3 Kids and Us

4 Smart Spending Habits to Develop ASAP

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When people talk about making smart financial decisions, they almost always discuss money-saving tactics. Of course, finding ways to cut back or cut down on expenditures can make it easier for a person to manage their debt and pay off bills. However, the reality is that developing smart spending habits can prove just as beneficial. Indeed, learning how to be a savvy consumer can do wonders for your long-term financial stability. With that in mind, today we’ll explore four smart spending habits that everyone should work to build right away. Check them out here:

Stay Patient

Have you ever felt compelled to make a purchase? Or have you ever bought something on a whim and then regretted it later? If so, then know  that you’re not alone. While impulse buying is fairly common, it is nevertheless a bad practice –– particularly for people on a tight budget. Given that fact, it’s important for all consumers to exercise patience when considering their purchase options. Give yourself at least a few days to review serious purchases and never rush to buy a product or service you don’t need.

Engage with Businesses

Modern businesses value customers that reach out and engage with them. In fact, they value customer interactions so much that they may be willing to pass along discounts or special offers to consumers who communicate with them. For example, pharmacy customers might be able to earn discounts simply by filling out a survey about their last shopping experience. If you’re looking for a good deal, don’t be afraid to speak directly with local businesses.

Become Brand Blind

Attachment to a certain brand could end up costing you hundreds –– or even thousands –– of dollars in unnecessary upcharges over a long period of time. Whenever possible, ignore brand names and advertising messages and compare products and services in an objective fashion. Often, you’ll find that the “name brand” is overpriced or over-hyped.

Maximize Positive Impact

Believe it or not, your spending power can go a long way. That is, provided you know how to stretch it. Whenever you’re making a purchase decision, be sure to consider how you can get the best bang for your buck. For instance, purchasing a piece of equipment might cost more than renting it. However, if you use that product on a regular basis, purchasing it will end up costing you less than renting it again and again. What’s more, consider how your purchases will affect others. Don’t ever forget that even a small act of charity can make all the difference for someone else. Keep that vital money lesson in mind the next time you’re faced with a choice of how to spend your hard-earned capital.

Saving Money on Your Next Long-Distance Move

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Whether you are buying your first, second, or third home, each move is expensive. The cost could double or even triple if the move is made across the country. The good news is there are several ways to lower your expenses.

Rent a truck or Hire a Professional Moving Company

Driving a truck loaded to the max across the country can cause an abundance of stress. Whereas hiring professional movers takes the worry off your shoulders. However, if your budget is skinny, hiring a moving company can cost thousands on its own. You need to weigh the pros and cons and then come to a final decision.

Advantages of Hiring Movers

There are some clear advantages to hiring movers. First, you won’t have to drive a big truck through traffic and suspect roadways. Second, if you opt for their insurance, you won’t have to worry about the damage that may occur during transport. If there’s something of value such as antique glassware or your mother’s pearls, pack a separate box and bring them with you. Another advantage is that they will pack up the truck and remove everything from the truck into your new home.

Reducing the Estimate

Every company will provide you with a written estimate based on the information you provide. Naturally, if any of the info changes, the cost can increase or decrease accordingly. Most estimates include a charge for packing a set number of boxes. If you opt to pack up the boxes yourself, you can lower the final cost. The written estimate will also include a fee for the supplied boxes. However, if you decide to acquire the boxes on your own, that amount comes off the bill. You can find boxes for free at retail stores, supermarkets, and liquor stores.

Move During the Off-Season

Moving companies charge different rates throughout the year. During their peak season, May through September, you can expect to pay the most. However, if you schedule the move from October through March, you’ll pay less. It’s all about supply and demand. To save even more, schedule the move for a weekday versus over the weekend.

Take Only What You Want

Everything that you take along is going to occupy space on the truck. The more room you use, the higher the fee. Before contacting a moving company, figure out what you want. Clean out the basement, the garage, and the attic and start the process of decluttering. Anything you no longer use or need set aside. Return to these items a day or two later, and if you’re still on the fence about bringing them, leave them behind. You can sell, donate, or contact a junk company to haul them away. You can use the profits on the items you sell to help fund your move and the donations as a tax deduction.

Moving Container

If you decide that hiring a moving company is not in your budget and you don’t want to drive a truck for more than a thousand miles, a moving container may provide a good fit. Moving containers have a price somewhere in the middle. One advantage of having a container delivered is that you have time to pack up at your leisure. The company simply drops off the container and you give them a call when it’s ready for pick up. They also deliver it to your new home when you’re ready. This lets you get the fine cleaning done ahead of your things.

