Posts

10 Things To Do If You Lost Your Job & Need Money Now

/10 Comments/in , /by

10 Things To Do If You Lost Your Job & Need Money Now

We all have the stress nightmare where your boss comes out of the blue and says “You’re fired”. That’s it and we spend the rest of the night in a panic. The problem is if it did actually ever happen, most of us don’t have a plan in case we do get fired.

Whether you’re thinking about losing your job due to stress, COVID-19, or any slew of reasons, it helps to have a plan. To lay out a blueprint, if this ever happened to me, here are 10 things to do if you lost your job and need money now.

Immediately Start

First, Take A Breath

It seems silly and not productive, but taking a breath is essential. People are let go or fired for a number of reasons and it’s not always a reflection of you or your work. Some things are just out of your control. Take an hour or take a day to let is sink it so it doesn’t consume you later.

1. Review Your Finances

Take a look at all the money you currently have. I personally use Mint to see all my bank accounts, credit card debt, and student loans all at once. You don’t need this, but make a list of every dollar in your possession. Look over your finances and get a feeling of how long you’ll last without a paycheck. It may not be pretty, but it’s something you absolutely need to know.

Know how much you need to spend each month, here is an example monthly breakdown:

  • Apartment & Utilities ($XX)
  • Food ($XX)
  • Car Insurance ($XX)
  • Cell Phone ($XX)
  • Internet ($XX)
  • Misc. ($XX)

PS. Also, consider health insurance as a cost. In most cases, your old employer would have provided this for you, but you need to talk to your HR to see how long this lasts. You may need to pick up supplemental health insurance until you get a new job.

Hopefully, you have some sort of Emergency Fund you can access if you lose your job. Your emergency fund will help cover rent/mortgage, food, and those expenses your paycheck normally covers. Most emergency funds should cover 4-6 months of expenses. If you don’t have an emergency fund, start saving up now but the following tips can still help.

I personally have an emergency fund I keep in a savings account, that will last me around 6-7 months. I know many people don’t have that. It took me 5 years to build. However it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done because it provides a mental safety net.

Let’s continue though as if you have $0 emergency funds.

Save All The Money You Can

2. Cancel Frivolous Monthly Subscriptions & Purchases

If you just lost your job, you shouldn’t be watching Netflix, Hulu, or listening to Spotify. If you have any kind of subscription services that cost money regularly, you should cancel these until you get a job again. It may feel like a nice break watching Netflix between job applications, but you need to save all the money you can until you’re working again. If you feel this is too hard to do, consider using your parent’s or friend’s account temporarily to save money.

Needless to say, don’t make any crazy purchases thinking you’ll get a job next week when “you really try”. Until you have a signed contract with a company, I’d suggest avoiding the mall and any kind of gift ideas. If you can, cancel any flights, trips, running races, etc. Plus always ask if you can get your money back. It may not always be possible, but every little bit helps!

For me personally, I would cancel my gym membership ($73/mo.), cancel my Spotify account ($10/mo.) since there is a free version, and I’d probably quit investing in my brokerage account ($200/mo.) until I have a steady paycheck.

10 Things To Do If You Lost Your Job and Need Money Now

3. Ask to Defer Payments

During hard economic times, many companies are willing to work with you because they prefer late payments to nothing at all. Student loan services are often willing to reconsolidate loans or defer payments. Banks are sometimes willing to defer a mortgage payment or at least help with options. It often just takes a call and asks.

For me personally, I would call my student loan companies and ask to defer my payments until I get another job. That would save me $537/mo.

Budget and Eat At Home A Lot

4. Budget and Eat At Home A Lot

One of the biggest ways people spend money is food and eating out. If you just lost your job, avoid going out to eat with friends (unless it’s a networking thing) or ordering in. It may not be sexy, but cold cut sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and ramen got you through the dark years, it will again.

You know what you can cut to save money and you’ll see instant savings in your bank account. Remember one of the easiest ways of having more money, is not spending it!

One of the most popular tricks people use to limit spending is paying for food only with cash. The act of seeing the money physically leaving your wallet and the empty vacuum it creates, helps people be more selective with their purchases. I personally use credit cards because I enjoy the cash back, but I can’t argue with the success physical money has in limiting spending.

Start the Job Search

File For Unemployment

5. File For Unemployment

If you lost your job and actively seeking new work, you can file for unemployment. It varies state by state, but essentially you would file a claim with the Department for Labor and Employment and prove you’re actively looking for work every 2 weeks (depending on your state). Unemployment benefits will pay you a portion (likely small) of your previous salary. This is meant to help lessen the negative impact that unemployment has on the economy. It won’t be a glamorous option and you’ll meet some interesting people, but it will help.

Update Resume & Social Media-Profiles

6. Update Resume & Social Media Profiles

This is the time to update your resume with the latest accomplishments, promotions, volunteer efforts, jobs, references, etc. As you start the job search you want to make yourself look as good as possible. However, this isn’t limited to your resume. You should be updating your LinkedIn, Facebook, etc with the latest info so you’re casting a wider net for employers.

Don’t worry too much about how your resume looks, just that the information sounds grammatically correct and makes you look good! Many companies will force to you to copy all the exact same information into their often terrible online web forms. On the bright side, if your LinkedIn is up-to-date, you can always use their “one-click apply” to jobs posted on their site.

YouTube is also a great resource if you use it to better yourself now that you have free time. There are great exercise tutorials on YouTube, classes on coding (if you’re into high-paying jobs), and even brush up on software like Microsoft Excel. Use this opportunity to start a new job with a new skill set!

Tell Everyone You Know You’re Looking For A Great Job

7. Tell Everyone You Know You’re Looking For A Great Job

It may feel embarrassing for you to tell anyone that you’re jobless. It’s a very vulnerable situation where you feel like something is wrong with you. There isn’t! It’s a normal thing, and job searching is a $200 billion dollar industry. People are constantly moving and switching jobs, you are now just one of them.

In most cases, when you tell people that you’re looking for a job, they want to help! They’ll often share new job openings they’ve heard of, or perhaps make recommendations to people they know in your industry. The fact is your chances of finding a new job dramatically increase when more people are on your team, helping you get a job.

I personally will change my LinkedIn page to “Looking for an Awesome Opportunity” and email my friends and family that I’m actively looking. More often than not, they will understand (because we’ve all been there before) and they’ll want to help!

Some of the best job search tips I’ve ever heard: 

  • I recommend LinkedIn, Google Jobs, and Indeed for job postings. This is what most people use. I often avoid Craigslist.
  • Always use Glassdoor and read company reviews on how they treat their employees.
  • If you like a company, stalk their employees on LinkedIn to see if they went to the same schools you attended, clubs you’re in or charities you participate in. Ask them what it’s like there and ask for advice.
  • Have a salary in mind, knowing how much you need to cover all your expenses.

