1. As some of you might know, I have my Roth IRA with Scottrade. I’m not going to go over how and why I started it right now since I’ve already covered it, but they have finally made a change that I’ve been waiting for. For a long time now they took away the ability to make an online transfer into the account because of some security issues they had in the past. They re-instituted these online deposits for regular accounts but not for IRAs for some reason (I was told because of the issue with tracking contributions for each year). Well, they’ve finally gotten their act together and I can now make a simple online transfer to fund my account.

2. There is an interesting article at Yahoo! about people tapping 401(k)s to pay bills. The very beginning of the article is what struck me. It says that one man “had little choice because he and his wife could not keep up with monthly expenses after American Express reduced the limits on three credit cards”. My first thought was… Why are they using their credit cards to pay monthly expenses in the first place? Someone should have noticed that there was a problem way before the only option was to raid a 401(k). If you’re racking up balances on your credit cards just to pay bills, then there is a problem. A novel idea would be to re-evaluate your needs and wants.

3. Another article caught my eye since I’ll be going back to school in the fall. It talks about an upcoming student loan crunch. It says that it could get tougher to get student loans since credit is drying up and lenders are toughening standards. One part of me doesn’t really care too much since it’s just another mention of another “credit crisis/crunch”, but another part of me was planning on taking out some student loans just as a back up since they’re usually at pretty cheap rates. For now I’m not going to get too worried, but it’s something that I’ll keep in mind going forward.

Oftentimes in the financial arena you’ll run into people who think they’ve really got things figured out. They have very strong opinions about how finances should be handled and they know the best way to tackle debt, build an emergency fund, and invest for the best gains. They can quote you the current interest rates and tell you the differences between the various retirement plans as well as many of the associated facts. But what makes someone an authority on the subject or at least worth listening to?

A Few Options

You could go talk to a Certified Financial Planner who will help you plan out your finances and structure some sort of investment routine. It’s interesting to note, however, that this financial planner is working a normal 9 to 5 job just like you albeit providing financial services instead of whatever it is you do. Is this the person that you want to rely on for sound financial advice? Possibly, but I’m not to say.

You could also read many of the blogs out there that discuss personal finance and the many related topics. Most of the time you don’t really know who these people are, and many of them openly display an average, or even negative, net worth. Most of these blogs are a way for someone to track their own financial progress and learn what they can along the way, and they’ll usually be the first to tell you that they aren’t there to provide official financial and investment advice.

You could also go to the library and check out any number of books on the subject. Just because someone has published a book, however, doesn’t necessarily make them an authority on the subject. You don’t need to look any further than Suze Orman, David Bach, and Robert Kiyosaki to not only see conflicting advice, but controversy among bloggers about what they have to say. Are these the people you want to look to for financial advice then?

My Thoughts and Concerns

I’m not trying to tear anyone down with this post, but many people have the question of where to go to get good advice about their finances. And I am mostly concerned with the people that think they have everything figured out and who say that their way is the best way to handle your finances. The reason I’m concerned about these type of people is because I have never met anyone who knows everything there is to know about personal finance, business, and investing. In fact, most of the highly successful people that I’ve heard of, met, or know personally are extremely aware of how much they still don’t know. The more they learn, the more they realize they need to learn. They are usually willing, however, to share their personal experiences and what has worked for them in an effort to guide someone in the right direction rather than showing/telling someone exactly how things should be done.

As for this blog, I try to share things that I’ve learned through my own experience as well as through the experience of others. For the time being I’ve chosen not to display a net worth or any other personal specifics mostly out of a concern/desire for privacy. I do hope that you find the information valuable, but it’s by no means the be all and end all since I’m continually learning as well. I also enjoy comments and counter viewpoints because I think there’s much to be learned that way.

