I know several people in my life that are currently either selling their house or thinking of selling their house. The age old question in this is, "Do I NEED a realtor?"
The positive to not getting a realtor is you save on the commission that is rather sizable depending on how much your house will be sold for.
However, if you had to ask me I would say yes, I do recommend you have a realtor when you sell your house...BUT, I do not just want a realtor, I want you to get a high quality, highly motivated, won't slow down realtor with a great track record.
I have heard Dave Ramsey say to interview people when they are going to make money off you. So that is my suggestion. If you go in there and have questions ready for them and they don't want to oblige or are being a jerk, move on quickly and thank them for their time. If they don't feel that they are good enough to exceed all your expectations and know that they will stand up to a tough grader then you did not want them in the first place.
Interview Questions to ask:
1) Why should I list my home with you? (Find out what the agent will do to help your home stand out.)
2) What’s your company’s track record and reputation? (If one agent or company sells more than the rest, ask why and what they’re doing differently.)
3) Does your broker control the advertising or do you? (If your agent doesn’t control the advertising, your home may compete for ad space with listings from every other agent in the brokerage.)
4) On average, how close is the selling price to the asking price? (This information is available from your local Real Estate Board. The agent’s performance in this area can help predict how much you’ll get for your home.)
5) On average, how long does it take your listings to sell? (This information is also available from the Real Estate Board. It will help determine about how long your home will be on the market. )
6) Do you have a reference list of clients I could contact? (Make some phone calls. Ask them to describe their experiences with the agent.)
7) What if I’m not happy with the job you do? (See if the agent will cancel your contract without penalties if you’re not satisfied with the service they provide.)
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Did I say free?
I found these offers on Hustler Money Blog.
If you have some free time and you like to drive, you can now get FREE stuff while doing it. Check out these offers:
$25 Best Buy Gift Card for Test Drive a Suzuki XL7
Two Tickets to the Bourne Ultimatum for Test Drive VW Touareg 2
$10 Starbucks Gift Card for Test Drive Smart Car USA Tour
Mercedes Test Drive for free food and parting gifts.
Support Susan G Komen to raise money for breast cancer research with BMW test drive
Request a brochure with Prepaid $50 Mastercard for Toyota Test Drive..ymmv.
If you have some free time and you like to drive, you can now get FREE stuff while doing it. Check out these offers:
$25 Best Buy Gift Card for Test Drive a Suzuki XL7
Two Tickets to the Bourne Ultimatum for Test Drive VW Touareg 2
$10 Starbucks Gift Card for Test Drive Smart Car USA Tour
Mercedes Test Drive for free food and parting gifts.
Support Susan G Komen to raise money for breast cancer research with BMW test drive
Request a brochure with Prepaid $50 Mastercard for Toyota Test Drive..ymmv.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
"Above and Beyond" Cash Flow
At the risk of this post being "out there," I am going to talk about what I have termed "above and beyond" cash flow.
This is any money you have coming in that is unexpected. It is different than your alternative income stream where you are making money work for you without going into a "job" so to speak (that is a planned income stream). Above and Beyond Money is when you find $20 on the ground, when your annual tax return comes in, or when your Aunt gives you $50 for your birthday. It is irregular income that you know is coming someway, somehow, sometime; you just don't know how, from where, or when.
If you have a detailed cash flow plan and receive above and beyond money you know exactly where that money can be put to good use. If you do not have a plan there is a good chance that money will leave you quickly and this is never a good feeling.
A marketers job is to appeal to your senses and use our psychology against us. So if you suddenly have $1600 that you did not have a plan for, there is a good chance it will be gone and you will be left wondering where it went. I am not trying to tell you what to do with YOUR (cough, God's) money; but I am trying to tell you that whatever you spend it on, you need to do it on purpose.
I believe that if we receive Above and Beyond Money and there is no plan, then it is not going to be a financial help to us. I cannot stress the idea of a planning enough. I love talking about doing fun stuff with your money: investments, generosity, savings for cash purchases, etc. But you HAVE to have a foundation first and one of those foundational blocks is a PLAN.
This is any money you have coming in that is unexpected. It is different than your alternative income stream where you are making money work for you without going into a "job" so to speak (that is a planned income stream). Above and Beyond Money is when you find $20 on the ground, when your annual tax return comes in, or when your Aunt gives you $50 for your birthday. It is irregular income that you know is coming someway, somehow, sometime; you just don't know how, from where, or when.
If you have a detailed cash flow plan and receive above and beyond money you know exactly where that money can be put to good use. If you do not have a plan there is a good chance that money will leave you quickly and this is never a good feeling.
A marketers job is to appeal to your senses and use our psychology against us. So if you suddenly have $1600 that you did not have a plan for, there is a good chance it will be gone and you will be left wondering where it went. I am not trying to tell you what to do with YOUR (cough, God's) money; but I am trying to tell you that whatever you spend it on, you need to do it on purpose.