Make Money Fast When Your Jobless

8. Sell Your Old Stuff for Extra Money

If you just lost your job and looking for extra money, consider selling your extra stuff on Craigslist or eBay. All that extra stuff in your apartment/house like old bikes or snowboards could make a couple of hundred dollars with a new family. That’s a lot of extra ramen noodles! Plus it’s a rewarding feeling getting rid of some of the junk in your life.

Write Articles For Money

9. Write Articles For Money

I write all the time for a blog, but I discovered there are other places on the internet that pay you for writing! I’ve written a couple of articles on Seeking Alpha that pay $35 per article and $0.01 for every page view. It usually comes around $70/article in the long run.

With your new free time, this is probably one of the easiest ways to earn extra money while unemployed. You’ll have lots of extra time and most of the sites I listed pay between $50 – $100 per article.

For me personally, this is my plan. Spend my mornings looking for new jobs and my evenings writing articles. If I can write 1 article a night, at $50 per article. That’s an extra $1,500/month!

Side Gigs

10. Side Gigs

We regularly talk about creative ways to make money, but some of the quickest ways to make extra cash are side-gigs. These are tasks that you can do anytime on different established platforms:

  • Get paid for walking with StepBet (our 6-week StepBet Review and how much money we made)
  • Drive for Uber or Lyft (how much uber drivers make)
  • Deliver Uber Eats, Postmates or Door Dash (if you don’t like dealing with people)
  • Deliver Groceries with Instacart
  • Answer Online Surveys while you watch TV
  • Dog Sitting/Dog Walker (sites like Rover)
  • Babysitting (sites like Care)
  • Random tasks in your city ranging from moving furniture to assembling IKEA (sites like TaskRabbit)

Many of these could be done in your afternoons while you spending your mornings (often the most productive time of the day) job searching for new opportunities.

Conclusion

Losing your job is incredibly scary, but there are TONS of resources here and online to help you find a new job and supplement your income. Hopefully, this helps make losing your job a bit less scary and aids in setting up your own backup plan!

Are You Considering an MBA? Answer these 2 Questions First!

/in , , /by

At the end of last year, I was in a career funk. So I considered going back to school to get my MBA (Master’s of Business Administration). I figured with an MBA, you can practically do anything from advancing in your current field or make a complete switch to a new one. Every company values an MBA.

I was so excited! I previously considered the possibility of getting an MBA and my life was in a good position to do night classes. So I began picturing myself adding the letters “MBA” behind my name on business cards and looking up schools.

However, I quickly hit the brakes!

Ask These 2 Questions Before You Pursue an MBA

With many of my friends going back to school or are currently in school. I ALWAYS ask them these 2 simple questions that BLOW THEIR MINDS.

So I decided to ask myself these 2 simple questions to see if I can pass my own “Should You Get An MBA” test.

1. What is the EXACT dream Company and Job Title you want after graduation?

You should know this.

Most people get an MBA because they want to do something in business. They think they need an MBA for potential promotions or career growth.

However, what you should do is FIRST figure out what your dream job is.

You can’t just say “something in business”. If you are going to spend $140,000 or more on an MBA (average MBA costs according to Investatopia). Plus years of your life. You should identify the exact company and job title you want before you even start school. Come on, it’s your DREAM job.

This is a role you’ll potentially be doing for the rest of your life. You should have a clear idea of what it should be. Knowing this will guide every future decision you make within your MBA program, including the electives you take and the networking events you attend.

What’s the point of getting an MBA if you don’t know what you’ll do with it? Seriously? So take a moment and write down your dream job title and company.

2. Have you reached out to your dream company yet?

Once you can identify the exact job title and company you want, you should reach out to that organization and ask what they look for. This should ideally be less intimidating than pondering a future $140,000 MBA student tuition bill.

Usually, a company’s Human Resources department would be willing to meet with you if you tell them you’re considering going back to school to gain the skills necessary to work at their company.

When you meet with your dream company’s Human Resources Department (or any department), you should ask them some of these questions.

My dream job at your company is a Marketing Manager (or whatever it is), what is the typical salary range they get paid?

You should ABSOLUTELY know how much your future job pays because this will inform you how long it’ll take you to pay off your newly acquired student debt. Plus it’ll give you an idea of the lifestyle you can expect once you graduate with an MBA.

While it’s not all about money, you should be aware if your post-MBA salary can cover your student loans for the next 20 years. Are you ok with only eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches?

What degrees or education do your current Marketing Managers have (or whatever your dream job is)?

This will give you an idea of the education level of their current employees. Some employees may have MBAs and some may not. You should probe deeper into what the HR team looks for in your dream position. Perhaps you don’t need an MBA and you may have the necessary experience to apply that day.

If you need to get an MBA for that position, ask if they have a preferred school or partner with any specific schools. If your dream job regularly partners with a local university and hires exclusively from there. That university may need to be on your radar for potential schools.

Does your dream company offer internships?

Yes, you’re getting an MBA but knowing if your dream company has an internship program is huge. Many companies will hire interns who are working towards their degree and help them grow into the position. There is no reason to wait till after you receive your MBA to apply to your dream company. You should use every opportunity to start making connections.

What does career growth look like at that company?

If your dream job is to be the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), they won’t just hire you out of school. What entry-level roles will you need to start off with and how does one become a CEO? How did the current CEO get his role and what did they do before that? Some jobs aren’t attainable right out of school, even with an MBA. You need to understand what your career path would look like moving into your dream position. You should understand what this looks like.

When I considered an MBA, I failed this checklist

Last year when I considered getting my MBA, I went full-throttle and visited 3 different universities. This included dropping in classes and meeting with professors.

I received all the brochures, met with all their “advisors” and compared costs ($39,000 – $80,000). I did soft applications and confirmed I would be accepted to each of them.

I was so freaking close to full-out applying.

I knew I wanted to do something in finance because I LOVED writing about finance (hence why I started a blog). So I figured I’d get an MBA focused on finance.

This is how most people start the MBA journey. They love the idea of a degree, so they first get an education THEN figure out where they want to work.

I know this because that’s how I choose my bachelor’s degree. I went into Landscape Architecture without actually knowing if it was my dream job. I just thought it would be fun to draw and select plants. I didn’t learn till after internship opportunities and after graduation that it’s not what I wanted.

So I took this MBA checklist and failed.

When I looked at my dream job, there were some finance positions like Financial Planner, Mutual Fund Manager, Financial Analyst that sounded interesting. Yet when reviewing, I wasn’t drawn to them with such vigor that I could stomach another $140,000 in student loan debt.

