What I Have Learned From “Owning” a House For 2 Years

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We have owned a house for two years now! Here is everything that we have learned. I tell you everything so you are prepared for when you buy your first home. #homeowner #personalfinance #mortgage

Happy Monday fellow Squirrelers! I know the best part of your Monday is the excitement for the release of another awesome article from us!

Actually, that is probably the only good thing about Mondays. Am I right?

This month marks the two year anniversary that my wife and I bought our home. Overall, the experience has been amazing! We love not sharing walls with anyone resulting in better sleep compared to the apartment life.

We continue to make the house our own such as busting a hole in the kitchen to open it up a bit. Then we completely gutted the backyard, added a garden, put in a sprinkler system, and now have grass!

See how we saved nearly $5,000 on this home renovation.

Sure there have been some interesting adventures along the way too. There was that one night I woke up to sounds of someone breaking into our house. I was freaked out as I went to investigate. After realizing it was on the roof, I went outside. Turns out it was a raccoon prying open a vent to our attic.

As some of you prepare to buy your first home, I want to share with you what I have learned from owning a house for the last two years.

DYI is Your Friend

We have done several projects within the house ourselves over the last couple of years. These include painting, opening up the kitchen, and revamping the backyard. We also plan on replacing some carpets with hardwood floor, painting the kitchen cabinets, adding in a second bathroom, and creating a new laundry room.

We will save thousands of dollars to be able to complete other projects by being able to complete these projects ourselves. What I am slowly trying to get at is you should not be afraid to tackle some projects yourself.

Do know your limits though. You should not be doing any electrical work without the help of a licensed professional. That is actually our next big project before we can move on with others. Even though I probably could do it myself, I know my limitations and it probably would not be smart. That is why we will hire a professional to help us with updating the electrical wiring throughout the house.

Enjoy Your Space

As I mentioned earlier, we completely remodeled our backyard. Beforehand it was all rock which was not fun to play in. We added in a garden and a big grassy area to run around on. The yard is not done yet as we need to start filling in the planter beds but that is okay.

Instead, we have slowed down to start enjoying our work. Our little guy loves playing in the grass and our fur baby, Boomer, loved laying in that grass (before he passed a few months ago). The husky, on the other hand, hates the grass. Silly dog. We also enjoy playing yard games, eating on the patio, and laying in the hammock.

Really, it is our little oasis in the big city.

Plan Ahead

My wife and I did a lot of planning before we bought. This included saving up enough for our down payment, fees, and initial house projects. We also looked all over the city for neighborhoods that were safe, affordable, and in a good location. A hard combination to come about in Denver.

There were so many other factors we researched to find the best home possible for our little family. We needed something that was move in ready and was not going to start falling apart the minute we moved in. Overall, we nailed it!

If you are looking to buy your first home here are several more thoughts to think about before buying. Planning ahead will give you such a piece of mind.

Financials

My wife and I were living in an apartment that cost us almost $1,600. Luckily we had a roommate to help us out with the cost of living.

Yep, that is Andrew of Wallet Squirrel. He was actually an awesome roommate!

After living together for almost three and a half years we all decided that we should go our own way.

With rents moving up and up in Denver, my wife and I decided that purchasing a home was the best bet for us. We looked at so many types of homes including condos, townhomes, and single-family houses. We decided that a house in a not so popular neighborhood was best for us. Why? Well…

  • We were able to keep our overall mortgage payment below what rent would have been for a 2 bedroom/2 bath apartment.
  • We don’t have to pay an HOA fee compared to condos, townhomes, or a house in one of the “better” neighborhoods.
  • The value of what we got in return was just SO much better compared to other options.

Ultimately, the biggest deciding factor is we did not want to be house poor! We needed a house that gave our family room to grow but also did not bust our budget. The Mar Lee neighborhood in Denver provided that for us.

Now two years after this major decision I couldn’t be more proud of our decision.

I once had a CPA tell me that it is recommended that you spend only 20% of your monthly income on a mortgage payment. I wasn’t sure if we would find that in a super expensive city like Denver where the average home price is $395,000. I am proud we were able to find an awesome home that consumes only 23% of our monthly income.

Conclusion

Overall, I love being a homeowner! I love that the house is a space that we can make our own. Plus, so far, it has been a great investment by increasing its value by nearly 20% since we purchased!

Sure there are some downsides such as general maintenance but isn’t that with everything in life? Plus, doing some minor maintenance work is fun! At least that is what I keep telling myself.

Since we planned ahead and bought a home within our means, owning a home was the smart financial move for us.

Now we just need to figure out if we should refinance or not.

 

I Tried Lending Club for 2 Years, Here’s How Much Money I Made

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A little over two years ago, I invested $300 in Lending Club. I was curious to see how the world of Peer-to-Peer Lending worked. This was different from investing in the stock market, because I became a mini-bank by lending microloans to people paying of credit card debt, home renovations, a new car, and multiple other reasons people take loans. All while I earn interest as they pay the loan off.

How Investing in Lending Club Went?

When I started 2 years ago, I choose to individually select which micro-loans I wanted to invest in. I knew, like a traditional bank, some loans may default and you lose money. So I took the time to research each loan application and Lending Club gives you a detailed credit history to choose from.

I specifically looked at their credit history, what they want to use the loan for and history of delinquencies. As well as their debt to income ratio. If these look good, then I help crowd-fund this microloan and invest $25 (typical) to the loan. Once it gets fully funded (below is 96% funded), the money will be taken out of my account and given to the borrower and I’ll receive payments back over 36 months (term of the loan).

 

You can also use Lending Club’s own rating system that’s “A-E” with “A” being borrowers with a great credit rating and likely to pay back their loan but have a lower interest rate. All the way down to “E” which don’t have a great credit rating but have a higher interest rate. Lending Club has since discontinued rating “F-G” because too many of those loans were defaulting and they wanted to clean up their platform. I still have some “G” loans grandfathered in until they’re paid off.

Over the last 2 years, I choose all of my individual loans manually. This was a huge time waster. Plus letting money sit in your account un-invested isn’t making money.

Last week I switched my account over to automatic investing so once I received enough money back in my account ($25), it’ll automatically reinvest into loans that meet specific criteria. I’m a bit more conservative on the loans I prefer because I want to avoid bad borrowers who default, which typically have a lower “D-G” rating.