Ultimately though, you are responsible for the state of your finances. As you’ve probably heard before, no one cares as much about your money as you do. Try to learn as much as you can yourself about how to handle your money. You might do this by talking with a financial planner or by reading various financial blogs and websites, hopefully this one at least. In the end, you have to decide who is worth listening to and who’s advice you’re going to take, I just caution you against those who think they’ve already got everything figured out.

This may seem odd to many of you out there since I do many things online, including run this blog, but I haven’t ever used my bank’s online bill pay until just recently. I’ve always seen the link in the sidebar when I log into my account online, but I’ve never done anything with it for a number of reasons I suppose. It was something new to me and I wasn’t really sure that that payments would get to where they needed to be. Mostly, however, I was just content handling things the way I had always handled them.

Just a little while ago though, I was talking with a friend of mine about the whole online bill pay thing. He was pretty surprised that I didn’t use it, and the more I thought about it, I wasn’t sure why I didn’t use it either. I hadn’t given it much thought recently, but I figured now would be as good a time as any to give it a shot.

How It Works

If you’ve never used it either, you may be a little confused about how it works. Once you log into your online banking account you should be able to find a link to the bill pay section. Most banking institutions have a large network in place with many of the places to which you would need to make a payment. For most bills, you’ll just need to search for the company name and then provide your account number on the bill.

If for some reason you’re not able to locate the company by searching, you can still pay the bill online by giving the address of where the bill needs to be sent and some other account information. In this case, your financial institution will end up cutting a check to the company on your behalf and send it to them. You won’t even have to pay for the postage.

Benefits and Advantages

I already mentioned one of the main benefits and that is not to have to pay for any of the postage anymore. With the price of a first class stamp continuing to escalate, having to send out even ten bills a month can add up to quite a bit over time. Even if you don’t think postage is that bad, why wouldn’t you want to save a little money with such a small effort on your part?

That actually brings me to my next point. Paying your bills online is so much simpler than having to write out checks, fill out the return portion of the bill, and remember to put it in the outgoing mail. There aren’t a lot of things that simplify your life and save you money, but this is one of those things.

If you haven’t already signed up for online bill pay at your bank, all I can say is why not? I don’t have a “disadvantages” section for this post since I can’t really think of any. What are your experiences with online bill pay? Would you also recommend it to others?

I had the news on in the background while I was doing some other things, and I heard multiple reports about how the cost of this or that is going up. The price of a barrel of oil has hit another all-time high which could cause the price of gasoline to go up as well. I also heard about the price of wheat going up because more fields are being used to plant corn instead, which is being used for alternative fuels. Many other things seem to be going up as well, how much should we all be worried?

My Take On Things

I personally am not all too concerned about the reports that I hear about price increases and the like. One reason for this is that I’m not walking a tight-rope with my finances. I have built-in buffers (which I’ve talked about before) in the way I handle my finances that a little increase here and there isn’t going to leave me in dire straights. I’ve chosen to live an affordable lifestyle that’s well within my means which takes a lot of pressure off.

The other reason I don’t stress about all the doom and gloom in the financial media is because I choose not to worry about things that I can’t control, and I focus on the things that I do have control over. As an example, I can’t really do much about the price I will pay for a gallon of gas the next time I fill up. I can, however, choose to drive less, combine errands, carpool with friends, drive an economical vehicle, etc. I’ll also take another example. As I’ve mentioned, the price of wheat is going up along with dairy products and some other things. I could choose to worry myself about the increase in bread and pasta prices over which I have no control. I could also choose to eat more rice, beans, potatoes, oats, and much more where the prices haven’t really changed all that much.

What It Boils Down To

For me, it goes back to what I remember reading in a book by Stephen Covey where he talks about the circle of influence. There are things that we have control over, and there are other things which we have no control over. It is our job to focus on the things that we can influence and not to worry about that which we can’t. I’m not trying to be flippant about the subject, but I could stand to hear a little less reactionary complaining and see a little more proactivity.

What are your thoughts on this? Let me know if you disagree.