Only one position that I was excited about, sounded fun, but it earned even less than I was making now. So I had to ask myself if I would be willing to take on $140,000 debt for a lower-paying job? It wasn’t a great option even with all the extra ways to make money out there like selling photos and earning money from walking.

Do the Math on your Future Tuition

According to Investatopia, the average MBA program costs $140,000, with higher-ranking schools costing more. They’re factoring in tuition, living arrangements, books, and peripheral expenditures. That’s more than the average night-only MBA program I was looking at.

Now factor $140,000 student debt at 6.8% interest which is the average Subsidized Federal Stafford Loan according to Federal Student Aid. Having that kind of student loan debt is similar to buying a house or literally thousands of lego technic sets for my kids.

However, the common response to seeing these numbers is that you’ll be paid more after your MBA. That is perhaps true. The average salary of MBA graduates in a full-time program was $126,919. This was taken from US News when they interviewed companies mainly on the east/west coasts which usually provide a higher salary than the Mountain States and Midwest.

Conclusion

Most people like me had to make an insane decision in high school to pick a college major before entering college. So at the same time, I was focused on rehearsing for the school musical and wondering if the homecoming queen liked me (she didn’t). I was asked to choose a degree that would affect the rest of my life. I was not ready.

Going back to school for your MBA doesn’t have to be like that. There isn’t any timetable, no matter what college recruiters try to tell you about upcoming semester deadlines. You have all the time in the world to choose if an MBA is right for you.

So if you’re considering going back to school for an MBA, you should have an idea of what your future will look like. You should identify your dream job at your dream company. This is your opportunity to do WHATEVER you want in the world, and create a plan that extends after graduation.

SEMrush Review – How To Get Great Website And Blog Post Ideas

/0 Comments/in , /by

The secret sauce separating hobbyists and full-time professional bloggers are SEO tools like SEMrush. This SEMrush Review covers how it works.

Read more

What Happens to Debt When You Die?

/9 Comments/in /by

Three weeks ago, a friend asked “What happens to debt when you die”. Now, this wasn’t a morbid question, I’ve simply just become the personal finance guy in my little group of friends, and they wanted to know what happens. The incorrect answer is “You’ll be dead, why do care?”.

What essentially happens when you die is “Probate”. It’s the process of paying off outstanding debts and distributing your wealth to your beneficiaries with your “estate”.

what-happens-to-debt-when-you-die-infographic

What’s in my Estate?

Your estate is essentially your net worth. This is made up of your home value, bank accounts, car, boat, RV and all your smaller assets as well such as paintings, flat screen tvs, etc. Essentially everything you have to your name, including your name. (source)

Your estate is everything you have, to pay off your debts first then distribute to your heirs as dictated in your Will. However some people don’t have enough money to pay off all their debt first, so I’m going to focus on what happens to your debt when you die that you can’t pay off.

Credit Card Debt – What If I Can’t Pay This When I Die?

Millions of Americans have credit card debt, so I was curious about this first. If you’re the only name on the card, the debt stops with you. So if you don’t have enough assets (money) to pay off your credit card debt. Then the Credit Card company simply has to take the loss and move on and your heirs aren’t responsible for paying it off. (source)

They can though, go after a “co-signer” on your credit card. So always be careful of co-signing anything. However, if you’re just authorized to use the credit card, you’re not liable to pay off the debt because you’re not the actual owner of the credit card and don’t carry the financial liability.

Student Loan Debt – What If I Can’t Pay This When I Die?

If your estate can’t cover your student loan debt, then that’s where the buck stops. Unless you had a co-signer on the account, no one else including your heirs, are responsible for that debt.

It was interesting to hear though that according to Nerd Wallet, collection agencies may still legally contact your family members to “discuss” student loan debt, but they can’t mislead your heirs into thinking that they’re responsible for your student loan debt (source). Not sure why they would do this unless they were trying to guilt your poor grandma into paying off your student loans for moral reasons. Those bastards. Be sure to send them a letter asking them to stop and request a read receipt.

Car Loan Debt – What If I Can’t Pay This When I Die?

This was interesting. If your estate can’t pay off your car loan debt then they can repossess your car. This makes sense, it’s a tangible asset that can be taken back if not fully paid off. How I paid off my car.) However whoever inherits the vehicle can just continue making payments on their inherited Ford Fiesta and the bank is unlikely to take any action as long as they continue to receive money. Remember it’s all just business. (source)

Home Loan Debt – What If I Can’t Pay This When I Die?

This is really the least of my concerns since I rent a studio loft downtown, but for some friends who recently bought a house, let’s chat. Due to the 1982 federal law, the surviving spouse may continue to make payments to the mortgage without having an issue (source). They can simply continue to make payments similar to how the recently deceased did or sell and keep the difference in monetary value.

Things get a little murky with mortgages with a “home equity line of credit”. These are usually paid off during the probate process but may involve selling the house if your assets don’t cover the debt. If you’re worried about this, I highly recommend you consult a local attorney.

Is anything safe from debt collectors?

In my research, I’ve found a few things that appear to be safe from debt collectors. These are IRAs, 401(k)s, brokerage accounts, life insurance and pension plans that don’t go to probate, so they won’t be considered a part of your estate to pay off debt collectors. So your heirs may be left with something. (source)

Sometimes people get life insurance to help their loved ones (often co-signers) with the debt they leave behind. Since life insurance is exempt from some estates, it can be used by your heirs and loved ones with the burden of any debt you accumulated together.

Conclusion

In short, your debt belongs only to you, it is not passed on to your family when you pass. (source). As long as you didn’t have any co-signers for your Student Loans/Credit Card Loans and your estate can’t pay them, those debts die with you. Home Loans and Car Loans are tangible assets that can be taken back if not paid off or have someone take over the payments in order to keep them.

If this research taught me anything, it’s to be very aware of what I co-sign. Debt dies with the deceased, unless there’s a co-signer.

Top 22 Warren Buffett Quotes the Internet Can’t Get Enough Of

/5 Comments/in , , /by

Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, has a net worth of over $78.2 billion and is known as one of the greatest investors of all time. So when he speaks, people take note.

Here are some of the top 22 Warren Buffett Quotes the internet can’t get enough of.

Warren Buffett Quotes Infographic

Top 22 Warren Buffett Quotes The Internet Can’t Get Enough Of

Here are some of the top Warren Buffet quotes found on every list of Warren Buffet quotes around the internet. These quotes range in wisdom on investing to regular life. I try to live by these quotes on my own investment portfolio.