Here is how I have my Lending Club automated investing currently set up. My account will prioritize “B” rated loans, followed by “A” and “C” loans. The solid colors are what I’m currently invested in and the hash lines are what my automated investing settings are currently at. Since each loan takes 24-36 months, it’ll be awhile before they even out. Remember, I just turned on automated investing last week.

 

How Much Money After 2 Years of Lending Club?

Since I started in February, 2016 and invested $300 it’s been fairly consistent (compare stock market stats). Typically every month I received an average of $3.05 per month. For 2.4 years (currently June, 2018), that would be around $85.4, but that’s not the whole story since I’m constantly reinvesting the extra cash and some loans defaulted.

Deposited: $300 (How Much Cash I Invested in Lending Club)

Total Loans: 30 (I invested in 30 loans at $25 each, including reinvesting)

Principal Received Back: $427.51 (Those 30 loans paid me back $427.51 so far, still ongoing)

Interest: $87.96 (Of that $427.51 received back, $87.96 was interest)

Default Loans: -$28.03 (2 loans defaulted and didn’t pay me back the full amount)

Total Profit after 1.5 years: $59.93 or 9% annual interest

*Interesting to note that some people were diligent and paid off their loans early, however you don’t earn extra interest if they choose to do this.

*The two loans that defaulted were 1 “F” rated loans which Lending Club has discontinued and surprisingly a “B” rated loan which shows that even highly rated loans can still default.

Conclusion

In the last 2 years, Lending Club has made about 9% annual interest. That’s not bad and significantly better than a 1% savings account. Yet still less than the 11% annual interest I’m seeing in my stock portfolio.

The biggest downside to Lending Club is your money isn’t liquid, meaning once you invest your money in a loan, it’s there until 24-36 months till the loan is paid off. That’s not too bad though, if you’re a long-term investor, you invest your money and forget it. So it’s not a big deal.

Overall, I’ve had a good experience and will continue to keep a little money in Lending Club to see how it does during a market downtown when everything crashes. Until then, good luck investing!

What 7 Years of Marriage Has Taught Me About Personal Finances

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My financial habits were horrible when my wife and I were first married. She helped me straighten out those bad habits. Maybe you can learn from my mistakes. #personalfinance #marriagetips #marriage

Today my wife and I have been married for seven years! It is crazy to think that it has been that long. Really it has only felt like a few years.

I still can’t believe we had this guy officiate our wedding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, that is Andrew, the other half of Wallet Squirrel.

In those seven years, a lot has happened in our lives. We both graduated college and actually both of us will have our Master’s degree by the end of this July. After my wife graduated from her undergrad program we decided to move out to Colorado. Here we explored the mountains, drank beer, and seen what Denver’s restaurant scene has to offer. I jumped around a few different jobs. Then we bought a house and had a kid.

For me personally, one of the biggest changes in my life since getting married is the way I look at money. This is of course besides having a kid and owning a house. 😀

My wife and I came from two completely different backgrounds as to how we looked at money. Really they were opposites. My wife’s family did not have much money so she grew up in an environment learning how to be frugal. I grew up in a family that was well off financially so I did not develop those frugal habits.

Communication

You will notice a lot of “We’s” in this article. This is because marriage is a true team effort. To be successful, there is no her and I, there is only we and us.

Open communication is one of the most important things a marriage needs to be a successful team in every aspect, including financially. When we first got married, I just took control of the finances. I had access to all of the accounts and my wife did not. This was not a good choice since I was the one with horrible spending habits.

After about 18 months I finally realized the mistakes I have made. I needed to bring my wife into the picture. We started having discussions on how we could make things better. Some thoughts included making sure she was always up to date with our financial numbers. I also needed to slow down before making purchases to talk to her about it. Because of these talks, she was able to help me realize how frivolous the purchase was.

This open communication immediately started decreasing our monthly spending.

It really is amazing what you can accomplish when you set aside your own pride and understand that your spouse is on your team, not against you. Once you realize this the door opens for healthy communication and teamwork.

Budgeting

I always had this stigma that budgets were a weight to restrain you from ever doing anything. This might be why we originally did not have a budget for the first bit of our marriage.

Because of this, I had no idea where money was going or any sense of how much we were really spending on gas every month.

Most of you are probably cringing at that thought.

Once I started to see our savings go down and our credit card bill climb, I decided to see where all of the money was going. Starting a budget was actually really easy by using Mint.

Budgeting actually relieved a lot of stress for us. Not only did we start to see our finances stabilize almost instantly, we also were able to start tackling our credit card debt. I quickly learned that budgets are not restraining, they actually free you. They give you the freedom to spend a particular amount of money, guilt-free!

Spending Habits

As I mentioned, I came into our marriage with some horrible spending habits thinking that I just could go out and buy what I needed. There was no budget. There was just an open spigot of free spending for whatever I thought we needed.

This allowed for a downward spiral of finances when we first moved to Denver. We started to gain some credit card debt and our savings diminished.

It was not a good time.

After 18 months of this trend, we started taking control of our money, together. Using the above communication methods, my wife supported me as I worked on changing my habits.

We tackled the credit card debt that I allowed to get out of control. Then we were able to save up $20,000 in six months for a down payment on a house. That was an amazing accomplishment! Then last summer we tackled our car loan by paying off the last $7,000 in only three months.

Watch out student loans, we are coming for you!

Saving

With our backgrounds, my wife was great at saving and I was horrible at it. To be honest, we should have been able to buy a house a couple years before we actually did. This would have saved us a lot of money in the crazy housing market in Denver.

Because I was not good at budgeting or saving this did not happen. We have some catching up to do but I believe we can get there with the right mindset.

It’s Hard

Whoever said marriage is easy, they lied. It is really hard. Now, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t get easier with practice and open communication.

For us, when we first moved in with each other after getting married, it was hard to get on the same page. We actually never had a fight until we in together but good communication and remembering that we are on the same team helped us get through those growing pains.

Not everyone is perfect. My wife was willing to help me change my bad financial habits. I am grateful for her and her patience.

Conclusion

As you might have noticed, all of these lessons learned stack right on top of each other. Without communication, we could not have set up a proper budget which helped me learn better spending habits which in turn allowed us to save more.

The statement, “Behind every man, there is a great woman.” couldn’t be truer in my situation. My wife has been amazingly supportive as we work on bettering my poor financial habits. Even though it was slow, we are now on the right track to financial freedom.

