Disqus - Latest Comments for No Debt Plan

Re: Always Try Bargaining: Here’s How it Worked for Me

No Debt Plan — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:11:37 -0000

I can't stand haggling for large periods of time... the whole "let me go check with my manager" multiple times thing would drive me nuts. I'm not against negotiating -- not at all! -- but I don't want to get the run around from someone either.

I would have been more inclined to say something like "You get one shot at this" and then if it didn't work, leave. Should cut the waiting time down quite a bit (admittedly at the risk of not getting the deal).

Re: Earn $500 By Referring Friends and Readers to ING Direct

No Debt Plan — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:36:11 -0000

I've got both EO and OS ready to offer!

Re: My Grandmothers and the Cost of a Funeral

No Debt Plan — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 09:27:54 -0000

Sorry for your loss. Death is not an easy subject to endure, much less write about publicily.

Re: Credit Card Use Increases Prices for Everyone

No Debt Plan — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 09:37:26 -0000

The merchant-side cost of accepting credit cards is similar to accepting debit cards. It's a cost of doing business and for many folks, a very small cost of doing business. I had someone comment on my blog once around the same topic. Said he ran a restaurant and the cost of overhead for CCs was 0.7%. He said if they dropped all fees he wouldn't drop prices 0.7% -- wasn't worth it.

There are additional costs of using paper money -- namely, tracking and counterfeiting. Take a fake bill and not much you can do if you don't check it. Plus then you have to watch your own employees for theft. With a properly run credit card (physically run with all the security information verifying it is a real card) then your risk of a charge back goes down dramatically. And you don't have to worry if it is fake (again if it is a physically run card).

Re: Annoying Calls From Extended Car Warranty Dealers

No Debt Plan — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:59:56 -0000

I get these at work... on my cell... on my wife's cell...

I press to talk while I'm at work and try to waste as much of their time as possible. It's funny when they're like "we're calling about your car warranty!" and then they turn around and ask for the make and model of my car. I then asked "wait, you called me about the warranty. Shouldn't you have my car info on file?" She tried to play around with she was just the call rep and not the warranty specialist, etc.

Garbage.

Re: Wal-Mart: Consumers Have Shifted Fundamentally To Frugality

No Debt Plan — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 10:19:29 -0000

I agree that it isn't permanent. We're a spending economy. I thought I read something recently that said SUV sales were up because of low gas prices.

So not only is it temporary, we also can't see past five minutes in front of us. Gas prices are going to go up.

Re: Coworkers Excited About Investing

No Debt Plan — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 12:15:00 -0000

I came by to specifically reference the need to sell your employer stock due to the ingrained risks, but looks like you guys have covered it mostly.

My private company has a funky stock option reward, but it is based on exceedingly high performance and I don't completely understand it. Unfortunately I haven't earned any thus far!

Re: News and Blogs: Monday, December 1, 2008

No Debt Plan — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 16:07:44 -0000

I've got to disagree with the article about social security being a chunk of your retirement. While this may be true for Americans retiring today, for those of us in our 20s there is a very bleak outlook that the program will survive in its current state by the time I retire.

Re: Cleaning Carpets Again and Daily Links

No Debt Plan — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:10:48 -0000

We recently did the same thing. We had some heavy traffic areas that were looking really soiled from the dog coming in and out of the house, etc. We bought a similar steamvac and it worked amazing. Carpets looked brand new. On top of the hair and stuff that came out, we also pulled up a TON of carpet fuzz since our carpet is still relatively new from the house being built a year ago.

I was really, really impressed with how clean the carpet looked.

Re: Economy in Shambles, Times are Tough: Oh Really?

No Debt Plan — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:49:22 -0000

Spot on. You don't see 8 year olds running around with AK-47s in civil war, either.

Re: Economist’s Advice on the Local News Program

No Debt Plan — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 02:16:32 -0000

Agree with everyone else. Dumb move for those with long time horizons.

Re: ING Direct Drops Rate to 2.75% APY

No Debt Plan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 14:18:08 -0000

The "which internet bank is best" discussion has been beaten to death... but what the heck. I'm sticking with ING because of their customer service and security features.