Warren Buffett Quotes

1. Rule #1: Never lose money. Rule #2: Never forget rule #1

One of my favorite Warren Buffet Quotes. The fastest way to grow your money is to never lose it in the first place. This applies from saving on your groceries to focusing on less risky stocks of well established companies.

2. It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently

Think about the Wells Fargo or Equifax scandals. It takes years to build enough trust for someone to have brand loyalty. Warren Buffet quotes it takes 20 years, but it takes 5 minutes or less to destroy all that goodwill you’ve built. People are quick to revolt if you’ve done anything to betray their trust.

It is infinitely harder to build trust than destroy it.

3. Diversification is a protection against ignorance. It makes very little sense for those who know what they’re doing.

Multiple studies show that diversification in the stock market will help protect you against market falls. Or it could be summarized in the old proverb “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. Unless you have insider information that a stock is going do really well, maintain a diversified portfolio to protect you. No one knows what they’re doing all the time.

4. If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes. Put together a portfolio of companies whose aggregate earnings march upward over the years, and so also will the portfolio’s market value.

Unless you’re a day trader (I will never be), you should only be investing in the stock market with the intention to hold those stocks for a long time. You can do really well as a beginner if you’re buying stocks and not planning on selling till you retire. Those are where you get the best returns. Warren Buffett is infamously known for rarely selling stocks.

5. It’s far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price.

When you buy a stock, you should think of it as owning a piece of that company. You should be looking at wonderful companies that have a competitive advantage in the industry. Those are the companies that will do well over the long run. You may find a wonderful price on a mediocre company, but really what are you getting? A mediocre company that will likely be edged out of the market by a better company.

Many of the famous Warren Buffett quotes are about investing in strong companies with a competitive advantage and strong brand loyalty rather than cheap companies where you think you can make a quick buck. Warren Buffett is never into buying a company for a quick buck.

6. Be fearful when others are greedy. Be greedy when others are fearful.

During the 2008 financial crisis when investors were all exiting the market, Warren Buffett invested in a few large companies even though their stock prices were falling. Those deals made Warren Buffett over $10 billion dollars when the market stabilized and it’s continuing to show dividends. When the market goes upside down during world events, politics, market forecasts, those are the times when everyone else is fearful, that Warren Buffet sees an advantage when the markets crash.

Think about it this way, the New York Stock Exchange has been around since 1817, it has always recovered. Chances are, minus a world apocalypse, that the market will always bounce back. Those who capitalize on those downturns are usually rewarded.

7. The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.

One of my favorite Warren Buffett quotes because it has so many applications. You will see many opportunities in your life and you may want to jump on everyone, but it’s ok to be selective and say no. You’ll burn yourself out if you say “yes” to everything. This also applies to going out on a Saturday night with friends drinking. It’s ok to say “no” to save a few dollars or have a night to yourself to finish your article on Warren Buffett quotes. =)

This also applies to going out on a Saturday night with friends drinking. It’s ok to say “no” to save a few dollars or have a night to yourself to finish your article on Warren Buffett quotes. =)

8. Develop and build the habits you admire in others.

Remember all those times that your parents wanted you to hang out with those “good kids”. The habits of the people you surround yourself with rub off you on, consciously or unconsciously. When you find people like Warren Buffett, the Oracle of Omaha, who is one of the greatest investors of all time. You should find out what makes him so successful and learn those traits to improve yourself.

9. Passive investing will make you more money than active trading

Oh my goodness, fees are the WORST! Active trading requires more work and more fees, so more of your money will be paid to your broker. Yet studies have shown over and over that passive investing where you set your money and forget it are far more successful for growing wealth. I don’t plan to ever touch my stocks currently making dividends.

10. There seems to be some perverse human characteristic that likes to make easy things difficult.

Great quote, people always imagine things are more difficult than they really are. When I first considered starting investing, I thought there were so many hurdles and financial experts I would have to pay. Yet, when I finally decided I wanted to start investing in the stock market, I just downloaded the Robinhood App and started investing. It took 10 minutes to sign up and buy my first stock when I worried about investing in the stock market for over 5 years. Things are often more simple than you think they are.

11. Tell me who your heroes are and I’ll tell you who you’ll turn out to be.

This is similar to the Warren Buffett quote “Develop and build the habits you admire in others”. If you want to be an entrepreneur, start joining local meetups of entrepreneurs. You learn SO MUCH MORE when you surround yourself with the people you want to be like. You can learn A LOT in a book, but you’ll learn even more by surrounding yourself with people you admire.

12. We have long felt that the only value of stock forecasters is to make fortune-tellers look good.

No one can predict the stock market, no one. Not even Warren Buffett. Anyone who says they know exactly how the market works is trying to sell you something. You can lump stock forecasters being as accurate as the carnival fortune-tellers. You know the ones with 3 teeth, crystal ball and you’re going to die in 2083.

13. When we own portions of outstanding businesses with outstanding managements, our favorite holding period is forever.

If you invest in an outstanding company, even if the stock price goes up, why would you ever sell it? No matter when you sell it, outstanding companies will continually do better and better. Don’t sell until you absolutely have to, otherwise, you’ll just be losing money in the long run. Many of Warren Buffett Quotes are like this, they are all very Anti-Day Trader.

14. You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with 130 IQ.

If you follow the basic principals of Warren Buffett and buy outstanding companies with strong competitive advantages like Apple (AAPL). You don’t have to be a genius. Just buy and hold forever, you literally don’t have to do anything until you sell.

Many Warren Buffett quotes are similar to this because he stresses that anyone can invest in the stock market. The simplest way is just to invest in index funds that follow the market. Set it and forget it. The market sees an average increase of 7% per year and that’s WAY better than a savings account.

15. I try to buy stock in businesses that are so wonderful that an idiot can run them. Because sooner or later, one will.

Look for companies to invest in that are so strong that they can weather any storm because soon enough they will have to. Think about Apple (AAPL), as long as they keep pushing out iPhones it doesn’t matter who runs the company, they’ll continue to do well. People were worried when Steve Jobs passed because they didn’t know the future of the company, but Tim Cook stepped in and maintained the same Apple legacy. As long as Tim Cook sticks to the secret Apple recipe, they’ll be in good shape.

16. Buy into a company because you want to own it, not because you want the stock to go up.

If you see a company that you think is going to do well or heard will do well, don’t buy it unless you’re willing to hold it for awhile. If something goes wrong and the stock dives, you’re stuck with a company you don’t believe in and will likely sell at a lower price to get rid of it, ruining the reason you bought it in the first place.

17. Wall Street is the only place that people ride to work in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.

This is just a funny Warren Buffet quote.

