I know it’s everywhere today.  I heard it on the radio before I even got out of bed this morning.  But I’m going to do my part and remind you to go vote.

I’ve done really well and not mentioned politics on my blog at all.  So I’m going to resist temptation and not tell you who I’ll be voting for.  But I will tell you what I did to encourage the next generation to be involved.  I sat down with my daughter and the sample ballot they sent out.  We went over each Proposition and I explained it as best I could in kid speak and she made a decision on each one.  Which was cool.  She was really interested in the whole thing.

I promised I would take her with me today when I go vote, but don’t think I’m going to.  I think instead I will just take her down there when she gets home from school so she can see it.  I have it hanging over my head and just want to get it done with.

Pic by: hjl

Yay for small banks!  I just read this article that pretty much sums up how I feel about small banks.  Better customer service, better rates on both loans and savings, and less fees.  We have our checking account and one savings account with a big bank, one that is still standing and apparently not going to fail.  But we have all our other accounts with a local credit union. The only reason we keep our checking account with the big bank is just because of the hassle of switching direct deposits and automatic payments.  I’m sure you can relate.

Of course small banks are not perfect.  If you use the ATM a lot or travel and need to be able to walk into a branch even when you are on the move then a local credit union probably isn’t going to suit you. But that doesn’t mean if you have some savings that you need to have immediate access to that you can’t shop around for a better rate at a local bank.

And then there are online banks.  Lots of people love them since they can really max out the savings rates because they don’t have to manage brick and mortar banks.  They can pass those savings along to you.  But they are not for me, especially for my checking account.  The thought of having to mail checks to my checking account really doesn’t give me the warm fuzzies.

Ok, switching topics here…

I also read this article about the economy and felt I HAD to post it.  With all my gloom and doom lately about the economy I needed to post something kinda hopeful.  It talks about how we will probably not see a depression.  Hey, I’ll take any good news I can! So if you have been feeling like the sky is falling go ahead and give a scan.

Hey guys.  I don’t know if anyone noticed but I didn’t post on Friday like I normally do.  I was hoping a little hiatus from the blog would clear my head and I could think of something other than the state of the economy to write about.  I can’t.

What’s worse is that I really don’t even know what I want to say about it.  I usually try to put a positive spin on things, I take the news with a grain of salt, I try to see the silver lining.  I’ve spent time looking at those looming dark clouds and I just can’t pick it out.  Sometimes I see something kind of shiny and I think “there it is!” but then the light shifts and it disappears again.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading and for the most part I can’t get my head around the situation.  There is quite a bit of uproar about the bailouts.  I’ve already given my thoughts on that topic. But even the proponents of the bailout say that things are still “going to get bad”.

I guess that is my sticking point.  Define “bad”.  What does that mean for the everyday person?  More importantly, what does that mean for me?  Should we cancel our Disneyland trip?  (We’ve decided on January btw.)  Should we sell the truck while we still can?  Should I get a job now, in case I need one later but the unemployment rate is so high that even one opening at Walmart gets 500 applications?  Is my husband’s overtime going to be nonexistent?  Is he going to lose his job?  What is going to happen!?

Out of all those worries, the one I’m most concerned about is my husband’s overtime being cut.  We really depend on him getting a decent amount of overtime, plus it seems like it woud be one of the first things to go.  I don’t know what we will do when/if that happens.  Then of course it depends on how long he is going to go without overtime.  We use our cushion fund when over time is low.  So one, two, three months with none isn’t going to kill us.  But 6 months to a year is going to really be tough.

As far as his job… it’s a safe as any right now.  He’s the boss, so they would have to be closing down his whole site before he would lose his job.  Which may happen I guess, it’s not outside the realm of possibilities I suppose.  It depends on how bad “bad” is.

So what are your worries?  How are you feeling about things right now? Do you have any ideas on how bad “bad” is?  Do you have plans for a worst case scenario?

Pic by: Mike Licht NotionsCapital.com

Just quick note to let everyone know that I have a guest post up over at Being Frugal.  I wrote about my financial fears and what I’m doing about them.   Please check it out and leave a comment or write a post about your own financial fears.

Yay. We have winner for the Go Green Live Rich book giveaway.

And the winner is….. Tiffany from We like money. Congrats Tiffany!! I’ve sent you an email.

I had 63 entries and used an online random number generator to pick a winner. I know that was the longest contest in the history of book giveaways. I really wanted to give the book away when I was done with it and I just figured this would be a good way to give it to someone who was interested. Thanks for your patience.