They also dropped the CD rates... good thing I locked in one step of my ladder at 3.75% earlier this week.

Re: Considering Tax-Exempt Money Market Funds

No Debt Plan — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:12:08 -0000

This NY Times article (http://tinyurl.com/4fxrzp) outlining the crisis mentions money market funds. There was apparently a big run on money market funds. Do you think they are still safe? I don't have enough expertise to tell you whether or not they are, but thought it was good food for thought.

Re: Stock Market in Sharp Decline, Stocks on Sale?

No Debt Plan — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:28:26 -0000

I added to our IRAs today, and we will get the closing price tomorrow. I didn't add a ton due to this, but figured I have 30+ years to worry about it if I'm off by a few percentage points.

I would also have encouraged you to get the ETF. Why not? Lower costs over the long run and trades like a stock. You could guarantee what price you pay tomorrow without having to wonder.

Re: Calming Facts About Identity Theft

No Debt Plan — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:21:50 -0000

@Flexo and Jenny: Jenny's got it right. This also applies to Security/Secret/Top Secret clearances. If you have a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or repossession on your credit report from the last 7 years you can kiss getting a clearance goodbye. I've also heard that if you *have* a clearance and run into financial straits, you can lose your clearance (and thus your job).

For other companies, it is seen as a risk that you can't handle your finances, it could happen again, and if it does happen again you are likely to accept bribes or steal from the company to take care of your financial problems.

Re: Something You Never Want to See in Quicken

No Debt Plan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:18:37 -0000

That's absolutely hilarious. Quicken always did weird stuff for me so I dropped it and went to an Excel budget.

Re: Ten Things to Do With $1,000 (Plus 21 More)

No Debt Plan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:40:57 -0000

I've actually run into this question. I earned a little more than $1k this summer with an online business, but had to shut it down. Don't know what to do with it. Ideally, I'd like to reinvest it into a new online business and roll into bigger profits in the future.

But that is easier said than done...

Re: Can You Eliminate $500 of Your Expenses Each Month?

No Debt Plan — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:54:43 -0000

Wait -- you don't have renter's insurance?

Dude, come on. $12/month is what we used to pay for $23,000+ worth of coverage.

Stop doing whatever you're doing and go get it. Seriously!

Re: Bottled Water? What Was I Thinking?

No Debt Plan — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 08:27:48 -0000

Welcome to the party :)

$16 seems a bit much for me, but I guess it gets the job done. I got some generic 32 oz. water bottle for $3.47 at Target about 6 months ago. I've been using it ever since.

Have you heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Really sad.. our oceans are our landfills for plastic.

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Pacific_Garb...
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/02/great_p...
http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/10-the-wor...

Re: The Four-Day Work Week: Is it a Good Idea?

No Debt Plan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:34:12 -0000

I would take a 4 day workweek in a heartbeat. I'd love 3 day weekends. Heck, I'd work 3 day weeks...

Re: Is Now a Good Time to Buy Bank Stocks?

No Debt Plan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 20:49:23 -0000

I definitely believe in Buffet's margin of safety. You can't time the bottom, but if you can value the stocks correctly and think you have a 25-40% buffer... then I would buy. You have to remember that typically the market is looking out 6 months. So what about 3 years from now, where will the businesses be at that point (rather than the stocks)?

Re: Waste of Money: Excessive Oil Changes (Every 3,000 Miles?)

No Debt Plan — Sun, 22 Jun 2008 22:44:37 -0000

I stick to 5,000 miles for our Honda Accord and Civic. I used to work for a car rental agency and we changed ours every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. I figure if they're willing to do it they must know what they are doing... so I'll stick with it.

Re: The Benefits of Target Retirement Funds

No Debt Plan — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:02:49 -0000

@shoyu: Suze Orzman also keeps 99% of her portfolio in bonds. Give ME a break.

Re: Question of the Day: How Much Vacation Time Do You Use?

No Debt Plan — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:50:51 -0000

We get:
-2 weeks vacation
-6 days personal time
-2 "celebration" (use for anything) days

Comes to 18 days off, plus six major holidays.