Moving can be emotional for you, your spouse, children, and pets. You can remain excited and move for less if you reduce your inventory, find boxes, pack yourself, and choose the moving date during the week in the off-season.

Money Lessons Every Teenager Should Learn Before Graduating

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Once your child enters high school, you’ve only got a few years before they become adults. Whether they plan on going to college, traveling the world for a year, or applying for a job right after graduation, having a clear understanding of financial management practices will help them along their journey. Besides putting coins in a piggy bank and paying for things they want, you must teach them the following:

Earning Money

You may have provided your child with an allowance for getting good grades on their report card and completing household chores, but now it’s time to take things up a notch. Your teenagers need to understand that mom and dad aren’t ATMs. Teach them the importance of earning a living.

There are a few ways you can teach your teenager this financial lesson. If they’re old enough, encourage them to apply for a part-time job. If a job is not an option, show your teen how to turn their skills and talents into earning opportunities. They can cut grass, remove snow, walk dogs, babysit, or assist family members and neighbors with home improvement tasks.

Budgeting

While you wouldn’t expect your teen to pay the rent, utilities, or groceries, there are personal expenses they can cover. They may be responsible for their portion of the cell phone bill, special meals or snacks, and entertainment. When your teenager starts earning income, show them how to create a budget. This shows them that to survive, they have to be responsible with their spending.

Banking

Tucking money away in a drawer, under a mattress, or in a piggybank was fine when they were younger, but it won’t work in adulthood. Now is the perfect time to teach your teenagers about banking. Open a free checking account at the bank of your choice. Show your teen how to make deposits, write checks, and manage their accounts through online banking.

Saving

Whether for future purchases or emergencies, saving is an essential financial management practice to teach your teens. When you open a checking account, consider opening a savings account. Based on the budget you created, talk to your teen about setting a little money aside each week.

Credit and Debt

From credit cards to student loans, teenagers are inundated with credit offers to finance their future. Without proper management, however, these credit options quickly get out of hand. Therefore, talk to your teen about credit and debt. Explain how credit works, what it means to be a responsible borrower, and what happens if you aren’t.

Allow them to view your credit report so they can see how accounts and payments are recorded. Express the importance of paying bills on time and not taking on too much debt to keep their credit in good standing. You should also communicate the importance of good credit to obtain personal loans, a house, a car, and, in some cases, a career.

Fortunately, there are a lot of teen credit card offers you can take advantage of. The cards allow you to deposit cash in an account and use just as you would any credit card. Your teen then gets a hands-on experience on what credit is and how to manage it. The best part is, you’ll be there to help them.

Giving

The last lesson parents should teach their teenagers is giving. There are so many causes and people in need that could use the support. While there are several ways to give, donating money is at the top of the list. Ask your teen what causes they’re interested in or how they’d like to give back to the community. Then, show them how to donate to that cause.

There’s no reason why your kids should have to learn about money through trial and error. As you probably already know, this concept often leads down a path of destruction. Give them a headstart towards a great future by investing time in teaching them the financial lessons listed above.

How Polo Funding Can Help You Get Debt-Free Before the Wedding

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The months leading up to your wedding can easily be among the most exciting times of your life. You are–as you should be–filled with happy anticipation. You, your family, and your friends plan the magic touches for the ceremony and celebrations surrounding it. You look forward to the upcoming bachelorette party, rehearsal dinner, and unforgettable reception. In your free time, you watch videos and devour wedding-related content online; Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram are your daydream playground. And you just can’t stop gazing deep into the eyes of your loved one.

Something that can dampen all of this bright festivity is the shadow of debt. If you have amassed a great deal of personal debt over the years, that debt can diminish the joy of wedding planning, wedge itself in between you and the people you love, and cause many a heartache. As you’ve probably heard, one of the main reasons otherwise perfect marriages run into trouble is financial difficulty. It’s important that you work to fix your financial picture before the big day.

Set Pre-Wedding Goals

Depending on how far in advance the date has been set, you may have a shorter amount of time to “whip yourself into shape” financially than you’d like. There is no time like the present to get started. Dive headlong into the project of turning your financial situation around with the same enthusiasm you muster for planning the other aspects of your wedding. Set new financial goals and work towards them fiercely.

Get Organized

Organize your finances by creating a budget, keeping track of your spending, and paying off your debts. At the beginning, this can feel overwhelming; large journeys do. However, if you break any large task into a series of much smaller steps, you have a higher chance of success.

