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Buying a new house is not cheap: Expenses not to forget when buying a new h
2008-04-14 20:57:00
When my wife and I bought a new house in 2006, it was an exciting time for us. We were living in a townhouse that we owned, but we just wanted a little bit more space than what we currently had.We looked for a new home for almost 1 1/2 years, looking at both new construction and existing homes. After countless open houses, model homes, real estate agents and a lot of number crunching we finally bought a new construction house just down the road from where we lived.The process of buying a new house was an expensive one, and one we'll be better prepared for next time. Here are just a few of the expenses we didn't fully realize we'd have - or how expensive they would be, when we purchased our home. Hopefully this list will allow you to go in with your eyes wide open.EXPECTED PAYMENTS AND FEESDown Payments: A lot of the time, in order to get a good interest rate you'll need to make a hefty down payment on the house, 10% or more. If you want to avoid private mortgage insurance, ...
More About: House , Buying , New House , Expenses , Cheap

148th Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is up!
2008-04-14 14:45:00
Over at Gather Little by Little, the 148th Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance is up and live. Thanks go to glblguy for his hard work on the carnival this week, it looks to be a good one - lots of great submissions from all over the blogosphere!My article, College Expenses: Should parents pay for their children’s tuition? is included in the mix, and I hope you'll give it a quick read!Some of my other favorite reads this week include:Emily at Taking Charge presents Presidential candidates have bad creditThe Simple Dollar presents How Big Should My Car Down Payment Be?Master Your Card presents Why America NEEDS a RecessionMoney & Fitness Blog presents Netflix vs. Redbox: Which is the better DVD rental service?Uncommon Cents presents $4,000 Now, Nothing Later: the Beauty of the Roth IRACheck them, and the rest of the submissions out today!LINKS:148th Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance !Enter our book review and giveaway contest! Enter by doing the following and...

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Flourish
2008-04-14 08:38:00
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf. Proverbs 11:28
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Verse

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Chasing Fantasies
2008-04-13 17:49:00
He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. Proverbs 12:11
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Verse

Upcoming Book Review and Contest
2008-04-12 15:31:00
I was recently contacted by author Cameron C. Taylor, because he wanted to send me a complimentary copy of his new book, "Does Your Bag Have Holes? 24 Truths That Lead to Financial and Spiritual Freedom" to do a review of it.I agreed to read the book and do a review.I just received the book a few days ago, and started reading the first couple of chapters today. It is written from a Christian perspective, and I can already tell that it's going to delve into some very deep topics related to Christian theology, finance, and how our money and faith are intertwined. Its been a very good read so far, and I'm excited to read the rest.When I'm done reading the book I'm going to give a full and complete review on this blog, as well as attempting to do an email interview with the author. Check back soon for that!BOOK GIVEAWAY CONTESTStarting today I'm going to be running a contest to give away my copy of the book, along with the abridged audio version that comes along with it.So what d...
More About: Contest , Book Review , Review , Book , Upcoming

5 Budget Busters Challenge
2008-04-12 00:13:00
I was just tagged over at Achingdebts.com for a new meme - the Budget Busters Challenge ! "What is the Budget Busters Challenge? Well, here is how Cindy over at Achingdebts describes it:I thought I would start a bit of a challenge to personal finance bloggers or anyone to list 5 things big or small that bust your budget. You would think that the bigger the budget the bigger the buster would need to be but that’s not necessarily so. Small things add up quickly and tend to break my budget wide open before I have caught on to them.So with that said, here are a few things that bust my budget all the time, and that I struggle with continually:Snacks: Whenever I stop to get gas I'll usualy go in and get a pop or a candy bar. When I'm at work, I'll run to the vending machine and get some chips. If I'm just having a down day a lot of times I'll stop at a store and get something to eat. It's bad on the budget, and its bad on my waistline too!Eating out: Number 2 also has to do...

