Eight Reasons Why Single Women Buying A Home Is Nuts!

February 21st, 2012

Should Singles Buy Homes

I’m not usually surprised about financial statistics. Scouring and studying the internet, business papers, and business cable channels in order to provide my readers with information:  that’s what I do.

I love this personal finance stuff:  trends, charts, graphs, statistics.  You might find it boring as hell, but not me.  That’s just the kinda’ guy I am.  That’s why you keep me around.

But, when I read this article in the Wall Street Journal that twice as many single women as single men buy homes rather than rent, I was surprised.

I’m truly not a sexist guy. My daughter-in-law owned her own place when she and my son married.  I never thought about it from a male/female angle.  I didn’t realize the extent to which single women longed for that great American dream that home-ownership represents.

Twenty percent of single women own homes, compared to just 10% of single men.

What’s the draw? What makes single women, the new college grads, the recently divorced or the happily single professional, want to own their place?

Most experts think single women are drawn to the comfort/security that comes from living in your own place.  That immeasurable feeling that you’ve grown up, you’ve made it when you drive into a driveway or put that key into a lock that has your name on it.

It Ain't Much, But It's Mine!

And what, theoretically, is more secure than your own home, with it’s security system, and maybe a gated community with guardhouse and rent a cop services?

Should single women buy their home?

But, is the decision that obvious-should single women really go down the home-ownership path?

Why should singles think twice? Why should they reconsider this almost primal urge to plop down hard earned down payment money to buy a place you can call ‘mi casa’… (you and the bank of course….)

  1. Limits mobility-in this world of limited job security, owning your home limits your ability to follow the jobs.  It’s much tougher to sell your home in a hurry these days with job loss or transfer.
  2. The stress of leaving a home, perhaps becoming a landlord ’cause you can’t sell, but gotta go, go, go!
  3. The carrying costs of home-ownership: Home Owners Association (HOA) dues, maintenance costs, taxes, and insurance add up, and these costs are not going down.
  4. Do-it-yourself challenges: it costs a lot more to coax a plumber or handy-man into your home these days. But who wants to reach in that toilet to get it unstopped?
  5. Insular living:  if you want to meet people, it may be harder in a single family home in the ‘burbs.
  6. Loss of potential investment income.  Many financial experts say that home ownership is over-rated as a source of wealth building.  Few people get the benefit of the home equity they do build up.  (and many of you are laughing hysterically at the idea of ever having home equity, you’re so far upside down!)
  7. One income: It’s harder to build  an emergency fund to cover that AC that dies or the new roof or basement leaks, and it’s harder to build up a down payment on one income.
  8. Tax breaks are over-rated. The majority of single home-owners don’t itemize, so the home interest deduction doesn’t even count.

Many of these same reasons to avoid buying apply to single men, married couples, couples with kids….

Think before you buy your dream home!

Before the picture of you sitting in your rocking chair on your porch, surveying all this property you call your own home, draws you into making a financial decision you may regret:

  • Take a little time.
  • Write down the reasons that make owning your own place such a big draw.

If the dream of owning your own place remains the only dream that causes you to smile when you wake up in your rental, then by all means  consider chasing your dream.

Thinking this through methodically, making sure you consider all the pluses and minuses, will minimize the chance of  going to bed with Channing Tatum but waking up beside Jack Black.

Reader Questions:

What do you think about single women and home-ownership? Did you do it as a single? What were the benefits? What made you throw down your cash?

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Posted in Home Improvement, Investing, personal finance | 21 Comments »

Productivity, Success, and Happiness: What The Hell?

February 19th, 2012

Productivity

How much time do you spend doing things that don’t contribute to your success?

Before you can answer that, you need to decide: “What’s success?” You know, your version of the meaning of success.  Remember, we’re being positive here.

Is success  getting the top score of the week on Angry Birds or building the best and ‘hugest’ farm on Farmville?

Or is successconnecting in a meaningful way with a co-worker, client, patient, or family member?

"Crush It" A Success Story

  • Is success making more money
  • Moving up in your corporate climb
  • Getting or staying married
  • Having kids, rearing kids, or getting your kids the hell out of your home and on their own?

The reasons for these questions should be obvious: until you define what “success” means to you, then how do you know if you are making progress or are being productive toward your goal?

Success is not the same as happiness

One of the most common problems with people on their journey to success is they confuse success with happiness.