I believe that if we receive Above and Beyond Money and there is no plan, then it is not going to be a financial help to us. I cannot stress the idea of a planning enough. I love talking about doing fun stuff with your money: investments, generosity, savings for cash purchases, etc. But you HAVE to have a foundation first and one of those foundational blocks is a PLAN.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Tips for Cash Flow Planning
These are all tips that have worked for me; if you have been frustrated with budgeting try some of these ideas.
1.) Use a computer. They are good for you. If you do it in excel you can make it calculate your total as you go. Not only that, if you forget something you can just insert a row instead of erasing everything like you would on a sheet of paper.
2.) Budget for upcoming expenses. If you know something is coming up a few months from now, start budgeting now. It makes things so much easier when it comes time to pay whenever that something comes.
3.) Do your budget monthly. Each month changes. I am single with a basically simple lifestyle and still things change for me on a monthly basis. You are not going to come down from the mountain with the stone tablet budget, you have to continue to tweak and change things depending on what life throws at you.
4.) Start your EMERGENCY FUND. I don't think anyone will argue with me that life throws curve balls. Why would we not plan for this? This is the FIRST thing recommend you to do, it is SO important. Save up $1,000 and set it aside. Then attack your debt. (See Attack that Debt) After that is completed I suggest you set aside 3-6 months income as your emergency fund. (See Emergency Fund)
5.) Keep copies of old budgets. I like looking back on things from a year or so ago and see how far God has brought me in life. Not only would it be neat to see this in our cash flow planning, it is also a good reference tool.
6.) Use envelopes to hedge overspending. If you plan for $200 for groceries one month, just put $200 in an envelope and have all your money come out of there. Dunn & Bradstreet did a study that says in our psychology we spend less money when we use cash. It is a fact and we can argue but because debit/credit cards are so convenient we end up spending more. If you set aside a few envelopes a month: food, groceries, fun money, etc. it will aid in your effort to not overspend.
Side Note: My friend Dean has a "five pocket wallet" that he uses to set aside his cash for each category, rather than having five envelopes . This idea intrigues me and I think I would like to try that in the near future.
7.) Do NOT turn to debt. If you can't fit everything into your budget that you want/need to spend money on do NOT turn to debt. You need to cut things out of your life, debt cannot be an option anymore.
8.) People with irregular income still have to budget. You do not have a round number each month and to planning for your budget will look a little different. You need to prioritize your spending. Rank your expenses. 1.) Food 2.) House 3.) Transportation 4.) Basic Utilities 5.) Clothing from there rank what you deem most important then next importance. It is a skill and will take time to develop.
1.) Use a computer. They are good for you. If you do it in excel you can make it calculate your total as you go. Not only that, if you forget something you can just insert a row instead of erasing everything like you would on a sheet of paper.
2.) Budget for upcoming expenses. If you know something is coming up a few months from now, start budgeting now. It makes things so much easier when it comes time to pay whenever that something comes.
3.) Do your budget monthly. Each month changes. I am single with a basically simple lifestyle and still things change for me on a monthly basis. You are not going to come down from the mountain with the stone tablet budget, you have to continue to tweak and change things depending on what life throws at you.
4.) Start your EMERGENCY FUND. I don't think anyone will argue with me that life throws curve balls. Why would we not plan for this? This is the FIRST thing recommend you to do, it is SO important. Save up $1,000 and set it aside. Then attack your debt. (See Attack that Debt) After that is completed I suggest you set aside 3-6 months income as your emergency fund. (See Emergency Fund)
5.) Keep copies of old budgets. I like looking back on things from a year or so ago and see how far God has brought me in life. Not only would it be neat to see this in our cash flow planning, it is also a good reference tool.
6.) Use envelopes to hedge overspending. If you plan for $200 for groceries one month, just put $200 in an envelope and have all your money come out of there. Dunn & Bradstreet did a study that says in our psychology we spend less money when we use cash. It is a fact and we can argue but because debit/credit cards are so convenient we end up spending more. If you set aside a few envelopes a month: food, groceries, fun money, etc. it will aid in your effort to not overspend.
Side Note: My friend Dean has a "five pocket wallet" that he uses to set aside his cash for each category, rather than having five envelopes . This idea intrigues me and I think I would like to try that in the near future.
7.) Do NOT turn to debt. If you can't fit everything into your budget that you want/need to spend money on do NOT turn to debt. You need to cut things out of your life, debt cannot be an option anymore.
8.) People with irregular income still have to budget. You do not have a round number each month and to planning for your budget will look a little different. You need to prioritize your spending. Rank your expenses. 1.) Food 2.) House 3.) Transportation 4.) Basic Utilities 5.) Clothing from there rank what you deem most important then next importance. It is a skill and will take time to develop.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Gut Check Time
Recently I have been thinking about my principles on personal finances because I am preparing to teach a two week Financial Class on October 21 and 28. (Click contact me if you want more information on this) These are 3 questions that I had to ask myself, that I encourage you to ask yourself to examine your financial health.
