krogias

I was talking with a colleague the other day about student loan debt. She shared back "Perhaps we are thinking about student loan debt in the wrong way. We will go into debt $20,000 - $40,000 or more for a new car and not think twice. But we start to panic when a student graduates with $20,000 - $40,000 in debt. The car will last 6-10 years, but your education will last a lifetime." Now I don’t want you to go into debt to finance your college education if you don’t have to, but I want you to think of your college debt as an investment that will last a lifetime. In Chris Farrell’s article “College Degree Still Worth the Cost Despite the Risk ”, he quotes a study at the Booking's Institute that shows the return on investment for a college degree has been about 15% a year for the past 60 years. Not a bad return if I do say so myself, given the stock market has only shown a 6.8% return on investment over the same time period. However with college, like any investment, there i...

80-10-10: That is the budget we strive to achieve in our household. Live on 80%, save 10%, give 10% of our time, talents and treasure. We are not there yet but every year we get closer. Coming to the end of this year and heading into the next, we find that we have had, and will continue to have, more priority family fun than we originally budgeted for. How do we balance our priorities and our income? Want to pay for it in cash and continue to keep our credit card balance at zero each month? -Yes Want to take out of our savings or reduce our savings rate? -No Consider backing down on our giving? -No. Ideally, we should bring our life style within the limits of that 80%. Selling off an asset, such as an extra automobile, is one option we discussed. We have three vehicles (car, truck, van) between two drivers. For the most part, the truck and the van sit in the garage as we typically car pool. Why is it hard to part with assets we seldom use even though they cost us money? Even if a v...

It seems like every time I turn on the television, I am bombarded with insurance commercials. I see Flow offering discounts for Progressive, a gecko advertising for Geico, Mayhem causing trouble -advertising for All State Insurance and countless others. Most of the insurance companies are advertising their low rates; others make their distinction on service. Rates seem to continue to increase and it may not be my imagination. In the November 2011 issue if Smart Money , they state that auto insurance has increased 10% from 2008-2010, siting increases are due to the increased costs to repair a vehicle, soaring medical bills, increased probability of being in an accident, and increased number of uninsured motorist (now estimated at 16%). So what is a person to do, to make sure they are covered with the correct amount of coverage and still keep their costs low? Here are some suggestions: • Keep an eye on your credit score. Most insurance companies use your credit score to help estimat...

Summer is officially here and you feel the itch to hit the road and explore. What a relief to see gas prices take a dip at the height of summer vacation time! Other effective ways to save at the pump: Check online sites like gaspricewatch.com , gasprices.mapquest.com or gasbuddy.com for the most competitive prices. Watch your tire pressure. Underinflated tires of just 3 PSI (pounds per square inch) can degrade your miles per gallon by 1%. Keep your car engine will maintained. A properly maintained vehicle will run more efficiently and give you better mileage, which saves you money in gas. Get rid of unnecessary weight in your car. The heavier the vehicle, the more energy it takes to move it on the road. Park in the shade. Gasoline evaporates out of your tank and it does so faster when parked directly in the sun - winter or summer. Drive conservatively and at a steady speed. The greater your speed, the less miles per gallon you will average. Better yet, bike it. :)   

If you have a primary residence in Iowa and are served by MidAmerican Energy, then you are most likely eligible for a free energy inspection audit. We had our EnergyAdvantage® HomeCheck this past week. Not only was it FREE, but they made energy-saving improvements to our home during the audit. Outcome of the visit: A FREE report of the condition of our home's insulation, heating and cooling efficiency, water heating equipment and windows Replaced bulbs with FREE energy-efficient light bulbs Swapped out two FREE shower heads with energy-saving, massaging shower heads Installed a FREE energy-saving faucet aerator on the guest bathroom sink Provided us with a 70% rebate for additional insulation in the attic (value of $750!) There were a number of other things that they would have done, had our home needed it (such as water pipe insulation, water heater insulation blankets and programmable thermostats). Check with your energy provider to see if they are offering the same service. Not...

Last week, a broken kitchen faucet led to an accidental remodel of our first floor bathroom. We love home improvement and a trip to Lowell’s is like a visit to the candy shop. The bathroom remodel was part joy and part good ongoing upkeep. Home repairs play an important part in protecting your investment. Doing it yourself can be a fun challenge and a source of pride. In taking on the task, it is important to do your homework. Taking advantage of the free classes at your local home improvement store is a great way to build skill and befriend an expert. We believe we cut our remodeling costs by more than half in doing it ourselves and are very happy with the outcome. ‘Labor of love’ or just plain ‘labor’, doing it yourself is a great way to keep your maintenance cost low and your home value up.