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Good advice
2008-04-11 07:07:00
Without good advice everything goes wrong-- it takes careful planning for things to go right. Proverbs 15:22 This verse speaks to the idea that when you're doing your finances, or anything else for that matter, it pays to get some good advice from someone who knows what they're talking about. Get your advice, and then plan a course of action. Set a goal and plan and things will "go right".
More About: Personal , Advice , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible

Paying for pets: When is it too much?
2008-04-10 18:56:00
My wife and I are the proud owners of a little nine pound Shih-Tzu named Nala (as in Disney's "The Lion King". The female lion is Nala). She is a precious little pooch, who loves running around the house, barking and rolling around on the floor. She'll even sit in her favorite easy chair and watch some TV (see photo). We've had her for 3 or 4 years now, and for the most part she's been a healthy little canine.Over the past couple of weeks Nala has been having some issues with her right eye that has caused us to go to the vet 3 times, racking up vet bills of several hundred dollars. It turns out that she probably got fecal matter in her eye that ended up causing a painful infection. Apparently this is pretty common for dogs, and if left unchecked the infection can be bad enough for the dog to lose her eye.We've been applying eye drops to this little pup for almost two weeks now, 4-5 times a day. While she resisted this vehemently at first, she has gotten used to it. Luckil...
More About: Pets

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: My daily bread
2008-04-10 17:24:00
Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, "Who is the Lord?" Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8-9
More About: Personal , Daily , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible

Reminder: Signup with Revolution Money Exchange by April 15th for a $25 bon
2008-04-09 21:07:00
If you haven't already heard all the buzz in the blogoshpere about a new service called Revolution Money Exchange , you probably just haven't been paying attention.A couple of months ago they popped onto the scene as a challenger to paypal.com, and other money transfer services. While their $25 signup bonus is what initially got me to jump on board, I have since come to enjoy some of the other benefits of the service. Some of those benefits include:Unlike paypal, it is free to transfer money directly from account holder to account holder. No more having to wince every time 3% of my hard earned logo design money disappears right off the top.Transfers to my bank were quick and easy.Referrals! ($10 for every referral)Now I have to admit that there were a couple of downsides as well:No credit card payments, only direct account transfers (this could be good too?)Few options for setting up buttons/etc for on your own blog/website. I'm sure they'll have more options available soon.So w...
More About: April , Reminder

Is your jar full?
2008-04-09 21:07:00
An intersting little story I read today:When things in your life seem almost to much to handle, when 24 hours in aday are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar......and the beer.A Professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in frontof him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large andempty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He thenasked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.So the Professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into thejar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areasbetween the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar wasfull. They agreed it was.The Professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Ofcourse, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jarwas full. The students responded with an unanimous "Yes."The Professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table andpoured the entire c...
More About: Full

Own all the markets: Vanguard to release a global stock index fund
2008-04-09 18:29:00
According to the Sun Financial Diary Vanguard has just revealed plans that they have to release a total global stock index fund.As most new investors like myself are learning, buying index funds of the entire markets are a great way to buy stocks without thinking too hard about it. You buy a share in the fund and you then own a piece of the markets the same size as they are found in the major indexes. The returns for these index funds are reliably good, and can be a great low cost way to "set it and forget it" when it comes to your investment. From the Vanguard press release:Vanguard filed a registration statement on Wednesday, April 2, 2008, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to offer a global equity index fund: Vanguard® Global Stock Index Fund . The fund will offer three share classes—Investor, Institutional, and ETFs—that are expected to be available in the second quarter of 2008. This will be Vanguard's first passively managed global index fund. T...
More About: Markets , Release

Myths about the sub-prime lending mess
2008-04-09 18:05:00
In an article over at MSN Money, Rick Newman of U.S. News World and Report talks about the looming recession and the sub-prime loan mess that we're finding ourselves stuck in.With 2 million home foreclosures possible over the next two years and the economy stumbling toward recession, it's clear that Washington will enact new reforms meant to curtail reckless lending, attach big-print disclaimers to risky securities and prevent any more self-triggered implosions in the financial markets.The Federal Reserve has already engineered one Wall Street bailout, something it may have to do again. Congress, the Treasury Department and other regulators are proposing dozens of new rules.Some of them might work.But we're not at the end of the housing crash or the economic downturn -- we're still in the middle, where vision is much worse than 20/20. That means politicians and regulators could end up imposing solutions before they even fully understand the problem. Rick goes on to list some of ...
More About: Myths , Lending , Prime , Mess

