Archive for the ‘personal finance’ Category

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Online Checking:Is it for You?

Tuesday, March 23rd, 2010

Online Checking:

Online Banking has been around for years.  But as this article in the WSJ describes, Americans are now even  using them for checking services.  In the past, a service confined to local banks and branches.

As many customers become more accustomed to online financial transactions, we are less “afraid” of online banks.

They also have many things to offer, that beat bricks and mortar banks:

by Daquella Manera, http://www.flickr.com/photos/daquellamanera/

Benefits of Online Checking

  • no minimum balances to obtain interest on your money.
  • no ATM fees
  • charge less for international transactions
  • automatic features to prevent overdraft fees such as “sweep” accounts-that transfer money from savings to checking
  • no per check charges/free checks

Online checking with good reviews:

This is certainly not a complete list of available companies, but in my research these were highly ranked by personal finance bloggers, and consumer groups.

So how do you decide which to use.  Mainly use your own needs to help you.  What is most important to you?

What are your Online Checking needs/questions:

  • high interest rate because you tend to keep a high balance.
  • ATM fees or free overdraft protection.
  • Do you have to travel out of the country?
  • low or no minimum to start your account-maybe you want to start small and see how it works for you.

One of the main drawbacks to these accounts, is depositing money-you may have to mail checks-and wait for them to show up in your account-if you company can’t pay you online.  So your own personal habits are important.

Some companies are developing scanning software that will allow you to scan your check and email it to them, for more immediate deposit into your account, according to the WSJ article above-hopefully that will spread soon to other online banks, with checking.

Keep in mind-if you need “Emergency Money Resuscitation” my free e-book is still available-filled with tips for saving money today, right now!  It will also sign you up for my free newsletter-The Millionaire Nurse Money Letter, and a mini-course on personal finance.  So go, now while you have it on your mind!

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Posted in personal finance | 2 Comments »

Great Reads in Personal Finance! The Yakezie Challenge Edition

Saturday, March 20th, 2010

We have had a great spring weekend so far here in the south.  But, because I love you guys-I did read and link to a few great articles for you!  Whether you are coming in from the sun,surf, or snow (for you guys still with the white stuff, sorry!)

These are all Yakezie Challenge folks! Good Reads all!

Personal Finance Journey writes this post about the cost of a new baby-not upfront costs but maintenance.

At Single Mom Rich Mom, this post on buying tweezers, makes a great point about comparison shopping-doing the same on an appliance may save you thousands, not just a few bucks-good habit to get into.

Stay at Home Mom, CFO, writes about the hazards of living paycheck to paycheck, when the paycheck is late-good reason to keep your checking balance with a good cushion.

Punch Debt in the Face-(how is that for a snarky Blog title) posted about the importance of delayed gratification in personal finance and life-go read it. (love the art!!!)

Eliminate the Muda, writes this post about the “Ben Franklin” technique sales people use to help you decide about buying something-and how to protect yourself against it.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

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Razors-Saving Money the Millionaire Nurse Way!

Thursday, March 18th, 2010
Old Straight Razor by House of Sims

Straight Razor by House of Sims

Razors-I go between electric and the multi-bladed types, but mostly shave in the shower with a three bladed model-well used…..  I will admit I have a fairly easy face to shave.   I gave up my mustache when the grey went past 50% and never could grow a great beard.

I have always  hated paying the price of the new multi-bladed razors-even at Sams Club, they seem outrageous.  So when I saw this article in the WSJ about store brand razor blades it caught my eye.  I haven’t seen them-the author tried them out and felt they were well worth the ~half price-compared to the full priced brand named three blade system.

Now although I am past 50-by just a little-no comments Lisa-I know I have male and female nurse ( and non-nurse) readers.  I also know that some of the razors for women are priced higher than its male counterpart-just because it’s pink…..

But I will try to find one of these store brand models (CVS is what is mentioned in the article above) and give it the ole shave test- and see what I think.  Although my Mayor, (regular readers know I am on the city council in my fair town)-owns a local pharmacy, and if he sees me, slinking into  my local CVS, my goose may be cooked…

Now Gillette sent the author of the article above one of their new 5 bladed razors to try out-maybe they will send a poor blogger one too, although the 4 plus bucks for each refill seems a might steep for this guy……Or maybe CVS will send me a few of their new store brand products-at least that will keep me from getting in trouble with the Mayor!

If any of you have tried em, let me know what you think.  We are into saving money, at The Millionaire Nurse Blog-that is how you get to be- a Millionaire Nurse!