We can roll over 1 week of vacation and 3 days of personal time, so in theory I should be using 5 vacation, 3 personal, and 2 celebration for a total of 10 days off per year. I think I did it last year pretty well.

Re: Personal Income Statement, May 2008 (Net Income: $9,943)

No Debt Plan — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:10:08 -0000

Wow, I wish I had $10k in free cash flow! Holy cow!

Re: Payment Method Discrimination Strikes Again at the Gas Station

No Debt Plan — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:17:46 -0000

I just heard of this earlier this week and had never heard of it before. I don't think anyone here in the south does this -- or I've never noticed. Is there a way to report them to the credit card companies? Why not charge everyone the same price even if it were slightly higher?

Re: Will a Gas Tax Holiday or Taxing Oil Companies Help the Economy?

No Debt Plan — Wed, 07 May 2008 11:19:05 -0000

Oil should be a public utility. Natural gas, electricity, water... the staples of American life... are all regulated utilities that are allowed to earn a profit but not an outsize profit.

What do you think?

Also, I think the tax holiday is ridiculous and stupid. It will simply increase demand, raise prices, and to boot also increase pollution.

Re: Festival of Frugality #119: The Quitting My Day Job to Blog Full Time Edition

No Debt Plan — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:05:43 -0000

Wait a second... it's April Fool's day.........

:)

Re: Festival of Frugality #119: The Quitting My Day Job to Blog Full Time Edition

No Debt Plan — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 07:59:54 -0000

Congrats on going full time! Sheesh, it's spreading like wildfire...

Re: Best Buy Offering Store Credit in Return for HD DVD Hardware and Movies

No Debt Plan — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:05:06 -0000

That's a great idea by Best Buy. I'd say those HD folks are getting a real deal because the technology will be outdated very, very quickly.

Then again, it's like Best Buy is just giving you $50 off of a new machine, which they are making a healthy profit on.

Good job from BB.

Re: My First Economic Stimulus Payment Notice Has Arrived

No Debt Plan — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:13:35 -0000

This is ridiculous. We got two, of course. One for each. With the internet age and main stream media, I think you would hard pressed to find 100 people who didn't know about the details of the mailers. Waste. Of. Money.

Re: Question for Discussion: How Much Can You Spend Without Telling?

No Debt Plan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:43:05 -0000

We do the same as several on here have mentioned. We each get 2% of income for the previous month to spend this month. I can save it and buy tools or cars or computer parts... she can buy clothes.

We also use that money to go on 'dates'.

Re: It’s Official: New Job With a Raise and Promotion

No Debt Plan — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 22:23:56 -0000

Congrats... wish I could get a 10% raise or 25% bonus!

Re: W-4 and Your Working Spouse

No Debt Plan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:04:32 -0000

Same thing happened to us -- we owed $500 this year, but somehow got $380 back from the state. Worked out nicely, but my wife didn't start work until August.

We actually just filled out a new form last night for her to send in to make sure we get things corrected. We're going with 1 on me, 0 on her. We'll see.

I did use that IRS calculator at one point, I'm guessing they take it down for tax season?

Re: Savings Account Interest Rates Updated

No Debt Plan — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 10:26:37 -0000

Unfortunately true. Harder and harder to find a good place to park it. We're sticking with ING for now. They hold both our checking and savings, so I figure there is a trade off. Plus we love the customer service and security.

Re: Too Cheap for iPhone or Blackberry, But I Got My Mobile Web Access

No Debt Plan — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 13:28:18 -0000

I thought about leaving Verizon for Sprint's SERO plan, but couldn't get out of my contract.

The VPak is interesting... I'll need to look into it. But I can't justify paying $15x2 for two lines to be upgraded.

Re: How to track Car expenses. . .

No Debt Plan — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 17:29:49 -0000

If you take the time to track your mileage, you might as well take the time to track your miles per gallon by also recording your mpg. A significant drop in mpg without an associated change in driving habits can signal something is wrong with your car.

The Automobile Gas Log

Re: What I enjoyed most last week.

No Debt Plan — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:30:53 -0000

I was really touched by Our Fourpence Worth's story as well. Thanks for linking to PFBloggers!