There is so much talk about emergency funds I kind of assume every one has one. But recently, thanks to No Debt Plan, it’s been brought to my attention that lots and lots of people don’t have one. Or have an insufficient one. Why?? Why aren’t people taking the time and resources to install this extremely important piece of the plan?

Seriously, why? Please tell me. What are you doing with your money if you are not putting it in an emergency fund? If you have a small e-fund and are paying off debt, then fine. But what about all the other people out there? Are you saving for retirement and not emergencies? Are you saving for your kid’s college? Are you saving for a car? Are you just not saving at all?

An emergency fund is the basis for all other financial moves. We currently have 4 months of expenses saved and will continue to save until we have 6 months of expenses. Other than debt repayment an emergency fund is the most important thing you can do with your money. (In my opinion.) It gives you power. It gives you security. It gives you peace of mind. It reduces your jealousy when your neighbor brings home his new car. I mean, hey you could have that too… if you wanted to finance your family’s security. I wish I could invent a product that could do all that, I’d be rich! But you can’t buy something that will make you feel that great. Quite the opposite.

Tomorrow the PF Bloggers will be posting our second Group Writing Project. We will be posting articles about rich people gone broke.

If you would like to participate please do so. I had originally stated that I would compose a list of all the submissions on my site. We had a slight change to this (for the better) and now you can submit your article here. There is also a logo on that page that you are welcome to use on your post to identify it as part of the Group Writing Project. There will be a page on our network’s site with all the submissions. I can’t wait to read everyone’s articles!

And since I’m making announcements: Don’t forget I’m hosting the Finance Fiesta this Thursday. Make sure you get your articles in. I’ll be handing out Gold Medals!!

Sometimes when I’m feeling ungrateful or like my stuff isn’t as good as everyone else’s stuff I try to remind myself how good I really have it. In reality we live better than kings! I think about what life was like during the Middle Ages. No running water, no electricity, no cars, no phone, no out of season fruits… I can’t even make a reasonable list of things we have that even the kings couldn’t get back in the day.

Just being able to bathe everyday was difficult. The king was one of the few people who could afford fire wood to heat their bathwater. No turning on the shower, even for a king. Light a fire and wait for your tub (which was also made of wood) to heat up.

The first floor of the castle was dirt and the second floor was wood boards. Sometimes the boards were covered by greenery which was replaced periodically. This left quite a dangerous mess when you consider the fact that the castle was heated by fireplaces.

The king’s bed was a wooden frame with a weaving of ropes or strips of leather supporting a feather mattress. No pillow top or memory foam here. Nighty night!

At a royal gathering only the king would have his own cup. Guests would share one cup that was brought around by the cup bearer. The food was heavily seasoned to disguise the fact that it was rotting. The food was served on bread and eaten with the hands. No plates and silverware, even for the king!

Communication was also difficult. Today we have several methods of direct communication. Back then a king would write a letter on parchment with a quill and it would be delivered by hand to the recipient. This could take days, months, or even years. Common folks had to rely on traveling salesmen to deliver messages. Think about that next time your texting a complaint about how you need the new latest and greatest phone.

Health care was hard to come by. Twenty percent of women died during child birth and 17% of infants died before they were a month old. Even the king couldn’t avoid these odds. Stitches were made by letting a certain kind of ant bite the edges of the wound together. When the ants had bitten down they would not let go. Once healed, the ants would be removed. Pleasant and sanitary!!

When you think of all the modern day comforts we have today it’s hard to not appreciate our lives. Next time your feeling down that your neighbor has a nicer car than you, think about the fact that you’re living better than kings could even dream of. At least you don’t have to be pulled in a wooden cart by a horse on a road full of potholes. You can take a shower, you can call a friend, you can sit on your couch with a bowl of popcorn and watch a movie.

pic by: Shadowgate

Resources:

Kyrene

Medieval Life

MNSU

MNSU

Castle Wales

We got a letter last week from our home owner’s association. Never a good thing. Your heart kinda sinks before you even open it. Who knows what kind of nonsense that envelope contains?

Well this time it was a letter saying that we hadn’t paid our May or June dues along with a $15 late fee. Um… what!? It was kinda funny cause both my husband and I jumped on our respective computers and began researching their claim. We met back in the kitchen with our new found info. I had the dates the payments were deducted from our checking account and he had the bill pay conformation numbers. I thought we were set.