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Posted in personal finance | 5 Comments »

Ways NOT to Save Money-and Other Good Reads!

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Daniel, at  Sweating the Big Stuff, posted this on Ways Not To Save Money-which I think is a good reminder of the trap that can grab you, with the rationalization of being frugal.  Being frugal, is not the same as being “CHEAP!”

I would like to add another couple of thoughts.  He mentions consumer traps.  The wholesale clubs are a great place to “not save money”.  Mainly because of all the temptations.  It is hard to resist all the great stuff at great prices.

To protect against this phenomenon, you definitely need a strong will, and a list-buy nothing unless it is on the list.

Watching TV certainly doesn’t cost anything, except when you are paying for 1000 channels of satellite tv, with the ginormous NFL, NCAA football, Nascar and movie  package comes in at a cool $150 bucks a month…..

Add in the wasted opportunity, when you coulda’  been reading a book on personal finance, (THE MILLIONAIRE NURSE comes to mind) getting free continuing education on the computer, or exercising (also can be free).

Another good read, by the Financial Samurai, is about working to make money, instead of following your passion. I think a lot of folks, unfortunately, are being given the opportunity to follow their passion-cause they lost their jobs.  That certainly can be looked at as an opportunity, rather than a crisis.  If you have always wanted to do _________, then if you have no job-go for it!

At Out of Debt again, there is a great story about Shopping at Whole Foods-my wife would have had the same sense of disbelief about a 6 buck pepper!

151 Days Off, (how bout that name for a blog), has written a post about not getting too uppity( Southern Speak) , if you are making progress in your walk towards financial freedom.  I don’t think that is likely for me, as I dig my way out of attempting to be a real estate baron in Florida-before the crash.   If anyone says they have never made a financial mistake-then run, don’t walk to the nearest exit….

All of these bloggers are in the Yakezie Challenge, which is a self -help/group support lesson in getting the word out about your blog.   I appreciate what they are doing to help the new folks on the blog-block get recognized.  Sometimes it gets lonely writing, and wondering if anyone is reading.  So look for other great posts from other members of the Yakezi Challenge. (I do love a challenge!!!)

Enjoy these great stories, I did!

FHJE69GFNCJE

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Posted in debt reduction, personal finance | 4 Comments »

The Economic Recession, Are We Making Progress? “The Millionaire Nurses View”

Thursday, March 11th, 2010

This gallup poll  on upper income spending and comparison to middle-lower income spending is fascinating to me.  Maybe that is because I am a personal finance nerd.

Why is it  important to you what upper income people are doing with their money?

  • You may be “upper income.”  The definition was a household income over $90,000 per year.  With two nurses or two school teachers in the family, that level of income is certainly common and reachable for many!
  • If you are not in that group- Those in the upper income group usually have significantly more disposable income-so when they spend, the economy grows, businesses start hiring, and the whole economic engine gets revved up!

So what were the results of the poll?

For upper-income:

  • The daily spending average for the upper-income family dropped 14% since January of this year.
  • Down 19% since a year ago, and down 34%  since 2008.
  • This in the face of the “recession is over” according to the feds and economists.

For middle and lower income:

  • Spending is flat for this year, and over the past year
  • Their spending is down 42% since 2008.

What are economic factors now versus last year?

  • Gas prices are much higher this year than last-and going up steadily-this harms middle and lower income folks more than upper income families.
  • Upper-income families are stressed emotionally about concerns of increased health care costs and higher taxes-resulting in their holding down their spending.
  • Both groups are affected by the housing downturn-making all homeowners feel less wealthy.
  • The high unemployment rate of almost 10% and the under-employment rate of 19% makes everyone nervous-they know they may be next….
  • And for those of us in health-care, the economic uncertainties are multiplied with hospitals, patients, and all the others employed in the field such as pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies worried that the shoe is about to drop.

So what should “Millionaire Nurses” do about this stuff????

  • Stay the course, if you have a job, be the best you can be, to decrease the chance you will be “volunteered to leave”.
  • Keep your financial condition in great shape-ie save  more money, cut back on spending, have an emergency fund.
  • Put off elective purchases until things stabilize further.  This is not the time to “take chances.”
  • Continue to give and help others-that is a great way to make you feel good in any economy. If you can’t give money, give time.
  • Work on your spiritual self.  Costs you nothing, provides immeasurable benefits…

If you have comments or questions about the economy, let us hear from you.    What is happening at your job, regarding hiring freezes, limiting over-time, lay-offs and furloughs????

