Do you want to know how to get out of debt, but are not sure where to start? Last summer my wife and I were able to pay off all our consumer debt by reducing our expenses, increasing our income and increasing our payments.Reduce Your Expenses

The first step to get out of debt is to find out how to save money each month. The can be anything from reducing your electricity bill to making sure you always save money on groceries. You can find room to save in almost every expense… try not buying new clothes for awhile or staying home to eat instead of heading out the restaurant.
Increase Your Income

You might have more options to increase your income than you realize. Many people might assume that the only way they’ll make more money in to get a raise at work. But other sources of income could include selling items on craigslist, having a garage sale, or more passive income streams like dividends from your investments.
Increase Debt Payments

If your serious about wanting to get out of debt, you’ll need to start paying off debt at a faster rate as you free up money or earn more income. You can pay your debts with a debt snowball, where you make a larger payment to your smallest balance until that account is paid off. This is mostly for the momentum it gives you psychologically to see some credit cards being eliminated quickly.

Instead of a debt snowball, we applied any extra money to the highest interest debt first. While it might not have been the smallest balance, I knew I wanted to eliminate the drag from high interest debts.

Looking for a place to live is a lot of work. Over the past few weeks, my wife and I have visited 20+ different suites, apartments, and hovels across our city as we try to find the best rental apartment. Some are good, some are bad, and some are just plain strange. As a prospective tenant, I make sure to present myself in such a way that I would seem like a good tenant. I dress well, I drive and park carefully, I smile and shake hands, and I make sure to quickly answer any questions that are asked of me. However, I am startled and amazed at how few landlords care to present themselves. While I do have to compete against other prospective tenants for quality suites, landlords also have to compete against other landlords for my monthly money. Even if you don’t dress yourself up, if the suite isn’t presented positively as well, then you might miss out on getting good tenants.
Here’s 13 reasons your rental suite is still empty.
1. You didn’t post pictures

While some of the best places that we’ve found so far were listed on craigslist without pictures, not including photos is an immediate turn off. If you are going to post your rental suite on craigslist, include photos. If you don’t, I am going to wonder what you are trying to hide. It is not like you are going to trick someone into living in your place, so not including photos just seems lazy.
2. You didn’t show up

When you agree with someone to view your suite, do everything in your power to be there. While I have yet to be stood up, I have had to wait 15+ minutes for a landlord to arrive. When you are trying to view 5 or 6 places in a row, being put 15 minutes behind schedule meant that I was now late for the rest of my appointments.
3. You were unable to make time for an appointment

If you advertise your suite is for rent, expect people are going to want to come by and take a look at it. Don’t, for example, put up a posting on craigslist and then immediately leave town for 3 days. You will receive phone calls about your suite, and saying, “well, maybe next week” is not an acceptable response.
4. The rental suite is dirty

Granted, as a landlord you don’t always have control over how the suite will look like if you still have your current tenants living in the rental area. However, you can most definitely make the request that they keep it as clean as possible. I know of a couple of landlords who have “sweetened the deal” by offering a month’s free rent for keeping it neat and tidy, or in our case, a bottle of wine per showing.
5. You were dirty

Even if you can’t fully control how the suite looks, you can definitely control how you look. I’m not asking for a suit and tie, but I do expect that you are wearing appropriate attire. I was greeted by a landlord that seemed to have just woken up, as they were still in their pyjamas. I was also shown a suite by someone who was wearing clothes that were absolutely filthy. If you look filthy, I expect the area you occupy to also be dirty. That does not make me want to live in your space.
6. The pictures you posted are misleading

This one was really frustrating. I totally understand that you want people to look at the pictures and think “I want to live there”. However, when you start taking pictures from angles to mislead people into thinking that they are getting space that they actually aren’t, then all you are going to get is a disappointed potential tenant. The suite we saw looked big – because the photos were taken from the hallway outside the rental space, giving the illusion of larger rooms and a hallway. Even worse is photos of how the suite looked before it was lived in by six teenage boys, or photos that are so dark it is hard to tell what exactly is in the picture.
7. Your suite is illegal