Re: Maison IDEKIT Quebec Container Home

No Debt Plan — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 08:18:09 -0000

I really wish they would share more detailed plans on how they got it down to $58/sq.ft. That is really impressive. I would love to build a 2,000 sq. ft. home at that price! ($116,000!) Perhaps they saved a lot of money on drywall because the inside of the home was just painted, leaving the container walls showing?

Anyone have any thoughts on how they got it so low?

Re: St. Paul Home Created with Three Boxes

No Debt Plan — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 09:59:52 -0000

Anyone know what the final cost ended up being since low cost was the goal?

Re: a little-too-late advice on building wealth

No Debt Plan — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:53:11 -0000

Fantastic list. Not too late for some of us! (Came across this from FMF's March Madness.)

Re: The Big Book Giveaway

No Debt Plan — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 22:04:28 -0000

1. Getting Things Done
2. Your Money or Your Life
3. Zen to Done
4. The Greatest Salesman in the World
5. X Marks the Spot

Sweet!

Re: crowdsourcing

No Debt Plan — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:25:54 -0000

The only problem is when the crowd runs off of a cliff (a la sub-prime, Bear Sterns, etc.).

Question: Where does being contrarian fit into this?

Re: go to hell

No Debt Plan — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 14:34:53 -0000

A great example of how copy writing correctly can get you visitors. I clicked through from your RSS simply because of the title. Nice job.

Re: fat man and the comfort waistband

No Debt Plan — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 07:50:21 -0000

It's very similar to finances. Once you reach your goal, you can't go back to your old ways (at least not completely). Hitting the goal is awesome, maintaining that level of "exercise" for your finances can be difficult.

I've been meaning to start running for the past, I dunno, six years. Last night I came home and jogged in our neighborhood for all of nine minutes. (Honest, we have a really steep incline that I went up first and that pretty much finished me).

But it was a first step.

I hope to take more tonight.

Cheers!

Re: winner and RME

No Debt Plan — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:33:55 -0000

There is something going on with Lending Club... not sure what. They are suspending the referral program and putting new loans on hold.

Re: 15 reasons why you might not want to be a consultant

No Debt Plan — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 10:51:49 -0000

I'm guessing you work as a consultant... I'd be interested in learning how you decided and made the jump to consultant life. Sorry if you already covered it in the past, if so just link me to it.

Re: are American kids stupid about personal finance?

No Debt Plan — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:52:48 -0000

Being able to answer questions on a sponsored quiz is different from facing the "free money" of credit cards in college and/or the real world. The fact that our national savings rate is -2% or so, and that college students are graduating with credit card debt, proves the point that somewhere along the line the next generation isn't being educated on the facts of finance.

Re: the charity customer

No Debt Plan — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:14:31 -0000

Glad to read I'm not the only person who has had that experience with the United Way. It was like that at my old work. What a joke.

Re: how I managed to spend almost $9000 on lunch this year

No Debt Plan — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:13:48 -0000

I have to take 2-3 clients out to breakfast/lunch per week. So it looks like I spend a lot too -- on my AMEX Blue Cash. But I don't really have a choice... eating healthy with clients is hard, too.

Re: the newest problogger on the block

No Debt Plan — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:14:14 -0000

Congrats... crazy stuff going on around the blogosphere!

Re: my latest tax deduction

No Debt Plan — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:15:42 -0000

Congratulations and best of luck.

Not on the same plane, but we got a puppy last Saturday and have been up in the middle of the night, too. Again not saying its the same, but it's a glimpse of what you'll be doing through.

Re: irie

No Debt Plan — Thu, 08 May 2008 09:47:31 -0000

I like to call this "don't forget to live". It is simply impossible to cut everything at all times. Go for an ice cream cone. Enjoy life a bit. Just not too much. :)

Re: how to make money without a job and why you should

No Debt Plan — Mon, 12 May 2008 11:02:32 -0000

Very true. In the past three weeks, I've earned $200+ blogging. Nice little bit of side income.

Re: no eat, no need money

No Debt Plan — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 23:49:05 -0000

I'm just getting caught up on your posts... totally awesome. Sharing this with my wife. (We don't have kids.)

