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Football and Personal Finance-14 Corollaries!

Saturday, January 7th, 2012

Football and Personal Finance

We are in the middle of bowl season and about to hit the NFL playoffs.

American football has millions of  idiotic dedicated sports fans who think nothing of painting their face with team colors, wearing ridiculous outfits and acting like maniacs on Saturday or Sunday.  Doing things they would never do at home or at work…

Fanatic Football Fans

What does that have to do with  personal finance?

Well let’s just see….hmmm:

Football and Your Money:

  • Team-There is no “I” in team is common coach-speak.   It is impossible to know everything about your money these days. Think about it! Banking, investing, taxes, retirement accounts, insurance, real estate, precious metals, mining….the list goes on.  You need a team of professionals to help you succeed.  Too many people compromise on their choice of teammates.  Don’t use cousin Vinny’s wife’s sister who just got her real estate license…
  • Game Plan-You need a financial plan.  It doesn’t have to be as thick as Bill Belichick’s playbook.  You may just need a little piece of paper with the plays written on it like you see on quarterbacks wrists.  To be successful though, you need a general outline of how much you have, what you want to do and where you want to go with your money.
  • Improvisation-The current slang is “You gotta make a play!”  I know I said you need a game plan.  Most coach’s have a strict list of plays to start a game. The ball doesn’t always bounce the way you thought, so you need to be nimble and willing to make changes if circumstances require.
  • A Balanced Attack-Teams that depend only on the pass or only on the run become one dimensional and easily defeated. The investing corollary is using diversification.  Don’t put all your coins in one investment.
  • Persistence-fans get restless when a team runs the same play with small variations over and over.  Coaches know that with persistence, the play will eventually break open for a long run if executed correctly.  The same goes for investing.  Dollar cost averaging is one example of persistence.
  • Big plays-Big plays….making a long run or a long pass play or an interception for a pick 6….these big plays can make the difference between winning and losing.  In investing,  making big plays usually means letting your winners run.  If you have a winning investment it’s tempting to cash in your chips.  Let your winners run as they frequently will continue their winning ways.  If you have to decrease your stake to be able to sleep at night, just take part of your money off the table  rather than cashing in completely.
  • Playing Hurt-No, this doesn’t mean that you slam your hand in your safe deposit door.  All good football players know they will have to play hurt.  When it comes to your money, you have to be able to continue with your plan even when the market or world events are going against you.  By all means, evaluate and reassess your plan, but if it is sound, stay in the game and give yourself time for things to turn around.  Don’t sell with the herd, play hurt!
  • It’s a long season stupid-Don’t get overly focused on one game, the season is what’s important.  With your money, keep your eye on the prize.  Having enough money at the end of your working life when you’re unable to earn more is the focus.  Don’t let individual months or years, whether good or bad, cloud your judgment.
  • Defense can be as important as offense-Keeping your powder dry or not losing money can sometimes be as important or more-so than having everything at risk. Being defensive with part of your capital is a sound strategy.
  • Every team needs cheerleaders-having your family cheering you on can make the difference when times get tough.  Congratulate wise financial decisions of your teammates. If that means patting yourself on the back with a little reward, do it!
  • The Standings Count-Yes size matters,  the score matters,  whether you win or lose-It Matters!!!!  Hey, it’s your money!
  • Experience counts- Simple game plans and investment choices are smart early in your career-don’t do options straddles when you don’t know what an option is….  As you develop more knowledge and sophistication, you can check at the line and call your own more complicated plays-be  like Peyton well this year be like Drew.
  • Enjoy the journey-Great football players have trouble retiring because they enjoy the journey. They love the game!  Learn to enjoy taking care of your money rather than looking at it as a chore.
  • Next Year-Yep, when you’ve had a tough year with your money, don’t get too discouraged.  There is always next year!

Consider yourself the recipient of a ‘Pat on the Butt’ locker room speech:  get out there and make money for the Gipper, The price of victory is high but so are your IRA rewards and all that stuff!

