Andy Hough

September Expenses – $1145.19

by

Here is a breakdown of my expenses for September.

Household $423.84
Entertainment $15.42
Transportation $279.83
Food $141.79
Student Loan $144
Travel $0
Phone $36.79
Health $103.52
Total $1145.19

 
September was another low expense month. Without the extra student loan payment my monthly expenses would have been just over $1000. That is two months in a row of keeping my expenses right around my stretch target of $1000.

My big expense category for the month was transportation. This was due to paying for six months of car insurance. The bill wasn’t actually due until the second half of this month, but I decided to pay it early since I was having such a low expense month. I’m okay with all the other expense categories although I would like to reduce the food expense a little.

October should be another  low expense month. There are no expected large expenses this month. I did have a doctor’s appointment in September I haven’t been billed for yet and I have another appointment this month which could cost me some money. I have met my deductible for the year so these appointments shouldn’t cost me much if anything. Other than transportation October expenses should be pretty similar to September’s expenses.

Being an Above Average Saver is a Pretty Low Bar

by

On this blog I write about ways to keep your expenses low. I don’t write about ways to make a big income or make money investing since I don’t have any expertise in those areas. I’ve never accumulated a lot of money since I’ve never made a lot of money and I’ve only made mediocre returns on my investments. Despite those shortcomings it appears that I am an above average saver.

According to this survey, 69% of Americans have less than $1000 saved. That is pretty surprising statistic. Even more surprising 34% have no savings at all and 40% of Americans making $100,000+ a year have less than $1,000 in savings. I’m not sure how it is possible to make six figures and have so little in savings. I’ve never made more than $30,000 a year and I still have more savings than that. According to this study I’m an above average saver. When I’ve had jobs that paid an hourly rate equivalent to $45,000 a year my savings accumulated rapidly. Of course, not everyone is as frugal as me and many have dependents to support as well. Still you would think that they would be able to accumulate more than $1000 in savings.

Part of the reason for the low amount of savings reported in the survey might be due to how the savings question was asked. The survey asked, “How much do you have saved in your savings account.” With interest rates currently being so low many people don’t bother putting their savings in a separate savings account. They just keep their savings in a checking account. Also, taking the question literally survey takers with all their savings in CDs or money market accounts would report $0 savings. I think it is quite likely that the survey under reported the amount of savings for most people. A better survey questions would be, “How much do you have saved outside of retirement accounts?” That would give a more accurate picture of how much people have said.

Even if the survey under reported how much Americans have saved I’m sure that most people need to save more money. I need to save more money myself. It doesn’t make sense for me to save much money right now since I have student loans accumulating 6.8% interest. My strategy is to just keep about $2000 in my savings account in order to maintain a little liquidity and put any excess money towards my student loan.

Are you surprised by the amount of savings reported by the survey?

Decluttr -Sell Old CDs and Other Clutter – $10 Signup and $10 Referral Bonus

by

decluttrDecluttr is an online service that allows you to sell your old CDs, DVDs, books, mobile phones,  and electronics. To sell your stuff you just go to the site enter the barcode of the item and get an offer. Once you’ve confirmed your order, pack all of your items – CDs, DVDs, Games, Blu-Rays and Books – into a box. Then you print a free shipping label and drop the box off at your nearest UPS shipping center. After your stuff arrives at Decluttr they will pay you the next day.

I have tried Decluttr myself and it was a pretty easy process and they did pay as they said. I sold about 20-25 CDs for a total of $10 and change. That wasn’t much, but these are CDs that hadn’t been listened to in years and would otherwise have been donated or thrown away. The $10 was just enough of an incentive to motivate me to get rid of the CDs. Now that I have verified that Decluttr works I’m going to get rid of the rest of the CDs in the house.

If you would like to sign up for Decluttr you can get a $10 bonus by clicking through my referral link and using my referral code DXR9HCGXYL. You need to sell Decluttr at least $10 of stuff to qualify for the $10 bonus.  I’ll receive a $10 bonus for the first ten qualified referrals as well.  Once you have signed up and qualified for the $10 sign up bonus you can refer new users and receive $10 per qualified referral for up to ten referrals.  That means you could make $10 for signing up and $100 for referring  your friends. That isn’t a bad deal for getting rid of some extra clutter.

How Your Company Can Make Smart Decisions For Online Operations

by

By now, every business owner and entrepreneur knows that having a great online presence is essential for overall success. However, making the decisions necessary to building your online presence can be quite stressful. From choosing web hosting and design packages to devising online marketing strategies, becoming a brand with a powerful online presence can seem overwhelming.

It’s possible for your company to navigate their online sales and marketing without hitting any roadblocks, however. Here are some smart tips on how your company can make smart decisions for online operations.

Do Your Homework

This sounds like it should be obvious for just about any business decision, but you’d be surprised how many entrepreneurs rush into things without really stopping to consider their other options. Whether it’s your web hosting plan or a prospective marketing firm that claims it will be able to take your business to the next level, it’s essential that you make decisions slowly and with a lot of consideration. When it comes to your business, never rush into things. Even if a company is touting a “limited time offer,” always really consider things before signing any contracts.

Compare Services

There are many companies out there devoted to helping companies to expand and improve their presence on the internet. They all have their own pros and cons. For this reason, it’s essential that you take the time to compare services. Look for companies that have a track record of success with brans similar to yours, as what’s ideal for one brand might not be so ideal for another.

Know The Value Of Design

These days customers tend to make a lot of split second decisions. With the plethora of goods and services available online, customers are more inclined to be swayed by first impressions. This is why great design is so important. Customers will often make buying decisions based on the emotions that the design of a website or logo evokes within them. For this reason, it’s crucial that your design is something that you’ve put a lot of work and thought into, rather than something you assemble haphazardly to get it over with.

Create A Budget

It can be easy to overspend when you’re launching your online brand. For this reason, you should lay out a budget before you begin looking at different services and hosting providers. By knowing how much you’re willing to spend in each area from the beginning, you’re less likely to go over budget.

Creating a home for your company on the internet can be a challenge, but it’s integral for your company’s success. Customers are attracted to companies with stellar online presences, so make sure that your brand is up to par.

September 2016 Net Worth Update

by

penniesIn order to keep track of my financial progress or lack of progress I have decided to calculate my net worth each month.

My net worth as of 9/1/2016 is as follows.

Assets
Cash – $3313.19 (-$1080.23)
IRA – $23,904.31 (+$64.57)
Roth IRA – $10,378.74 (+$58.49)
Solo 401k – 992.54 (NA)
Car/Stuff – $4600 (-$100)

Liabilities
Student Loan – $129,663.70 ($111.47)

Net Worth = $-86,474.92

My net worth increased by $46.84 since the last update. An increase is better than a decrease but my net worth is still less than it was in July. I need some bigger increases. I’ve put in a couple of job applications the past week. I’m hoping one of those comes through so I can increase my income.

Although I paid over $700 on my student loan last month the balance only decreased a little over $100. Since the loan charges over $600 a month interest it is really difficult to make progress on paying down the loan. I need to increase my income dramatically to be able to get ahead on this loan.

I’ve been using Personal Capital (affiliate link) to help track my net worth. It keeps track of all of my financial accounts and my student loan making it pretty easy to calculate my net worth each month. It is free to sign up. If you would like to sign up I’d appreciate you using my link. All blog income, including affiliate income, goes to paying down my student loan.

Personal Capital