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day:Contempt
2008-04-09 17:57:00
He who mocks the poor shows contempt for their Maker; whoever gloats over disaster will not go unpunished. Proverbs 17:5
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Verse

Bear with us as we do a redesign!
2008-04-08 21:02:00
You may notice some funny stuff going on with the site today. Please bear with us as I switch to a new template and try to get everything working. I'd ask you to comment on the new template, but the comments aren't working right yet.. :)thanks for your patience!
More About: Redesign , Bear

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: In Infirmities
2008-04-08 19:57:00
Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10My wife is sick right now, so this verse really hits home in the fact that when you are "in infirmities" and are weak, that's when you turn to God and you need him the most. We prayed very hard for her last night, and today she is feeling quite a bit better. she still has a little ways to go, but the doctors say she'll be fine in 48-72 hours. Thank you Jesus!
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Verse

Redbox.com - Free rentals are great, but beware!
2008-04-07 22:24:00
I recently posted a deal on this website to get all of your movie rentals for free through redbox.com. The post has gotten quite a bit of traffic, so I thought it was only prudent that I share something that a reader made me aware of a couple of days ago. Some redboxes around the country have fallen prey to people stealing credit card information through credit card skimmers. From redbox.com: A few days ago redbox detected and removed an illegal credit card skimming device at one of our 7,400 locations. At the same time, redbox also discovered evidence of skimming attempts in two other locations. Locations with evidence of skimming attempts: - 1101 South Rural Road, Tempe, AZ (device removed before retrieval by perpetrator) - 1620 El Paseo Road, Las Cruces, NM (evidence of skimming attempt) - 2330 East Lohman Avenue, Las Cruces, NM (evidence of skimming attempt) Skimming involves the placement of an illegal device above the credit/debit card reader on a vending machine, ATM, or in...
More About: Free , Great , Rentals , Beware , Redbox

College Expenses: Should parents pay for their children's tuition?
2008-04-07 21:14:00
A lot of our married friends have been having kids lately, and as a result some of them have started saving for their kid's future college education.I think it is admirable to be planning ahead, and ensuring that your children get an education. But my question is this: Should parents be paying for all of their children's education in the first place?Over at Llama money they had a similar discussion that struck a chord with me, so I thought I would give my take on this as well.When I was growing up my parents were never well off as my father worked at a local church food shelter ministering to others in their neediest of times. We didn't have a lot, but we had what we needed. We learned a good work ethic, how to serve others and of course the value of a dollar (much easier to do this when you don't have much).When I was in high school it was made clear to me that I would need to get good grades, and try for college scholarships in order to pay for my education. My parents wou...
More About: College , Parents , Expenses , Tuition

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Put aside and Save
2008-04-07 15:10:00
On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2There is wisdom in saving your money, and looking forward to reasons you may need that money in the future. Sometimes it can be hard to plan ahead, but in the end it'll be well worth the effort.
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Save

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Fix your home on God
2008-04-06 15:53:00
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed. 1 Timothy 6:17-19
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Home

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: More blessed to give
2008-04-05 18:20:00
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Blessed

We're going on a missions trip to Peru!
2008-04-05 17:40:00
My wife Maria and I have decided to participate in a short-term missions trip this summer to Lima (Callao), Peru . The trip is being sponsored by the church Maria works for, Grace Church of Eden Prairie, MN.The trip is coming up at the end of July, from July 25 - August 4, 2008, and we have just decided in the last week or so that we wanted to participate in this trip. It's exciting and scary at the same time. Exciting because we know that we can make a difference by partnering in this ministry, but scary because now we have the daunting task of raising the money so that we can go. $2500 per person!With all this in mind I would ask the readers of this blog for their help and partnership as we embark on this trip. Some ways that you can help us out:Prayer: Most importantly we would ask that over the coming weeks and months before the trip, and during the trip itself, that you would pray for us, and for the work the church is doing in Peru. Pray that people would come to know th...
More About: Missions , Trip