And if you need “Emergency Money Resuscitation” sign up for my free E-book,  free newsletter, and free mini-course on personal finance at The Millionaire Nurse. Do it today, don’t put it off- it is free!!!!

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Posted in Nursing Profession, personal finance | 1 Comment »

Blackberry Apps for Millionaire Nurses

Tuesday, March 9th, 2010

Blackberry Apps, or to you non-tech folks, applications (software programs) that run on your smart-phone, are available by the thousands.  Not as many as are available on the i-phone, but we will discuss that in another post.

I am not a techno-geek myself-the scary thing is- I am the computer go-to guy in my medical office.  That should tell you something about the level of computer expertise available here….

I am also, as all of you know, not  a fan of spending money on new tech gadgets, just because they are new.  There needs to be a reason for spending your money.  You should be able to justify the expense.  And if you are in debt, these purchases definitely need to be productive.

So with all those caveats, I wanted to write today about free apps available for the Blackberry.

Now, as far as I am concerned Epocrates, the prescription app that has been out for years, is reason enough to have a PDA if not a smart phone.  Compared to the time and trouble, and musculo-skeletal injuries sustained from constantly moving, opening,  and  the eye strain involved in looking up meds in the PDR, or Physician Desk Reference, Epocrates is almost a necessity in medicine.  The newer versions also have pretty good diagnostic tools-put in symptoms and you get a differential diagnosis.

Epocrates does have a basic version that is free, but I buy the Pro version myself.

I have compiled a few links below of other sites “best free Blackberry Apps”:

A  list of forty  free Blackberry apps    is available at this site.

Another list of free Blackberry apps.

There are several apps that show up on both lists.  I have enjoyed using the Viigo RSS reader, Poynt, and the Weather Bug on my Blackberry.  For us non-text message plan frugal folks, the basic Blackberry Messenger, allows free texting to fellow Blackberry addicts.

This list of apps  includes mostly free but a few paid for apps specifically for the Blackberry Tour, which I own, but most of the apps are available for all the Blackberry models.  One that I may try is the grocery list app.

Now paying monthly fees for br0adband service/smart phones, is a luxury unless you travel for business.  But if you have one, then the more you can do on it for free, the easier it is to justify that monthly payment.

Another nurse blog, Scrubs, has this list of favorite apps for PDA’s and smart-phones.

Now if you have your favorite Blackberry app, let us know.  If you have one that you paid for, and you think it was worth the money-chime in and share that with your fellow nurses/readers here at The Millionaire Nurse Blog.

Remember, if you want to get on our mailing list for our Newsletter, The Millionaire Nurse Money Letter, and get a great free E-book with tips that can save you money today, then check in at The Millionaire Nurse site. We honor your email address, will not sell it.  We will send you a free mini-course on managing your personal finances with tips on banking, credit card management, in a weekly series in easily digestible amounts.

Thanks so much for reading.

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Posted in Nursing Profession, personal finance | 1 Comment »

Do It Yourself-How to Save Money as a Millionaire Nurse

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Do it yourself, or DIY.  Companies like Lowe’s and Home Depot, have made billions convincing people, they can save money by doing it themselves…..

So how does that relate to Millionaire Nurses?  Well let me try to explain.

Now, personal finance can be quite simple really!  If you spend less than you earn, then put the difference in an account that can grow.  Overtime, you will grow wealth.  Ta Daaaaaa!

So what the heck does that have to do with DIY????

Well, the part about spending less than you make.  How do you do that?  Well you have to increase your earnings, or decrease your spending.

So DIY addresses the latter-it is one way to decrease your spending.   If your house needs painting, and you can DIY for 50% less than having a professional do it, then you have cut your spending.

The hard part of this is deciding how much your time is worth, and whether you can do the job, and truly save money.

Let me start with a quick story.  A friend of mine, is a wonderful do it yourselfer.  By that I mean, he has skills way beyond most with carpentry, plumbing, yard work, painting……  So putting in a new dishwasher was not really a big worry to him, why pay someone to do it.   So of course, the cut-off valve on the hot water line, broke off in his hand.  A third-degree burn, and a new hardwood floor later, he has a new dishwasher, and a bunch of new bills.

How do you decide if you can handle a DIY project?

