Finance Archives - Page 3 of 3

11Sep 2014 by The Roamer 3 Comments

Why I don’t endorse student loan forgiveness

Are you telling me you want to exempt and forgive people from paying student loans that they consciously got into of their very own volition. Have you ever heard the phrase necessity is the mother of invention. In plain English that means if you need it you will figure out a solution. As a person who just recently conquered student debt I have to ask myself, Why is this topic even on the table? The truth is the real problem is that so much money is being borrowed so let address the real issue not the symptom. People being way in debt is not the cause of the problem it's the result. The real problem is that students go into college not really understanding how money works and what it…

26Aug 2014 by The Roamer 2 Comments

Entering the World of Investing

Finance

I finally did it! I opened my own Vanguard Account! I took the plunge, and opened my first independent investment account.Don't ask me why, but I felt a rush and anticipation as I worked towards owning my vanguard fund.I felt like I am finally jumping into the pool of investing. It's kind of amusing and silly as I have a 401k which I just currently set up to max out. That is of course also investing. I know why it feels different, because really it isn't my choice when it comes to the 401K. The company pick who will run our investments, then the investment firm decides what funds they will offer. You (I) just pick how much. Currently the that portfolio is running off of a target retirement date. Even…

20Aug 2014 by The Roamer No Comments

Why Didn’t I think of that?

401K, Finance

Today I had an Ah-HA moment. Honestly, it was a face palm moment and I really did think. Why in the world did I not think of that. Lately I have been learning a lot about finances. I've been getting nice and friendly with the idea of investing, and dipping my toes into optimization. So understanding the purpose and usage of a 401K has been one of them. So we finally committed to maxing out our 401K's every year. To do that we did the math and figured out what percentage of our paychecks we had to contribute to get there. The Problem When we started doing this calculation we were assuming a year of contributions. Which means how do we need to spread this out in a 12 month…

04Aug 2014 by The Roamer 6 Comments

Save Money: by not guessing what’s for dinner

Finance

Do you get home from a long day at work and walk around wondering what is for dinner . Just to throw your hands in the air with exasperation say " F it "and jump back in the car looking for your favorite eats. Well you might not know but you are suffering from a sickness that result in a chubs belly and endless amount of money being flushed down the drain. I know it sounds terrible. Would you like to get the cure! It's actually easy ( no pills involved) all you have to do is grab a pen and paper ,then start making some lists. That's right a few list will get you back to sexy waist and pockets of money* (Cut infomercial) Ahh, it's the beginning of the month…

01Aug 2014 by The Roamer 2 Comments

A love for Reading: Introducing the reading list

Finance, Reading

When I was young I loved the library, we went often. We would kill hrs there weekly. I got to know the layout really well. I knew where all the math books were and the music books. I knew the kids section, teen. I knew exactly where to find Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen king and Mary Higgins Clark. I searched for time travel books and read entire series ( Animorphs and A Wrinkle in Time). It was amazing, I loved it. Somewhere along the way I was given a sheet to track all the books I was reading. I liked that too, it was great to go back to it. I still have it. A year or 2 ago it made me sad to think I hadn't read in so…

31Jul 2014 by The Roamer 2 Comments

RIE, a parenting philosophy that makes sense for baby and wallet

Finance, Parenthood

A review of why the RIE philosophy mixes well with people who go against the grain. A practice where money and babies don't collide. On this blog I have set 3 main goals for myself, not just of things I want to talk about but of things I want to learn more about and get better at. The journey includes retirement, travel, and parenthood, the common denominator is using money as the tool that ties it all together. So why would someone who is budget conscious like Janet Lansbury's blog , well simply put the child rearing philosophy she speaks about does not encourage immersing your baby or any child into a sea of toys and one trick ponies. Parents are encouraged to let children develop on their own. That means…

11Jul 2014 by The Roamer 10 Comments

Choosing between the Baby and the Budget

Finance, Parenthood

When numbers like $10,000 on baby's first year get thrown around regularly, and anecdotes like it cost half a million dollars to raise kids these days. Well it isn't a surprise that most parent or would be parent feel the walls closing in even as they choose the decor for baby's room. $10,000 is what baby center says it will cost ya for baby's first year. Well I'll have to disagree as many comment-er on that page did because we just welcomed baby number 2 last year and as far as I can tell those numbers are wacko! We just celebrated the first birthday of our youngest (a little girl) and it was a nice relaxing event. Our one year celebration was just us and it was nice to not…

