New found savings

New found Savings

I'm always on the lookout for new places to save money and give me a better return than the local bank can.

In my short time at home, I spend most of it on my desktop and some of it working on moving my office.  The treasures I've found just by cleaning up is amazing.  It brought back so many memories, both good and bad.  Looking through statements and receipts took me back to the wild ride we had over the past several years.  Watching two of my children graduate and turn into young adults.  How we had such a rocky climb back out of the hole we had dug so deep.  Now I watch my own children encountering similar financial struggles.  Of course as I did at their age, they don't listen to anyones advice.  They know it all and will figure it out for themselves.  Lucky for you, you've decided to expand your knowledge and ended up here.  What better way to learn is from experience and that I have.

Years ago I started with an ING Direct account.  A little bit put into it and eventually became 6 different accounts for many purposes.  One is for insurance deductibles.  How many people have the deductible set aside just encase they have to use their insurance policy?  I ran into it once where there was an accident and the insurance would pay the rest after I met the deductible.  It took me months to get that money together so the truck could get fixed.  At that point I started saving into it and keep that account always at the amount needed to meet any deductible.  It gains interest and once a year I move the interest into another account.  I have a Christmas account, money set aside for gifts.  It is another thing that saves me at the end of the year.  We determine a value per child and stick with it.  Then through the year I save up to that amount.  When we start getting presents the money comes out of that account to pay for them.  An emergency account, all unexpected income goes into this account.  Any money from overtime to bonuses and  even tax returns go into this account.  This has been a big plus for me.  If there is any kind of emergency that pops up such as a home or auto repair I'm covered.  Then we have the checking/debit card account.  This usually has some undetermined amount in it and it is where the funds from the other accounts go into if I need to use them for some reason.  Please note that my emergency account is just that, for emergencies.  Going out to eat, buying something nice and so forth is NOT an emergency.  I know it can be tempting to pull from it when it grows but remember it's better to be prepared than not.  I had set up some kids accounts so my children could learn about money and have a place to save.  They get their own debit card that they can use to access the money.  A few years ago, ING Direct was bought by Capitol One and became Capitol One 360.  It still earns interest the same and works great.  I finally have a credit card through Capitol One and earn points to put towards payments or travel.  I also started an IRA account with them which is easy to fund from any of the accounts I have.  Remember, there are no limits on how many accounts you can have.  I like to save money so I pay for my car insurance for the 6 month period.  To do this I take so much a month and set it aside in the appropriate account.

The new account I found though can help you save up that emergency fund and gives you rewards for doing so.  I've been getting emails from Brightpeak Financial for some time now with so much useful information and helpful tips on saving money.  They have a way to save for emergencies and reward you for reaching the goals they set.  Signing up is easy and the only commitment is the initial deposit, minimum $1 and a weekly, bi-weekly or monthly automatic deposit.  The weekly deposit minimum is $13, by-weekly $27 or monthly at $50.  The goal is to help you have $1000 saved in a 24 month period.  The rewards are fantastic as they give you money for reaching set goals.  You can actually get some nice sums which beat any returns any bank could offer you.  Basically they will give you up to $100 over the 24 month period for reaching the goals set.  This is all done through Thrivent Federal Credit Union's Emergency Savings Share Account.  Check it out, you won't be sorry.  The interest rates are very nice as well.  There is one catch but a good one.  There are no fees as long as you don't make more than one withdrawal a month.  This may seem harsh but it insures that you will only use this money in a true emergency.

I'd like to keep going on but have some more things to do.  I have a couple other accounts that you may want to check out but I'll leave that for tomorrow.

The New Year is getting closer...

Are you ready for the New Year?

I'm on a roll here, so can I keep it going?  I am inclined to think that anything is possible provided you put your mind to it.  So let's continue with what I learned from my own personal experience.  I know I'm guilty of wasting time and as I get older time is becoming more valuable.  Don't let it slip through your fingers...