18. Charlie and I have not learned how to solve difficult business problems. What we have learned is to avoid them.

I’m sure Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger have learned how to solve difficult business problems, but the best way to navigate murky waters is to avoid them all together. The more problems your business can avoid, the better shape you’ll be. You can avoid a lot of problems from being proactive instead of reactive.

19. Long ago, Ben Graham taught me that “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

Ben Graham, Warren Buffett’s mentor had this popular quote. I always think about it simply. Price is what you buy a stock for and Value is what you sell that same stock for.

20. It’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you’ll drift in that direction.

If you can’t tell, Warren Buffett believes in surrounding yourself with the right people. He credits much of his success from surrounding himself with smart, good people.

21. If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.

When you analyze a stock based on its historical performance, it’s called technical analysis. Yet past performance does not necessarily mean future performance. Just because you know what the stock has done in the past doesn’t mean it’s going to follow that same trend.

22. You only have to do a very few things right in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong.

It’s ok to mess up, focus on learning from those mistakes for the next time. It just sounds cooler when Warren Buffett quotes it. Or you can take this as no matter how many mistakes you’ve made in the past, you always have a chance to do more good. It’s one of those life quotes that can go many ways.

The PBJ Theory, Please Quit Complaining About Food Budgets

/18 Comments/in , , /by

Looking to save money on monthly budget? Here is the Peanut Butter & Jelly Theory that is a quick thought on how you can save money on quick recipes for your family. #budget #savemoney #personalfinance

I’m about to save you thousands of dollars.

All the money you spend in your life, or even an average month. Chances are one of your largest expenses is food. It happens literally to everyone.

Eating Out Is The Worst For Your Wallet

So when people start to track their budgets, they always come to the same conclusion. “I need to quit eating out more”. The average person eats out 4.5 times per week costing them $12.14 per meal on a national average according to a 2016 survey conducted by Zagat. That doesn’t even include the additional cost of tipping.

That means the average person spends $54.63 eating out a week or $218.52 a month on just eating out. Unless you have a side-hustle that makes you lots of money. The obvious answer is to eat in!

What About Eating In?

Most people think they can easily quit dining out, and start cooking delicious meals. Here’s the thing with cooking for yourself, the movies get it wrong.

It’s not always a romantic and soothing experience.

Often times it’s a “Crap, I need to eat. What should I cook?” experience that you pray to the food gods you have the right ingredients in your fridge and clean dishes.

Let’s face it, we are busy in our lives and don’t have the time to visit the store every day buying fresh ingredients for a new recipe we found on the internet.

In fact, according to the Harvard Business Review, researcher Eddie Yoon over two decades collected data as consultants for consumer packaged goods companies. He found that:

  • 15% of people say they LOVE to cook
  • 50% of people say they HATE to cook
  • 35% of people say they are ambivalent about cooking (mixed feelings)

If you’re one of the people that hate cooking, you should create a meal plan to make it as easy as possible.

Plan a week in advance what you’re going to eat for each meal and know how to cook it. This way you’ll have the ingredients and can plan accordingly for time.

However, not all plans work out.

Introduce The Peanut Butter and Jelly Theory

When meal plans fail, let me introduce Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches, otherwise known as a PBJ.

Let me first admit that I have an addiction to commenting on Finance forums, Facebook Groups, and Blogs. The mechanics of building wealth are simple and I’m always happy to remind people that things are often more simple than they appear. Like how I responded to this comment and created “The Peanut Butter and Jelly Theory”.

I get it, you want to start saving money on food and you’re looking for suggestions from the personal finance community to help.

Answers ranged from getting a crockpot to make meals simple, cooking large meals on Sunday and eating leftovers throughout the week, to buying frozen meals that may not be great for you, but easy to prepare.

All of the responses skirted around the idea that a solid weekly meal plan is the best option to help you save money on food. However, sometimes these meals don’t work out for a number of reasons, and once you fall off the wagon, you can end up at the local McDonalds.

So I introduced the Peanut Butter and Jelly Theory. The cost-effective, quickest meal ever to keep your budget on track.

This is easily the most actionable thing you can do to start immediately saving on your food budget. In many cases when people eat out, it’s due to convenience because they don’t have anything at home to sound appealing. That’s when the Peanut Butter and Jelly Theory comes in handy.

“Stash emergency PBJ&J supplies in your kitchen. When hungry, but have nothing else. You can have a PBJ. If you’re not hungry for a PB&J, wait 2 hours until you’re hungry enough to eat a PB&J.”

Sometimes a PBJ isn’t exactly what you’re craving and your favorite restaurant sounds better, or your family would not be happy about that. Well suck it up, you’ll soon be out of debt and you can buy your family a jet ski. Everyone loves a jet ski.

Try the Peanut Butter and Jelly Theory

If you want to save THOUSANDS on food budgets, you should try the Peanut Butter and Jelly Theory! Meals cost less than $1 to make, you’ll save time and money. Most importantly, you’ll have a secret stash of PBJs to make and everyone is a stack of cash saved from eating out!

You’re welcome.

Disclaimer: Wallet Squirrel did not invent the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich, just an advocate of saving money. Wallet Squirrel was not sponsored by big PBJ corporations to promote their superior and delicious product.

Oh My Goodness I Hate Tipping, It Ruins My Budget and Anxiety

/10 Comments/in , /by

Let me preface that I used to be a waiter so I understand the value of tipping, but as a customer, tipping is the worst! It's psychological warfare at the end of every meal that results in either anxiety that you haven't paid enough or havoc on your wallet for paying too much. #opinion #personalfinance Let me preface that I used to be a waiter so I understand the value of tipping, but as a customer, tipping is the worst! It’s psychological warfare at the end of every meal that results in either anxiety that you haven’t paid enough or havoc on your wallet for paying too much.

Then exactly how much too much and too little for a tip? Common restaurant adequate says a tip should be 15%-20% pretax, but then why does every restaurant leave the anxiety for the customer to decide how much to tip?

Let’s face it, an extra 20% of a $60 check is still a lot on your budget. That’s $12 the menu doesn’t mention.

This History of Tipping is Murky

From what I found in the Business Insider and Washington Post (and it’s a murky origin story) tipping originated around 17th century England where the word T.I.P. meant “To Insure Promptitude”. The upper class provided extra “allowance” to servers (lower class) to be given faster service.

This practice made its way to America after the Civil War when wealthy Americans started traveling back and forth to Europe. So we can blame them, and I do.

Tipping Today Just Allows Restaurants to Pay it’s Servers Poorly

Because servers receive tips, the federal tipped minimum wage for tipped workers is as little as $2.13 an hour because they receive tips to supplement the difference (source).