Go Falcons! (no my face is not painted red and black…)

Reader Questions:  What are your favorite football/personal finance analogies?  Come on, let’s play a game and see how many we can come up with-you know you’ve got one….Remember practice doesn’t make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect!

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Doctor Visit Soon? Read This!

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

HIPPA 5010 and why you should care!

When you’re sick, the last thing you care about is checking out after your medical visit.  You just want to get your “drugs” and go home to bed.

Doctor Visit!

If you’re just getting a checkup, you want to get it over with.  No one likes to visit a medical practice.

If you come into my office, here is a small sample of what might happen.

We stick a thermometer in your mouth or ear.  We ask you embarrassing questions. We WEIGH you, make you take off your clothes,  poke, prod, and pinch places you would never volunteer to be poked, prodded, or pinched…

Sometimes we even want to draw your precious blood.

After all your humiliation, the worse thing of all happens.  We expect you to PAY when you leave!

Medical Billing Software

Medical billing is so confusing even those of us in the business don’t understand it.   If you don’t have insurance, it’s pretty straight forward. You get a bill for the level of service needed for your problem.   You may be able to get a discount for paying in cash, but the bill is your bill for better  or worse.

For those with insurance it’s a whole ‘nother story.

You’ve got the primary insurer, you may have the secondary insurer, you have co-pays, excluded services and deductibles.  The co-pays and deductibles may or may not apply, depending on whether it’s a preventive visit or a treatment visit (called evaluation and management or E&M).

Your health savings account, or your Flex account may help.

Most of us just pay the co-pay and hope the man behind the curtain gets the rest of the billing process accomplished accurately.

New digital healthcare billing requirements:

Why should all this matter?  Because a new federal requirement is in the house!

The software for medical billing has been changed this year by Medicare which in turn drives the billing for all the other insurance carriers.  Known as HIPPA 5010, this new software upgrade goes into effect January 2012.

If you have a medical office visit in the first few months of this new year, you may want to pay particular attention to your medical bills from those visits.

There are three likely scenarios:

  • If your practice is using a large national  medical billing software company, they should have all the bugs out of their system.
  • If your practice is using a regional billing company they are probably ready.
  • If your practice is using a smaller, off the shelf system it purchased 10 years ago, it is probably not fully compliant-possibly leaving you in the lurch.

What does that mean?

When your medical practice and the insurance company aren’t communicating properly, an error in your billing may occur.

If the medical practice doesn’t get paid by your insurance in a timely fashion, they will bill you.  And you are ultimately responsible, not your insurance carrier.

One of the papers you sign when arriving at a medical practice is a disclaimer that says you understand you are responsible for your medical bills. The office, as a courtesy, files your claim with your insurance company but it is your responsibility to see that they pay.

If the insurance carrier does pay, but the software was not up to date, the amount billed to you may not be accurate.

If you have a medical bill in the first few months of this new year, just take a moment to look it over.  Ask questions if something doesn’t look accurate.

Getting your medical bills paid properly should make you feel better!

Reader Questions:

What has your experience been with medical billing?  Have you had any issues in the past?

{photo credit: woodleywonderworks c.c.}

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Frugal Groceries: Home-made Cinnamon Roll Edition!

Monday, December 19th, 2011

Holiday Grocery Bills

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Guest post by FDL, BSN

It’s the holidays.  Every year, from Thanksgiving through December, that’s my excuse/reason for  many things.  On this particular topic, groceries, it’s the reason I am blowing this part of my spending plan.

Here’s the bad:

  • I had extra mouths to feed the entire week of Thanksgiving.
  • I had to prepare a portion of the big Turkey day meal.
  • I had  extra dinner guests one evening in addition to my visiting family.
  • I make thousands (I might be exaggerating) baked goods for gifts.

The Ugly:

  • The never ending mess in my kitchen.

