thanksgiving Day games were held from 1941 to 1944, due to World War II?

    Jason presents Things You Should Buy Online to Save Money posted at Live Real, Now.

    BWL presents Amazon Subscribe & Save Review posted at Christian Personal Finance.

    Life Blog presents First Date Cupons posted at sustainablelifeblog.com.

    Tom Tessin presents 5 Ways to Find Disneyland Discount Tickets posted at FAC Travel Blog.

    CT presents Life without life insurance is like… posted at Money Obedience.

    Did you know that heading into 2010, Detroit had won the most Thanksgiving Day games (33) but had also lost the most (35)?

    Miranda presents Frugal Christmas: Gift Giving Strategies posted at Coupon Shoebox Tips.

    Wenchypoo presents The One Gift Card Worth Giving…and It’s Free! posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.

    freefrombroke presents TrueEarnings Credit Card from Costco and American Express – Review posted at Free From Broke.

    Kate Kashman presents What Is Income Tax Withholding and Why You Want To Get It Right posted at The Paycheck Chronicles.

    Paula Wethington presents 40 Thrifty Christmas ideas posted at Monroe on a Budget.

    Did you know that of the non-regular hosting cities, Chicago has won the most games (16), including a 23-17 overtime victory in 1980 which featured the opening kickoff of overtime being returned for a touchdown

    MoneyNing presents Can We Agree That Money Is Important? posted at Money Ning.

    Kay Lynn Akers presents Part 1: 8 Daily Deal Sites posted at Bucksome Boomer.

    PT presents Christmas Gift Ideas Under $25 posted at PT Money.

    Jason presents 10 Tips for Getting a Cheaper Car Insurance Quote posted at One Money Design.

    Adam presents Making Two Thousand Pounds; Getting Wet Feet; and the Myth of Sacrificing to Win posted at Magical Penny.

    Did you know that Dallas was replaced by St. Louis as a host in 1975 and 1977 (the 2 teams played each other in 1976)? Since the game moved back to Dallas, the city of St. Louis hasn’t hosted another game since then.

    Lauren presents Cost Per Use posted at Richly Reasonable – Money, Saving, Living, Playing.

    Kara Williams presents Cyber Monday Hotel and Gift Deals for Travelers posted at The Vacation Gals.

    Donna Freedman presents Christmas 2010: Wrap up holiday guilt and simplify, simplify, simplify. posted at Surviving and Thriving.

    Tim Chen presents Get $100 With the New American Express Blue Sky Preferred posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch.

    Sharon Harlan presents 50 Free & Frugal Ideas for Holiday Family Bonding posted at Get A Masters Degree.

    Ray @ Financial Highway presents Car Maintenance: 8 Tips to Cut Down on Costs posted at Financial Highway.

    Miss T presents Eating Well Saves Well | Prairie EcoThrifter.com posted at Prairie Eco-Thrifter.

    One Family presents Christmas Gifts for Kids – 2010 Frugal Choices for Babies and Toddlers posted at One Family’s Blog.

    Jennifer Miner presents Thanksgiving, Buy Nothing Day and Budget Travel posted at The Vacation Gals.

    Thanks to everyone who submitted an article, whether included or not. Next week the Festival moves over to Penniless Parenting.

    10 Tips to Improve Productivity

    By 20 Comments

    “You can always make more money, but you can never make more time”

    What’s our most precious asset? Money is high up there on the list for many of us, but it’s probably (hopefully) not at the top. I suspect that family and health are pretty high up there. They’re all interrelated in my opinion, as I have postulated before. Faith is paramount for many as well.

    What about time?

    Clearly, our time is not limitless. There’s nothing infinite about our free time, much less our overall time available. Consider the following simple calculation:

    365 days in a year X 80 year lifespan =  29,200 days in a lifetime

    29,200 days in a lifetime. When you see that number, what do you think? Personally, my first reaction is “That’s not really too many days!”. Then, my follow up thought is “I need to make the most out of the days I’m blessed to have.” In order to make the most of these days, it’s important to learn ways to be more productive. 

    Here’s a list of 10 tips that can help do just that:

    1. Wake up early – Getting up and getting a head start on the day, before work hours (or before the kids get up), can be a great way to get more done. You can accomplish tasks uninterrupted, and can get through the rest of your day knowing that you got a few things done already.
    2. Do the Most Important Things First – Often times, the things that are most important can be challenging, complex, or just time consuming. Rather than finding excuses for putting them off, just tackle them first. It will feel good to know that you have made progress. Besides, isn’t it logical to first focus on what’s most important?
    3. Follow the 80/20 Rule – What is the 80/20 rule? Basically, it refers to the notion that the majority of our positive results comes from a smaller percentage of our effort.  One example of this is obsessive coupon cutting. Let’s say one spends 4 hours cutting coupons, of which only some end up being used, and only $10 saved. But that same person might be able to work an hour and make $10, freeing up the other 3 hours for other pursuits.
    4. Learn to Say No – This one has been a learning experience for me. I’m conditioned, like many others, to try to help when asked. Many of us have this interest in pleasing others, whether we are conscious of it or not. I advocate selflessness and generosity, but also think that we can’t be everything to everyone. Sometimes you just have to prioritize, and learn to say No when asked for your time.
    5. Create a Not To-Do List – We all, or at least most of us, employ to-do lists in our lives at some point. I try to incorporate one daily. However, it’s also important to learn what not to do. Maybe it’s watching way too much TV and letting time slip away. Or, maybe it’s making 4 grocery stops per week, when you can just be organized and make one. Whatever the case, it’s important to learn what habits of ours are counterproductive, so we can minimize their impact.
    6. Visualize Success – If we take a moment to think about how we might feel once we accomplish a task or goal, it can be energizing. Sometimes, it just takes a little perspective to get us on track.
    7. Focus – Multi-tasking is easier for some than others. I’m ok at times, but there are many that are way better than me. Which is fine. So, for folks like me, it’s best to just focus on the task at hand and do it right. It will likely get done better, and will require less time to go back and fix. Zeroing in on one task can allow us to complete it quicker, and often better than if we’re distracted.
    8. Chip Away at Long-Term Projects – If you have 20 days to complete a big project that will require 20 hours of time, don’t wait until the final 3 days to get it done. Work on it in batches over time, if possible. If you worked 1 hour a day, it will get done more efficiently and with less stress. In other words, get organized and don’t procrastinate!
    9. Carry a Note Pad for Ideas– For me, this consists of not only a notepad, but also my smartphone. Whatever the method, we often get good ideas that come into our mind at different times. They can slip away if not captured. For efficiency, jot them down.
    10. Set Aside “You” Time  – It’s important to recharge, and get our minds off daily responsibilities. Find time to decompress. You’ll be recharged and more productive later.

    To my way of thinking, if time is precious, let’s minimize the amount of it we use for things that just have to get done, but aren’t value added or truly enjoyable. Productivity techniques such as these can ultimately help us spend more time with family and friends, and improve our health by being less stressed.

    And yes, they may also help us make more money too!

    What about you? Do you have any methods for being more productive and getting things done, which you can recommend to everyone?

    Squirrelers Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest

    By Leave a Comment

    Welcome to the Squirrelers Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest!

    In March of this year, Squirrelers was launched as brand new blog, with me as the only regular visitor:) Now, 8 months later, Squirrelers has found it’s own place in blogosphere, with great regular readers and new visitors coming by all the time.

    Personally, it’s been a lot of fun running Squirrelers. It’s been great getting to know readers and fellow bloggers, while gaining new personal finance knowledge and sharing money stories along the way. I’m glad I made the decision to act on that nutty idea of blogging that had come into my mind. It now seems like second nature.

    To show my appreciation, and to give back, I have decided to run a Thanksgiving Giveaway Contest!

    There are nearly $400 in total prizes in the giveaway, as shown below. The grand prize is provided by Squirrelers, and the other prizes are all courtesy of a group of fantastic sponsors, noted below. Please check out these outstanding blogs. A number of the sponsors are members of the Yakezie Network, which is fantastic group of bloggers of which Squirrelers is proudly a member.

    Additionally, due to the tremendous sponsor support, I have decided to donate $200 to CureSearch, an organization dedicated to working toward a cure for children’s cancer. It’s not a large amount, but every little bit helps. If you get a chance, please check out this charitable organization.

    Prizes

    Here are the prizes:

    How to Enter

    You can receive up to 10 total entries, by taking the following actions from now until Thanksgiving Day! Here’s the breakdown:

    • Fill out Entry Form below (REQUIRED): 1 Entry
    • Comment on a Squirrelers post: 1 Entry per comment (max 1 comment per post)
    • Link to Squirrelers, if you have a blog: 2 Entries
    • Follow Squirrelers on Twitter: 3 Entries
    • Subscribe to Squirrelers via Email (see link on right sidebar): 3 Entries

    Contest Rules

    Contest Ends on Thanksgiving Day, 11/25/10, at 9pm Eastern/6pm Pacific. Winners will selected at random, using Random.org. Winners will be notified via email, and will have 7 days to respond and claim their prize. Unclaimed prizes will then be awarded to another randomly selected entry.  We have the right to reject entries that are spam or fraudulent. All entrants must complete the entry form.

    THANK YOU AGAIN TO THE PRIZE SPONSORS AND GOOD LUCK TO ALL ENTRANTS!

    UPDATE: The giveaway contest is now closed. Thank you to those who participated.