That’s kind of ridiculous, right! Restaurants are allowed to only pay their servers $2.13 an hour and expect servers to get the rest of their income from tips. So when you pay your bill, you’re essentially paying for the food/environment with your bill and your tip pays the waiter’s salary.

If you’re a waiter, the customer is actually your boss since they’re the ones that pay you. So every day, every hour, you have a different boss. Yikes.

How Much Do You Pay Your Server Then?

According to Google, yes I googled “How Much Should I Tip”. You should be paying your server 15%-20% of your pre-tax bill.

This Is Where The Anxiety Starts

Which one is it? Do I tip 15% or 20%?

What If The Server Was Bad?

If my bill is $100, does the server get an extra $20 just because they took my order and walked food back from the kitchen?

What if they were awful? We’ve all had bad servers who ignored us. They took a long time or brought us the wrong items with a rude attitude. Is that when you tip them 15% instead of 20%?

What about if the food was awesome but the service was terrible? ugh

Should I feel both angry at my server for bad service but feel guilty since they’re paid so poorly? How should I feel?

I recall a study conducted found that bad servers still received 15%-20% regardless of how good the service was because people felt it was the socially acceptable thing to do. No one wants to be a bad tipper, but should I tip poorly to save a bit of money and prove a point to the server? Would a bad tip even make a difference?

What if the server was awesome?

You plan to spend a certain amount of money eating out and even account for a 20% tip. Do you exceed your budget further if your server was fantastic? Should your server’s awesomeness impact your planned budget? Should they be worthy of more than a 20% tip of that you’re still paying off student loans?

Damn it Janet, you were so great that now my tip for you exceeds my monthly food budget.

Are you a bad person if you don’t acknowledge their above and beyond service or will they quit trying harder if people don’t tip more for the great service?

What About Tipping During Group Meals?

Now imagine eating out with a group of friends, each pays their own bills and it always ends with everyone deciding the tip for themselves. All while each of you judges each other’s tips. If you only tipped 15%, does that make you a jerk if everyone else tipped 20% – 25%?

On the other hand, are you a jerk for tipping more than everyone? Are you considered flaunting your money because you can spend more money than everyone else or does it make you more generous or charitable?

This Is Why I Hate Tipping!

Why does a nice meal out with friends have to end with awkward silences while everyone calculates percentages in their heads while they secretly judge the performance of the server? Ending in silent comparison of who tipped more, who was more generous, and who felt more charitable than the rest of the group.

I Now Tip 20% Regardless of Service

Tipping makes me so anxious that I’m just starting to tip 20% regardless of service (paying with my credit card). The server can refill my drink at the perfect time or pour hot soup on my head. Creating a baseline 20% tip in every situation saves me from unnecessary anxiety at the cost of a few extra dollars from my budget. Sorry budget.

Except Subway “Sandwich Artists”, I still don’t understand why they now have a tip jar. They literally walk along with me placing ingredients I select onto bread. Is tipping at fast food restaurants now becoming a thing?

If you also tip 20% regularly, here is a chart to help you decide what 20% would be when you’re looking over a menu because they don’t list the extra tipping cost on the menu.

20% Tip Per Cost of your meal 

Check 20% Tip
$20 $4
$40 $8
$50 $10
$60 $12
$70 $14
$80 $16
$90 $18
$100 $20

If this seems like a lot of money to tip, you can always stay in and eat a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich. Save eating out when you know you can spend extra money on a 20% tip.

What do you tip your servers? There is obviously no right answer otherwise they wouldn’t leave the tip field on every check blank. I REALLY want to know. Do you judge your waiter every service or, like me, give them a flat fee regardless?

10 Simple Financial Concepts That Have a Huge Impact

/4 Comments/in /by

Today’s post is contributed by Marc, who runs the personal finance blog Vital Dollar. Marc has been working online full-time since 2008, running blogs and sites in a variety of different industries like web design, photography, and travel.

When it comes to money and financial topics there is no shortage of advice and available reading material. You could easily spend years devoted to learning more about managing your money and investing.

While there are plenty of in-depth, complicated financial topics that you can study, there are also some very simple and basic concepts that can have a massive impact.

In this article, we’ll look at a few of these simple concepts that are easy to grasp. If you make the effort to implement them you’ll see a huge payoff.

1. Pay Yourself First

This is pretty common financial advice, but most people ignore it. The typical approach to managing money involves paying bills, buying the stuff that you want, and then saving whatever happens to be left over. The problem is, with this approach there is almost never anything left to save.

In order to be effective at saving and building your nest egg, you need to make it a priority. Most of us are good at finding excuses, and there’s always a reason why saving isn’t convenient. But if you pay yourself first and then create a budget around the amount that you want to save or invest, you’ll find that it’s possible to make progress even when things seem tight.

When I was in my mid 20’s I was living on my own and getting by, but I didn’t have a lot left over after paying bills and necessities. I had a 401(k) available to me at my job, but for a while I wasn’t contributing anything because I was afraid of not having enough money to pay bills.

Looking back, there weren’t a whole lot of expenses I could have cut. I was living very frugally, but one thing I could have done to free up some money was live with a roommate. Living with a roommate probably would have saved me about $300 a month (even if Andrew doesn’t like the idea).

If I had paid myself first, in terms of contributing to my 401(k), and built my budget around what was left, I would have been able to make it work. That $300 per month would have been $3,600 into my 401(k) in one year, and that doesn’t even factor in the company match or the savings from reducing my taxable income.

2. Power of Compound Interest

I wish students would learn more about the power of compound interest in school. The combination of compound interest and a long period of time to let it work its magic is shocking.

Many young people don’t feel the need to save or invest because they think they’ll do those things when they’re older. But the reality is, the younger years are the best time to save because of compound interest.

That $3,600 that I could have contributed to a 401(k) in my mid 20’s could turn into more than $78,000 in 40 years, assuming an 8% return.

But if you invest the same $3,600 and only have 10 years to let it grow, it will only amount to $7,772 at the same 8% interest rate.

Those numbers are based on only one year of conservative saving. Image what could happen with several years of an aggressive commitment to save in your 20’s or 30’s.

3. Track Your Expenses

In order to manage your money effectively you will need to know where it’s going. Creating a budget is a guessing game if you don’t know how much you’re currently spending in different categories.

Budgeting can be a really helpful way to take better care of your money, but from my experience, tracking expenses has been even more helpful than budgeting.

When I was fresh out of college and getting by on a very low salary, I would track every dollar I spent in a spreadsheet. Each night when I got home I would record any purchases I made that day. I remember even entering $1 when I bought something from a vending machine.

At the end of the month I would total it up and see how much I spent in different categories. For me, knowing that I was going to record and track the expenses made me extremely careful about how I spent money.