I don’t exactly know building code off the back of my hand, but I do know an illegal suite when I see one. If, and when, I do walk into an illegal suite, I look around, and then I walk out.
8. You are asking too much

I totally understand that you are willing to wait for the right buyer. I also totally understand that you just put a lot of money into the house or renovations for the suite. However, if you are asking for a $300 premium for the privilege of living in your home just because you lack a grasp on the housing market, don’t expect people to be banging down your door. You will lose even more money not renting out the suite rather than renting it out at a fair price.
9. You’re a nudist

…
10. You don’t speak English

I live in a very multicultural area. However, if you post an ad in English, and have an English sounding name, then I feel like it is your responsibility to ensure that the person who answers the phone number you listed actually speaks English.
11. You don’t leave a contact phone number

I totally understand that you are afraid of receiving spam telephone calls from telemarketers if you post your phone number willy nilly all over the internet. However, if I email you and ask you to phone me and I leave my phone number, then I expect you to call me. Or, if you do choose to email back, because I left my phone number, I expect you to leave yours. It is hard to sit outside someone’s house, hoping it’s the right one, sending an email to confirm just because you don’t want to give anyone your phone number.
12. You list inaccurate measurements

I’m not in the construction trade, and to be honest, I very rarely calculate square footage just for the heck of it. However, do not just estimate that your place is 1000+ square feet. If your ad lists 1000+ sq ft, then I expect 1000+ sq ft. Not two 6×10 bedrooms, a bathroom where you can’t close the door if you are sitting on the toilet, and a kitchen that has four cupboards. If you list the square footage (and you should), you should measure it first. Even better, list the dimensions of each of the rooms!
13. You list an inaccurate price

Only $950 a month! your ad screams. However, that doesn’t include you having to pay for utilities, which is another $150. So really, rent is $1100, you just didn’t want to list it. If you are expecting your tenants to pay for utilities, just list it in the price. Or, if you are doing a percentage of the utilities, make that clear up front as well.

In the end, all tenants are really looking for is a good, honest deal, with a good, honest landlord. Anything to make your place seem better than it actually is will simply put off most potential tenants – or at the good ones. Do everything you can to be as upfront and clear in the beginning, and you will ensure that you get yourself a good tenant.

Now that your child has their driver’s license it’s only a matter of time before they’ll be asking to borrow the car. The last thing you want to be concerned about is whether or not your car insurance policy will properly cover them, and at a reasonable rate. Getting the right coverage isn’t difficult. It’s just a matter of shopping around and asking the right questions. Here are a few tips on getting car insurance for teenage drivers.Prepare Your Teenage Driver

The first thing you want to do is make sure your child will be a responsible driver. Simply taking a driver’s training course isn’t enough. You should begin teaching them the rules of the road and proper driving techniques as early as possible. Let them know the importance of having adequate insurance, and how the system works. Try and make them understand that by driving sensibly they will not only be allowed to drive more, but that it will help keep insurance premiums down. Encourage them to drive safely and avoid traffic stops, and the possibility of a ticket, because that will also help reduce rates.
Driver Safety

Since you’ll be trusting your child’s safety not only to their training, but to your automobile as well, you need to make sure it is properly tuned and in tip top running condition. Owning a vehicle that has a good safety record is important in keeping insurance rates down. Make sure your teenager wears a seat belt at all times. Let them know there is no such thing as an inexpensive accident, because of the deductibles, and that by obeying the rules of the road and doing the little things like checking their mirrors and making proper lane changes they’ll be helping keep insurance costs at the lowest possible rates.
Getting the Best Rates

By teaching your child responsible driving techniques, and making sure the car is as safe as possible, you’ve done all you can to qualify for the lowest possible insurance rates. Now it’s time to shop for the best rates. If you’ve been with the same company for a long period of time you should be eligible for a discount. By using the same insurer for multiple policies, such as life, home, health and auto you should also meet the requirements for lower rates through a combined insurance policy. Some companies also offer discounts for being a good student.
Comparison Shop