1.) Is there anything in my finances that if made public would discredit me?
If your financial records suddenly became public, is there anything you are doing that would make you embarrassed? You know what that is and chances are you need to cut it out of your life. This rings true especially if you are a Christ Follower. It may be your $400+ monthly eating out expense when you say you have a heart for the poor. Money is an indicator of our heart, the tough thing is that it is so easy to keep it private. I encourage you that if there is something in your financial life that if brought to light would be a negative representation of you, to cut it out.
However, this is just a symptom of a bigger issue. If you are not content in every situation in life you will always have these type issues being brought up. Cutting out something of your life is behavior modification and will probably be brought up again. Praying and working on being content because God has given you so much already is the solution. That is not an overnight thing, that takes perseverance and time.
2.) What am I doing right now that will make me be where I want to be financially a year from now?
I know a lot of us say, "we are going to save money when this changes" or perhaps we say, "once that thing goes away I will spend less." Whatever reason (cough, excuse) we might be telling ourselves, the better question is what am I actually doing? Am I making steps to be where I want to be?
One of my goals has always been making my money work for me so I wouldn't HAVE to (I would still WANT to because I love working at what I am passionate about; I would just do it for free now). I want my "alternative income stream" to be larger than my expenses. What I qualify as alternative income is anything that I don't go to a job for. This could be interest earned, dividends, rental income, or any type of income stream that doesn't require me to "go into work for." This is a lot longer than a goal than one that can be achieved a year from now. But I honestly have to ask myself, if this is a goal then what steps am I or have I taken towards it.
3.) Am I increasing in generosity?
It doesn't matter if you follow Christ or not, you have to be increasingly generous. I believe that it is truth that the love of money is a slippery slope that can ruin a persons life. In fact, it is cool that I am writing about this today because I just read 1 Timothy 6 this morning. (Fresh Bread)
1 Timothy 6:9 "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction."
I believe that God created our hearts and through his divine word he is warning us about money. It is a blessing to have money and in that same chapter (1 Tim 6:17) scripture says that God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Now, right before that is says do not put your hope in wealth but hope in God and they go together. What I am saying is, it is okay to enjoy blessings from God (after tithing, basic needs, and generosity of course) as long as you put your hope in God and not in wealth. I am not using that scripture as justification for being greedy so please don't hear me wrong.
But to get back on track, generosity is key to keeping our hearts in check so that we won't fall into ruin and destruction like 1 Timothy 6:9 talks about.
Those are 3 questions that you can ask yourself that will help examine if you are on track to being financially healthy.
1.) Is there anything in my finances that if made public would discredit me?
If your financial records suddenly became public, is there anything you are doing that would make you embarrassed? You know what that is and chances are you need to cut it out of your life. This rings true especially if you are a Christ Follower. It may be your $400+ monthly eating out expense when you say you have a heart for the poor. Money is an indicator of our heart, the tough thing is that it is so easy to keep it private. I encourage you that if there is something in your financial life that if brought to light would be a negative representation of you, to cut it out.
However, this is just a symptom of a bigger issue. If you are not content in every situation in life you will always have these type issues being brought up. Cutting out something of your life is behavior modification and will probably be brought up again. Praying and working on being content because God has given you so much already is the solution. That is not an overnight thing, that takes perseverance and time.
2.) What am I doing right now that will make me be where I want to be financially a year from now?
I know a lot of us say, "we are going to save money when this changes" or perhaps we say, "once that thing goes away I will spend less." Whatever reason (cough, excuse) we might be telling ourselves, the better question is what am I actually doing? Am I making steps to be where I want to be?
One of my goals has always been making my money work for me so I wouldn't HAVE to (I would still WANT to because I love working at what I am passionate about; I would just do it for free now). I want my "alternative income stream" to be larger than my expenses. What I qualify as alternative income is anything that I don't go to a job for. This could be interest earned, dividends, rental income, or any type of income stream that doesn't require me to "go into work for." This is a lot longer than a goal than one that can be achieved a year from now. But I honestly have to ask myself, if this is a goal then what steps am I or have I taken towards it.
3.) Am I increasing in generosity?
It doesn't matter if you follow Christ or not, you have to be increasingly generous. I believe that it is truth that the love of money is a slippery slope that can ruin a persons life. In fact, it is cool that I am writing about this today because I just read 1 Timothy 6 this morning. (Fresh Bread)
1 Timothy 6:9 "People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction."
I believe that God created our hearts and through his divine word he is warning us about money. It is a blessing to have money and in that same chapter (1 Tim 6:17) scripture says that God richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Now, right before that is says do not put your hope in wealth but hope in God and they go together. What I am saying is, it is okay to enjoy blessings from God (after tithing, basic needs, and generosity of course) as long as you put your hope in God and not in wealth. I am not using that scripture as justification for being greedy so please don't hear me wrong.