The moral of this story is if you are struggling with your finances, find a supportive person or group to help you through. It doesn’t have to be a wife. It can be a family member, a good friend, or a group of people that share the same goals as you.

Having that support will help you grow and stay accountable.

18 Lies Making You Broke

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Do you always feel like you have no money. Here are 18 lies that are making you broke. Are you falling for these? If so, let's fix it and save you lots of money! #personalfinance #savemoney #budgeting

Many of us have been there asking ourselves, “Why do I never have any extra money?” Sometimes this is just a notion we have but other times this is the truth. This truth usually comes from being lied to by our culture. We feel like we need to follow the norms and stick with the crowd.

Today’s article is intended to help you break away from the crowd and stop listening to the lies.

Now, I am not saying you listen to all of the lies below. Hopefully, it is just one or two. Either way, if this article can wake you up from one lie and save you tons of money, I will consider it a win.

Clever marketing has made these lies into cultural norms. We are here to see through those lies that make us broke and get back onto the path to financial freedom.

1. You need to make car payments

My wife and I paid off our car loan last summer and our finances have never looked better! This freed up $405 per month allowing us to be more aggressive with our student loans.

Yes, you need a car to get to work and to run errands on the other side of town. Instead, try to make the current car last longer. If it cannot, try to purchase cheap and with cash only.

When my wife and I first meet some of our good friends they had never paid over $2,000 for a car. They only paid cash and got along just fine.

Sure they were not driving the latest new fancy car but that does not matter. They were still able to get from point A to point B.

Be like my friends.

2. You need a bigger house

Simply put, no you do not. Sure, it would be nice to have a 4,000 square foot home that backs up to a trail system but do you really need that? Do you really need that mortgage payment?

Instead really analyze the size of home that your family needs and really be honest with yourself.

You probably do not need 7 bedrooms, 6 bathrooms, and 3 living rooms. Just saying.

My wife and I could have afforded a larger home when we purchased a couple years ago but that really would have stressed our budget. There was no need for that. We planned ahead and found a nice 1,400 square foot home that fit our growing family perfectly.

Because of this, our budget is solid and we have a surplus of money every month to tackle our debt.

3. You need a lot of stuff to be happy

What’s better than to fill up your 4,000 square foot home with A LOT of stuff? EVERYTHING!

I stress a lot that you do not need random stuff to make you happy. That happiness just fades away after a short period of time.

Instead, put your money in places that will give you longterm happiness such as retirement savings, investments, and experiences.

4. Everything will be better once you get a raise

Here is the scenario. You live paycheck to paycheck. Spending every dollar with each new paycheck. You keep thinking that only if you get a raise your budget will improve.

WRONG!

You have developed some really bad spending habits that will continue on with each raise.

Instead of worrying about a raise, you need to start changing your spending habits. It is only then you will truly start seeing the benefits of your up and coming raise.

5. Your kids will be emotionally harmed if they do not have all of the cool gadgets like their friends

I grew up as the “rich” kid in my town of 2,500 because my Dad was the doctor. Even though we were well off, my sister and I never had the latest gadgets growing up. There was no Nintendo 64 to be played or high-speed internet to hop on or even cell phones to text friends (got my first cell phone when I turned 18) at our house.

Even though I did not have all of those fun gadgets while my friends did, I turned out alright. We learned to enjoy the outdoors better and to spend our money on experiences instead.

6. Leftovers in the fridge suck

Those telling us that leftovers are gross and should just be tossed in the trash are lying.

Leftovers are an amazing way to save money.

Every week I try to make one cheap recipe that provides massive amounts of food. I put aside have of that meal for now and freeze the other half for another week. This allows us to save money on our grocery bill for that future week because we have one less meal to buy for.

7. You need to buy only expensive organic foods or else you will be unhealthy

This is untrue. As the organic market has become more competitive many cheap organic options have become available. This means you do not have to sacrifice your budget by going to Whole Foods anymore.

My wife and I enjoy Simple Truth Organic at our local King Soopers store. We know these products are top quality and cheap. Also, Sprouts tends to have some amazing organic items that do not bust your grocery budget.

8. You need to eat out once a week

For a while, I was under the impression that we needed to eat out to save time. This is not true.

There are plenty of recipes out there that take less than 30 minutes to cook.

Every week when creating our meal plan I try to pick 3-4 recipes that take less than 30 minutes to make. This also usually includes a frozen meal that I mentioned in #6.

Try it for yourself. You will then start to notice savings right away.

9. Monthly subscription services are cheap

These services such as Spotify or Netflix are marketed to users as only $10 a month. That seems really cheap and to be honest, it is. The issue is when you start subscribing to several of these services. Soon you are spending over $50 a month on different subscriptions. That is over $500 a year!

Be realistic with yourself and try to subscribe to only 2 or 3 at a time.

10. You are stuck with your current financial situation

You are never stuck with your current financial situation. It might seem like it but you can escape.

How do you do this?

  • Change your spending habits like I mentioned in #4.
  • Budget – we will talk more about this later.
  • Never stop learning so you can continue to move forward in your career.

It is not that hard but will take time, focus, and persistence. You can do it!

11. Your job sucks

We all have to start somewhere in our careers even though that first, second, or third job might not be the most glamorous. With a lot of hard work, we will eventually get where we want to be.

In the meantime, there is no reason to sabotage yourself with a poor attitude towards your current job. Stay positive, enjoy the opportunity you have been given, and have fun! This will only increase your chances of moving up.

12. There is no point to budgeting when you do not make much money

I believed this for the longest time when my wife and I were just getting started professionally. We did not have much money so I did not think we needed to worry about our money. Then I started to see our savings dip. This is because I had no idea what we were spending and did not have a plan for our money.

With no budget, there is no roadmap for your money.

Many people believe that a budget is constraining. This is another lie. A budget frees you financially because it allows you to responsibly spend money without sabotaging your future.

13. Do not worry about saving for retirement until later

This is horrible advice. You should start saving for your retirement as soon as you get your first job out of college. Even if you are only able to put $50 into it every month, that money will grow a lot over the 35 years!

You are literally throwing away thousands of dollars from your retirement if you do not start right now.

14. You cannot invest

Investing has never been easier.

If still believe that you need a lot of money and a CFA to invest, think again.

Today there are so many services that allow you to invest for free or even do the investing for you with very little money. This takes all of the stress out of the whole process.