First I called the number on the letter. It goes straight to voicemail of course. While I was waiting for someone to call me back I called the bank and they said the bill pay payments they had sent hadn’t been cashed. So I put a stop payment on those. I guess that was good news because I was afraid they were going to have cashed the checks and then still say I hadn’t paid. And there isn’t much you can do to fight your association. So if they say you owe the money, then you kinda just have to pay it. I hate feeling powerless and this is a situation where I feel I have no power whatsoever. It’s not like fighting with a company where you can just take your business elsewhere, or even just fight with them and the worst thing that can happen is they report something to your credit. The association can take your house. Your children’s bedrooms, the tiles you laid yourself, the rug where your baby took their first steps… they can just take them.

Then I talked to the association people. They have no idea why my payments weren’t received. I happen to know why but I’m not about to offer info to these fools. I told them I have been paying this bill the exact same way for 4 years and I’ve never had a problem. They agree with that information, but still don’t know why these payments weren’t received. So I ask to have the late fee taken off. I mean, I did nothing wrong here. I made my payment, it’s not my fault they are too unorganized to realize it. But of course the person I’m talking to can’t take off the fee, so she transfers me to someone else’s voicemail, who will probably never call me back.

Here is what I think happened to my payment: In January we got a letter saying the payment address had changed. We made the adjustment. Then in March a new management company took over. I can only assume at this point they changed the payment address again. I don’t know that for sure, but it makes sense. Another assumption I’m making is that they kept the old PO Box open for a few extra months to ease the transition. Of course, it would have been helpful if they had, you know, told someone. I know for a fact that I’m not the only person to get this letter. So that is what I think happened. And it’s pretty sad that I can figure that out and they can’t… they work there!

So at this point I’m going to let it go. I doubt anyone will call me back to remove the fee. I’ll pay my $15 punishment for living in an association. I should think of a way to get my money back. Maybe I’ll kill that spindly tree in front of my house and make them come replace it.

Update: After I wrote this article someone actually called me back. She said to fax in info from our bill pay payments that weren’t received and she would take off the fee. Shocking! So I guess I don’t have to kill that tree after all. darn!

pic by: caribb

This is a guest post from “Bruce the Tax Guy”. Whether it be a doctor, plumber, or accountant, everyone hires a professional at some point in their lives. Knowing what to look for and what questions to ask can save you a lot of time and money.

Finding a Pro:

I’m back but this time I’m not talking taxes. This time I would like to point out a few things everyone should know and use when they need a professional. Professional what? Why any kind of professional. (An Accountant, a Lawyer, a Doctor, a Tax Preparer/ Advisor, mechanic, a plumber.) I am about to share some very important guide lines for finding yourself a professional.

Most people just pick a listing from the phone book. Not the greatest idea. You need to make sure the professional you are hiring is right for the job. Let’s say you are pregnant. You need a doctor, but not just any doctor. You need an Obstetrician. A Podiatrist can’t do the job. Same in reverse, if you break your foot you are not going to the Obstetrician’s office, are you? I think not.

On my site I have dedicated two pages to this (for my field) but the basics are there for any professional. On my page Finding a Qualified Tax Preparer I suggest you call around and ask questions. First, get references from friends, if you can. Then visit with the intended professional. Here are some general questions to ask:

• What type of training do you have?

• Do you belong to any professional groups?

• How long have you been in this kind of work?

• Have you ever dealt with my situation before? (this is a biggy)

• Have you ever been disciplined by any government authority for malpractice?

• How much do you charge, and how do you calculate your fees?

At this point you get a little more pointed about your questions and the type of professional you are looking for.

This may seem kind of rude but you are about to spend a lot of money on a professional, make sure they are what you need. When you choose the wrong plumber you may not get your problem fixed the first time and the guy has to come back. Or picking a bad mechanic can damage your car, or worse. If you are on trial for murder you didn’t commit; do you think a divorce lawyer is going to be your best choice?

And my favorite; in the case of filing a tax return, most folks just assume all accountants, CPA’s, or tax preparers are the same. But, just like most other professional services, nothing could be further from the truth. Each tax professional has certain qualifications. I point out on another page on my site, The 5 biggest mistakes made while looking for a tax professional, what to look for in this situation.

Too many people don’t match up what they want/ need with the strengths of a paid professional. Most people know what they want when they are looking for someone to help them; they just don’t take the small amount of time necessary to find the best qualified person for them or their situation.

pic by: Andyrob