Happiness is a combination of excitement blended with contentment, a warm fuzzy feeling that envelopes your brain with feel-good emotions.

Unfortunately, we can be fooled by things that do make us happy, but that don’t contribute to success.

  • Hanging out with your friends, chewing the fat.
  • Playing video games
  • Lazying your day away in bed

All may make you temporarily happy.  Your failure will be all but guaranteed, however,  if those become your default behavior.  Most drug addicts are the happiest they’ve ever been during their  high which is why they continue their self-destructive behavior.

Don’t let ‘Happiness’ confuse you.  Many of the steps on your journey to success may not make you happy.  It’s like taking medicine that doesn’t taste good.  Sometimes you just have to ” suck it up”!

Immature  (and usually unsuccessful) people are frequently those who substitute short term ‘Happiness’ for skill development.  Especially if skill development is uncomfortable.

Success

Defining your ‘Success’ goals will  guide you towards your most productive behavior.

For example, if you want to become a nurse manager, and you’re presently a new grad nurse, then you may define success as getting a nurse manager job.

What will it take for you to become a nurse manager?

  • Experience-so a productivity goal may not be to just show up at work every day, but to pay attention – see what makes the difference between the successful and unsuccessful nurse managers.   Who is the best motivator?  Who has the most respect and why?
  • Education-Does your facility or where you would want to work in the future, only hire BSN’s or MSN’s for their manager positions, or is it more related to maturity and ability to manage people?  If you have to get a degree, then your productivity would be measured by how well you’re taking the necessary steps to get that degree.  Researching schools, asking questions on how to get into certain programs, scholarships, loans, saving money to pay for your tuition-those would be productive activities
  • Additional training-does becoming a manager mean you have to have an in-house training session on human resource management? Do you have to know how to do a spreadsheet to monitor work hours, or do you need to learn other non-clinical skills?

Breaking down your definition of success will help you decide what areas of your life you need to focus on.  You may need to learn a computer skill.  If so, putting aside 15 or 30 minutes a day to practice/learn those skills may  be adequate to learn a skill in the next year.  Instead of sleeping a little late, punching that alarm button reset three times, use this motivation to pop up and work on that skill.

If you’re like me, your life is not simple. You have a job, maybe two. You may have a spiritual relationship you want to work on.  You have a relationship with a spouse or significant other, or would like to have one. You may have kids draining your energy bank daily.

You may have serious hobbies and interests. You may have a bucket list of things you want/need to accomplish. You have an extended family you need to spend time with.  You may have financial strains pulling you in many directions.

All of these areas require their own definition of success. They will require varying degrees of your focus and time during  your day, week, and month.

Take or make the time to be introspective. Stop bouncing from one emergency to another.  Look at your life, where you want it to go, and who you want to make that journey with.  Begin to prioritize where your focus should be.

Let’s do this success thing together!

I want to help you improve your productivity as you make your life journey.  I want to help you dodge the potholes and accelerate your progress.

I will be sharing my targets and how I am working on my success goals, and what I’m doing to improve my productivity and life satisfaction.

I am excited about the future, are you?

{photo credit: booklight c.c.}

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Posted in Personal Finance 101, Quality of Life | 6 Comments »

Financial Follies: Naked With Duct Tape Edition!

February 17th, 2012

The Friday Financial and Health Follies (FFHF)  summarize the important (or just fun) financial and health issues of the week.

  • Share the humor of  the funny
  • Make fun of the stupid.
  • Highlight  and explain new  financial and health news-so you don’t miss it!

Friday Financial Follies

The Las Vegas ‘Heartattack Cafe’ has a new mascot.  

Weight over 350 pounds? Free Food!   Meat lover went all in with his triple bypass burger and is recuperating in a local hospital.  Patrons thought it was a marketing heart attack- took pics and posted to social media…Can you say viral heart attack?

1001 Duct Tape Uses?

Naked and duct taped role play?  Keep it at the house next time.  Nine patrol cars ‘tied up’ for hours searching for supposed duct taped and naked victim as  seen by bystanders.  All just a Valentine’s Day duct tape date. (say that quickly three times)

Multi-colored duct tape, use with care!

Foreclosure Rate Jumping

What do you get when the banks settle their foreclosure lawsuit with the feds? A huge jump in the foreclosure rate! The sooner these homes clear the market, the sooner we’ll reach a bottom in the real estate market.

