September Acres

I am always looking for the newest personal finance book.  I pick them up at the library mostly - some of them are horrible & I stop reading soon after starting.  Some are really great and I end up buying them or checking them out numerous times.  Some of my favorites (in no particular order): I am a huge Dave Ramsey fan so I love this book.  I think he makes so much sense and what he advises us to do with money is really simple stuff - it's the discipline that's hard.  He shares success stories in this book which I find motivating.  He talks about his 'baby steps' for getting out of debt and offers forms to help with budgeting. Jean Chatzky has written many books but I like this one a lot.  This book talks about the difference between us and the financially successful - what they do that we don't.  It's good stuff. David Bach coined the phrase 'the latte factor' - that money we spend everyday without thinking - for lots of...

T he secret of getting ahead is getting started. ~ Mark Twain We all know we need to save , especially for retirement, but it's sometimes getting started that is the hardest part.  For most of us, retirement seems soooo far away but the years go by in a flash.  Anyone with a college age child (yet another thing we need to save for) will tell you how fast those first 18 years go by.  A 401k is a great place to start if your employer (or your spouse's) offers it.  Many companies also match a certain percentage- say you put in 3% of your income your employer will match that.  There's usually a limit so check with your HR department and try to put in up to your company's match. If a 401k isn't an option check into an IRA . There are limits as to how much you can save in an IRA as well as income limits but it's a great way to save for retirement. If you need help deciding how you should save for retirement there are loads of books out there (che...

Y our goal should be to pay off your credit card bills in full at the end of each month and set aside money toward your emergency savings . ~Suze Orman Save for a rainy day.  Pay yourself first.  Set aside 10% of your income.  Feed the pig(gy bank).  We all say it in a different way but the bottom line is that having an emergency fund is an important financial tool.  An emergency fund keeps us from pulling out the credit cards when the car breaks down, the roof leaks, an accident lands you in the emergency room or a job loss occurs.  Knowing you need an emergency fund (EF) is one thing, creating one is a little harder.  The financial experts have different ideas as to how much you need in your EF but generally 3-6 months of living expenses is a good start.  If you are in a stable job, three months is probably good.  If you are self-employed or in a less stable job, aiming for six months (or more) is a smart idea. If you are in...

We're on the downhill slide of our No Spend February .  Just a few more days and we'll be done.  Does this mean we'll go out and buy all those things we wanted to buy but said 'no' to during the last month?  Not hardly.  To be honest, I'll keep these frugal habits for a few more weeks since I'm kind of in the no spending mode. We've done fairly well this month and haven't spent on anything that was not really necessary, have used much of what's in the pantry and have saved a bit more than usual. It's really easy to put off purchases that are purely wants when you make an effort. And that's really the purpose of a no spend month, in my opinion.  When more thought is put into a purchase,  I usually come to the conclusion that while I may want something I certainly don't need it.  Sometimes I only want it for a little while. America Saves Week  starts on Monday and is the perfect ending to our no spend month.  I'll share some ...

It's that time of year again here at September Acres.  It's No Spend February!  I believe this is the fifth year we are doing this and I am more than ready.  The rest of the family is not quite as excited though - as with past years.  But they know it's coming... I call this a 'no spend' month but realistically it's more of a ' controlled spend ' month as I still buy some groceries (perishables, for example) and pay for LM's gymnastics lessons.  But other than that things get pretty frugal around here. Here's what no spend February means for us: No vacations . No extra-curricular shopping activities.   This is a big one and probably the one place that most unnecessary spending occurs.  Those trips to the Target dollar spot really add up and will be cut out this month (and maybe beyond).  We've also just come off Christmas and birthdays so no one needs anything. No eating out .  As in years past, we'll go  if we're being ...

One of the most popular new year's resolutions has got to be 'saving money'.  A noble resolution for sure, especially after the holiday spending frenzy many of us go on from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve.  While I didn't make any resolutions this year, I am always interested in tightening our belts after the holidays.   I kept hearing about this 52 Week Money Challenge.   The idea is to save $1 for the number of the week we are in during the year. $1 for week one, $2 for week two and so on.  If you are faithful in doing this you will have $1378.00 by week 52 of this year.  Pretty neat, isn't it?   The woman behind this challenge is a lot like many of us.   Meet her here.   I have seen ideas about reversing this challenge  by saving the $52 the first week, $51 the second week, etc.  The theory behind this is that during the last weeks of the year, we tend to have holiday expenses making it harder to set aside $40 plus...