If you just want to have someone take care of the investing for you, check out Betterment. I use this service and love it!

If you want to do the investing yourself and do not want to pay trading fees, check out Robinhood. Andrew uses this service and has saved a lot of money in trading fees.

15. You cannot afford to give to charity

I know, money is tight so how are you supposed to give to charity?

I have learned that even though my wife’s and my finances are not great, we still have it a lot better than most. This is why we make sure we donate every month to help those who need it more than us.

Why do we make a point to give? Well, giving really feels great. It does things to your attitude that nothing else can do. This positivity starts to bleed over into and improving other parts of your life making you wealthy in other ways that finances cannot.

16. You need fancy coffee to wake up every morning

This goes along the same lines as #3. You do not need that fancy coffee to wake you up in the morning. It will only be a temporary fix.

Instead, you should make a simple coffee at home before you leave for work. Or even better, work provides coffee for you. This will save you tons of money every year!

As I mentioned in 9 Bad Spending Habits That are Killing Your Budget, my wife asks for Starbucks gift cards for every birthday and Christmas. These cards allow her to treat herself every now and again.

17. Your primary home is a good investment

I do not think you should think of your main home as an investment. This place is your base camp for you and your family.

Because your home is essential to your everyday life, it should not be held to the financial standards as an investment. It should be a foundation to be there no matter what.

This is different if you own two or more homes though. Those additional purchases should be there to make you money in the long run.

18. If it is on sale you should buy it

I know someone who buys a lot of random stuff. His usual reasoning for buying it, “Because it was on sale!”

I am very fortunate this person is in my life because he made me realize I was doing the same thing. Remember, you do not have to buy something just because it is on sale. That is not how you should purchase things.

Instead, make a list of things you need, not want, and prioritize them. Then budget a savings plan for said needs. Once you have saved up you can go the extra mile by being patient and wait for the need to go on sale.

Since we need to treat ourselves every once in awhile, do the same thing for wants as well.

Are there other lies?

Did I miss any other financial lies out there? Please share with us by commenting below. I would love to get a conversation started!

If you are looking to increase your monthly income to help you escape your financial situation you should check out our Ways to Earn More Money page. Here Andrew and I personally review as many different ways to earn extra money as we can to help you decide if it is right for you.

The Ultimate Reason Why You Should Buy Used Instead of New

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Always buying new? Instead you should buy used items! Here is why. #frugalliving #savemoney #frugal #personalfinance

It is always tempting to buy the newest and latest. It makes total sense, we are constantly bombarded with fancy marketing that is scientifically engineered to entice us to go out and purchase the newest cars, electronics, clothes, bikes, furniture, and so on.

Frankly, the only thing in my house I would not buy second-hand is a mattress. Well, I guess there are other obvious things such as a toothbrush, bike shorts, and a toilet seat.

So Why Buy Used Instead of New?

The answer is pretty obvious here, to save money!

Here is an example of the money you can save by buying used.

A few years ago, my wife and I moved to Colorado with only one car. We needed another one as our jobs were too far apart to carpool. When making a big purchase like this I wanted to buy a brand that lasts a long time. This left us with either Toyota or Honda (personal preferences). As you might know, both brands are not cheap.

To be able to make the purchase happen, we bought a Toyota that just came off of two-year lease with only 40,000 miles on it. This saved us $10,000 compared to if we bought brand new!

I have been able to save big chunks of cash like this because I purchased second-hand time and time again. I bought my camera used, saved me $800. My computer monitor was a display model, saved me $100. Our washer and dryer were used, saved us $1,000.

Instead of buying new, we should be breaking the habits of buying new and buy used instead. If the previous owner took care of them, a lot of the items listed above can easily last many more years resulting in major savings for your checking account.

Where to Buy Used?

There are plenty of resources to help you buy second-hand. These range from actual physical stores to online stores to mobile applications.

Physical Stores

  • Target, Best Buy, Home Depot, and so on: Yes, all of these are places you would typically buy first-hand but you can find items that were returned by people who just did not want the item. The items are perfectly good and are usually marked down 10%.
  • Goodwill: A great place to find used clothes, furniture, and other small household items.
  • ReStore: I love Habitat for Humanity ReStore. You can find used cabinets, tools, furniture, flooring, and so on. Not all of the items are second-hand but you get the second-hand pricing! In these cases, the items were donated brand new.

Online

  • Craigslist: If you do not know what Craigslist is, you have been living under a rock. But just in case that is you, Craigslist allows you to buy used items directly from other people in your city. They post, you contact, then go meet at a neutral meeting area and make the purchase. You can even sell the stuff you do not want anymore on the site.
  • eBay: Buy basically anything you wish from anyone around the world. Just like Craigslist, you can also sell unwanted items on the site.
  • Nextdoor: Very similar to Craigslist but a little more personable.

Mobile Apps

  • Letgo: Letgo also has an online web application as well but mainly markets its mobile application. The application is basically Craigslist but updated and more modern. Personally, I have never used this service but I have heard it is a nice service.

Conclusion

As we have learned, we should buy used instead of new (unless you are buying underwear) to help purchase needed items. This will help us buy those items while not breaking the bank.

If you are looking to increase your monthly income to help purchase necessities you should check out our Ways to Earn More Money page. Here Andrew and I personally review as many different ways to earn extra money as we can to help you decide if it is right for you.

How Much is Pet Insurance – Is it Worth it for Your Wallet?

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Looking to get pet insurance but don't know the answer to, "How Much is Pet Insurance?" We have you covered by looking into this questions with my own dog. Come explore as to if pet insurance is worth it. #pets #health #insurance #personalfinance

So how much is pet insurance? Is pet insurance worth it? To be honest, these are some very loaded questions. Today, I will attempt to answer them as my wife and I are trying to answer these exact same questions.

There are so many variables that determine how much pet insurance is and if it really is worth it for your family. I am not an actuary so I am going to give you my best answer by looking into it for my own dog.

Some Context

To give you a little background as to why my wife and I are looking into how much is pet insurance and if it is worth it.

Within the last six months, we have spent about $3,600 in vet bills for our dogs, one who did not make it.

These expenses have essentially emptied out our emergency funds.

As we plan on building those funds back up my wife and I started thinking if pet insurance would be a good umbrella to have.

Here is what we found out…

How Much Is Pet Insurance?

