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April 17, 2010, at 6:00 am If you're new to BFS, please subscribe to my RSS feed. It shows me a vote of support and keeps me motivated to keep your attention. If you have any questions or comments for me, please contact me and I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for visiting! My Weekly Favorites
Guest Posts that Featured BFS
For those who don’t know, allowing less-known bloggers to post on better-known sites benefits the newbie way more than the well-established. This newbie says thank you again!
Guest Posts on BFS
Car Negotiation Coach posted Did You Know Car Financing is Negotiable?
Guest posts introduce different points of view, bring in additonal readers, and allow me to take a day off. Thank you.
If you would like to submit a guest post to BFS, please shoot me an idea or the actual post. I’d also appreciate a one or two sentence introduction for the piece. I’ll get back to you quickly and will give you as much advance notice as possible on its posting date.
Blog Carnivals that Featured BFS
Carnival hosts, If BFS is in a blog carnival that you are running, please email me the link so it can be added to this weekly list. Thanks!
Other Info
- Jackie at Money Crush is also hosting a $100 Contest until May 12th in honor of the debt snowball app she created. Please take a look!
Feel free to email me if you have any suggestions. I’d love to add a few more blogs to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts or contests.
As always, thanks to all the bloggers that teach me something new every day. Thanks to all my commenters for making this blog the community I want it to be. Thanks to all my lurkers too. I hope everybody is enjoying this as much as I am!
April 16, 2010, at 6:00 am
I know, you might think you are like me…not craftsy at all. But you can make your own art anyway and it will be awesome!
Our favorite artwork is a three piece set that we created ourselves for less than $25.
We bought five yards of burlap in three pieces, multiple colors of spray paint, and three cheap wooden frames used to stretch fabric.
Then we went outside, scrunched up the burlap, and spray painted like crazy with one color. After that, we unscrunched, rescrunched, and sprayed like madmen with a different color. We just repeated that process for 45 minutes until we were really happy with the outcome.
Once they dried, it was easy to staple them onto their soft wood frames.
Even though we have spent a couple of thousand of dollars on other cool art by artists much better than us, those colored burlap pieces are still our favorite.
Here’s what we enjoy…says a lot about my insane mind, huh? Can you imagine what you’d come up with if you make your own art?
April 15, 2010, at 6:00 am
Today we have a guest post from the Car Negotiation Coach offering advice on car financing. The Coach’s blog provides people with practical negotiation strategies and financial advice on car purchases.
Whenever one of my friends buys a new car, I always ask them what interest rate they got on their car financing. And it always surprises me how little effort they put into finding a competitive rate. It’s often a percent or two above the best rates available at the time. They devote time and effort to researching car prices, driving around to several dealerships, and trying to drive a hard bargain with salesmen. But once they get what they believe is a good price, they put down their guard and consider the deal done. When they walk into the Finance office, they just take whatever rate the Finance Manager offers them.
What most people don’t realize is that shaving off a couple of percentage points of interest can make a huge difference and car financing is negotiable.
For example, a $15,000 loan with a rate of 7.5% paid over 5 years results in a monthly payment of $300. That same loan with a rate of 9.5% would have monthly payments of $315 – a cost of $900 over the life of the loan.
So how can you get competitive car financing?
First off, there is nothing that says you have to get car financing from the dealership. It pays to shop for rates before buying a car. Check with your bank, credit union, or on the Internet for good rates. You can get pre-approved for a loan and get a blank lender check (up to a predetermined amount) to pay for a vehicle. Take this check or documentation of a rate quote with you to the dealership when you are ready to buy.
Once you get to the Finance office at the dealership, ask the Finance Manager for his best rate. If he gives you a rate that’s higher than your online quote, show him the quote and give him a chance to beat it. Most people don’t realize that car financing is negotiable! Loans are a big source of margin for dealerships and they will often try to win your business. Don’t be surprised if they are able to beat your best quote. But if the Finance Manager is unable or unwilling to beat or match your outside lending quote then just use the pre-approved blank check to pay for the car.
Summary
Don’t assume the price of a car is the only aspect of a car purchase that is negotiable, so is car financing and even warranties. Get competitive offers before going to the dealership and see if the Finance Manager will beat them. Check out my website if you want more car financing tips.
April 14, 2010, at 8:00 pm
Free From Broke was kind enough to let me guest post today with Recurring Expenses Will Kill Your Budget-Choose Wisely.
It’s my personal take on prioritizing recurring monthly expenses. What’s on the top of your list?