Just because you’ve used the same insurer for a number of years doesn’t automatically mean they’ll have the lowest rates. The insurance industry is a competitive business and companies are constantly tweaking their policies and rates to encourage new customers. By visiting a few insurance companies, you can get an idea of whether or not it would be beneficial to switch providers. Decide on the minimum coverage you’d be willing to get, and ask each company what their best rates would be for that type of policy. Many times the agent will come up with some sort of package deal that will suit your needs. After getting a few quotes from different companies, compare the rates and what is covered in each policy, and then decide which would best for you.
Return Trip

Before signing any papers with the lowest bidder, it might be a good idea to take that quote back to your present car insurance provider and see if they’re prepared to meet the offer. If you’ve been with them for a number of years they’ll probably be willing to make some concessions to accommodate you.

Term life insurance is a kind of insurance that provides the client an agreed upon guaranteed death benefit in return for a fixed rate of payment over a specified time frame.

An example of term life insurance would be if a client bought a policy with a death benefit of $30,000 for a 15 year term at $35 a month, if the insured died within that 15 year term, the beneficiary would get the money. But, if the insured person lives past the term, they would need to either buy a new policy at the current cost or choose to have no coverage.Term life insurance is cheaper than other types of insurance such as whole life, universal life or other kinds of life insurance products. Term insurance provides a payoff off as long as death of the insured meets the requirements for a payoff and the policy premiums are up-to-date. No refunds of premiums are given if the policy term runs out before the death of the insured.

Common reasons for choosing term life insurance are to provide for the insured person’s monetary obligations to be covered in the event of their death. Some financial advisors tell their clients to buy term insurance so that they can use the difference in its cost to build up a retirement fund. This way, if they die before that, their family won’t be penniless.

Term life insurance can be purchased for varying term lengths from one year to as much as 10 or more years. Prices for term insurance are based on the odds on whether or not the insured will die before the term of the policy is over. This typically means that the longer your term, the more you will end up paying.

When the term is over, the insured can renegotiate for a new policy if desired. However, in most cases the client will have to undergo new testing to see if they are still insurable at the same rate. If you are in your twenties or thirties than chances are your premiums will not increase significantly when you go to renew your policy.

Some types of term life insurance allow the insured to renew without needing to show they are still insurable. These policies have a feature called guaranteed renewability.

The bottom line is that term insurance is a type of insurance with a fixed rate that is set up for a specified period. If the insured dies during that term, the beneficiary gets the funds, but if not, the policy term ends.

Here’s a concept that most readers of financial blogs will be familiar with – buy term and invest the difference. It’s a concept that came in to fashion in the 1980′s and is still going strong in some corners of the financial world. The end decision in all cases behind this concept though, is that term insurance is the best life insurance product.

Now think about that for a second. Do you believe that term insurance and investing the difference is the best product for everyone, 100% of the time? I think most folks will agree that this can’t be the case. And yet buy term invest the difference proponents ALWAYS arrive at the conclusion that term life insurance is your best buy. Doesn’t that smell a little bit funny? Like it’s a foregone conclusion?

Sure enough, there’s some holes in the story. And like many ideologies, finding these holes happens when we start looking at assumptions and guarantees. The math doesn’t show the whole story in this case.

Basic concept

Buy term and invest the difference works like this; you compare the costs of term life insurance with permanent life insurance, where the permanent insurance typically has a cash surrender value. The concept shows how if you bought the cheaper term life insurance now and invested the savings you’ve kept over buying permanent, about age 65 when you don’t need life insurance anymore, you’ll actually have more money. Cool! Let’s run the numbers.

Example:

I ran a whole life insurance quote using Compulife (R) (Compulife is the standard life insurance company rate database used by agents in the US and Canada). Let’s say you’re a male age 40 nonsmoker. For an amount of $100,000 I grabbed the least expensive 20 year term (turned out to be Equitable Life’s 20 year term) and compared it with the least expensive whole life product in the comparison (turns out to be Empire Life’s Solution 100 with values).