The Good:

  • Family and Friends-what it’s all about, huh!
  • I only had to do a portion of the Turkey Day meal-yeah for pitching in!
  • I went with seasonal items that were at great prices. Can you say Sweet Potato in how many versions?
  • Christmas Gifts and dessert-a twofer! A tremendous amount of our gift giving is in the form of home-baked goods, namely cinnamon rolls. Holiday dessert and gifts all at the same time!
  • Bulk Buying. Because I make the same baked goods every year, I stock up on the ingredients at bulk prices and sales.

How To Make Your Own Home-made Cinnamon Rolls:

Homemade Cinammon Roll!

The true confessions of an over-zealous cinnamon roll holiday baker.  Read it here….

Homemade goods are a better choice than gift cards and other mindless presents this time of year.  But baking can wreak havoc with my grocery bill if I don’t plan for it.

Since I’ve gone on about how wonderful they are, I’ll share my secret recipe:

Cinnamon Roll Recipe!

I start with freshly ground whole wheat dough that I use for bread making(that’s another post.)

I make a paste of melted butter, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla extract.  No, I don’t know the exact proportions-adjust till it looks right….

After I roll the dough into a rectangle, the size of which varies every time, I spread the cinnamon paste in a thin layer over the dough, roll it all up, jelly roll like, and cut into rounds.

I dip the rounds into melted butter, place in a pan, let rise awhile (twenty minutes or so-longer the cooler your room temp), then bake until done.  Top with a powdered sugar glaze.

For  gift giving, I send a separate container of the glaze.  It’s a mixture of powdered sugar, dry milk powder, vanilla and water I put in inexpensive plastic containers,bought by the dozens.

As you can tell, like most bakers, trial and error and making adjustments on the fly is common.

The directions: Re-heat then add the glaze.

For holiday giving, I freezer bag the c. rolls, and place in Christmas gift bags.

I used to leave them in a disposable aluminum pan, cover with plastic wrap, with a bow on top.  I discovered that cooled c. rolls in a freezer bag are easier to give and to store.

This fresh bread dough does not keep well for long at room temp.  Without preservatives, they need to be eaten or frozen.  I’ve been told some of the recipients count them out and divide them  to make sure they get their fair share….

They are best eaten while warm, fresh from the oven, while the kitchen is filled with the heavenly aroma they create-not that I ever snitch one, no way…..

My c. rolls are not especially healthy as they have loads of butter and sugar.  With the freshly ground, whole grain bread dough, I like to call them a ‘better choice’ for special occasions.

Increasing your spending on groceries is not a bad thing when you are decreasing your spending elsewhere to balance it out.  It’s the balancing that’s most important….

Happy Holidays, and if you’re in the neighborhood and smell the Cinnamon Rolls, stop by and say hey!

Reader Questions:

Do you have a favorite home-made item you give at Christmas?

 

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Shoplifting: Top Ten Holiday Favorites!

Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Shoplifting

Shoplifting has for years been the bane of store owners.  The loss of profits from those walking out without paying is a significant figure, over a hundred billion in  2011!

That figure doesn’t take into account the billions spent in loss prevention.  Think about it. Every shop you go into now has security staff, expensive tags and alarms, and those ubiquitous one eyed  bubbles on the ceiling watching you pick your nose or scratch your ____.

All to try to decrease the losses walking out the door.

Shoplifting!

With  crowds shopping during the holidays, it’s so much easier for shoplifters to be more successful.

What are the most common items stolen?

According to an article on Adweek.com the most common victims of the five finger discount:

  • Steaks: I guess the animal rights folks and vegans have a lot of work to do, as steaks seem to be a common target of thieves.
  • Top shelf liquor: What better to go with your fine steak than a single malt before dinner?
  • Electric tools: Not the sexual variety, just guys stealing drills and other tools.
  • Electronics: iPhones, iPads, and laptops seem to attract the most attention.  When someone offers you a 50 buck iPhone or you find a brand new $200  laptop on Craig’s List, think twice as you might be buying stolen goods.
  • Mach 4 Razors: at least thieves want to look good.  I would’ve pictured them as liking that 5 day stubble look.
  • Axe deodorant and body washes: Must be the commercials filled with sexual innuendo….
  • Designer clothes:  Smellin’ good and lookin’ good, what can I say?
  • Hot toys: Elmo dolls are a favorite this year.
  • Designer Perfumes: If you find Chanel #5 in your stocking this year, ask your relatives for a receipt…
  • Sneaks: Make your escape in a new pair of shoes so you can jump higher and run faster.  (Unless I have them on, then the secret powers don’t work.)

