I’ve had an ING Direct online savings account for quite a while now, and I’ve been really happy with it. It’s really simple to set up and then transfer money between accounts. If you’ve been thinking about setting up an online savings account but just haven’t yet, there’s no better time than the present. As an incentive, if you use the link below and open your account with at least $250, then ING will give you $25 as a bonus. This will only work, however, for the first person that uses the link, so there’s really no time to waste…

ING Direct $25 Bonus Link

“How do you find the money to invest in the stock market and various other things?”

This question, or many variations of it, is something that I get asked every once and a while. It’s no secret that I love to invest, and it’s probably why I get the question. But as you can probably guess by the question, it’s usually asked by people who don’t think that they are able to invest or who think that you can only invest if you’ve already got a certain amount of money.

So let me shed some light on how I and anyone can find the money to invest in whatever they’d like to. Most people get paid on some sort of regular schedule, be it weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly. With this type of income it can be difficult to find a lump sum with which to invest, and many people will therefore just put it off, telling themselves that they’ll invest when they have the money.

If this is the attitude that you’re taking though, it’ll probably be a very long time before you start investing, if you ever do. If you want something to happen, you’re going to have to make it happen.

First of all, you need to realize that there are many types of investments that don’t require a large lump sum to get started. Many online brokerage accounts can be opened for less than a thousand dollars. I happen to use Scottrade for my Roth IRA and the account can be started for just $500. After that, you can make deposits of whatever amount you’d like.

Now, even though you can start investing in things that don’t take a lot of money to get started, it doesn’t mean that you should shy away from other types of investments that may take a larger amount to get into. In order to invest a lump sum, you’re going to need to accumulate a lump sum. It’s that simple. Just set up another savings account either with your bank or online, and begin adding to it with every paycheck or other income that you receive. At first it’s just a savings account, but it’s from this account that you’ll eventually be able to pull from to make those larger investments.

No matter what you’re financial situation is, it’s possible for you to invest. You obviously won’t be able to do everything at once, but as you begin to accumulate, more and more opportunities will begin to present themselves. So instead of wondering how other people are able to invest and you’re not, start making the small changes and taking the little steps forward that will allow you to invest as well.

This article is contributed by Heather Johnson, who regularly writes on the topic of business credit. She invites your questions and writing job opportunities at her personal email address: heatherjohnson2323 at gmail dot com.

Many people are gearing up for a summer vacation, particularly those with children who will be out of school soon. However, vacations are far from cheap and gas prices are making road trips even more daunting than usual. If you find yourself bored this summer or — even worse — if you have a bored child who is clamoring for something to do, try the 10 free activities below.

1. Play in the Park – Even if you don’t have children, there are plenty of activities at your local park. You could enjoy a walk, play some sports and even have a go on the swing set (come on, you still love it).

2. Swim at the Lake / Beach – If you live near a lake or are lucky enough to have a beach nearby, you can usually swim for free at either one. Why pay for entry to a neighborhood pool when you can enjoy some natural (and free) water?

3. Take a Daily Walk – While a daily dose of exercise isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, a walk can provide some much-needed fresh air to those of us who are stuck inside all day. Oh, and the exercise really can’t hurt you.

4. Hang Out With Friends – Hey, your friends probably already know you’re a frugal person. So, why not invite them over to just hang out? It is hard to be bored when you are surrounded by good company.

5. Play Board Games – Whether you do this with family or with some friends you invite over, board games can be a lot of fun. More importantly, you probably already have quite a few in the closet, so they won’t cost you a dime.

6. Volunteer Your Time – If you are bored and are trying to save money, you should volunteer some time to charity. This will take care of your boredom and will remind you that some people have it much worse. Karma points are always a good thing, too.

7. Visit Your Family – Is your mother putting guilt trips on you because you never visit? Drive out there and stay for a while. You can probably score some free food while you’re there, which saves you some money.

8. Be Creative – Both drawing and writing are cathartic ways to pass the time and can be done for free. You don’t have to be a genius, just have fun with it.

9. Start a Blog – There are many sites that let you start a free blog, such as Wordpress, Blogger and Tumblr. Whether you are writing a personal blog or one that you would like to monetize, it is always a good way to spend your time.

10. Go to the Library – Not only is reading a lot of fun, the library offers many free cultural events, particularly in the summer. If you have children, this should definitely be a regular summer haunt for the family.

Quite a while back I talked about the importance of having and being able to increase your free cash flow. As a reminder, your free cash flow is the portion of your income that is left over after you’ve paid all of your necessary living expenses. Many people also refer to it as their discretionary income, but instead of just spending it at your discretion on whatever you feel like, you need to start putting it to work for you.

Since it is your “free cash flow”, you can choose what you’d like to do with it, and there are a lot of different options available. You also need to realize that many of the available options can be considered good but not necessarily the best. Only you can decide for your situation how to best allocate your free cash flow, but it will require some thought on your part. So here are a few of my thoughts on the subject, and in my opinion, there are two main things that should be done with any free cash flow that you have:

1. Save up X number of months worth of living expenses as a security blanket, emergency fund, or whatever else you’d like to call it. I personally have the goal of a one year emergency fund, but again, you decide what’s right for you.

2. Buy investments that in turn produce more cash flow. By doing this, you’ll continually be increasing the amount of available income that you have with which to pay your living expenses and eventually become financially free. Investing for cash flow is in contrast to investing for capital appreciation which excludes most mutual funds and other traditional investments.

The reason for the focus on cash flow is because that’s what we live on. Even with a traditional retirement plan, people hope to accumulate enough over their working life which will produce enough income to live off in retirement. So it’s imperative to mind your free cash flow and find ways to increase it. And as always, I’d love to hear any comments that you have on the subject.