Photo by rioncm

  • You have the tools and knowledge, or have a trusted helper with both.  Online video’s and explanations help, but when you get into the trench’s the experience is what will get you through “your projects” differences compared to the average.
  • The project really doesn’t require an expert, just labor.  Raking leaves is in this category-painting would be to some,  but not to me-I mess up everything when I try to paint.
  • It doesn’t involve electricity-this post in the Wall Street journal about DIY discusses the number of injuries from self-installed ceiling fans-supposed to be “easy” for DIYers….. (Imagine how you would feel, watching your house burn, and you were responsible?)
  • It doesn’t involve water.  This one is borderline at times-changing the inside of a toilet, is not too dangerous, even I have done it. (no gynecology jokes please!)  But think about water on your second floor, ceiling damage, rotten walls…….
  • It is worth your time.   If you can work part-time, making twice or more what you could pay someone to do the job for you, hire it out-work a few extra hours to pay for the project.

Now there are times when it is difficult to measure these projects.  Sometimes even though you could pay someone to do it for you, it is like therapy-raking leaves, or washing the car are like this for me.  It is mindless, and relaxing. (Don’t tell my wife!)

So share your Do It Yourself project gone bad!  You can stay anonymous.

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Posted in personal finance | 2 Comments »

Scam, Spam, Phishing/Thank you Ma’m:How Millionaire Nurses Protect Themselves

Thursday, March 4th, 2010

Spam, and Phishing scams.  They are becoming harder to spot, and cost our country billions in lost cash, and no telling how many hours of lost time trying to undo the damage done by identity theft.

My wife got a notice recently about a purchase of an I-Pod in London.  Of course, we hadn’t been to London, or bought an I-Pod.  So, we get to  spend an hour online with paypal straightening that out.  Not how you want to spend an evening…..  Coulda been a lot worse, than an I-pod though, huh.

The Money Ning site has a great post on 9 ways to protect yourself.

So what are Millionaire Nurses doing to protect themselves.  Well let’s think about birth control for  a minute. We will compare birth control and identity theft prevention:

Abstinence: While abstinence always works for birth control, never having sex just doesn’t sound like a great option to most people.  Not participating in cyber-space may seem like a good option too.  Until you remember identity theft occurred well before the Internet.  Credit card numbers can be ripped off at the gas station, restaurants, or any retail establishment.  So unless you never venture from your home, have no credit cards, or telephone then abstinence ain’t the answer…..

Barrier protection:  Condoms, diaphragms work better than nothing.  So how do you set up barriers to ID theft-by paying attention.   Use common sense about not giving away personal information except to trusted sources.

Birth control thru modern chemistry: Oral contraceptives, Depo-provera, and Mirena IUD all depend on hormone chemicals to prevent pregnancy.  So do I have a chemical ID theft agent-well nooooo.   But I can buy protection such as Zander’s product, that is recommended by Dave Ramsey. Lifelock is another highly advertised identity theft prevention/detection agent.

So what would be my top seven recommendations to prevent ID theft:

  1. Never give personal information when asked by email or phone, except by going directly to the source-do not click a link on an email.  And when you get calls, you hang up and call your known agent/banker/credit card company-don’t assume the person calling you is legit-if they are, they will understand your efforts at protecting yourself.
  2. Put a no credit offer lock on the credit agencies-see this post for the how to’s.

    photo by Zevotron

  3. Use a shredder on all documents that you throw away.
  4. Change your passwords periodically, and keep them hidden.
  5. Limit your potential damage-if you have one credit card, one call stops the damage-if you have 20, well, good luck with that!
  6. Use one of the ID theft agencies above, for peace of mind.
  7. Don’t go to websites that are shaky-don’t be tempted by the free gift offers, the soft-porn/titillating ads,  the ‘I have to get money out of the country” scams that must work as they show up daily.  Use a scam/spam/phishing  protector on your email program, and delete, delete, delete…..If it sounds too good to be true, it is…

So go forth and be careful out there.  And if you have been the victim of phishing, or have Identity Theft questions, let us hear from you.

Housekeeping:

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New Marriage/New Financial Plan:The Millionaire Nurse Way!

Monday, March 1st, 2010

You married the love of your life.  Everything is seen through the “rose colored glasses” of bliss.  Getting to really know a new person.

A few months later, many couples find crumbs in their bed…

What do I mean?   Well, the credit card bills start to come in, and they are way more than one spouse is expecting.

How bout this scenario:   “What is this bill from  John’s Sporting Goods?”

“Oh, they had a new 300 magnum with walnut stock, been looking for that rifle for several years for my collection.”  “Let  me show it to you, it’s a beaut ain’t it…”

“But is was 500 bucks, and we hadn’t talked about a new gun, you already have 25 stuffed  in various closets-I don’t hardly have room for all my shoes!!!!”  Or you can tell the story the other way around, substituting shoes for the gun….

