Category: Finance

Posted in Finance, Life, money

My 7 Favorite Dave Ramsey Tips

Posted on by Kylie

I wish I could be his obnoxious, female equivalent

Beautiful artwork that resembles money.

Almost everybody knows who Dave Ramsey is. No, he’s not Jon Benet’s father. I’m talking about Dave Ramsey, financial expert and advisor extraordinaire. He is the financial world’s equivalent to Dr. Phil. He is able to convey financial and money matters in a way that all who hear it can understand it.

I wish I could be the female version of Ramsey. But, alas, I am not eloquent and I like to party a little too much. So, in his honor, I would like to share my favorite Dave Ramsey tips.

1. Open, fill, and maintain an emergency fund in case you lose your job or a catastrophe happens. This is typically three months of living expenses.

2. The power of focusing. Pay off one small debt at a time instead of trying to do all of them or multiple ones at once. This is called, according to Dave, a debt snowball. It is a lot less stressful and a lot more feasible than trying to pay off everything at one time.

3. Use cash to pay for everything. If you can’t afford to pay cash, you can’t afford it. Credit should be saved for emergency situations.

4. Invest 15% in retirement. Unfortunately, I cannot allocate that much, but I hope to be able to get there soon. I would love to go back and slap younger me for not starting earlier.

5. Live poor now so you can live rich later.

6. Never, ever buy a new car. They depreciate as soon as you drive off of the lot. This is just not a smart move at all, financially. In all fairness, my dad taught me this long before Ramsey did.

7. Pay off your mortgage early. That’s one less debt you will have upon retiring.

Dave Ramsey is a favorite of mine because he doesn’t over complicate things. Sometimes, it really is as simple as it sounds.

You can see from the above tips how easily you can change your life and your finances. After taking the first step in the right direction, the next steps come much easier. Take the first step towards being debt free.

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Posted in credit repair, Debt, Finance, Life, money

Paying Off Debt Quickly Using The Snowball Method

Posted on by Kylie

Using this method, paying off debt can be done with fast results and skyrocketing credit scores

A lady exasperated by her debt, trying to figure out how to pay it all
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We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.

-Aristotle

A debt snowball is not a crumpled up wad of bills for you to throw around in the snow. It is a debt reducing strategy that I learned from financial guru, Dave Ramsey. I have tried almost every financial strategy in existence and this one is the one I recommend to my financial or credit analysis clients.

Using this method, paying off debt can be done a little at a time for faster results and skyrocketing credit scores.

Step 1

Add up all of your debt and allocate them into categories such as credit cards, medical, collections, loans, etc. Then further allocate them by the ones with the highest interest rate down to the lowest. Use the method on each section or, if you can only do one at a time, start with the debt that has interest on it.

Step 2

Pay the minimum payment due on all except the one with the smallest balance or the highest interest rate. I would recommend sorting first by interest rate and then by balance to save the most money in the long run. However you decide to do it, pick the one to pay as much over the minimum payment as you can afford.

Repeat until the first debt is paid off in full.

Step 3

Repeat the first two steps over and over with the remaining debt until everything is paid off and you are one of the rare, debt-free individuals that we hear about so often.

After that final debt is cleared, you will be amazed how fast things got better for you financially and regretful for how long it took you to do it. Suddenly, you’ll be in the position to buy something that you need when you need it and use cash. Being debt free is an amazing feeling to have especially if you have almost drowned from it before.

That doesn’t sound like a big deal to some people, but I know many, many people who pray for only that circumstance to happen in their lives before they die. They just want a chance to not worry constantly about making ends meet for a few moments in their life before it’s over.

I am a definite realist and true unbeliever in fairy tales. So, please believe me when I tell you that this goal is attainable for everyone. Anyone willing to put in the work can make this happen. As with anything else, small changes and/or steps done on a consistent basis will quickly lead to great accomplishments.

My favorite financial quote has always been, “It is not how much money you earn, but how much you don’t spend that determines your wealth.” It is also a quote that I have heard from my brother 1 million times so it has stuck in my head. Which reinforces my point that anything we do repeatedly becomes an action.

Posted in Finance

How To Make Money While Making Money

Posted on by Kylie
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Having money in an account is nice, but most financial advisors will tell you that if your money is not working for you, then you’re losing out on wealth.

Keep your emergency fund in your regular savings account so you have immediate and total access to it. Any savings beyond that need to be put to work earning for you.

Beyond that amount in your emergency fund, put everything else in a money making venture or account. Whether that be a CD, stocks, bonds, EFTs, or just an interest-bearing savings account. You want any of your money, that’s not being spent, to work for you. It needs to grow, not lie stagnant like my heart.

Another way to make money while you’re making money, is to invest in a vending machine or other business. Be a silent investor so you don’t have to do any of the work or maintenance. Just sit back and let the money come to you. Then, put your profits in an interest-bearing account or another investment opportunity.

I also like to make money by buying a piece of furniture, flipping it and selling it for a profit. I only buy one piece at a time, so I don’t overextend myself physically, creatively, or financially. I have made good money at this. Custom painted furniture and mosaic furniture is all the rage.

COVID has affected our economy, but not all in bad ways. Now is a great time to buy real estate, if you are able to qualify. Qualifications are a little harder, but it’s a good time to buy and a great time to sell if you need to liquidate some assets.

Also, consider your education as an investment for your money. Take a class, get that degree, get that training, or just become educated. The more skills you have, the better.

Knowledge is power. I firmly believe that. The day you stop improving yourself and your life, is the day you really die.

Posted in Finance, Ideas, Life, tips

5 Ways To Make Extra Income

Posted on by Kylie

The circumstances in which one finds themselves living is not meant to be permanent. Every chapter of our life is equivalent to a different level and to grow you must level up. There is a strength from growing and gaining financially that people who have never struggled will never understand. I think to fully understand one, you must experience the other.

Awakening your prosperity is something anybody is able to do but few actually succeed in. It requires a little, old fashioned hard work and focus, which few have anymore. Those missing qualities have helped develop and maintain the bridge between the low income and higher income earners. Anyone is able to take their piece of the pie, but working for it and making smart decisions is the only way to get there.

Man sleeping on a bench
Photo by John Moeses Bauan on Unsplash
  1. You can grow money on your savings by investing in a high yield savings account or CD so that you will earn a return on your investments. They are easy to find online and some are free. The difference between the poor and the rich is that the rich always make sure their money is working for them.
  2. You can also make, or lose, money by playing the stock market. If you decide to play the stocks, make sure you pick companies that pay a dividend. You can find this information by looking it up on the Internet. You can also find it, and much more information, in articles released daily regarding the stock market and business.
  3. You can sell downloadable forms and/or content on Etsy. You can sell anything homemade on Etsy. I have a friend that made a large sum monthly on just digital forms this way. If you have a need for something, then others do too.
  4. You can write for Medium or Vocal and earn money based on your output and popularity. This is something that takes time, much like compound interest. The more you put out, the more you will make.
  5. You can submit receipts on apps that will let you cash out with money or gift cards. A few to name are Coinout, Receiptpal, and Fetch rewards.
Man in drivers seat of sportscar
Photo by Marcos Paulo Prado on Unsplash

I hope this list will provide the stimulation someone may need to get the ball rolling on creating extra income. I will not call it passive income because passive income is generated by no work at all, such as returns from being a silent investor, etc. It is a widely overused and incorrectly used description for what I term found money.

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