By tracking expenses you are holding yourself accountable, and that can be a very powerful motivator for spending wisely.

4. Invest in Yourself

This is another one that you hear a lot. It sounds great, but what does it really mean?

Investing in yourself can involve a lot of different things, like getting an education, paying for training or coaching, improving your skills, starting a business, and many other things.

The purpose of investing in yourself is that it will pay off in the long run by way of more money, more freedom, or more happiness.

For me, investing in myself meant dedicating time and effort (and a little money) to start my own business back in 2007. By late 2008 my income from my online business allowed me to leave my full-time job. In my case it also involved a sacrifice and risk on my wife’s part, as her income would have needed to support us if my business failed.

If you were to look at our financial situation before that time and compare it to now, it’s drastically better now. Putting in the effort and taking the chance on my own business paid huge dividends for our family.

5. Live Below Your Means

What do most people do when they get a raise or promotion? Typically, the response is to spend the extra money that they’re making. It could be a one-time purchase, or it could be something like a new car that comes with a bigger payment each and every month.

If you want to get ahead financially, the key is to live below your means. And when you get a pay increase, don’t wipe out that increase by adjusting your lifestyle and spending more money.

Living below your means will allow you to save and invest month after month, year after year. If you do this consistently, you’ll be able to enjoy the rewards later.

This Dave Ramsey quote is very applicable here: “Live like no one else now so later you can live like no one else.”

6. Save More When Times Are Good

Although we should be saving and investing for the future all the time, it’s especially important to make an extra effort when things are going well and you have the money to spare.

Being self-employed, my income has been inconsistent for the past 10 years. We’ve learned to live with unpredictability, for the most part. But what has made it possible is saving up significantly more when the income is good.

Instead of buying expensive things when we have the money, we’ve typically saved because we might need that money later. This approach, along with living below our means, allowed us to build up our retirement savings pretty quickly, and it’s helped us to avoid trouble when my income isn’t as high as we would like. Just this year I sold a website that had been my primary source of income for the past year. That meant reduced income going forward without the website. Fortunately, planning ahead made it possible because we had saved leading up to it.

7. Prepare for Emergencies

Most financial advisors will tell you that an emergency fund should be one of your top priorities. Without an emergency fund you could be in trouble if something unexpected happens, like a job loss or major health issue.

Emergency funds aren’t exciting or sexy. All of us have plenty of other things we would rather do with our money than build up an emergency fund. But it’s one of those fundamental financial principles that you should follow, or you could regret it later.

8. Set Financial Goals

Setting financial goals can be extremely powerful. Yet, most of us don’t take the time to set specific, measurable goals. If you have goals you’ll have something specific to be working towards, rather than just a general goal of saving money.

Goals can be especially helpful if you’re a competitive person. Almost 5 years ago I set specific net worth goals for 5, 10, and 20 years. So far I’ve hit my 5 year goal, I’m not too far away from my 10 year goal, and I still have a long way to go for my 20 year goal. But I’m on track, and thanks to having goals I’m motivated to do what’s necessary to reach those milestones.

Setting goals isn’t hard, and it doesn’t take a lot of time. Simply think about your end goal and then work backwards and set a few smaller goals that will put you on the right pace to hit your ultimate goal.

9. Money Matters Less Than the Opportunities it Provides

Most of us think about money a lot (especially those of us who write on the topic). But it’s not really the money that’s important. What’s much more importance is what you can do with the money.

Money makes a lot of things possible.

Over the years I’ve worked to increase my income and net worth. But the most important things resulting from my business haven’t been related to money, although they are possible because of the money.

My favorite thing about being self employed and working online is the flexibility that it provides. I’m able to take a 20 minute break in the afternoon and pick my daughter up from kindergarten. I’m able to take days off on short notice when the weather is nice and we want to go somewhere as a family.

Don’t chase money for the sake of having money. Think about what’s important to you and how money can help you in that way.

10. Give to Others

One of the most rewarding things you can with your money is share it with others. There are countless worthy causes out there, and none of us can give to them all. Pick one (or more) that are of particular importance to you. We all connect to something different, and giving to something that truly matters to you is a great way to use your money.

My parents taught me the importance of giving from an early age. I always gave some of my money, but I mostly did it because it was what I was supposed to do and seemed like an obligation.

Within the past couple of years I’ve become more aware of a few causes that really resonate with me. Giving to these causes is fun and rewarding. It motivates me to increase my giving and have a greater impact.

What About You?

Which of these simple financial concepts have had a big impact on your life? If you have any others that weren’t mentioned here, please feel free to share in the comments.

7 Financial Apps That Are Taking Over the Personal Finance World

/7 Comments/in , /by

This is a guest post by Clara Decker of CouponsMonk.com, a deals and discounts provider company. She is passionate about money savings, investment and finance industry. In addition, Clara also supports non-profit agencies that provide healthcare solutions to handicapped and disabled people.

Managing one’s finance, sticking to the budget, and handling investment decisions are easier than ever before now. All thanks go to the today’s crop of personal finance apps which are getting popular with each passing day.

They are effective enough to help you strategize and manage your finance in the best possible way. In fact, these apps are taking the world by storm. Especially, it is expected that millennials are going to get benefited with the largest amount of personal wealth of any generation through these apps.

Undoubtedly, there is happening an explosion of brand-new consumer finance brands which are certainly changing the way how people spend, save, and manage their money.

Howbeit, it is even true that not all such personal finance apps are worth downloading and using both. There is a myriad of options available out there which are not incorporated with enough smart technologies to help you plan your financial life in a better way. Hence it is always recommended to avoid them.

Which are the good ones then?

This piece of writing will actually help you out to get the right answer to this question.

Read on.

1. Mint

It can be considered as one of the best apps to manage your precious bucks. It comes as a powerful all-in-one resource which is perfect for curating a budget and tracking the same. All that you need to do is just connect all your bank and credit card accounts, monthly bills and so on. Hence, you can be assured of all your finances to be in a convenient place. You don’t have to access multiple sites to access your financial data. You may notice that even Wallet Squirrel’s own Andrew uses this daily.

With the amazing perks like letting you know the due time for your bills, how much you owe etc., Mint has become immensely popular nowadays. Also, this app is technically sound enough to give you specific advice on budgeting. This is not the end! You can even enjoy the exhilarating feature of free credit score.

2. Wally

If you’re someone who believes in tracking your finance to attain the best results, this app is definitely your cup of tea. If you use this it, you don’t have to manually log-in to your expenses at the end of the day. This free app is such a user-friendly one which can even take a snap of your receipts. Above that, if you are someone who is using geo-location on your smartphone, this app can further help you in saving that information. In the end, the process will end up being pretty fast for you while saving the time for several steps.