22May 2014 by The Roamer 5 Comments

University Debt Freedom

Debt Destruction, Finance

Hello Sunshine, Hello breath of fresh air, Hello Freedom! Today was the day, I recently sent in the last payment on my last student loan and today I received the marvelous confirmation that proves it all. When I started this student loan repayment journey it was 2011 and I was over $46,000.00 in the hole. The school loan companies(government included) in all their infinite wisdom gave me 10 years to pay it all off. How thoughtful and generous of them?? Let me see I thought I am 23 soon to be 24+10=34. I would be 34 years old when I would finish paying off my loans! 34! really? No thank you. Plus what about all the interest? Lets see if I did my math right it would come out to…

11May 2014 by The Roamer 1 Comment

Challenge: Save for your Emergency Fund

Finance

What do you do if you have an Emergency? DUDE, My car just diedHoney, I need a root canalThe pipes burst, and water is dripping form the ceilingI just got laid offLets face it an emergency can happen to anyone. Unexpected expenses can be a financial disaster waiting to happen. Usually when an emergency happens you are stressed out enough with out having to add the financial stress of "How am I going to pay for this?" So why put yourself in that situation? As you have learned finances are in your control you have the power to cut out the fluff to make room for what really matters. Do you want to have to deal with financial stress when your already stressing about some other emergency? NO! Great! So…

01May 2014 by The Roamer No Comments

Life is a strict teacher

Finance

I'll be honest I also started this blog because sometimes I felt like it was hard to relate to the pack leader Mr.Money Mustache himself. This guys is the alpha dog in early retirement ( plainly seen by all his followers) ....but as I was saying sometimes its hard to relate to this guy. He's already retired, he only has 1 kid and he didn't have to try to juggle raising that kid with work. He doesn't have to juggle living now with living later. He's already retired and free to do as he pleases. It's an inspiration but sometimes hard to relate. So I said, HEY.. I have to juggle work and kids, I have to budget for a 5 person household, I still have debt. I still work…

15Apr 2014 by The Roamer No Comments

First Understand, Then Escape Plan

Finance

I. So, since the last post, there was lots of time to accept the challenge and calculate your financial health by figuring out your net worth. Lots of articles these days claim Americans are in a sorry state financially so maybe(and very likely) the numbers you saw didn't leave you feeling warm and fuzzy. Nope they most likely made you feel upset and maybe even angry. The uncomfortable truth for many is plain and easy to see. Maybe the idea of ignorance is bliss jumps to your head, but before you go dig your head in the sand realize the awesome power of knowledge. I know a little ditty that goes " If you can't see , you don't know, and if you don't know you can't control" The great…

05Apr 2014 by The Roamer No Comments

First things First

Finance

Now The best place to start is at the beginning. Before we can dream about staying home with our kids and supporting them as they develop into amazing human beings. Or dreaming about telling our bosses they can shove it because we have a steady stream of passive income. Or even before we plan that 3 day weekend to Las Vegas we really need to understand where is our money going. REALLY UNDERSTAND. How long have you been working? What do you have to show for all that time? What are you worth? You know financially. Have you thought of it before? If not its a good time to start. I personally have been reading financial blogs and articles for a while now. I devour the information hungrily and even…

05Apr 2014 by The Roamer 2 Comments

Break the Mold (Family, World and Riches)

Debt Destruction, Finance, Parenthood, Travel

Thanks for visiting me at traveling wallet. This Blog is about money and its relationship(role) to Parenthood, Travel and Early Retirement. (See tag line ;) ) I'm here to talk about my journey in working to optimize these 3 areas. Currently we (spouse and I ) are working parents. My current goals in life are to spend more time with my family( i.e. kids) and still save enough money to Travel and reach Early Retirement. But the first thing is to get rid of all my/our debt. The GOALS - Destroy Debt! - Actually raise our children -Travel (1-2 trips a year any combination of in state, out of state, and international) -Early Retirement (as in 50 or younger shooting for 45) So lets talk about why savvy spending and savvy saving…

Category: Finance