Personal Finance

Personal finance bloggers often explain that one of the easiest way to save money is to minimize the cost of cellphone plan and device. Now there’s a trend for digitally weary users to switch back to simple phone. Daniel Thomas writes on Financial Times: “In January, British actor Eddie Redmayne made headlines around the world as he became the latest in a growing band of smartphone refuseniks. ‘It was a reaction against being glued permanently to my iPhone during waking hours,’ he explained, turning instead to an old-fashioned dumb phone handset that could only make and take calls. He is not alone. There is a small but busy market for phones that are simple and cheap at a time when smartphones are becoming ever more complex and expensive.” (ft.com)

Millennial Lauren Martin writes: “I don’t have any savings, but I also don’t have any wants. I don’t know about you, but I like to enjoy my life. I like to go out to eat, buy clothes I don’t need and spend money with friends on memorable nights out. This goes back to a piece of advice a very successful friend gave me: Don’t save money. Make more money.” This is simply a very bad advice on many levels that can set a dangerous mindset for young people. If you are in early 20’s and saddled with credit card debts and student loan debts, avoid this bad advice to not save money in your 20’s. In fact when you are young that’s the best time to start saving and investing to take advantage of compounding interest. Moreover, start saving early let you prepare for financial emergencies later in life. (elitedaily.com)

The Practical Saver writes: “A lot of people go on with their lives not knowing how to manage money. As a result, they tend to bury themselves in debt and not save for their future. As a parent, I like my kid to grow as a responsible person especially when it comes to handling money. A lot of people may argue that kids won’t understand the concept behind the proper handle of money but I would argue for the opposite.” Here are some ways to teach your kids about money: Be a good model, teach kids about math then money, talk about money, give them allowance and allow them to spend. (thepracticalsaver.com)

Do you consider yourself “rich” if you have a million dollar net worth? If someone makes over $100,000 per year is she rich? Or wealthy means that you have paid off your mortgage and have enough money in investment accounts to retire early? So what does it meant to be rich? Amy Livingston at Money Crashers says: “The truth is, we don’t all know what “rich” means, because it means different things to different people. And if becoming wealthy is one of your personal financial goals, it’s important to think about exactly what wealth means to you. You need to have a clear idea of what your dream of wealth looks like – what kind of rich person you want to be – before you can come up with a plan to make that dream a reality.” Livingston explores what it means to be rich in different nuances: Wealth as income, wealth as net worth, wealth as lifestyle and wealth as life satisfaction. (moneycrashers.com)

Erik Carter, a Forbes contributor, says you can save up to $286 per month by 6 easy ways. “If saving is so important, why do so many people neglect to save enough? I suspect one of the main reasons is that we tend to view saving the same way we see dieting: as a form of deprivation. Another reason is that we think that small savings just won’t make much of a difference. Fortunately, there are relatively painless ways to save more that could make a huge difference.” He goes into details how you can save money on insurance, cell phone, fitness, cable TV, checking accounts and other bills. (forbes.com)

Forbes contributor Nick Clements delves into the issue of financial education to help the public: “The financial situation of the average American is grim. In a recent survey, 56.3% of people admitted to having less than $1,000 combined in their checking and savings account. The average household has $15,355 of credit card debt at an interest rate of 13.70%. More than half the country is living paycheck to paycheck. One common response from policymakers is to increase financial literacy training. According to the standard hypothesis, if people were armed with better information, they would have never taken out mortgages they couldn’t afford. But does it work? Unfortunately, recent data shows the limitations of financial literacy education. Getting people motivated to live financially healthier lives depends as much upon psychology and community as it does on classroom education. Getting people to focus on generating wealth, rather than surviving the month, is the ultimate goal of financial literacy training.” (forbes.com)

An anonymous reader writes: “Soon you will be able to use your smartphones at bank machines as dozens of US banks are installing new ATMs or updating existing ones to allow customers to order cash on a mobile application and then scan a code to get their money without having to insert a bank card. The new smartphone technology allows for speedier and more secure transactions. For instance, authenticating on the handset reduces the time spent at the ATM to around 10 seconds instead of the typical 30 to 40 seconds. Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Chase already start deploying the new ATMs. Over the next 18 months, 80,000 machines in North America will be in operation.” (globalpost.com)

