Wealth: One Card Budget

Keeping a bunch of envelopes around the house or at arm’s reach can be a pain in the Kim Jong-Un. It’s one of the primary reasons that the envelope system of budgeting is hard for some people. If you don’t have the luxury of carrying around a purse or a man-bag (AKA: a satchel, AKA: Indiana Jones had one), keeping track of the envelopes can really be enough in itself to stop someone from using that way of budgeting. That’s why I offer an alternative to the equal to zero budget. The alternative is what I like to call the One Card Budget. With this budget, one can easily manage their expenses, track their spending, and make money by spending money.

The budget itself revolves around one simple rule: put everything on one credit card. I know; it seems a bit wild to be talking about savings and credit cards in the same sentence but it works. In fact, it works just about as well as any cut scene in a Marvel movie where Stan Lee gets five more seconds of fame. The best part is that it’s one of the easiest out there to keep track of.

Wealth: Equal to Zero Budget

Making more money each month is hard. Saving more money is easier. When one is trying to put together their own dividend scythe or simply just trying to put away money, the easiest way to do so is to learn how to budget effectively.

A budget can come in many forms. I'll be detailing many different budgets on the blog soon but first I wanted to start with one of the most common - the "Equal to Zero" budget. If any of you have ever read anything by Dave Ramsey, you've likely become very familiar already with this type of budget. If you haven't, I'll try my best to walk you through how you could create and use this type of budget for the very first time.

Don't worry if you have never put together a budget before. They aren't as scary as everyone talks them up to be. They simply require a little time and a good bit of control in order to work. The particular budget that I want to talk about today requires only two columns that pretty much anyone could emulate.

Wealth: Debt Optimization

Living with debt can be hard. No, really. Ever hear Dave Ramsey’s show? Hear his guest’s “debt-free screams” when they come on the show to publicly announce that they have eliminated all of their debt? Crushing all of your debt is a big deal and it’s not an unreasonable thing to do when you’ve annihilated a lot of debt. However, one thing that I feel gets missed in all the hustle bustle about identifying and paying down debt is that sometimes investing in other items can be more beneficial than paying down your debt. Please allow me to explain.

Everyone knows that debt is huge in the USA but just how huge? In 2015, studies conducted found that the average American has $15,609 in credit card debt. That’s not including student loans, car loans, home loans, or other much larger loans that are generally expected. That’s just the amount that was currently sitting on credit cards. If you do the math at the staggering 25% interest rate that some credit cards are subject to, you’ve got an amount of credit card debt that is by all intents and purposes insurmountable by a lot of households. For this type of debt, the Dave Ramsey, “attack the debt with a sledgehammer” is probably the best approach. However, once that type of debt is gone and one if left with only other lesser interest rate debt, there could be a much better direction to take.

Wealth: Stock Alert - TGT

TARGET CORPORATION

Target Corporation is a general merchandise store that distinguishes itself apart from others by offering great deals without sacrificing service or options. While Walmart can be seen as the corner store for deals and therefore a staple for many American homes, Target seems to aim for a more middle class clientele. Their brands are recognizable, their selection isn't lacking, and their service always seems to be a cut above other general merchandise stores. They offer clothing, groceries, and much more.

Their merchandise comes from a network of forty distribution centers and are then carrier through multiple channels to their intended Target locations that are primarily located across the United States. They also offer digital services through their Target website with added perks for Target RED card customers. The company's risk factors seem to revolve around the same risk factors that can affect all general merchandise stores. Most notably is whether or not they will be able to maintain a good reputation. While this would seem simple for some stores, Target itself can be an easy target as they already walk a tight line as they have been called the store that is "Not Walmart". In addition, if Target cannot stay ahead of the trends, they themselves will be given the boot in lieu of another general merchandise store that can stock items faster or offer more competitive prices. Lastly, items like the data breach that occurred some time ago can adversely affect business as they know it.

Wealth: Stock Purchase

Hello again, dividend reapers. Today I wanted to go over the purchase of my newest acquisition into the dividend scythe: Qualcomm Inc (QCOM). I've detailed a description of the company, where it currently stands, and where I was able to make my entrance in the video above. If however you want to read instead of watch, the following is a quick breakdown of the company.

Wealth: Stock Alert

Hello again loyal followers and guests. Today I want to talk about one of my potential buys - Tupperware! I have reviewed this company in the past but recent times have changed my outlook on where it stands. This leaves me at a new opinion of the company as a whole and it also left me wanting to share my thoughts.

Tupperware (TUP) is a manufacturer and distributor of multiple Tupperware brands such as the ever so recognizable containers and other not so recognizable lines that follow cosmetics and personal care products. While the company itself has shown little to no real motion other than hills and dips over the last year, the company as a whole still has a lot of buying potential.

One of the key items that has always seemed to stick with me is the product's inability to become irrelevant regardless what portion control items try to do. While our waist lines seem to get bigger and bigger, our ability to make more and more food continues to astound. This leaves the product itself with an ever increasing market. Pair this with the potential for a recession (which will inevitably come) and one has a recipe for a great buy. This is why I intend to purchase shares in the near future.

Wealth: Happy Hour

Making sure that you have additional income for investing while still having a fun filled life can be tough sometimes. Whether it's batting away friends that want to go out to eat or simply trying to work more to gain more income, making sure that there is money left at the end of the month can be harder than it sounds. That's why there is happy hour.

No, I don't mean happy hour in the bedroom sense. Although, that is definitely a happy hour ! What I mean is going out to eat while the local eateries offer discounts during their "slower" hours of the day. Where the restaurant benefits from gaining a customer where there normally wouldn't be one, you benefit from the nice price deduction on the same or somewhat lesser portion sized meal.

Happy hour has many possible origins. Some say that it originated from the United States Navy in early 1913 when a group of stay at home mom's (homemakers?) organized a get together semi-weekly called the Happy Hour Social. Others believe that it was simply made by restaurants as yet another hallmark way to make some more dough!

Wealth: Budgeting

Budgets; everybody has one, has had one, wants one, or never wants one. Whatever your feelings on the subject, I personally feel that having a budget can benefit absolutely everyone. Budgets can assist with tracking assets, liabilities, payments that you’d forgotten about that have actually been burning a hole in your pocket, and much more. To not have a budget is to invite holes into the bottom of your pristine life boat.

Sure, there are those out there that are perfectly fine out there without having a budget. They however are very likely the type of person that already has a very controlled manner of spending habits but even they could learn a thing or two by keeping track of their finances with a budget. A budget can have so many positive side effects.

One of the most important things that a budget provides is a sense of security. A budget gives you a deeper sense of security by reminding you constantly about how much you can spend without getting yourself into trouble. If you are checking it as one should, you will always have a good idea of where you stand each day of the month. You’ll know immediately if you have the funds available to go a little wild. You’ll also know when you should take a pass and not join the guys on the night on the town and instead opt to meet up with them the next morning for a cheap breakfast.

Another important role of a budget is to show you where you are spending the most money. Hell, it was only a year or so ago that the wife and I were bleeding money through our eye balls through random trips to the local Walmart. Thanks to the budget however, we were able to zero in on it quickly and now we hardly spend anything besides our once a week grocery trips. It’s allowed us to save an extra $300-500 per month. That’s an extra $300-500 that go directly towards our investments that can help us retire even earlier.