There’s a common theme here.  Thieves look for popular items they can easily sell or for the thrill of looking like a million bucks without spending it…

Because I’m just a curious guy, I wondered about local shoplifters. During these tough holiday times in my rural portion of the world are criminals swiping the same stuff?  So I used my Rolodex, (you don’t even know what that is do you?) and called local people I know in the retail business.

Rural Shoplifting Favorites

Convenience Store Chain: “Maybe they steal higher end cigarettes and beer this time of year…. More of both for sure!”

National Discount Store:  “Anything that’s not tied down, and we try to tie down as much as possible.”

National Grocery Store: “With so many on food stamps, we don’t have as much food loss as we used to, but personal hygiene items are a frequent target,  and they steal volume for resale, not just a few bottles/tubes for personal use!”

Regional Department Store: “We lose more in the area of popular gifts during the holidays.  We’ve definitely seen an increase every year in losses to theft.  Jewelry, perfumes, handbags and denim items are the most likely to be lifted in our stores.”

Outdoors Store: More of everything small this time of year.  We find lots of empty wrappers-from duck calls to fishing lures. We probably catch one in fifty!”

It seems that losses from theft go up and up, even with all the sophisticated efforts at security.  Those losses result in higher prices for all of us.

Reader Questions:

Will you turn in a shoplifter if you see one stuffing their pockets?

Have you ever purchased any cheap new  items and wondered?

{photo credit: kate* c.c.}

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Starting Your Own Business: How To Make It Work!

Saturday, December 10th, 2011

Should You Start Your Own Business?

Starting your own business can be a great way to earn extra income. This is true, of course, for anyone who can successfully manage a business.

Unfortunately, there are  many businesses that fail every year, making starting your own business a  somewhat risky proposition.

How can you improve your odds of beginning a successful business that can bring in extra income?

Storefront Businesses: Risky Businesses!

Earning Extra Income

A new entrepreneur will probably have the best chance of success by starting off with a small business you can manage part-time.  Keep your day or “regular” job to earn a steady income. While this can detract slightly from focusing only on the new business, a regular income will provide the security necessary to take risks with your new business venture.

Having a dependable paycheck may also allow a business owner to qualify to apply for a business loan if he or she needs to expand the business before it shows a steady profit.

For many people, an online business is a good way to test out ideas while developing a new business.

For retail-based businesses, online stores have very few start-up costs compared to traditional operations, which must pay for rent, utilities, and employees.

Setting up an online store can allow a business owner to reach customers across the globe. In addition, the store can be accessed by the owner from any location at any time. This means a business owner can check on the store while  working at another job needing only a computer and an internet connection. Management of the virtual store can take place after normal business hours.

An online business can also allow a business owner to test out new ideas without committing a lot of money and resources. While a traditional store, for example, must pay money upfront in order to buy, store, and display new merchandise, an online store only has to make a new webpage entry on its website for a new item.

If an item sells well, it can be ordered and shipped fairly quickly. If it doesn’t do well, then the webpage can be removed at little cost to the business owner. Shopping cart tools can even be used to track the sales rates of items. This information can later be used as proof of sales when it is time to apply for a business loan.

Service based online businesses

Service-based businesses such as landscapers or tutors can use a webpage to advertise their services and even sign up new customers online. By starting out small, a service-based business owner can adjust his or her prices and work out scheduling details before expanding to a large customer base.

In summary, using a part-time approach and beginning your business online can improve immensely your chance of entrepreneurial success.

Good Luck!