    Getting Fired Up While Learning the Secrets of Millionaires

    By 17 Comments

    Would you like to be a millionaire? If you aren’t already, I’ll bet you would like to be one. Who wouldn’t?

    To that end, it’s a good idea to understand some of the habits that millionaires have.  Now, having said that, there is much advice like this out there. Additionally, many of us who blog on personal finance or read such blogs are already either:

    • Cognizant of such approaches and working to incorporate them into our routines;or
    • Actively employing such strategies already

    That said, it’s a good idea to step back and revisit the topic periodically, in order to keep ourselves on track to financial success. Along those lines, I came across an article at U.S. News & World Report which I thought was worth exploring.

    It’s called “10 Secrets of Millionaires’ Money Management”. Below, I’ll list the 10 “secrets” from the article, and provide my own comments:

    1. Start Early to Avoid Financial Pitfalls. Sure, it’s important to avoid pitfalls. As I have said before, don’t lose money as it’s harder to recover than might meet the eye. Living within one’s means, and saving while young, provides a foundation for avoiding crippling debt and surviving issues that may come up in life. Issues can take many forms that could be unexpected as well, including reverse mortgage pitfalls, accidents, and things of the like
    2. Believe That You Can Do It.  I really like this one, and think it’s especially important. Sometimes it’s our expectations that we somehow align our actions and decisions to. If we expect to struggle, we probably will. If we believe that we can succeed, we’ll have a better chance.  Be confident. More on this after the 10 secrets.
    3. Articulate Your Vision For Success. It’s important to have a strong sense of where you want to go. If you’re nebulous, you’ll be more likely to drift. Working toward a specified goal can help you get to the place you want to be in a more efficient manner. I have such thoughts in my mind, and can articulate them.
    4. Insuring Against Life’s Risks. Very important, and one area that I’m shoring up now. You never know what could happen to your physical or mental capacity to generate income. Additionally, major life events could wreak havoc with finances as well. It’s important to insure against such risks, as we have discussed before here. One way to insure against certain risks is with a system
    5. Work Hard and You’ll Get Lucky. The article quotes Ben Franklin’s fantastic saying of “The harder I work, the luckier I get”. I think it’s also important to work smart, as hard work alone might not get us where we need to go
    6. Practice Smart Budgeting. I agree with knowing where your money goes. Even if you don’t spend the time tracking every penny every month, at least do it periodically to “audit” your expenses and money management performance. This is how I have done it in the past, and find that works well.
    7. Do What You Love. I’m working on this one. When I was younger, I thought that it was all about making money, not necessarily liking what it is you’re doing. As I have gotten older, I realize that life is a gift, and we need to enjoy it. The thing is, we need to enjoy it responsibly. With a family and major responsibilities, sometimes we have to be careful with risks to our income streams and just make money. Ideally, though, if we do what we truly love, our passion will shine through and we’ll be successful in the long run. Or so the story goes. I do actually believe that to a large degree, but one must balance this with the reality that some careers do pay more and offer better options than others.
    8. Decide How Much You Really Want. The way I see it, this is a matter at trying to project your future needs, as well as the lifestyle that you think you’ll want. Now, while nobody knows yourself like you do, you might not know the future you perfectly well as of today. Things change. I think it’s important to think of all the things you might want to do in life, leaving some room for new ideas to come into play, and work toward those goals. A big part of this is financial planning, by saving and investing toward those goals.
    9. Invest Against the Grain. Zig when the market zags. I think it takes some real guts to do that. For example, would you buy tons of distressed property right now, with the hopes of a big bounceback? Many people have been hit hard in real estate, and the thought of making money on it seems to be so yesterday, so to speak! To the contrarians, it’s an opportunity. Anyway, I of course see merit to this, but not everyone will be able to follow through. Smart value investments can yield significant profits down the road.
    10. Live Within Your Means. This goes without saying: maximize your savings minus expenses gap. If your income level increases, try to keep your expenses from rising as well. Don’t overextend your self.

    One thing I think is additional advice that the article may have missed is the propensity to avoid debt, while paying cash for purchases. If one is taking on significant debt, it becomes a case of servitude to the lender. Where’s the progress there? Debt reduction is important. Paying cash for purchases as a rule is a good approach, in my opinion. It sounds like depression-era thinking, and maybe it is. But avoiding loans and interest obligations can go a long way to building your financial future.

    Anyway, of the 10 “secrets”, the one that jumped out at me as a big hurdle for many – including myself, at times – is confidence that we can do it. Sometimes it seems daunting, but if you give up, you probably won’t get there. If you’re fired up, and want it enough, you have a chance at the least.

    Speaking of fired up, I have always liked the scene below, from Jerry Maguire. Check out the Youtube clip and see someone get fired up!

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaiSHcHM0PA