It's a beautiful day!
2008-04-04 15:18:00
As I was driving to work this morning there was fog blanketing everything, and it made for a dramatic sunrise. What a beautiful start to the day:
More About: Beautiful

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Generous giving
2008-04-04 15:16:00
Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. 1 Corinthians 4:2
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Giving

Top 25 ways to save money
2008-04-03 16:41:00
I was over at HowISave Money .net today and found a great article series called 25 Ways I save money. There were lots of good practical suggestions in his posts, so I would recommend that you check it out immediately!
More About: Save Money

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Little With Righteousness
2008-04-03 14:39:00
Better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice. Proverbs 16:8
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Verse

Money Hacks Carnival #6 - Famous Hackers Edition
2008-04-02 19:00:00
Welcome To Money Matters & Welcome to Money Hacks Carnival #6 - Famous Hackers Edition!I am blessed to be hosting the 6th edition of the Money Hacks Carnival. The Money Hackers Network, and this Carnival are the brain-child of our good friend Pinyo over at Moolanomy.com (one of the best personal finance blogs out there in my opinion.) In case you don't already know, the Money Hackers Network is a great place to discover some really great personal finance blogs.Join the Money Hackers Network!I’m a member of the Network and if you have a personal finance related blog, you can join too! It’s easy, it will help you to increase your traffic and exposure, and you’ll even have permission to display this neato badge on your site:Famous Hackers EditionNow that we have all that stuff out of the way, the theme I decided on for this week's carnival is "Famous Hackers".One definition of hacking, as many of you know is "someone who breaks computer and network security". Today in bet...

Personal Finance Bible Verse of the Day: Work
2008-04-02 14:48:00
He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment. Proverbs 12:11
More About: Personal , Personal Finance , Finance , Bible , Work

Home Maintenance Tips: Spring projects
2008-04-01 16:06:00
Spring is here (or almost here in our case), and its a good time to do a few things around the house to make sure that you're not paying for costly repairs down the road. According to Home -smart.org, here are a few preventative maintenance tasks you can do this month to make sure your house is in good condition:Check and clean mechanical ventilation system (HRV/ERV). Check your manual and follow manufacturer’s recommendations.Clean or replace furnace filter.Clean snow from air intakes, exhausts and meters.Remove excess snow from roof to prevent ice dams.Check gutters and downspouts and clean if needed.Inspect basement/crawl space for seepage/leakage.Do safety checks: smoke detectors, fire escape routes, fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide alarms, door and window locks.Check and repair any damaged screens.Adjust thermostat for season change.Observe humidity levels and adjust the setting on the humidistat or air exchanger controller as needed to eliminate condensation or frost on w...
More About: Projects , Tips , Spring , Maintenance

The budget goes out the window!
2008-04-01 15:21:00
I have a confession to make. Now that we're finally out of debt (except the mortgage), my wife and I decided to celebrate and go out shopping. We both got the urge to just drop our budget and go spend crazy for just one day, so we each took one of the credit cards and and went our separate ways.My wife went to Macy's. There was this purse that my wife has been looking at recently for $600 that she just had to have. She bought it. And she bought several new outfits for work, summer, spring and next fall.. Total damage, $4000.I went to Best Buy. I have been eyeing this 60" Plasma screen TV for the past year - and I finally just broke down and bought it. You only live once, right? And my birthday is coming up next month! Price tag - $4000.I also decided that I wanted a Blu-Ray player now as well since the whole High-Def format war is over. And while I was at it, I also got a new Nintendo Wii to hook up to my huge new TV. There's another $700.So for the night we ended up sp...
More About: Budget , Window