Samantha Cooney writes on Mashable: “Writer Paulette Perhach had just broken up with her boyfriend, and she wasn’t exactly the picture of financial security. ‘I had a little over $100 to my name, I owed my mom $1200, I owed my boyfriend $2000,’ she tells Mashable. ‘It’s a terrible feeling to have to rely on someone else.’ But Perhach landed back on her feet, and turned her all-too-cautionary tale into an essay on Medium titled ‘A Story of a Fuck Off Fund,’ which advised people to have a secret stash of cash should your relationship go south, you get into an uncomfortable situation at work, or you just need to make a clean break. ‘If any man ever hit you, if anyone ever sexually harassed you, you’d tell him to fuck right off. You want to be, no, you will be the kind of woman who can tell anyone to fuck off if a fuck off is deserved, so naturally you start a Fuck Off Fund,’ she wrote.” (mashable.com)

If you are looking to save money this year, then Everything Finance has some advice: “While it can be difficult to save money, it can also be easy. Provided that you take some simple steps, you can save a lot of money in a short amount of time. With that in mind, here are four things that you might not have considered when it comes to saving money.” From using budget app and growing your own food to investing in alternatives and avoiding the debt spiral, Everything Finance discusses in-depth to show how you can save money with these four unique ways. (everythingfinanceblog.com)

You probably heard about these personal finance superstars: Dave Ramsey, Mary Hunt and Suze Orman. They publish books, send out famous checklists and trademark baby steps, but is it really a smart idea to follow the advice of a budgeting superstar? The answer is yes and no. During the “accumulation” phase of life, it’s a good idea to follow the advice from these personal finance superstars since the basic concepts of eliminating debt, saving for an emergency fund and investing for retirement are universally accepted as sound financial practices. Those with significant income or unusual financial situations are best to follow personalized advice, rather than the generic financial advice. “Celebrity financial advice might motivate some people to get out of debt and start investing, but it certainly won’t work for every situation. The key is to find the method that has you taking action for a financially secure future.” (usnews.com)

One Cent at a Time writes: “When it comes to car insurance, you have a lot of choices and Car Liability Insurance Coverage is one of them. Since you have many choices, you should know as much as possible to decide on the coverage. You should know the facts and myths so that you can make informed decision.” Both property damage liability and bodily injury liability are discussed. As usual, the level of coverage and the amount of deductibles depends on your circumstances. By understanding these helpful facts on car liability insurance coverage you can make the best choice in your situation. Once you decide on your insurance coverage, here are 5 car insurance companies to consider. (onecentatatime.com)

Too much spoiling can lead a young person to suffer from affluenza.  That’s the case for an American teenager Ethan Couch, who killed four people on June 15, 2013 while recklessly driving drunk . His lawyer argued that he’s unable to understand the consequences of his actions because of his financial privilege. Instead of prison, Couch got 10 years of probation and rehabilitation to treat his affluenza. After violating the term of his probation, he fled to Mexico then he got caught. Currently, Couch remains in jail in solitary confinement. Soon Couch will be transferred to the adult court to face the consequences, and he could get more jail time. (reuters.com)

Economic Policy Institute writes: “Social Security is the nation’s most successful anti-poverty program and it remains a fundamental pillar of the American economy—one that is critical to the long-term economic security of today’s young people. The National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI) and EPI just released an updated and revised version of A Young Person’s Guide to Social Security, a comprehensive 60-page guide written by young authors for students and young workers.” If you wonder if Social Security is broke or it’s a giant Ponzi scheme, fear not. “The program’s financial status can be summed up in one sentence: Social Security’s projected shortfall is 2.68% of taxable earnings over the next 75 years.” So eventually you will receive some amount when the time come. (epi.org)

Mixing friendship and money can test even the strongest bond. Miriam Cross has great advice on how to handle money issues between friends. “If, after careful consideration, you’re still uneasy about lending the money, phrase your refusal politely but without leaving room for negotiation or delving into the details of why you’re saying no. Pamela Eyring, president of the Protocol School of Washington, suggests saying something like ‘it’s my personal policy not to lend money to friends or family’ or ‘I’ve had bad experiences with ruined friendships, and I don’t want that to happen to us.’ Then brainstorm other ways your friend could come up with the cash—say, by referring him to a freelance job or showing him how to sell on eBay. If you decide to lend the money, insist that you both sign a promissory note. Explain to your friend that clarifying the terms of repayment on paper will help preserve your friendship.” (kiplinger.com)