Reader Questions:

If you started your new business online, what tips do you have for newbies?  What mistakes did you make?

{Photo Credit: Mark_Smith c.c.}

 

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Charitable Giving: A Holiday Primer!

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011

Giving: A great holiday tradition!

Guest post by FDL, BSN

My first trip to Walmart since the holiday season began and there it was:  the tripod, red bucket and bell ringer.  I had to smile as I drove slowly past, watching a mother with a toddler in tow stop to let the child drop some coins into the red container.  The Salvation Army bell ringer is as much a part of the holidays as wreaths on doorways.

The Salvation Army's Bucket and Bells!

I was delighted to read that the Salvation Army test-piloted ‘swipe buckets’ for credit and debit cards in 2010 in two cities, and is bringing them back to 30 cities for 2011.

The giving was up 30percent where the swipe buckets were introduced. Naturally, my little berg is not on the ‘swipe bucket list’ so I’ll have to donate with boring old cash, or drop a chicken in the bucket or something…  And I will.

The SA does plenty of good for the people I serve as a public health nurse and for many others in my community.

Not only does my local SA have a food pantry, they also have monetary funds available for special situations….. such as after a house fire.  I have tremendous regard for this organization and encourage others to remember them with their donations.

December is traditionally a time to give.

In fact, the Red Cross receives 20% of their yearly contributions in the period November to December.  Charitable giving seems to be up this year,  according to a recent Red Cross survey of over a thousand adults.

Why does charitable giving increase during the Holiday season?

A lot of folks offer their opinion on this subject.  Here’s mine:

  • Holiday spirit:  with the focus on giving, how could you not be reminded?  Seeing kids who won’t have a Christmas without your giving is a great motivator.
  • Income tax deductions:  it helps.  We all hate paying taxes, so it’s a win/win.
  • Personal deadlines.  It’s the end of the year,  we’ve been procrastinating, but now it’s time to do or die.

So, you decided to give to a charity, how do you decide who is worthy of your hard earned money or time?

What are the best charities?  There actually are large organizations that hold administrative costs down in order to give to the needy.  The federal government does not come to mind. To help you find these groups, there are websites that run the numbers and post the stats.  Charity Navigator has posted a list of the 10 best charities.  I was surprised who made the list and who didn’t:

  • MAP International
  • Direct Relief International
  • The Carter Center
  • The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International
  • PATH
  • Teach for America
  • Scholarship America
  • National Jewish Health
  • Susan G Komen for the Cure
  • Opportunity International

Charity Navigator lays out the facts and offers the methodology they used to derive their stats.  As they are asking for donations themselves, I guess they aren’t taking kick-backs.

Giving to groups you are familiar with  is another way, besides online research, to determine if a nonprofit is doing its job.  Serve on local boards, visit and volunteer.  Gifts of time can be as valuable and sometimes even more so than monetary gifts.

Charitable giving in any form is important to me.  In fact, one of my all time favorite poems has a passage that describes my feelings precisely.  The poem is Living, author unknown and the line reads:

To have enough to share- to know the joy of giving;

We’re not talking Bernie Madoff money here, whose financial crash sent several non-profits into demise.  Ours is just small stuff, but it’s our stuff.

Having enough to share is important to us, not knowing where our money goes, even one dollar, matters too.

For that reason, we try to keep our charitable gift giving mostly local.  We are able to have much more control over the use and final destination of our giving.

You may have your own passions and areas you love to support, and that’s what makes the world go round.

Just take a few minutes before writing your gifting checks and be sure the money will do what you want it to do.  Decide what you can cheerfully give, then give a little more.

Reader questions:

What is your favorite charity to give to this time of year?  How do you decide what to put towards your giving each year?  Do you budget it, or give as need and your pocketbook allows? What works best for you?  And are you teaching your kids the importance of giving?

Guest post by FDL, BSN.  (FDL is a public health nurse who loves to save and give away money.  She is a frequent contributor to The Millionaire Nurse Blog.)

{photo credit: Monica’s Dad c.c.}

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