But to get back on track, generosity is key to keeping our hearts in check so that we won't fall into ruin and destruction like 1 Timothy 6:9 talks about.
Those are 3 questions that you can ask yourself that will help examine if you are on track to being financially healthy.
Thursday, August 2, 2007
I Love a Good Coupon
From time to time when I see deals I like to post it for all to see and enjoy. If you are planning on spending some money at any of these 4 places, it probably would be worth it to go ahead and print out one of these bad boys.
I got these from http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/
These are great if you were planning to buy something for your house or perhaps a new office that the orginazation you are leading just moved into. Both valid times to print out these coupons.
Target : Coupon for $5 off of $25 purchase
Office Depot: 15% off Office Depot Coupon
Reebok Outlet: 40% off Coupon at the Outlet Store
BabiesRUs: 15% off BabiesRUs Coupon
Remember, if you were not planning on buying anything from one of these stores...don't use them. You will not be saving money. However, if you were going to get something like a desk or bookcases anyway you might as well use em.
I got these from http://www.hustlermoneyblog.com/
These are great if you were planning to buy something for your house or perhaps a new office that the orginazation you are leading just moved into. Both valid times to print out these coupons.
Target : Coupon for $5 off of $25 purchase
Office Depot: 15% off Office Depot Coupon
Reebok Outlet: 40% off Coupon at the Outlet Store
BabiesRUs: 15% off BabiesRUs Coupon
Remember, if you were not planning on buying anything from one of these stores...don't use them. You will not be saving money. However, if you were going to get something like a desk or bookcases anyway you might as well use em.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
What You Don't Know CAN Hurt You
I used to believe that what I didn't know, could not hurt me. In fact, I told my friend Jon this many times when discussing "rules" for us to live by while living in the same house.
To give more life to this, I did not want Jon using certain things. For example I did not want anyone to sit on or put stuff on my bed (pet peeve...don't know why, I just don't like it). Along with me telling Jon that these are my wishes I told him, "But...what I don't know can't hurt me." If I get home and my bed is all messed up, I now know and we have a problem. But if I truly do not know and do not find out, there is no way it can hurt me.
This was my motto for roommates for many years. However, I now believe it to NOT be true in all cases and will never use it again.
If you do not KNOW where you money is going, it WILL hurt you. It is so simple, yet the hardest thing for us in America to grasp. Your income MUST be greater than what you spend. There is no gray area. It is not calculus or trigonometry, it is addition and subtraction. If you are reading this blog you need to KNOW a budget or it WILL hurt you.
You might be saying, “I don’t need a budget.” I know from experience that if you are broke or are stuck in a trap of all the money coming in then going out like a whirlwind, the way to get out is through the introduction of a monthly budget. Once you do this you are actually able to give more than you ever thought possible, save more than you ever thought possible, and will be able to utilize your income to do something besides PAY BILLS!!
You have to KNOW how much you have coming in (Income). And now you have to KNOW what is going out (Expenses). If you do not know this it WILL hurt you; there are too many hurting people out there for me to think otherwise anymore.
If you need help with setting up a preliminary budget and need someone on your team, e-mail me. Click the contact me link on the tool bar.
To give more life to this, I did not want Jon using certain things. For example I did not want anyone to sit on or put stuff on my bed (pet peeve...don't know why, I just don't like it). Along with me telling Jon that these are my wishes I told him, "But...what I don't know can't hurt me." If I get home and my bed is all messed up, I now know and we have a problem. But if I truly do not know and do not find out, there is no way it can hurt me.
This was my motto for roommates for many years. However, I now believe it to NOT be true in all cases and will never use it again.
If you do not KNOW where you money is going, it WILL hurt you. It is so simple, yet the hardest thing for us in America to grasp. Your income MUST be greater than what you spend. There is no gray area. It is not calculus or trigonometry, it is addition and subtraction. If you are reading this blog you need to KNOW a budget or it WILL hurt you.
You might be saying, “I don’t need a budget.” I know from experience that if you are broke or are stuck in a trap of all the money coming in then going out like a whirlwind, the way to get out is through the introduction of a monthly budget. Once you do this you are actually able to give more than you ever thought possible, save more than you ever thought possible, and will be able to utilize your income to do something besides PAY BILLS!!
You have to KNOW how much you have coming in (Income). And now you have to KNOW what is going out (Expenses). If you do not know this it WILL hurt you; there are too many hurting people out there for me to think otherwise anymore.
If you need help with setting up a preliminary budget and need someone on your team, e-mail me. Click the contact me link on the tool bar.
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