April 14, 2010, at 6:00 am
I hit on the main ways of diagnosing your financial health in this past post. I’m going to use Wednesdays to go further in depth on each point since I truly believe that financial health leads to less stress and happier lives.
The first point was to spend less than you earn. This means that the money you have going out needs to be less (hopefully a lot less) than the money you have coming in. Constant, overwhelming debt is not healthy for you or your future.
List Your Income and Expenses
In order to spend less than you earn, you need to know how much you earn and how much you spend. I’d suggest writing down your known monthly income and expenses first. Then spend a whole month adding anything you missed to that list. Not only will this be a definitive picture of your spending and salary, but it will give you a great start on beginning a budget as well.
Ways to Widen the Gap
If you are not where you want to be once you’ve seen this list, you do have options:
1) Decrease your spending.
2) Get a better paying job.
3) Find other income sources.
Decrease Spending
To decrease your spending, I’d suggest first cancelling or discontinuing any expenses that you really don’t want or need. Don’t go crazy or be regretful…simply cut the fat. I was surprised at some expenses I forgot about when we started tracking our spending. It was easy to cut out an $8 monthly online game membership fee and a $25 a month gym membership since we had stopped using both of those.
If that doesn’t solve your problems, then look to cut expenses that you might want, but don’t really need. Luxury expenses can wait until your income increases. I’d consider internet and a cell phone as almost-necessities, but cable isn’t. I’m sorry since I love cable, but if you aren’t making more than you spend, it has got to go.
Income Ideas
If you still aren’t there yet after getting back to the basics, then you need to look at increasing your income.
Obviously, only you know you well enough to get a better-paying job. Other income sources are also a personal matter. I worked for a book store for $7 an hour for 3 months in order to make a little part-time cash. I’ve also babysat and taken care of pets. I’ve most recently started a blog, although I wouldn’t consider this a great way to make fast money (I’ve made about $10 in 2 months). My husband is a contract sports official for middle school and high school football and basketball. He can also tutor. What sounds good to you?
In short, you need to spend less than you earn to stay fiscally sane. I prefer to spend much less than we earn since we have an early retirement goal. Look at your situation and access your options to make this happen. Good luck.
Are you spending less than you earn? If so, are you happy with your position? If not, did this article help? Does anybody else have any suggestions on this point?
April 13, 2010, at 6:00 am
The Washington Post had this article, 5 Myths about your taxes, and it seemed somehow wrong to me. Here’s their list of 5 Tax Myths and a summary of their explanations:
1. The poorest and the richest Americans pay no taxes. – 45% of the populations pays no federal income tax but they get taxed elsewhere (Social Security, Medicare, sales tax, and property taxes).
2. Americans are overtaxed. – We pay what boils down to $13,000 for every American but other developed countries pay more. *I’ll definitely come back to this*
3. Higher taxes could eliminate the federal deficit. – According to a study they cite, taxes would have to be raised 40% to reduce the deficit to 3% of GDP.
4. Most people’s tax returns are way too complicated. – Two-thirds of Americans don’t itemize anything and can use a simple form.
5. You should aim for a big tax refund. – It’s your money and you shouldn’t lend it for free.
I understand their points, but here’s my take:
1. Okay, 45% of taxpayers pay other kinds of taxes, but they don’t pay federal income taxes. Since this article is about federal income taxes, what does that have to do with it? I’m not trying to be flippant, but 45% aren’t paying any federal income tax…
2. $13,000 per American with 45% of the taxpayers not paying federal income taxes means that the other 55% is picking up that tab. That sounds like a freaking lot to me. Also, I honestly don’t care about tax rates of other countries…aren’t we a country that hates to be comparable to others?
3. Okay, so if higher tax rates won’t solve the problem, how can we convince the government to stick to an actual budget? Like every person in debt, you have to stop the constant drain before you can work your way out, right?
4. Complicated is a matter of perspective…that’s all I have to say about that.
5. I agree but I also budget really well and plan to pay in April…I think this needs to be a personal decision. People know themselves…if they can’t put away money for taxes throughout the year, they should make sure that they pay enough or more than enough. Just please understand that a refund is simply getting your own money back…keep that in mind when you choose what to do with it. 
What do you think?
April 12, 2010, at 6:00 am
Funny about Money was kind enough to let me guest post today with How Middle Class Are You?
It’s a summary of an article about the average middle class and how my husband and I stack up…aren’t comparisons fun?
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DISCLAIMER I am not a professional or a financial advisor. BFS posts are informational opinions only. Please make your own financial decisions based on personal research or see a financial advisor.
Also, there are paid links on this site. There is no obligation on your part to purchase any products advertised on this website.
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