Like I mentioned earlier, there are several different variables to take into consideration when you are looking to see how much is pet insurance. Let’s walk through those different variables.

Breed

Different breeds have different health issues. Some breeds are more likely to have health issues versus others.

If your pet is a pure bread that will move the costs around. It is said that mix breeds have a “unique genetic markup and a lower level of inbreeding, mixed breed dogs are generally among the healthiest.” (PetMD).

Our dog, Yuri, is a Siberian Husky. According to several sources, Siberian Husky’s are supposed to be one of the breeds with the least amount of health issues. (PetMD, CertaPet, and Life Vantage).

Yuri in Telluride

Age

Age is an obvious variable that will affect the cost of pet insurance. We, as humans, even deal with this.

The older your pet is, the more likely they are to have health issues.

Siberian Huskies have an average lifespan of 11-14 years. (PetMD). Yuri just turned 8 so he is in the later years of his life. Because of this, he is more likely to start having more health issues.

Location

Sadly, where you live will affect how much you pay for pet insurance. This is very simple to explain. Vets in different parts of the country charge different rates.

For example, we had a family friend who had to have their dogs toe removed in Iowa. This cost them only $300 to have the whole toe amputated. Yuri had to have a wart removed on his toe in Denver, Colorado. This cost us $1,500.

I know, it is kinda depressing to think about.

Deductible

The deductible is how much you must spend before the insurance provider will start paying any expenses. The higher the deductible, the cheaper your pet’s monthly insurance premiums will be.

If you believe your pet is at a higher risk of coming down with some sort of illness or injury than a lower deductible will probably be better. If you believe your pet is on the healthy side and you want pet insurance to cover for unexpected emergencies than a higher deductible will probably be best.

Since Yuri is on the healthier side, we will go for a medium-high deductible, $750. I will make sure we have this additional $750 in our emergency fund.

Reimbursement Amount

Even after you have met your deductible, insurance companies will not pay you for ALL of your expenses. While purchasing your plan, you can usually choose between 60% to 90% reimbursement. The higher the percentage you select, the more you will pay each month.

For Yuri, the difference in cost from 60% to 80% reimbursement is $16.66 or basically $200 annually. This means in one year, our vet bills need to add up to $1,750 (After the deductible has been met) for us to break even with that $200.

As I have learned over the past year, vet expenses can add up really quick. So it is very plausible that we will make up this extra expense.

Exam Fees Included

Some pet insurance companies will ask if you want to include exam fees or not. They will pay you back for 100% of those fees but this typically does not include routine wellness/preventive visits.

I do not think I will include this for Yuri.

This will cost us an extra $120 a year for Yuri. In my experience, those exam fees are usually only about $60. Our vet makes their money on the other services they offer. I do not see us visiting the vet more than twice a year for non-routine exams.

This might be a good route for you though. Maybe the exam fees at your vet are much higher.

Other Factors

Each insurance company will have their own unique way to calculate your pet insurance premiums. With so many different companies out there offering insurance it is tough to tell what they will ask you.

Just remember to think logically through all of the questions as to whether the extra expense is worth it or not. Just like what I did with the reimbursement amount.

Also, even actuaries cannot predict the future. We do not know what will happen with our pet’s health in the coming year. We are just trying to make the best guess we can.

Yuri looking over the valley

Is Pet Insurance Worth It?

Well is pet insurance worth it? Firstly, I cannot answer this question for you. This will need to be a question answered by you and your family.

What I can do, is give you an example as to what my family feels and how we came to that conclusion.

Right now, we are a little shell-shocked after spending $3,600 on our dogs in the past six months. We are trying not to overcorrect by immediately signing up for the best pet insurance program there is.

Instead, we are looking at our one surviving dog and doing a cost-benefit analysis with his health. You have already read some of that analysis above. So if you just skipped down to this section, you really should go back up and read the “How Much is Pet Insurance?” section.

If we look at a quote by Figo Pet Insurance, Yuri’s monthly premium will be $53.52 or $639.84 a year. This is a premium is for an insurance policy right down the middle.

For Yuri’s insurance to be worth it, we will need to have a total bill of $3,127.84 before we even start recouping the already sunken $1,389.84 ($639.84 premium + $750 deductible). It will take a much higher number to recoup all 80%.

I just do not see Yuri having a bill go that high. Maybe I am naive though.

Yuri as a puppy with our other dog that recently passed, Boomer.

Conclusion

I never thought I would have to take a hard look at how much is pet insurance. The recent events in the last six months have forced us to do so though.

Yes, Yuri is getting older and older and he is more likely to have health issues but will they be more than $3,127.84? This is tough to say, only if I could predict the future. I believe, the likelihood of him gathering a medical bill so high for us to recoup 80% of the vet bills is very slim.

Since that is the case, for our family, I do not believe pet insurance is worth it for us. Instead, we will make sure we set up a sizable emergency fund for Yuri.

If we do decide to go the insurance route, we will be looking for a health insurance that covers any dental issues as well. It is amazing how expensive dental work is.

What do you think about pet insurance for your family?

If you answered yes, here is a handy chart by Pet Insurance Review that helps you compare the different policies.

Please let me know if you have any questions below. I will try to help you as much as I can.

9 Useful Financial Planning Tips For 2018

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The following is a guest blog post by Adam (different Adam), the editor for content, from Financial Planning Platform.

I’ve always been passionate about financial planning. I love using my knowledge and skills to craft plans that can work for others. As a financial planner, I’ve seen first-hand the benefits that a sound financial plan can bring. At the same time, I’ve also witnessed the problems that can occur due to bad advice or inadequate planning.

In fact, when I was younger, I set up college accounts for my children. But I didn’t realize that these financial plans would become inadequate with the changing times. In order to keep any financial plan current, there is plenty of follow-through needed. In situations such as these, it is essential to read as much as you can and stay updated with current trends. For more information on the different stages of financial planning, take a look at the infographic below.

Please include attribution to financialplanningplatform.com with this graphic.

Here are 10 useful financial planning tips to help you start the year on a good note. They will help you create a roadmap to balance your current expenses and plan your economic future.

1. Assess Purchases by Cost Per Use

You may think that you’re saving money by buying a trendy low-priced t-shirt, rather than a more expensive, basic shirt. But by doing this, you may be forgetting the quality aspect. A good thing to ask yourself when deciding whether to purchase an item of clothing, tech toy or kitchen gadget is how many times you’re likely to wear it or use it. You could even take this a step further when it comes to experiences by considering cost per hour.