So what do most couples do when they get married, when it comes to money?  Nothing. Nada…

So how do you keep from making these mistakes?  Mistakes  that over time, become resentments, that keep the divorce lawyers in gravy.

First-and sometimes most difficult, is having discussion about finances before the marriage.  Financial counseling should be  a big part of pre-marital counseling.

What do you talk about?

  • amount of debt being brought into the marriage, if you have an old uncollected debt that will catch up to you when you are trying to buy your first home-get it all out on the table.
  • your money habits-do you normally pay your bills on time, how organized are you, how often do you pay over-draft or late fees?
  • Do you have life insurance, health insurance, what benefits are available in your company vs the new spouses?
  • Do you have hobbies that require ongoing investments-and how flexible are you about changing if that hobby doesn’t match the budget.
  • If you have an ex, have all the financial ties been settled.  Does your ex still have access to any of you accounts-is your name still on any of her cards, or vice versa…..
  • Make sure you talk about common goals, and how you will reach them-such as buying a home, saving for college, amount of savings for retirement.

The secret  for financial compatibility, is to get on the same page if possible-or at least in the same chapter.  If one of you is reading a financial fantasy novel, and the other a non-fiction spreadsheet-then trouble looms ahead, unless you talk it out.

Being married can provide you with money savings, tax benefits-so make sure you check on things like changing your car insurance, health insurance, beneficiaries on life, health and disability policies.

I think most couples need to jointly participate in planning their monthly spending-take an hour each month to decide what is coming in, and where its going.  I think joint accounts are better-so there is less chance for surprises when it comes to money problems.

So don’t let money mess with your marriage.  Talk about it, plan about it, make your money work for you.

And if you need help-that is what we are here for.  Get started on your financial marital counseling service today-by signing up for our newsletter-”The Millionaire Nurse Money Letter” . You will get a free e-Book on “Emergency Money Resuscitation” and a mini-course on financial management.

And if you have any marital money stories you can share, let us hear from you.  We all need to keep learning.

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Posted in Quality of Life, personal finance | 2 Comments »

Getting Things Done: The Millionaire Nurse Way!

Friday, February 19th, 2010

I have been in the business of health care since I started medical school in 1977-yes before many of you were born.  I am old.  It is funny to think about, but my first two years of practice, I had several patients, say-”you can’t be my doctor, you are too young!”   Welllll, that hasn’t happened in a while.   No one, has so far, said to my face, “you are too old to be my doctor, but some probably think that….

After spending tens of thousands of hours trying to motivate people to lose weight, quit smoking, exercise more, eat less, I have now added-”pay attention to your finances” to my to-do list.

Now, I don’t do financial counseling/coaching at my medical practice-but on this site, and in my speaking engagements, my job is to motivate nures to take their finances seriously, and make changes to become more successful managing their money.

And it is funny, the response I get in the office dealing with healthcare issues is the same, when dealing with financial issues.

“I DON’T HAVE TIME!”

TIME-by John Morgan

Of course, I have heard that before.  Those who don’t have time to exercise, focus on their diet, or work on their finances, have plenty of time to watch television.  Or read the latest romance, go to the 3-D Avatar experience, hang out with their friends, go shopping at the mall, play video games, facebook-”farmville- can I get help with my barn???”

I am all for a little down time.  We all need to get away from our responsibilities occasionally, especially in a stressful profession like nursing.  But, sometimes you have to set aside time for what is most important.  You have to act like a GROWN-UP!

How many times have you seen that smoker in the ER with pneumonia, or COPD complications, that you didn’t think, “Why has he not quit?”  “Doesn’t he want to be around to see his grand kids grow up?”  Or the alcoholic, or the diabetic, who can’t seem to quit drinking or eating sweets excessively.

So, turn that around.  Are you spending quality time thinking about how to improve your finances, get out of debt, maximize your retirement, automate your savings account, make sure your will, insurance, and college savings are all set up?????

What are you waiting for?  Catastrophe, bankruptcy.  You know you need to.  Don’t put it off.  Get into the habit of spending an hour or two a week, planning and thinking about your future.  It will be a great investment-then go build your barn!

And if you want to join our team, at “The Millionaire Nurse” please sign up for our newsletter-by hitting the beautiful E-B00k on the left side “Emergency Money Resuscitation”.  We will send you the free E-Book and sign you up for our mini-course on personal finance.  We also will deliver out monthly newsletter-full of money saving tips and suggestions.

Make Time!

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Posted in Quality of Life, personal finance | 2 Comments »

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