The next step is to cancel both products at age 65 and see which product gives us the most money. We’re doing this because the concept says we don’t need life insurance past age 65 – by that point our savings will have left us self insured.

I’ve assumed a nice conservative interest rate of 3%. Based on that, if you had bought the cheaper term life insurance you’d have saved $7,941.86. If you bought the whole life insurance policy and cancelled it at age 65, you’d have $13,200. Wait, what?

I’m reminded of the 5 P’s. Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. Because if I was in front of a client convincing them how important it was to buy term insurance, I would be very embarrassed right now. I’ve just shown that you would be better off buying the whole life insurance policy and cancelling. Whoops.

So comparing the least expensive 20 year term with the least expensive whole life doesn’t work. So what are they comparing to make this work so well? What am I doing ‘wrong’?
Do you know what assume spells?

It spells assumptions. Like all good theologies, the flaws lie in the unquestioned assumptions. Let’s have a look at some of them, see if you agree with them.
Problems with my comparison

First, while that comparison I just quoted shows that the whole life policy is better, what I didn’t mention is that the $13,200 of cash surrender value would actually be subject to taxation. Only a small portion of it would be taxable, but you would be unlikely to receive the full $13,200. However, even after taxes I’m pretty sure you’d still have more money with the whole life, using those assumptions.

Speaking of taxes, we assumed a 3% rate of return. Depending on what that’s invested in, the 3% could be subject to taxes as well. Easy enough to avoid those taxes, but if you don’t, that makes the whole life policy even more favourable.

Secondly, we’ve assumed that we’ve kept the 20 year term policy for 25 years – 5 years past the 20 year renewal. I can’t imagine someone would keep a term policy these days past the renewal. Renewal premiums are simply too high. Most consumers would either buy a new term policy at renewal or convert to permanent (despite the fact we’re trying to disparage permanent insurance with this concept). So fair enough, if you bought a new term policy in year 21, you’d have lower term premiums in years 21-25 than what I used, helping the term cause a bit. Is this something a consumer would catch?
Interest rate

I believe interest rates are the biggest single concern with this concept. If I have assumed 3%, the whole life policy looks better. If I assume 6% and no taxes on earning, then the term insurance policy is about break even. If I assume 10%, now the term life insurance policy is about $29,000 better.

So what interest rate do you think you should be using? 3% or 10%?

Now if an insurance agent wants to sell you a life insurance policy plus their miracle-gro investment strategy, what rate do you think they’re going to use? 3% or 10%?

But lets say we’re OK with the 6%. Nice fair comparison over 25 years and the term insurance wins by about $4500. I’m going to assume that $4500 over 25 years is close enough that we’ll call it a tie.
Cancelling at age 65

But is it a tie at 65 if we used 6% rate of return? We bought a whole life policy, or bought a term and earned 6%, and in both cases we just cancelled and ended up pretty close to the same financially.

But what if we don’t want to cancel the life insurance? Yeah, I know, the concept doesn’t allow for this possibility. But let’s say at 63 you had a cancer scare. The now-65 year old that had cancer two years ago that bought the term policy – how do they feel about their term life insurance policy? Not too good. The policy has ever increasing premiums and eventually it actually expires.

So what if I said to this 65 year old, hey, I can not only get you healthy rates for life insurance, but I’m going to lock it in for the rest of your life level. And I’m not going to give you the rates of a 65 year old. I’m going to give you the healthy rates of a 45 year old. Would you be interested?

If you made it through all of that sales speak, the point is that at 6% your the same financially if you cancel, but if you decide not to cancel, the whole life insurance policy is going to be a real deal breaker.

I appreciate that the rabid buy term and invest the difference advocates will refuse to entertain the idea that one could want insurance past 65. And perhaps my cancer scare example is a bit overboard. But two things are true – even if you don’t want permanent insurance now, there’s some possibility you may change your mind in the next 25 years and secondly, if you do change your mind, having bought the whole life policy in this example is going to be a much better solution. More choice in 25 years, for about the same cost.