I prefer a capsule wardrobe with a limited number of core, high-quality pieces. This way I can mix and match these quickly to put together outfits.

2. Manage Your Debt

It is necessary to have a strategic debt management plan to put an end to accruing debt that you can’t get out of. One strategic approach to debt management is paying off the most expensive debt first. Get rid of any credit card debt first and then begin paying off your personal loans, student loan debt, and housing debt. In order to avoid future liabilities, look for areas to cut back on spending and learn to spend smarter.

I used to find myself ordering in for dinner or buying a coffee every day. I put an end to this cycle by buying a coffee machine or cooking more often at home (or how Andrew saves money with PBJs). Doing this helped me save tons of money in the long run.

3. Save In Tax-Efficient Ways

The money you save is more important than the money you earn. Whether you’re saving for retirement or to withdraw the money at a later date form your accounts, always opt for tax-efficient ways of saving. With the help of a financial planner, determine how to save to meet your various objectives. Given all the different types of investments, products, and accounts you can use, it is important to choose the right saving methods.

4. Try Not to Tap into Your Retirement Account Early

Unless you absolutely must, do not dip into your retirement funds. Doing this will affect your financial standing dramatically. You will negate all the hard work you’ve done saving so far and prevent the money from being invested. Secondly, you’ll be charged a substantial penalty for early withdrawal. Additionally, you’ll have a tax bill to deal with for the money you take out. Keep all these factors in mind and make cashing out early your last option.

Only dip into your savings if you have one of the following emergencies occur: you lose your job, your car needs repairs, you have medical bills, your home requires emergency repairs, or you have unexpected funeral expenses. Otherwise, just say no, if you can’t afford it.

5. Have an Emergency Fund

You’ve probably heard this one many times before. But it’s wise to keep this in mind. No matter how much debt you’ve built up in the form of student loans or credit card bills, it is important to put some money aside every month. This could be a small amount, but it will serve as your emergency fund. It can get you out of any financial tight spots and keep you out of trouble. You will also be able to sleep better at night, knowing that you have a backup plan. To get into the habit of saving money, start treating it as a non-negotiable monthly expense. By doing this, you’ll soon have enough money saved up and may even be able to take that long-overdue vacation.

I didn’t just hide my emergency fund under my mattress. I put it away in a high-interest online savings account to ensure that inflation didn’t erode the value of my savings.

6. Direct Deposit to See Your Money Grow

If the money you set aside for your savings, never comes to your checking account, you probably won’t miss it. Even though you know the money is part of your paycheck, it will make you feel like it comes out of thin air. You may even be pleasantly surprised by how much your savings grow over time. This is also an excellent way to get your emergency fund started.

7. Don’t Forget Your Estate Planning

Estate planning for families is an important aspect of comprehensive financial planning. In the case of premature death, there must be enough assets to take care of expenses and family needs. The amount of money necessary and the amount that needs to be liquid will be determined by the time frame of these requirements. To provide for the needs of your family, there are different types of savings you can consider such as life insurance policies, personal savings and employee benefits. Your will, beneficiary designations and individual assets must be reviewed periodically to ensure that your family needs will be matched by the funds available.

8. Discuss Money with Your Loved Ones

Couples sometimes hide their finances from their partners, and this can have a negative impact on their relationships. Take the time to talk to your partner about your plans for the future and financial goals. Come up with a shared vision of what you want your future to look like. If you’re a parent, spend time teaching your children about money. They pick up on money messages based on how we handle money whether we teach them deliberately or not. Even a small conversation can go a long way.

9. Stay Motivated

Most of us experience some amount of stress when it comes to our financial situations. When this stress is money-related, it can feel overwhelming. Find ways to deal with these feeling and stay motivated no matter what. One way to do this is by writing down the various reason why you’re stressed out. Focus on the problems that are bothering you the most and try to find solutions for these. For instance, if you’re stressed out that you never pay your credit card bill on time, try setting a reminder on your phone or opt for automatic payments.

Conclusion

You don’t need a particular educational background or fancy degrees to be able to manage your finances well. Do your research, stay aware of changing trends and consult a financial planner if necessary. If you follow the tips mentioned in this article to manage your finances, you can find stability and prosperity. So, get started now to secure your future financial wellbeing.

Spend Money Like the Rich: How to Change Your Spending Mindset

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Tired of the way your personal finances are moving forward? It is time to start spending money like the rich. Learn how to change your spending mindset to become wealthier!

We all have the opportunity to become successful one day. Getting there depends on several factors such as your persistence and dedication.

Another factor I never thought of until I saw an awesome video on Entrepreneur Mindset’s Facebook page. This factor has to deal with our very own mindset about spending. The theory is that each income class has different spending mindsets.

Honestly, my jaw dropped while the light bulb turned on in my head.

Instantly, I started looking into the mirror to see where I was with my mindset. This was a rude awaking but very welcoming. To be honest, this video also helped me write about the 8 personal finance moves I wish I knew before turning 30.

But I digress, today we will talk about where my mindset was and where it is going since watching this video.

First, let’s talk about the theory and the different spending mindsets. Hopefully, this will be a rude awaking for you as well to get you on the right track to financial success!

The Idea

The thought behind this theory is that each income class in society looks at money differently. Each class spends their money on different items that will either give them short-term pleasure, cost them more money, or will make them more money (I wonder who that could be).

The intent of this article is to look at things from a 30,000-foot perspective. Yes, I do agree, this might be an over-generalization of everyone and all of the variables that come into play. But that is not the intent. We could write a whole book if we dug that deep into this subject. While reading this article, keep this in mind.

After reading this article, I want you to come out thinking about your own spending habits and taking a serious look in the mirror to how you can make those habits better.

Before we dive into the spending mindsets of each income class I want to clarify a couple terms.

  • Assets: Something that pays you after you purchase it.
  • Liabilities: Something that costs you money after the initial purchase.

Okay, now I think we ready to discuss the different income classes. Let’s take a look at each class to figure out what mindset you have.

Lower-Income Class

The lower income class is defined as any family of four who makes less than $42,000 a year (Pew Research Group).

These people tend to spend money on frivolous stuff that really has no value. Typically this stuff is not needed and is bought for that short-term sense of satisfaction.