Re: hazard pay

No Debt Plan — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:38:03 -0000

Phew! No thanks for me either. All that risk pay is worthless if you end up disappearing...

Re: what motivates you more: frugality or decluttering?

No Debt Plan — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 10:52:58 -0000

I think it's a beautiful thing that they go together -- frugality and decluttering. This is something we have struggled with. The simple act of keeping our home decluttered is an act of Congress, and we don't even have kids. (This does not bode well for the future!)

Re: what if saving was stupid

No Debt Plan — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:11:28 -0000

The photo really got me to read the whole post -- great job.

You make a good point. What if all of my dutiful saving goes up in smoke? I'll be pissed, no doubt. But if I can maintain the "it's only money" mentality... I think I might be able to cope.

Hopefully neither of us will have to worry about it.

Re: farewell new jersey

No Debt Plan — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:39:37 -0000

Good luck with the move. Not sure what route you are taking, but if you get close to Birmingham I'll be glad to buy you a beer. But not if you're driving. :)

Welcome back south. It's hot... but beautiful down here!

Re: making money with a credit card

No Debt Plan — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:44:39 -0000

This is an epic post... as you can tell by the comments.

Some can control their spending, others cannot. Debit, credit, cash, it doesn't matter.

Some say studies show you spend more with plastic. That's odd... I have a budget. How many of those people were living on a budget?

Being stupid is not an excuse for you to burn any company at the stake.

The soda company comparison is fantastic -- inspiring me to write something about it for tomorrow.

Re: making money with a credit card

No Debt Plan — Wed, 20 May 2009 15:51:20 -0000

While theoretically true, in practice this proves to be false.

Let me explain.

Yes they do charge merchants 2.5-3% to accept the card. But there was a great discussion over on my blog (not trying to plug my site or anything, but you can see the info here http://www.nodebtplan.net/2009/03/08/reader-com...).

Plus you ignore the added benefit to businesses from accepting cards: higher number of transactions (more customers), and if the "surveys" are to be deemed true, then each transaction is larger on average than it would be otherwise. This would be good for the merchant.

Imagine if the companies dropped all of their fees and saved the businesses 2-3%. Do you think we would see a price drop? No, they would absorb the profit... just like us reward card members are happy to do.

Re: a change I didn’t expect

No Debt Plan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:51:44 -0000

Wow ... not one employee... is stunning.

What's the statistic that runs around out there... like 90% of the economy is small businesses rather than mega corporations? It might even be 98%, I can't remember.

Very interesting.

Re: a change I didn’t expect

No Debt Plan — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 11:53:17 -0000

(Sorry if this double posts, accidentally clicked away).

Wow ... not one employee... is stunning.

What's the statistic that runs around out there... like 90% of the economy is small businesses rather than mega corporations? It might even be 98%, I can't remember.

Very interesting.

Re: there is no cost to good health

No Debt Plan — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:52:02 -0000

Fitness and finance issues are so similar.

You know you should spend less than you earn, but you don't.
You know you should exercise more, but you don't.
You know that you should start saving/investing for the future now, but you don't.
You know you should exercise now to stay healthy so that later in life you are healthy, but you don't.

I am the exact same way. When I finish my MBA program in August I am starting an exercise and proper diet (not dieting) lifestyle change.

Re: the myth of stable employment

No Debt Plan — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 14:13:53 -0000

I fight this battle all the time as a recruiter. We do contracts, contract-to-hire, and direct placement. You hear "but I want full time employment!" all the time. Even after giving them examples of big companies laying off people from "stable" jobs they usually aren't swayed.

Re: WordCamp Birmingham 2009 is on!

No Debt Plan — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 11:21:06 -0000

Woah! Matt is coming? That's huge. Absolutely huge. Good job guys...

Re: How to Run a Contest Using Twitter

No Debt Plan — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 10:22:11 -0000

FYI your link to retweetradar links to "retreatrader.com" instead.

<abbr>No Debt Plan’s last blog post..State Tax Refund Delays</abbr>

Re: Green School Primer [Giveaway]

No Debt Plan — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 10:46:32 -0000

Would be glad to have a read of this book... definitely interested in learning more.