As I look back, yet again, I wonder where the time has gone.  So as not to waste any more precious time, I'm sharing the last several years of personal experience in growth.  As the blog states "Success From Within", it truly does generate itself from within our on existence.  It may take some poking and prodding from outside sources to get us motivated but it's possible for us to better ourselves in ways we'd never imagine.

2012 brought it's own challenges.  More house work, vehicle issues and the ever slow recovery of the economy.  I continued reading and applying what I learned to my everyday life to improve my situation.  My traveling was getting more extensive as business started to pick up.  I found that almost every book I picked up all said the same thing.  Set goals, focus on the future, save and give to create abundance.  My two oldest children were now out on their own, although I still supplied them with insurance and vehicles.  The nest had shrunk and so did my out flow of cash.  I concentrated on my savings and found more places to stash it.  Hiding it away so I'd never have to face the multiple years of stress I had when the recession hit.

2013 threw a curve ball as my company was sold to a huge corporation.  The finalization was at the end of the year.  We felt it was for the good of our survival in the industry but wouldn't know for sure until the conversion was complete.  Business continued to grow and so did the traveling.  I continued on making improvements to the house.  I had another section of roof leaking that needed to be replaced.  There were other changes around the house.  The exact year this happened eludes me so sorry if I'm jumping back in time.  Our neighbor across the highway sold their property to the same gentleman who bought the acreage next to us.  He is the local banks CEO and was starting to cattle farm.  I rent my well to him since it runs over to his acreage and I let him graze the cattle behind my house just to keep the grasses down.  Near years end we had a meeting in Maryland where the new company made all the usual announcements.  The bad news of big corporate running was evident.  That feeling of needing to move on was sinking in but for some reason I decided to tough it out.

2014 was a much better year.  The best I'd had in a long time.  The reading, saving and giving were starting to pay off.   I'm not one to budget my money but with sticking too my guns I was able to start getting things that I normally would not have been able to in the past.  I sent my youngest on some trips that the other two didn't have the luxury of but also she is more out going than the others were.  I had replaced two exterior doors and had central air installed for the house.  Vehicle swapping was a little more easier since I had cash to deal with it.  Our savings grew and the pressures of paying on time were gone.  I was finally able to get a credit card again and made sure that it was paid in full every month.  I found new ways to get extra cash such as shopathome.  Buying through their website allowed me to get cash back on purchases.  The Ibotta app also was a great way to get cash back from grocery shopping.  A positive outlook on things and always looking at new opportunities pushed me forward to a better, more relaxed life.  Not to say that all is perfect but many worries went away.  I am left with only one loan other than the mortgage but I set up an accelerated  payoff plan and am happy with the results.  I did have a fight with them since they had taken over the loan and were mishandling the funds I was sending.  I simply made copies of all my canceled checks and sent them a nice letter stating where they missed my payments.  I also sent it registered with a statement saying if it wasn't handled in a timely matter, my lawyer would be receiving it.  Needless to say they came through rather quickly to fix the issue and there has been no issues since.

2015 was an all out better year.  As usual there is always something that will spring up and steal your cash but overall it went well.  I hit my goal of how much money I wanted in the bank.  Traveling was getting pretty extreme.  Spent very little time at home but it paid the bills.  Nothing really done with the house this year but a new set of windows was bought.  I bit too much for me to put in alone so they sit for now and the old ones are boarded up to keep the elements out.  My new company was again put policies into place that made no sense for our industry.  Seemed as though they were doing everything in their power to destroy what ever profits we are generating.  As the small group of guys I work with tried to stay under the radar, we still felt the little pricks and pinches the big corp was rolling out to us.  I had multiple accounts set up for various things so nothing would take me by surprise again.  At years end I had made the decision to do the 52 week challenge.  You can find out about it yourself @ 52weekmoneychallenge.

I figure I've ranted enough for today... Tomorrow I'll finish up with 2016.

Regards and Happy Holidays!!!