Consolidate Debts

Sometimes paying off your debts isn’t so easy. Fortunately, there are companies like Polo Funding who can help you consolidate your credit card debt. These companies allow you to ditch the variable and high-interest rates that you’re probably paying to the credit card companies. Instead, they give you a manageable monthly payment at a more reasonable low-interest rate, allowing you to see light at the end of the tunnel.

Start Saving… and Make it a Habit

Sadly, it has become less “normal” for Americans to save money. Our costs of living–from housing to transportation to medical expenses–seem to be rising. This is especially true in some of the bigger cities, such as Los Angeles, Portland, New York, Miami, Chicago, and so on. If, after you’ve paid your monthly bills, you want to go out for dinner with your friends or buy a new outfit, you probably have to put it on a credit card.

Somehow you need to shift your relationship with money and stop spending what you don’t have. Instead, set aside what you do have. As an example, if you were to set aside $100 a month (roughly $50 a paycheck), you’d have an extra $1200 a year in savings. That may not sound like so much, but it’s a start.

Build an Emergency Fund

As you work to get back on track financially, one of the first projects you focus on should be building an emergency fund. Set aside money to give yourself (and your new partner) a financial cushion in the event of unexpected situations like an expensive car repair or a sudden job loss. A financial cushion can go a long way towards reducing the kinds of stress that make good marriages go haywire. An emergency fund can change an unforeseen trip to the veterinarian from a financial catastrophe to something you can take in stride.

Is Polo Funding Worth the Hype?

This is a valid question, but perhaps the more important one is whether you want to get yourself out of debt more quickly and for less money. With wedding bells in your near future, you might not have the luxury of trying to handle a mountain of high-interest credit card debt “a little at a time.” Companies like Polo Funding help consolidate your credit card high-interest payments into one simple, fixed-interest loan.

Life After Graduation

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Recent college grads are heading out into the real world for the first time. While it’s exciting to live life on your own, it’s also scary and overwhelming. You are in control of your future and the decisions you make now will affect your financial stability and health.

Securing a Place to Live

Your resume was impressive and landed you a good-paying job. Now, you need to find a place to live. Working in the city comes with both convenience and expenses. Finding an affordable apartment can be difficult, however, it is not impossible. If you have a friend from college who’s also in the market for an apartment, you could go in together. This will allow you to split the cost of the rent, utilities, and food. If you prefer to have your own space, then you’ll need to find something small or opt to live outside the city limits to afford to carry it on your own.

A Mode of Transportation

You need to buy a car to get to and from work and run errands. Checking your budget tells you that you need to find something in a modest price range. A good option is one fresh off a lease or one that is for sale by an owner. With no established credit, securing your first loan can be challenging. However, you can find a first time car buyer loan where your credit history is not a requirement.

A Healthy Diet

With only one person to take care of, you may end up ordering take out and eating out more than you should. Not only is this expensive, but it can also take a toll on your health. Fast food doesn’t require the nutrition your body needs to stay fit and energized. Instead, go to the supermarket and stock your fridge and cabinets with things like fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts, and yogurt. To save money, check the store’s fliers online to see who has the lowest prices on the things you need.

Free Entertainment

It takes an entire year of living on your own to figure out your true expenses. Spending money going out each weekend can put you at a greater risk of losing your apartment, your car, and your independence. Finding things to do that cost little or no money is important. Take a walk in the park and enjoy the fresh air, visit museums, go to the beach or rent a movie. If you want to spend an evening with friends, have everyone chip in for the drinks and snacks, and have fun at home.

Create a Budget

It’s essential to establish a household budget from the beginning. This will allow you to allocate money for weekend getaways and vacations and have money tucked away for emergencies. Make a list of your bills on a sheet of paper or print out a free budget worksheet and fill in the areas that apply. A budget will be your savior during the first crucial year and help you secure financial stability going forward.

Needs and Wants

With a new life in front of you and your first try at living on your own, you may want to go out and buy everything you need and want. Instead, be mindful of your expenses and make it a practice to weigh the pros and cons ahead of any major purchase. You need a table to eat at, so it makes sense to save money for this purchase. While you may want a gaming system, other needs are waiting in line.

Living on your own for the first time is exciting. You can survive the first year if you create a budget and limit your spending to things you need.

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We left our home in Sydney, Australia many moons ago in May 2012 and, other than a brief stint back in Perth for Christmas and a wedding in early 2014, we have been travelling the world nomadically ever since, running a business from our laptops and we’re here to show you how to do it!