I used to be like this not long ago. I would convince myself that I had to buy stuff because it was a good deal. Between my wife trying to correct this thought process and me working on Wallet Squirrel, I have turned my mindset around to not buy any unnecessary stuff anymore.

So what is this unnecessary stuff? As I think about my previous purchases it would be the Xbox One or a new TV or an iPad that is never used.

One of the poorest people I know currently has this spending mindset. It is really interesting actually how his spending habits match the exact definition of the lower-income class. He spends any of his hard earned money on very unnecessary items that he has convinced himself that he needs. If the item is on sale at the local REI, he buys it.

The sad part is he wants to purchase a home one day but this continuous frivolous spending money pushes him farther and farther away from that goal. Especially as home prices are just going higher and higher here in Denver.

Middle-Income Class

According to the Pew Research Group, “Middle-income households – those with an income that is two-thirds to double the U.S. median household income – had incomes ranging from about $42,000 to $125,000 in 2014.” (Pew Research Group).

You can find out what income class you belong to by using Pew’s calculator. The middle class is the income class that my wife and I fall into. Let’s see if we spend like the middle-income class typically does.

The middle class is very similar to the lower class, just with bigger toys.

Typically the middle class appear to be rich but really are not. Since the middle class can spend more money, they can buy more fancy toys such as cars, boats, second homes, and so on. These items are known as liabilities or things that cost you more money after the initial purchase.

Since they have all of these toys they appear to be rich but really are not. This is because they are spending all of their extra money maintaining their liabilities.

Because of these more expensive toys, you might have more debt. I know I did with our car and that is why I started blogging with Andrew. To pay off more debt. Blogging helped me pay off our $7,000 car loan in three months! If you are interested in blogging, check out our article on how you can start a blog.

Upper-Income Class

This leaves the upper-income class or anyone who makes more than $125,000 a year. (Pew Research Group).

I see a lot of gray area within the upper-income class and their spending habits. I know a lot of people that earn more than $125,000 a year and still have the spending habits of the middle-income class. These people from the upper-income class typically do not become richer because they are too busy propping up those liabilities.

For this article’s argument, we will look at the upper-income class that spends their money on assets. Remember, assets are purchases that will earn them more money rather than cost them money.

Looking at the ROI (Return on Investment) for each purchase, the rich will analyze whether they will make enough money for the purchase or not. These purchases are typically items that will move them forward financially such as stocks, rental properties, and advertisements.

Where are you now?

So where do my wife and I fit? I kind of see us within the middle-class spending mindset. We have two cars and an old house that needs a lot of updating.

Since we are not even close to being rich, I also see us as transitioning from a frivolous spending mindset to a very frugal mindset. We, mainly me as my wife was already there, really analyze the purchase before we make it.

This leads me to the last spending mindsets, being frugal. You can be within the lower or middle spending classes and not spend like they typically do. You do not spend your money at all and save it. I believe this is how you can naturally move from one income class to the next.

I have talked about similar thoughts before in my 9 Spending Habits That are Killing Your Budget article.

What income class’s spending mindset do you most relate too?

How to Change

When I started changing my mindset, the first thing I did was start using Mint to track our spending with an eagle eye. With an honest review of our spending my eyes were again opened so wide it was impossible not to change our spending mindset. If you are curious about Mint you can check out our Mint Review here.

The next steps after you really start analyzing your past spending habits, it is time to start analyzing each and every future purchase. Ask yourself the following questions.

  • Do you really need it?
  • Is it a liability or an asset?
  • What is your ROI of the purchase? FYI, ROI does not always have to be a financial gain, it can be something like a health gain.

Now, it is your turn to go out an change your spending habits!

Andrew and I are always looking for new ways to earn more money so we can invest more or pay off our debt quickly. If you are too, I recommend checking out our Ways to Make Money page. Here we find and test out new ways to earn more money on the side.

I Started Investing 3 Years Ago, Best Decision I Ever Made

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In the beginning of 2015 I paid off my credit card debt for the first time and started to learn about investing.

It was terrifying, but so totally worth it!

How I Perceived Investing As A Kid

Up until 3 years ago (I was 28), I knew NOTHING about investing. To me, investing was some insane, chaotic spree that made rich people rich and the middle class poor. I didn’t know how it worked, but I knew tons of people who lost money during the recession.

If you’ve ever watched any movie that talks about Wall Street or Investing, it’ll have your brain swimming in confusion trying to understand it. Were they just trying to make it look hard and impressive? (Yes).

I was terrified of investing, I just shut down anytime someone talked about investing and assumed they were a financial genius if they owned stock. Someone who had enough money to pay their bills, live their life and put something extra away investing for retirement was a financial god to me.

I Started to Learn About Money On My Own

Like I said before, at the beginning of 2015 (3 years ago) I paid off my credit card debt after paying countless $70 monthly payments. So once I paid it off, I wanted to use that $70 for something else, something reasonable.

I will admit my company did have a financial planner come into our office and talk about our 401(k) plan. While the company plan was pretty awful, the financial planner did a great job at terrifying me to death.

I will always remember their words “Running out of money in retirement is worse than death”

Well f*&k, that was more terrifying than Halloween. So I started to learn more about money and how it worked.

I started reading finance books like “Total Money Make Over” by Dave Ramsey. I consumed it in a day.

I started listening to finance podcasts. Not the hardcore stock analysis ones, but the more Investing for Dummies type of podcasts like “Listen, Money, Matters”. I LOVED that podcasts and in my mind, being surrounded by those announcers talking about money and finance as a regular thing, I began thinking of money in a different way.

After reading books and listening podcasts. I started to view money not as static thing to sit in my bank account, but more as income streams.

Understanding how much money I had in my bank account mattered less than how much I had coming in each month. That’s why investing became a fascination because it’s one of the most common income streams for people.

I Tried Investing $100 To See What Happens

On the podcast “Listen, Money, Matters” they raved about the investing app “Betterment” (Adam uses Betterment and did a review). They brought the Betterment team on the podcast and explained it and how it’s meant for people who know nothing about investing but want to start. That was me!

I remember how nervous I was signing up. I had to put in my info and social security number. I was convinced that I would immediately lose all my money straight away and because they knew my social security number, the IRS would start to hunt me down.

This was a legit fear I had.