The other aspect about cancelling at 65 is that in my experience, many people around retirement age want some permanent insurance. They want to cover final expenses. Some want to leave money behind for kids or grandkids that doesn’t come from the estate. Whatever the reason is, it’s been my experience that some people’s idea of the financial value of life insurance changes as they get older. That may not be you, but you should leave yourself open to the possibility that it could be.

Still not convinced? Would you believe that many people are interested in a smaller life insurance policy after retirement? That’s probably obvious. And with a 25 year old whole life policy already in force, all you need to do is drop your face amount down when you hit 65 – instant small life insurance policy, guaranteed.
Self Insured

This is an easy one to debunk, just take it to the extreme. It’s clear that people with high net worth can run into tax complications at death. If they don’t want their beneficiaries or family to have to sell assets at fire sale prices or dip into liquid cash to pay these taxes, then life insurance is an easy answer.

So if you do become self insured to the point of being really well off, there’s a reasonable chance that you are going to want permanent life insurance. Again, it’s not 100%, but it’s a possibility you shouldn’t exclude.
Guaranteed vs. Not guaranteed.

At our 6% rate of return, the term life insurance and whole life insurance products were basically even. But they’re not. We just compared a guaranteed result with a non-guaranteed result.

That 6% rate of return you earned on your ‘savings’ from buying the term policy – was that guaranteed? Not even close.

The $13,200 of cash surrender value on the whole life policy? That is guaranteed. And frankly, an agent should be ashamed of themselves if they’re comparing guaranteed vs non-guaranteed in front of a consumer and neglect to mention it to them.

So how does the term look now? The person that bought the whole life insurance policy is guaranteed $13,200 less some taxes at age 65 if they cancel. To get the the same results from a term policy, you’d have to earn more than 6%. That’s almost like saying you can get a guaranteed 6% interest rate. I’m not saying that! But at what point do you need to be before a guarantee matters? For many Canadians, having to invest in something that will earn more than 6% to beat a guaranteed option is going to be a no brainer. They’ll let someone else take the risk.

And that’s only if you cancel. We’ve already covered how the whole life insurance compared better by giving you better coverage cheaper if you decide to keep your insurance after 65.
Other considerations

So how do we make these comparisons ‘work’ to favour the term insurance.

First, use a higher non-guaranteed interest rate and compare it to a guaranteed cash surrender value. (and then lead into a discussion of sale of investment products rather than mentioning the non-guaranteed aspect ).

Secondly, don’t compare least expensive with least expensive. If you have a non-competitive whole life product and compare it with a current term premium, of course the term policy is going to look better. Try comparing the term product with a competitive permanent product. Or comparing your existing permanent with a new, competitive permanent product. (I compared a 20 year term with a competitive Universal Life policy and the total cost difference at 3% over 25 years was only $5100).

Thirdly, use optimistic health class on the ‘new’ term policy when comparing against your existing insurance where you didn’t receive those optimistic rates. In other words, compare ‘preferred’ term rates with ‘regular’ permanent insurance rates. Of course, if the insurance company gave you a regular health class when you bought your permanent insurance and now you’rea couple years older, what’s the chances that you’re going to spring into those preferred rates with your new term policy?
Summary

Despite how it may have read, I’m not proposing that buying term insurance is bad, or that whole life is good. I’m suggesting that at a minimum, sales techniques that start with a predetermined conclusion are not suitable for all circumstances. The right way to start a conversation on the merits of term insurance vs. permanent is to ask the question “How long do you want the insurance for?”.

Secondly, when comparing insurance products, be very mindful of guarantees and non-guarantees.

And thirdly, be mindful of salespeople who are biased on only one product type.