I’ve talked before about the importance of having some sort of liquid savings, what is usually referred to as an emergency fund. It’s a topic that’s brought up quite frequently on financial blogs and everyone seems to have their own opinion. I’m not going to go into a lengthy explanation of what the right amount for one is and how it should be handled, but I am going to discuss what I personally do.

I’m aiming for one year’s worth of living expenses saved up in liquid savings. To repeat, that’s one entire year’s worth. I’ve heard it time and time again that it’s too much and better returns could be had elsewhere. Regardless, one year’s worth is what I’m going for, and you’ll see shortly how it’s not really that tough of a goal.

So how do I plan to accumulate that much? Some may be thinking that it’s a great goal to have but maybe a little unrealistic or something that will take years to achieve. This isn’t the case, and I’ll explain why. Every time I get paid I put 20% into this emergency savings account. If this was all I did, it’d take 4 years to reach my goal of one year’s worth (80% left over, which is four times twenty). This isn’t the whole story though. I also pay 10% of any earnings to our church as tithing and put another 40% into another account reserved for future investments. What this means is that only 30% of my take home pay is left over for living expenses, bills, and other spending.

So with this scenario, how long will it take to accumulate one year’s worth of savings? About a year and a half. Living expenses account for 30% of earnings, and 20% is saved. So you can see that it’s not a distant far off dream to have an entire year’s worth of savings. It does presuppose living well within one’s means, but the less you live on, the less you’ll have to save to cover it. So there you have it. One year’s worth of savings done in 18 months.

I’ve read a few articles recently that have to do with coupons, and I’ve also had a couple of conversations with various individuals about them as well. It’s interesting to me how people can have so many different views about something as simple as a coupon. So, I figured I would share my viewpoint as well and let you take it from there.

Who Doesn’t Want To Save Money?

As far as I’m concerned, when I can trade a piece of paper that didn’t cost me anything for a discount on something that I was going to buy anyway, that’s a good deal any day of the week. Sure there are some coupons that you have to pay for such as the Entertainment book or those guys that go around selling coupons for Papa John’s Pizza (anyone know what I’m talking about?), but you know what I’m getting at. It may also cost you a little time to look through them and cut out the ones you want, but honestly, who couldn’t do this while watching television?

I’ve heard some people express the concern that they would be too embarrassed to hand over a coupon in front of friends, family members, acquaintances, or even complete strangers. To be blunt, you’re just going to need to get over this one. If you think the people you’re with are going to ostracize you because of the use of a coupon, then you might want to rethink the people you’re hanging out with. You also shouldn’t worry about what others think of you anyway, but that’s a topic for another day.

My Coupon Disclaimer

If you’ll notice in the above bold statement, I make the point that it’s something that I was going to buy anyway. It’s important to remember that companies don’t give out coupons out of the goodness of their hearts. They’re marketing and advertising tools. If you go out and buy a name brand product that costs $2 more than the generic because you have a coupon for 50 cents, that’s not necessarily a good deal. Look for coupons for things that you already buy and you’ll end up saving quite a bit.

One special situation is coupons for restaurants. It’s not too often that you had planned on going to a specific place and then a coupon for that place just turns up (although it has happened). More often you’ll decide to go out somewhere for a special occasion such as the recent valentine’s day and you can then pick a place based on what you have a coupon for. That’s how I’ve done things in the past and have saved quite a bit on restaurants. I’m also a huge fan of Restaurant.com (affiliate link) for this very reason. I can always find a great deal on some new place or an old favorite.

So that’s my piece on coupons. Pretty short and succinct; maybe I could think of more to say about it, but it’s not that complicated of a topic. What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you have another viewpoint? I’d love to hear it…

I often hear people talk about their savings and investments almost interchangeably. I hear about people taking their savings and investing it as well as people who rely on their investments to be there if they need any savings. It may seem trivial to many of you, but I believe that there is or should be an important distinction between the two.

The Purpose of Savings

The primary reason for having some money readily available is in case of an emergency. This is why you’ll hear about emergency funds time and time again from many personal finance bloggers and other financial resources. There are many different opinions about what the size of such a fund should be and how it should be determined, but it’s usually agreed that we should have an emergency fund of some sort.

Savings also provide a sense of financial security and stability. Not only does it keep you from having to constantly worry about your finances, but it also allows you to invest with confidence. You’re able to make more rational decisions when you’re not worried about having to use any of your investments for near term emergencies.

The Purpose of Investments

Investments are a way for you to secure your future and have your money work for you eventually replacing your current forms of income. Investments are meant to provide alternative forms of income or are used to increase your income producing capacity. These are all different purposes than what standard savings are meant for.

A Practical Implementation

Both of these are important aspects of your finances, and one shouldn’t be done without the other. Fortunately, it’s all too simple to make progress in both areas while also keeping them separate. All you need to do is set up two different savings accounts or money market funds into which you can easily transfer funds. Each time you get paid or have some sort of income, just take a percentage of the income and transfer some into each account. The funds in the investment account can then be used for any investments that you want to make.

It’s important to keep these account separated from the beginning. I’ve talked to some people who keep putting money into a savings account and then raid it from time to time in order to invest in various things. Unfortunately, a lot of investments seem to be so good that more money is taken out of savings than what should be. Without an adequate savings buffer, it can then be difficult to weather any investment storms that can come.

Obviously there are many different ways to handle your finances including your savings and investments. This, however, is the best way that I have found so far to handle both savings and investments. It’s simple, straight-forward, and gets the job done. What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you handle things differently?