January 2015 Archives - Personal Finance (MB)

Contemporary Window Treatments On A Budget

May 2, 2019January 30, 2015 by Money Beagle

The window treatments industry has evolved over the years. So much that it’s been hard to keep up. We were once limited to a handful of options. These included roller blinds, Venetian blinds and perhaps even the odd blackout shade. Now these very same products are actually viewed as old and ineffective when compared to the newer models.

Window Treatments Industry

Window treatments have evolved tremendously. You might think this means things have gotten expensive and not affordable. It’s just like anything else. You can price yourself out of the market. However, there are options. Sometimes a little creativity is needed to experience modern blinds on a budget. Here are some practical ideas for homeowners and buyers.

Guns: I Just Don’t Get It

May 2, 2019January 28, 2015 by Money Beagle

Guns. I just don’t understand it anymore. Let me start off by saying this post won’t be talking about gun rights or gun control. I’m not here to take anybody’s guns away, but I’m also not here to defend anything to do with guns. What I’m here to do is simply to vent. To throw my hands up in the air and express frustration at everything that seems to be associated with it.

I don’t know. I don’t get it.

Death By Guns: Recent Stories Have Hit Me Hard

A few stories have hit me hard lately that I’ve read or heard about. Way too many of these involve children.

Desk Job Alternatives I Would Consider

May 2, 2019January 26, 2015 by Money Beagle

I’m pretty comfortable at my desk job. I’ve always been more of an office guy. I’m definitely not what you’d consider rough and tough. While I enjoy working on things and getting things done,I’ve never thought about life outside of the office. But, maybe it’s time to think about what-if. If nothing else, it’s just for fun. What desk job alternatives would I consider?

Desk Job Alternatives

I guess the qualifications for this would be pretty straightforward:

I’d have to enjoy it.
I’d have to be good at it.

I know you have to consider salary as well. After all, I do have to make a living and provide for the family. But, for this exercise, I set that aside.

There are a couple of things that I could see myself doing:

Set Your Debt Free Date And Stick To It!

May 2, 2019January 21, 2015 by Money Beagle

When I started catching up on e-mails that piled up over the holidays last month, one of the first ones I opened was from Jackie at The Debt Myth, a fantastic personal blog that tackles debt in real and sensible ways. She had a great idea to get as many bloggers as possible to write a blog post centered around the theme “Debt Is Not Forever”.

The Debt Is Not Forever Idea

The idea behind her theme is so simple that the words really speak for themselves. It’s basically to acknowledge that debt is something that is temporary, even though many people have made it a permanent part of their lives.

Take Your Time To Achieve Better Results

May 2, 2019January 19, 2015 by Money Beagle

One of my favorite sayings is the one that goes “There’s never enough time to do it right, but there’s always enough time to do it over.” I love it because it’s so true! It applies in so many areas in life, but it’s a lesson we often forget.

Teaching The Value Of Taking Your Time

Our five year old son is now in kindergarten, and they’re concentrating a lot on writing out their letters and simple words. Each month they get a homework packet, each with a few sheets that focuses on one letter per sheet. It has them trace the letter a few times, then leaves space for them to do it on their own.

My son can do the writing very well if he takes his time, but there are times when he tries to rush through it, and when he does the work is sloppy.

Why I Purchased A Fitbit Flex

May 2, 2019January 15, 2015 by Money Beagle

I’d heard about Fitbit, the activity tracking devices that are used to promote health and track exercise, but I didn’t really know much about them until a few weeks ago. I work for a health care organization, and they worked out some deal where employees could buy one for half price. Intrigued, I did a little digging online and talked to a friend of the family that I had heard used one, and decided to make the purchase.

Choosing My Fitbit Model

I looked at the various options and decided to go with the Fitbit Flex. The Flex is a device that is wearable, in that it goes on your wrist, similar to a wristwatch. This is fine for me because I stopped wearing my watch regularly a few months ago after getting tired of how fast the battery wore out, and realizing that I didn’t really use it anymore, something that I’m sure many smartphone users realize.

The Latest And Greatest Light Bulb Strategy

May 2, 2019January 14, 2015 by Money Beagle

Since CFL light bulbs began attracting widespread popularity, one number that I’ve heard is that a good rule of thumb for the average lifespan of a CFL bulb would be approximately seven years.

I’m here to attest to the fact that this certainly seems to be true!

We moved into our home in 2007, and one of the first things I did was start replacing many lights around the house with CFL bulbs, from table lamps to as many overhead fixtures as we could, many of which I discovered had burned out bulbs anyway.

It’s now 2015, just over 7.5 years since we moved in, and over the last 6-9 months, I’ve noticed a huge spike in the burn out of CFL bulbs. Every 2-3 weeks, it seems, a bulb has burned out.

Spending Money You Don’t Have Is A Recipe For Disaster

May 2, 2019January 12, 2015 by Money Beagle

I received some good news at the end of last year. Our company will be giving a small across the board salary adjustment, an increase of 2%, starting in April of this year. We’re in the health care industry and the organization, like many, has been going through significant cost reductions over the last year. We’re a non-profit and have been healthy from a financial standpoint for many years, but there is an expectation that revenues will take a hit with the reduction in Medicare payouts from Obamacare. As a result, things have been pretty lean, so it was a nice surprise that we’d be getting this adjustment.

I told my wife and she was very happy as well, and instantly wondered out loud, “How much will that work out to be and what will it go toward?”

Internships Give Opportunities To Everyone

May 2, 2019January 7, 2015 by Money Beagle

Did you ever have an internship as part of your education? I was lucky enough to have two internships during my undergraduate study. I enrolled in a program that gave us a business management track where we took set courses about economics, management, accounting, and finance, and were also required to take two internships. It was a great opportunity, though it did largely erase ‘summer break’. One internship took place during the spring semester of our my sophomore year. In order to make up the classwork, we had to take an abbreviated summer session. The second internship was the following summer.

Internships Are Great Opportunities For Students

I loved both of my internships. With our program, we have many companies volunteering to take on interns. As such, they have people that are very excited to lead interns and for the most part, give them a fulfilling experience. I was lucky enough to feel that positive takeaway upon both internships.

5 Ways To Improve Your Attitude For 2015

May 2, 2019January 5, 2015 by Money Beagle

One of the things that I want to do for 2015 is have a more positive attitude. It’s so easy to get dragged down by big things in your life, or even little things that affect the moment, where you find yourself snapping at your spouse or kids, worrying too much, or focusing on the negatives rather than the positive. You’ve been there and I know that I have.

I know that 2015 won’t be perfect but I really would like to start making a difference by setting aside some of the little annoyances that can add together to ruin a mood. You’ve had the experience, haven’t you, where you find yourself in a bad mood and you have no idea why!

It sucks.