I’m sure these days most people are looking for ways to save money. Here are a few money saving tips that have helped me and hopefully you can benefit from doing these as well.
Don’t pay an annual credit card fee. There are many cards that don’t have fees and still include the extras like warranty extension and travel insurance.
Cut back on going to restaurants, and for when you do go, consider getting your local Entertainment Book , which includes a lot of 2 for 1 deals at restaurants. It can pay for itself in a couple outings!
Consider switching you local phone to a VOIP provider like Primus or Vonage. For $30 you can have local, long distance, caller ID, messaging and all the other bells and whistles.
Get a quote on your home and auto insurance to make sure you’re getting the best price. Staying with the same insurer can get you loyalty discounts, but if someone else is cheaper it might be time to change.
Switch to compact fluorescent lights (CFLs). While the bulb will cost more than a regular bulb, one $3 bulb can save you $15 to $50 in energy savings over the 5 year life of the bulb.
If your cellphone contract is up within the next few months, call the company and ask to speak to their retentions department. If you let them know you’re considering switching to another provider, most are able to give you a deal better than you’ll find advertised.
Instead of buying coffee at Tim Hortons or Starbucks, make it at home and bring it to work in a thermos or travel mug. This will also save you some time in line ups and gas from no making the detour!
Review your cable TV package, are there any channels you can do without? You might be able to save $20 a month by downgrading one tier.
Using a water filter at home instead of buying bottled water can save quite a bit. I have a water cooler, but instead of buying the large bottles, I have a refillable bottle and just replace the filter every 3-6 months.
Install a programmable thermostat. The thermostat can be programmed to reduce heat or air conditioning when you’re away or asleep. Energy Star states that homeowners can save $180 a year by properly setting their programmable thermostats and maintaining those settings.

This certainly isn’t everything you can do but it’s a step in the right direction to keeping more of your money. In the future I’ll post another 10 money saving tips, so let me know what you’ve been doing to save money!

Most college students try to live on small budgets, however many fail to do so. If you are able to spend your money wisely while at school, however, you can graduate with less debt. Let’s take a look at some easy money saving tips while attending college.
Financial
Get a free checking and savings account. Looks for banks that cater to students.
Keep track of your checking account to avoid losing money through overdraft fees. Your debit card can cost you a lot of money if you don’t know how much money is in your checking account.
Unless you think you really need one, don’t carry a credit card while attending college. You’ll probably buy things you don’t need. Payments on the interest can really add up.
Don’t use student loans to cover expenses for anything that is not school related.
Food
Eliminate the morning mocha or cappuccino at the local coffee house. That adds up over four years. If you simply must have coffee, buy a coffee maker. It will save you a lot of cash.
For breakfast, oatmeal is very affordable, nutritious, easy to make, and filling.
Collect coupons and review the weekly sales at the grocery stores. Avoid upscale markets.
Don’t buy bottled water unless the tap water is unhealthy.
If you’re not living in a dorm bring your own lunch to school.
Don’t go shopping when your hungry.
Entertainment
If you’re dating, consider having a meal at home. Create some ambiance and ask your roommates to hang out somewhere else for the evening. You can return the favor later.
Go through the local newspaper and look for upcoming free events such as concerts, festivals, arts and craft fairs, and plays.
Save money on movie tickets by going to the matinee showings. Also, a lot of campuses show free movies.
Save money on entertainment by making your own movie with friends. You’ll probably have a great time. Make a short film or a music video.
Buy used CDs at the local music shop or online.
Don’t buy electronic toys and gadgets. You don’t really need them.
Borrow movies from the local library. Libraries usually have a large collection of movies to choose from.
If you want cable television choose the cheapest plan they offer. Avoid all the premium channels. You probably don’t need an expensive cable television package to enjoy college life.
Join an intramural sport team. You can have fun and get free exercise.
Miscellaneous
Avoid text messaging. You may end up paying a lot of money in extra fees. Since text messaging is typically charged to both the sender and the receiver, ask your friends to refrain from sending you text messages. Also, some cell phone plans have a maximum number of free text messages. Use the telephone or send emails.
Put on more layers of clothing instead of turning up the heat.
Use a free or inexpensive Internet phone calling service. VoIP calls have increased in quality.
Buy used college textbooks.
For exercise go to an on-campus gym. You can usually use the equipment for free.
If it’s not necessary don’t have a car while attending college. You can save a lot of money this way.
College students can get discounts on computer software, so be sure to look into this.
Take advantage of student services. A lot of colleges have numerous free services.
MH4C has some more tips on ways to send money.