Vaccines Voluntary?

Mandatory Vaccine laws are under assault.   What happens when we have a mumps epidemic again, with thousands killed each year?

Smoking safer?

Niceville, FL man lost some teeth and part of his tongue when a bottle rocket, also known as an electric cigarette, exploded in his mouth.  Hard to think he’ll look at them the same again.  Maybe try bubble gum?

Personal finance and other good reads:

Jeff at Sustainable Life Blog’s eyes are opened about bartering.  I don’t think I want to offer a PAP smear exchange, but I’m sure I can come up with something else…

A Breaking Bad personal finance teachable moment.  Can you say that with a straight face? American Debt Project manages  that pretty well and pretty funny too!

Suba @ Wealth Informatics wonders if Money Can Buy Love? The answer is yes, but is that good or bad thing?

Shaun interviews Elle at Smart Family Finance about the changes children bring to your finances.  Those bundles cost a bundle now!

Punch Debt, Jesse, and some other cool dudes who will go nameless, ’cause I don’t know who they are, came up with this manly pinterest-like site,  laden with testosterone.  Cool stuff, go check it out!

High deductibles or higher premiums, which is the right way to go on your health insurance? The ole chicken or egg discussion covered  well at Sweating the Big Stuff.

Average Joe’s Budget  Baby Bad Boy, for your reading and dissecting pleasure.  It will make sense cents to all but the LenPenzo spreadsheet geeks among us, and they will run from it like Lady Gaga runs from conservative frockery.

Carnivals and Giveaways!

Carnival of Financial Planning

The Life and Business Coach Carnival

Carnival of Retirement

Invest It Wisely linked to my Valentine’s Day post.

Yakezie Carnival at 101 Centavos

The Wealth Builder Carnival

Baby Boomer Blog Carnival

Giveaways:

Sunil at The Extra Money Blog is giving away iPads, and money and a trip. Cool stuff!

At Funancials: $25 gift card!

Superfrugallete is giving away $50 gift card!

Thanks for reading, and…..

FYI, ITF if you’re truly LOL, or ROTHFL while reading a news story, or you say OMG, or ICBT, or WTF,  please send me the URL, OK?

I’ll even give you a little link-love reward! (And we’ll all get to share the laugh).

{foto credit: woodleywonderworks c.c.}

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Posted in weekly business news | 8 Comments »

Giving Credit Card Info To Social Media? Come on!

February 16th, 2012

Sharing credit card information

We are pounded about the dangers of identity theft and consumer scams.  For good reason as it’s a billion dollar boondoggle…

Then there is the open book that is Social Media.

Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In, and now Pinterest have exploded in use.  So much so that Facebook has announced an IPO expected to make Mark Zuckerberg the latest addition to the  billionaire club.

Just when I think  there’s just no limit on what folks will tell about themselves in social media….

The newest billionaire?

Credit Cards and Social Media

It seems, though, that we do have some standards left. Standards that show up when we are asked about our credit cards and social media.

 Mashable reports in a neat infographic that  55% of consumers surveyed would not share their credit card information with a social media site.

Before you go all crazy, I’m not talking about putting your credit card number on your wall,  or pinning a pic of your credit card on Pinterest.

I’m talking about the coming use of social media to be a new platform for commerce.

And as you know, when you’re talking about commerce online, you’re talking about in-putting a credit or debit card number.

Shopping on social media

Yep, we will soon be using many of the social media areas as a virtual shopping center.  Those ads will still be there, but soon there will be virtual stores popping up-giving you the choice of buying whatever it is you are talking/chatting/liking….

Amazon has my credit card, Pay-pal has it, too.  I’ve given it to so many online sites I’ve got the damn 20 numbers almost memorized.

I’m just not ready for social media to become a retail vendor. Apparently I’m not alone.

At least a small majority of us recoil at the idea that we will use our credit card to conduct commerce through social media.

I don’t know about you, but I can see the huge impact this could have.  I’m not ignorant of the potential money making that is the social media craze.

How bout all the tweens in the USA, or the world for that matter, being able to shop for the latest Twilight gear, while tweeting/chatting with their bff’s in a seamless wall/window.  They will be able to listen to,  like, and download the latest Bieber song and purchase it without having to take the trouble to go to iTunes.

You can like/buy/tweet all at the same time.