When we think of money, investing, business or finance, we usually think of strategies, formulas, various account types, and the accounting of it all. While these are all important aspects of our finances, I sometimes think that the emotional side of money is too often forgotten. We have to remember that our finances impact almost every aspect of our lives in some way. Money has an effect on our emotions and our emotions effect how we handle our money.

I got to thinking about this subject as I was talking with my Mom about various things that are going on in my parents lives. Among other things they’re taking care of my Grandmother who has Alzheimer’s, and it can be very stressful and taxing at times. My Mom made the comment in the midst of all this that money and getting ahead didn’t really seem to matter all that much in the grand scheme of things, or something to that effect. It made me think a little (since I’m obviously interested in these things), but she had a point; you can’t exactly take it with you as they say.

It actually got me to thinking about one of the core concepts that I started this blog with, and that is to determine your Why to Wealth. Sure there are some people who may crave the attention and spotlight, the power and prestige, or the glamorous life, but there are so many other reasons as well to get your financial life in order. Things such as time freedom to spend with friends and family as well as the ability to pursue philanthropic and other interests.

There are many different reasons to want to be wealthy, and we all have to figure out our reason ourselves. We also need to realize that there may be things in life that are ultimately more important. I don’t want to give the impression that I have all of this figured out, but I think it’s important to think about. I enjoy money management, personal finance, investing, or whatever you want to call it, but it needs to be in line with the other softer/emotional sides of life.

Have you had any of these same thoughts, or what’s your take on it? What are some of your reasons for being interested in personal finance and wealth accumulation?

As you most likely have seen yourself, the current mess in the housing market has been in the media quite a bit. There has been a lot of talk about the sub-prime market, the current state of the economy, and the subsequent effect on borrowers with various mortgage products. Well, with the recent lowering of interest rates many people are wondering not only whether right now is the time to refinance but also if they could even qualify to do so.

Refinance.com wants to aid in finding the answers to those and many other refinancing questions. For some people looking to do a home refinance bad credit may be one of the obstacles which stands in their way. While this does present a different situation than great credit would, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t any options available. At this website you can get a free quote for a bad credit mortgage refinance as well as any other type of refinance.

They also have a variety of tools/calculators to help you get a rough idea of what you’re going to be up against. So even if you’re looking for a bad credit home refinance, you can find the information that you’re looking for. The site layout is simple to navigate and provides ample opportunity to get a quote on whatever type of refinance you’d be interested in. If a refinance may be in your future, see what they have to offer.

With yesterday being President’s Day, many people had the day off of work. I wasn’t one of them, but the markets were closed along with government offices. Unfortunately, most people only think of what they’re going to do with their time off work and what great sale they can hit up at some store. We used to celebrate both Lincoln and Washington’s birthdays during the month of February until one day was designated President’s Day instead. So I thought I’d take a look at a few quotes from former President Lincoln that we could all learn from.

“Property is the fruit of labor…property is desirable…is a positive good in the world. That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise. Let not him who is houseless pull down the house of another; but let him labor diligently and build one for himself, thus by example assuring that his own shall be safe from violence when built.”

This is a little different spin on things than what we’ve been hearing lately. Everyone seems to be so enraged with the rich, full of an entitlement attitude, and hoping that the government will somehow formulate a magical plan to take from the rich and redistribute to the poor. We could all learn to accept a little more responsibility and accountability and do like Lincoln says. Don’t try to pull down the house of another, but labor diligently to build one for yourself.

“And in the end it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.”

Too often we put things off that we know we should take care of now thinking that we can always do it later. We shouldn’t just let the years pass us by, but we should treat everyday as if it were our last. There is so much more that we could accomplish by following this advice.

“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”

This is something that we could really learn from. How often have we heard that we should work smarter and not harder, yet we don’t really seem to ever take the advice.

Hopefully some of these quotes from President Lincoln have been helpful and somewhat inspiring. There’s a lot we can learn from some of the great men (and women) from history.