Use these tips and save money. When you graduate, you’ll be glad you did!

When we try to save money, we usually look at the usual suspects, like groceries and clothes shopping, and we attempt to cut back on those expenses. However, sometimes it’s not the typical offenders that are wreaking havoc on our monthly expenses. Sometimes it’s just the little things that we don’t even think about that are the main culprits. Here are a few items which we tend to pay for that are, for the most part, completely unnecessary.

1. Coffee by the cup.

Coffee is a wonderful beverage that gives you that pick-me-up that we so often need when the post-lunch malaise sets in. It absolutely baffles me, however, that so many of my friends or co-workers will set off to Starbucks for an exorbitantly priced coffee when using a coffeemaker is so much easier and cheaper. Buy in bulk and make it yourself.

2. Bottled Water

Another essential beverage, water is a very important part of staying healthy. But you don’t need the supposed “healthier” fancy bottled waters to accrue the same benefits as drinking from the tap. Sure, tap water doesn’t necessarily taste as good, but investing in a water filter usually takes away the taste and adds the satisfaction of knowing you aren’t wasting money or polluting the environment with wasted plastic.

3. Cleaning supplies

There are millions of home cleaning supplies out there. And each is supposedly better than the others, although almost all of them contain harmful toxins. But guess what? For a fraction of the price, replacing all those cleaning products with some baking soda and vinegar will save you money and keep your home spotless without the toxins.

4. Music

Unless you are a serious audiophile who enjoys collecting music, paying for music is a thing of the past. CDs are costly and have a pretty poor shelf-life; they get scratched and simply take up a lot of room. Downloading music is much easier, and with a little resourceful searching online, you can find virtually anything.

5. Internet

This one may be a little harder to stomach for those of you who wish to be constantly connected. But the fact of the matter is that Wi-Fi is available free of charge virtually anywhere. If your job doesn’t require that you be online after work, it’s good for the mind to take a break from the Internet. Whenever you need to check your email, Facebook account, or do some of the aforementioned downloading, simply go to a local cafe or the library.

Have you gone through your dirty clothing while doing the laundry, tucked your hand into a pocket, and discovered a crumpled up bill? If so, then you know how delightful such a discovery can be. I have a friend who purposefully does this, actually. He’ll hide a bill somewhere, just so he can find it a few weeks later. I think he’s a little bit crazy, certainly, but there is something to be said about the quick rush finding money brings us.

So, what if you applied that same concept to your daily financial situation? How would you feel if you knew you could find money in the forgotten nooks and crannies of your budget? You’d get right down to searching, wouldn’t you? Let’s give it a try.

Financial Goals

Your first task when cleaning out your budget is to make a list of short term and long term financial goals. These can be as simple as reducing your credit card debt each month or as complicated as setting aside a certain percentage of money in order to retire by age sixty. In either case, you should make a list of financial goals if you haven’t already done so. If you have done this already, pull out the list and dust it off.
Categorize Your Budget

Your next step is to check how the different categories of your budget match up with your list of short term and long term goals. Look at this list and at your categories. Where can you tweak your budget to free up some money to shift to that long term goal of reaching a happy retirement? What in your budget can you adjust so that you can eventually buy that new car you need? Answer these questions by playing around with the different categories and compare them to your necessary spending habits to see what you can afford to change and what must remain the same. Here you’re basically crunching some numbers. The important step is the next one.
Spending Habits

Finally, look at your unnecessary spending habits. You should have an itemized list of all the things you’ve spent money on each month, and in this list you will find certain items that no doubt slipped through. Highlight these and see if you can find a pattern. Do you spend money on coffee every morning? If so, how much? Does spending money on that coffee help you reach your goal of saving enough money to take a vacation next summer? Is the cost of the coffee worth the happiness it gives you each morning on your way to work? These are the kinds of questions you need to ask, because maybe you’ll find that you do, in fact, need that coffee. If that’s the case, then you’ll need to find another unnecessary habit to evaluate in order to free up some hidden cash. The key here is that you must change a habit or two in order to get that hidden money.