I’m not going to predict that this hesitation/reservation to hide our Credit Card info  from social media will last for long.  If the technology is there for me to buy what I need through social media,  if it gives me good customer service, at a good price, and I feel their security is top notch, then why not?

I’ll give my credit card number to that social media site that earns my trust.

But, and and it’s a big but, I’m chicken when it comes to my credit cards and financial info, and you should too.

And for another thing, it’s too  soon to be giving my credit card info to a billionaire CEO – he needs to at least have a wrinkle or two, and not look younger than my children.

I mean come on.  You could at least dye your hair gray, or grow a mustache or something….

{Photo credit: irsaelavila c.c.}

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Posted in credit cards, personal finance, Quality of Life | 3 Comments »

College Financial Aid: Is It Truly Hopeless?

February 14th, 2012

College tuition Aid

Reader question/comment/rant:

“What the heck, Dr Dean, just what I don’t need, another boring article on expensive college tuition!”

“Another article about how I’m screwed ’cause my twins are beginning the 11th grade and their  529 college fund looks as empty as Bernie Madoff’s known bank accounts.”

 ”Even with both their parents working,  as a nurse and a school teacher,  we are screwed on college aid cause we make too much money.”

“I know we’re supposed to be working our asses off trying to find scholarships-that’s what all the guru’s say, but hell, who has time for that when I’m working two jobs just to pay for prom dresses and the last year of braces for two… And those poor girls, they need to study so they can get into Columbia.”

(yes I paraphrased for emotional effect…)

First, my poor pitiful reader, take a deep breath.  Unlike the IRS, I truly am here to help!  Second where did you read a boring article? Not here!

High School Graduation: by then it's too late to plan!

I think somewhere in that diatribe there was an implied question:

What can you do to pay for those twin’s college, without having to back up the truck to the student loan store and hang a big bag o’ debt around the neck of  those poor beautiful twins?

As a recent article in the Wall Street Journal outlined, there are many legal ways to optimize your financial aid situation.  Just like you’d be nuts not to take advantage of legal tax deductions like your home mortgage interest, there are perfectly legal ways to manage your finances to  make your poopy college aid eligibility not smell quiet so badly…

Beginning January one of the junior year of high school for those soon to be graduating darlings, try to maximize expenses and minimize income. ‘Cause that year is the golden  one the financial aid forms (FAFSA) focus on.  How can you do this?

Maximizing your financial aid potential:

If you have a legitimate side business generating income:

  • Delay  or expedite income to keep it out of that magic junior year-Jan 1 Dec 31 window.
  • Minimize extra income-unless you have a windfall coming that makes all this conversation unimportant…Nope, this may not be the year to work overtime or do that paid summer school gig.
  • Shift expenses-If you have legitimate business needs, make purchases during this year to minimize your profits.  A new computer, or other equipment you truly need, this may be the time to buy them.
  • Hire your kids-not just make work jobs, but real jobs and pay them prevailing wages. It’s a great experience and can help them learn about the real world, and pay some of their own expenses while decreasing your income.
  • Delay bonuses-let your boss know you’d rather have the bonus either early or after the calendar year ends.
  • Minimize any capital gains as they may count as income, but it may be time to dump stocks with paper losses, you know the one’s  you’ve been holding off selling in hopes of a stock rebound. (yes you’ve done it, everyone dreams their ugly stock will turn into a swan, it ain’t happening.)

I know those poor girls need to study, but are you sure they’re not texting their buds while they’re in their room with the door closed “writing that paper…?”

Scholarship Investigation: Let them do it, but reward them!

Let their fingers do the keyboard safari  through the scholarship jungle.  It’ll be a wonderful learning experience preparing them for all the research they’ll have to do when they get to Yale.

Motivate them with a goal. For each grand in scholarship money they come up with, you’ll put in $50 towards a new Macbook Pro or whatever prize they highly value. (Heck, it might be a new pair of Louboutin’s for all I know. They’re your girls, figure out what motivates them.)

Leave no stone unturned, have them check with your church, your service club, your professional organization.  Have them check to see if there are special scholarships for the field they are considering as their major.

Just because you don’t have time to research scholarships, doesn’t mean it can’t get done.  Delegate, delegate, delegate.

As I’ve said here many times, there is nothing wrong with your little darlings going to school part-time and working while they study.  Paying part of their tuition will make them study more, and party less.

Reader Questions:

What has worked for you? Any bright ideas for getting your eligibility for financial aid improved (nothing illegal, we don’t do that here!)