Hence, if you want to have a clear insight of where your bucks are going, you can simply trust on Wally.

3. Acorns

If you want to spend some money on trading, Acorns is the best way of doing that. It is such an interesting app that even if there is a spare change from any of your purchases, you can invest that into stocks and bonds. If you are new to the market and you want to figure out frugal ways to make an entry, this app can definitely help you out.

All that you need to do is just make a log-in to your bank account. You will be able to choose an account to make an investment. Next, it needs a little bit of more details like your employee status, net worth, annual income, and decision to invest. That’s it!

Acorns will automatically suggest you a portfolio of stocks and bonds which will match your investment goals rightly. With Acorns, you can choose to start at just $ 5 or in bulk, in the blink of an eye, you will become an investor.

4. Digit

If you want to excel in saving money, you can go for Digit. This app is able enough to analyze various information starting from your income to spending habits while syncing with your checking account. It smartly pulls out the money that seems to be extra in your bank account! Within a significant duration of time, you will end up saving huge. You can download Digit from both Android and iOS apps.

5. Rize

It’s true that we often earn enough but it doesn’t suffice our needs. There are many such big responsibilities like putting our kids through college or buying a house which seems to be quite scary! Isn’t it?

However, if you download the Rize app, it will create a specific roadmap for you to help you accomplish all the aforementioned objectives. You just have to enter your plans and the app will do the rest. It will help you to get ready for all such big plans while saving your bucks. Whether it is iOS or Android, you can download this app from anywhere.

6. Clarity

Clarity can let you have your own personal financial advisor always with you. This app effectively monitors and analyses your income and spending. Also, it keeps a track of all the transactions which happen in your bank account. Further, Clarity can even alert you if it figures out that you’re spending over the budget. It will also suggest you enough ways to reduce your spending.

Also, Clarity often does some more essential tasks for you like canceling subscriptions, looking for discounts and so on.

How thrilling is this?

Just try their little AI from any one of the Android stores now!

7. Fivver

Every one of you have some debt in some or other way. If you want to keep away some extra money for that but don’t have time to go for a part-time job, you can take help from Fivver. It is a global online marketplace based app which offers various tasks and services starting at the cost of $5 when you complete each gig.

Do you think the amount is too less?

Well, the upsell potency for each gig that you will deal with is really huge! There are even some of such expert Fivver sellers who charge almost $45 upcharge to deliver the gig within the duration of 24 hours. So, you can become one among them and earn huge to upgrade your personal finance.

Aren’t these personal finance apps seem to be worth enough? Don’t wait anymore! If you want to become financially stable in your personal life, try them soon. There can’t be any better way to manage your finance in the right way.

Letter To My Younger Self About Renting An Apartment

/11 Comments/in /by

Last week Adam shared what it’s like “owning” a home for 2 years, so I thought I’d compare that to my 5 years of lessons learned “renting” an apartment.

HA!

I laugh because I’m going to hit on some of the age-old “renting vs owning” debates, with these lessons learned, but I won’t say which is better. Although you can probably tell from my comments throughout my letter. There are some things I wish I’d known, ideas I learned from renting experts like RENTCafé, and things I learned the hard way.

What I Would Tell My Younger Self About Renting

Dear Younger Self,

I’m 31 and still have never “owned” a home, but I have rented the past 5 years as an adult and 3 years before that in college, learning A LOT! Please make better choices than I/You did.

1. Always ask if there is a better price on rent. Many times there are deal or specials going on in an apartment complex that the leasing team doesn’t necessarily offer up front. However, a simple question of “can you do better?” will produce AMAZING results. I’ve received some amazing deals on apartments just because I asked that one simple question.

Also never quit asking that question, even when renewing your lease ask if they can do better. Sometimes, just sometimes they’ll come back with “I went to ask my manager and we can lower your rent for $100”. It never hurts to ask.

2. Maintenance is included in your rent, don’t hesitate to ask for needed repairs. I used to be so nervous about submitting maintenance requests not wanting to be a problem tenant. Even the small things like a slow leaking drain. I would go to the store to buy Draino to fix the drain myself. However, that’s not your responsibility. Maintenance is there to supply their own Draino to fix their building, it’s not your responsibility. Take advantage of your maintenance team for all those concerns. When in doubt, just ask your maintenance team about something and 9 out of 10 times, they’ll fix it.

3. When looking for Apartments, Studio Apartments are pretty great. To save you a couple hundred dollars, absolutely go for a studio apartment. They save you money, easy to clean and force you to assess what’s important enough to keep and throw away.

4. Location is everything. Think about those Uber receipts, where will you go every weekend and what personality type are you. If you’re a social person, you will absolutely hate living in the suburbs with a cheaper apartment. It’ll take you forever to get downtown to meet people and you’ll likely cancel plans to just stay home and avoid traveling. The extra money is worth it to live where you want to be.

5. Higher views are nice, but they don’t matter. Lots of apartment complexes make you pay extra the higher your apartment is. So someone on the 8th floor will pay more than someone on the 3rd floor. It’s not worth it, lots of times your blinds will be closed to block the sunlight glare on the tv. A better view only matters 5% of the time you live in an apartment.

6. It’s OK you don’t remember your Leasing Agents name, they’ll be gone in 6 months. Every time I apartment shopped, I created a great relationship with the Leasing Agent for the building. However, every time I did, 6 months later someone new would replace them. All that goodwill built up is instantly gone. The turnover rate for these positions is incredibly high.

7. Roommates are amazing, but living on your own is way better. I spent 3 years living with 2 amazing roommates (one of them was Adam). It was great to come home every day and chat with each other about our day and hang out. So I thought about living by myself would be lonely, it wasn’t. Living on your own is awesome! Once you live on your own, you’ll never go back! Lol

8. Constantly call your utilities to ask for better deals, there usually are. Once a year I call Xfinity for my internet and ask for a better deal and every year they find me one. Again it never hurts to ask.

9. You’re not likely to get your entire deposit back no matter how well you clean. I’ve been in apartments where I kept it spotless and even my parents helped clean when I moved out. However, no matter how well you clean, some apartment inspector will ding you for the smallest things and keep all or part of your deposit. While it’s not worth the effort of cleaning, you should still do it. Just know your deposit is likely gone.

10. Neighbors suck, so invest in earplugs, eye masks, and moderately noised fan. No matter where you go, you’ll have neighbors that every once in a while play music too loud or launch laser lights into your apartment as an afterthought (it happens). Unless this happens all the time, a set of earbuds, eye mask, and a fan to help drown out the noise are essential and help you avoid confrontations while your neighbors are drunk. It’s much better to speak with them in the morning.

Please make good choices,
Andrew