Since I had so much anxiety, I only invested $100 to see what happened. I invested in a “moderate risk” portfolio which they automatically invested for me. All I did was put in $100 and waited to see what happens.

They say not to check it daily, but I did. Oh my goodness, for the first week I checked it hourly. I wanted to see EXACTLY how the stock market worked. After a week I limited myself to daily. So for 5 months, I checked my Betterment account every day, scruitinizing everything that happened.

However, I found that my money fluctuated. One day it went down to $99 then up to $102 and slowly kept rising. This helped me understand how the market moved (at least during those 5 months), how it worked and it slowly became less mysterious.

In fact, I started to notice little things like every once in a while, I would receive extra lumps of change in my account. Just a few pennies, but they were dividends. I received money just from owning certain stocks. I couldn’t tell which stocks with Betterment because it doesn’t show that amount of micro detail, but it was a great feeling.

Then I started to invest more and look at other stockbrokers (companies which you need to invest) like the Robinhood App (I still use Robinhood, here’s my full review on how it works). With Robinhood I could start to pick my individual stocks and it was amazing! I chose stocks that were on the safe side such as Apple, Realty Income and Johnson & Johnson that were well known and established. I knew if these companies tanked, there was something seriously wrong with our economy, so I felt comfortable.

I Wasn’t Addicted, But I Was Obsessed

After I learned how the stock market worked, I felt comfortable but wanted to see more gains than the couple of cents I had been earning. So I could have gone in two different directions. I could have started to invest in risky stocks for bigger gains (don’t recommend) or find new ways to earn money so I could buy more stocks. I did the latter.

Now I write articles online for money, use interest checking accounts, sell stock photos, sell things on Craigslist, use a cashback credit card and more to earn extra money each month and invest it!

Today, It Absolutely Was Worth It.

I’m not advocating for a certain investing approach, but I do want you to see money as income streams rather than a lump sum. It absolutely changed my life.

Before I was happy with $2,500 in my bank account. It was more than any of my friends had. I now keep $4,000 in both my checking and savings account as an Emergency Fund and invest the extra money each month in my investment portfolio.

Knowing I have the extra money and extra streams of income each month gives me SO MUCH more confidence to know I’ll be OK if an emergency comes up or I want to go on a vacation. That piece of mind is one of the greatest feelings ever.

Happy Holidays from Wallet Squirrel – A Look Back at 2017

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Happy Holidays from Wallet Squirrel – A Look Back at 2017

Fun fact. Did you know there are a total of 29 holidays celebrated between Thanksgiving and New Years Eve?

So on that note, we at Wallet Squirrel, would like to wish you a Merry Christmas, Happy Hannuka, or any other holiday you might be celebrating!

Andrew and I personally would like to thank every single one of you for an awesome 2017!

Because of you, in 2017 we saw a tremendous amount of growth of interest in our journey to becoming financial guru’s, investing ninjas, and financially free. You all have decided to join us on this journey as we all learn together from our personal experiences.

Today, I would like to take a look back at our more popular and well-liked posts of 2017. Let the reminiscing commence!

Side Hustling

We, like everyone else, love to find new ways to earn more money and to see how others are making money. This is why we started searching around the globe for new awesome ways to earn more money outside of our 9 to 5 jobs.

How Andrew made $1.88 Selling Stock Photography in 10 Days – Both Andrew and I wrote several articles about stock photography throughout the year. His about how he made $1.88 within 10 Days of being accepted performed the best. I still own the title for making the most money off of one photograph though, $1,000 and counting.

Earn Money While Working Out With the Achievement App – Achievement is a fun application that syncs up with all of your activities, including your tweets. You earn more points the more you walk, workout, sleep, tweet healthy thoughts, and so on. Let the point earning begin!

How to Sell Something on Craigslist and Make Money – Andrew was able to sell some old stuff on Craigslist. He walks us through the whole process from posting his items to meeting up with the buyer. Pretty cool!

I believe he sold his old guitar. Now that he has a girlfriend, I guess he doesn’t need to walk the streets of Denver serenading women anymore.

Investing

3 Reasons Why Monthly Dividends are Better – Andrew talks about why he believes that monthly dividends are better than other dividend stocks. He walks you through why you should think they are awesome too and how to find those stocks that hand out monthly dividends.

Come learn how you can learn extra money on top of the normal gains of investing.

Cost-Benefit Analysis Example to either Pay Off My Car or Invest? – Andrew was not sure if he should pay off his car or invest the extra money he had. Enter the cost-benefit analysis. He walks through his thought process and how to properly perform a cost-benefit analysis. Check out the article to

see what he ended up doing.

Latest Stock Purchases – Andrew informs us throughout the year about the latest stock purchases he makes. This is intended to help inform us all about new stocks that might interest you. This is one example of those articles.

You can look at his entire portfolio in the investments page.

Personal Finance

How to Pay Off Your Car Loan Faster – Paying off our car early freed up $405 a month! This money has been great so we can be more aggressive at paying off our student loans. This article walks through the different ways we were able to apply to pay off $7,000 in only three months.

How and What to Teach Your Kids About Money – A lot of us have young kids. One question I had was, “How should we go about teaching them about money?” So I did some research and this is what I found out.

9 Bad Spending Habits that are Killing Your Budget – We all have bad spending habits that we need to drop ASAP. For me, I had a lot! Luckily, I have a loving and patient wife that has helped me break most of these bad spending habits.

What are your bad spending habits?

Blogging

How to Start a Blog – I could not believe blogging was still so hot! I thought I was caught in an episode of How I Met Your Mother where Barney was only focused on his own blog. Well, the blogging world is still massive and still hot! It is time for you to start your very own blog!

50 Amazon Affiliate Website Examples – The money that can be made off of affiliate marketing is amazing! This article provides 50 examples to get the ideas flowing in your mind.

Are you planning on starting an affiliate niche website in 2018? Andrew is doing one!

An SEO Strategy – What Works and What Does Not – We saw a 1,500% in traffic growth during 2017. This growth mainly comes from our SEO strategy (also our Marketing Strategy). This is the perfect next step after you start your very own blog!

A New Year

I love the end of a year as it is a great time to look back on the goals you succeeded at and failed. This is the time of the year to prepare how you will concur the upcoming year.

For me personally, I do not succeed at every goal on my list. I am alright with that as long as I learn from my mistakes to make the next year the best year yet!

Next week I will dive more into this concept.

 

Cheers!

Adam