Ultimately, the point of this post is this: we must constantly evaluate our budget and our spending habits. Doing laundry isn’t fun, sure, but it’s important. So is going over our budgets. And, sometimes, we can find a hidden dollar or too if we’re careful enough. So, maybe it is fun after all.

Since I’m still pretty new here at CFB, I’ll forgive all you guys for not knowing a little secret about me. And since we’re all pals, I’ll tell you. Lean in real close now.

I’m lazy.

I’m not just a regular amount of lazy either. I’m so lazy I’ve been known to eat meals directly from the pot to avoid dishes later. I once didn’t cut my grass for an entire month, only giving in when a neighbour yelled at me over the fence. I’ve been known to not shave for weeks at a time. I really have no idea how I’m still gainfully employed. I’m clearly just eye candy for the ladies of the office.

My laziness almost knows no bounds. Like all of you though, I want to get ahead financially. What’s a lazy fella to do? Do I sacrifice one for the other? Do I have to make a budget and stick to it, like just about every financial guru tells us to? Hardly. In fact, I’m here to tell you that being lazy can actually be good for your financial picture.Let’s talk specifically about budgets. Many of you probably have one, in some form or another, in varying degrees of detail. Some people use a cash system, allocating cash for each budget category. Others use spreadsheets or one of the many different finance pieces of software to track their spending. If you use any of those budgets and it’s working for you, then keep using it. Getting ahead financially is the important part, how we get there is but a minor part of the journey.

This is why I don’t have a budget. I’m too lazy to spend time figuring out how much money I want to spend on any of 25 categories. I’m too lazy to rob money from one category when I run short in another. Luckily for everyone, there’s a much easier way. It’s so easy I can explain it in just one sentence.

All you need to do is pay yourself first.

If you want to save 10% of your income, just set up an automatic withdrawal each time a paycheque enters your account. Any bank can set this up for you in a matter of minutes. The 10% magically disappears instantly, off to some other account that’s earmarked for investment. Then, feel free to spend the rest. I don’t care what you spend it on either. Have a fancy for Starbucks? Drink away. Just make sure you don’t touch those savings.

Once you set up the automatic transfer, all the work is done. Paying yourself first is the easiest way to get yourself to start saving money. The simplicity of paying yourself first is the real appeal to the plan. A lot of people start a budget, do great for a month or two, and then fall off the wagon. Either some unexpected expense comes and busts a budget category, or the person making the budget gets tired of the work. For whatever reason, the budget fails and the person making the budget is back into financial difficulty.

Unless you’re some sort of budgeting master, you have 10% worth of wiggle room in your budget. If someone has $500 to last them until next payday, people are generally pretty good at making it stretch the amount they need. When faced with scarcity, people find cutting out extras easy. So why not artificially create yourself some scarcity?

People are typically bad at determining the difference between wants and needs. I’ve seen budgets that have an allocation to things like manicures or golf. I understand we all have our vices, but these vices directly cut into savings. If you have to make the choice between golf and food, usually food wins out.

I spend zero time every month figuring out what I can spend on categories. I know approximately how much money I can spend every month, and then do it. In the meanwhile, my savings are slowly accumulating in a different account, ready to be put to work in whatever investment I decide. It leaves me all sorts of time to play video games, hang out with my friends, or to sit around and do nothing, an activity I’m particularly fond of. If you’re so detail oriented you feel the need to know where each dollar goes, then maybe budgeting is the ticket. If you’re like the rest of us, people who want to get ahead using a minimal effort, then I’d recommend paying yourself first.