{photo credit: thirty 30 photography c.c.}

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Posted in personal finance, Planned spending aka budget, student loans | 11 Comments »

The Best In Nurse Blogs: The Nerdy Nurse Advocating for Nurses Edition

February 12th, 2012

The latest edition of the Best In Nurse Blogs-my bi-weekly focus on the best writing by, for, or about Nurses!

Best In Nurse Blogs:

Guest Post: The Nerdy Nurse

I guess Dr.Dean felt  this place needed a little nerdification this week! He has asked me to host the best in nurse blogs and I just couldn’t say no.

For this edition, I’d like to focus on advocacy for both patients and nurses. Amanda Trujillo is still blowing up the blogosphere, but the overall issue of advocacy is also is the biggest picture here.

I want to take a moment to introduce you to a couple of new additions to the nursing blogosphere.

New Kids on the Nursing Blog Block

Greg, at GRC Healthcare is blogging about ways to contact the Arizona Governor and Board of Nursing. The Amanda Trujillo case is still blowing up the blogosphere.

Missy B. is a travel nurse that is new to the nursing blogosphere and is writing over at Beauty and Bandaids. She’s got a great piece about the Top 10 iPhone and iPad Apps for Travel Nurses.

Real New Nurse is a new grad on the blogging scene. She’s writing about nursing on the night shit and how you know it’s going to be a bad night when…

Nurses are Patient Advocates

Amanda’s story is one that touches many of us because we’ve been there, and if we haven’t, we know it could come at any moment. Many of use nurse bloggers have come together to create a movement of nurses advocating for other nurses. If you’d like to join our efforts we would love to have you at Nurse Up! (you know, like “man-up”). Nurses are using their voices in social media to stand on their soapboxes and speak out against what we feel is injustice, not only to Amanda, but to our profession.

Nurses Advocating for Patients and Nurses

Kim, over at Emergiblog, is writing about nurses that have accusations against them should not be required to keep their mouth shut.

Unfortunately, there are some, like Megan at Not Nurse Ratched who are on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. She publicly encouraged Amanda to, well, we’ll just say to keep her mouth shut. She also stated on twitter that she doesn’t feel that nurses should support other nurses just because they are nurse. I disagree.

Nurse Ratched’s Place has blogged about Why Doctors Aren’t Talking about Amanda Trujillo. But a few doctors have chimed in on the issue. ER physician blog White Coat’s Call Room wants to dig deeper into the subject. While at least one, Your Doctors Order, has gone on the offensive.

Hopeful Healer has written about how little has changed in the nursing fight to be able to advocate for their patients without fear.

Those Emergency Blues has done an excellent job at getting to the core of Why Nurses are Furious About the Amanda Trujillo Case. I think this blog post does one of the best jobs I have seen at getting to meat and potatoes of it all.

Nurse Friendly, although he’s not a blogger, I’ll put him in as an honorary blogger for this edition. I am trying my darnedest to get him dive into wordpress! Hey, maybe if you guys comment here and let him know how great it is, he’ll be guided a little closer to the wordpress bandwagon. At any rate, if you are looking for resources to use social media to advocate for Amanda Trujillo, Nurse Friendly has a list of resources. 

If you’re interested in what’s going on at The Nerdy Nurse, you’ll find a piece about my run-in with a social media troll and having the realization that being and advocate means being a target.

Nurse Entrepreneur Bloggers

Kevin, at Innovative Nurse, is a social media using nurse after my own heart. He’s got a bit of nerdy goodness about white Macbook nostalgia.

i Coach Nurses blog has Anna writing about 7 Stress busting Tips for Entrepreneur nurses, even if that nurse happens to be a Rock Star of an Entrepreneur.

 

Thank you to Dr. Dean Burke for asking me to host this weeks best of nurse blogs. It’s an honor and a pleasure.

Oh, and this puts me at 2 weeks at house in Costa Rica… right Dr. Dean? :)

 

_______________________________________________________________________

Brittney Wilson, RN, BSN works as a Clinical Informatics Specialist in Georgia. She describes herself as a Patient, Nurse and Technology advocate and has a passion for using technology in innovate and simplify lives, especially in health care. She blogs about nursing issues, health care , technology and parenting on The Nerdy Nurse. You can also find her on twitter @TheNerdyNurse

 

 

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