We Set a Wedding Date and $2,336 in Extra Income + MORE

I have been following the questions posed by Chase Bank back in February about average couples.  It is pretty much about love and money.  I answered the questions in my head, but not on here because I found one question that I wanted to dig into deeper.  If you are interested in learning some other personal finance blogger’s answers, then check out Girl Meets Debt, The Frugal Path, The First Million is the Hardest, Money Life and More, Money Beagle, and Reach Financial Independence…

Spring is just around the corner and what does that mean in the world of banking? It means that all personal bankers – like me – are busy processing mortgage applications and approving mortgage loans.  Spring time is the time of the year when people pack up their belongings into boxes and move into their new homes…

My secret shopper packages made it safely!
The concept of mystery shopping has been around for awhile. Mystery shoppers go into stores, posing as real customers, and then write up an evaluation of their experience in exchange for a small payment. I started mystery shopping a few years ago primarily as a way to earn a little extra cash…

Lorillard (LO)  is the third largest US tobacco company and the largest marketer of menthol cigarettes. Lorillard does not cell cigarettes directly to consumers, but rather sells them to distributors who resell them.  Lorillard has around 500 distributors who in turn service around 400,000 accounts…

It’s that time again. Each month, I pull that curtains back and take a look at the state of my finances and see what changes have happened in my net worth. And new this month, I will be displaying a graph of the progress.

I didn’t pay off nearly $19,000 worth of debt last month, but I was all out of houses to sell…

Do you ever have those times where you wonder WHAT on earth you were thinking when you made a certain decision? I hate times like that as it makes me question whether or not I acted too rashly or if I made an absolutely idiotic decision. This was the place I found myself in this past summer as the responsibilities of running our own business came home to roost…

What I think my yard looks like The past weekend I figured it was going to stay warm enough that I needed to get a jump on my gardening and yard work. I decided it was safe to finally venture out … Continue reading →The post Spring is Here! Time to Start Yard Work appeared first on Financial Black Sheep…

Those of you that read my weekly round up posts will know that my wife and I recently reduced our debt down to under $100,000. This has been a long term goal of ours that I am extremely proud to have now achieved. In case you aren’t aware – we got into debt just under 6 years ago when we decided to take out a mortgage of just over $315,000 to build our house…

Contributing to your 401(k) is a great way to save for your retirement. The media often touts that you should save first in your 401(k) up to the match, then maybe a Roth or regular IRA, followed by maxing out your 401(k).
I’d say this is good advice most of the time and that is what the media shoots for…

Image: Freedigitalphotos.net/Krisnan
As promised, I’ll be sharing a bit more about owning and selling a small business. Today, I’ll tell you how I ended up as a business owner. I’ll try to be objective and share the pros and cons, but please be aware this is all based on my experience, and I am no expert…

Photo: agrilifetoday
Each year the IRS releases a list of the “Dirty Dozen” tax scams to watch out for. Unfortunately, scams are common and lead to lost taxpayer money every year.
To best avoid these scams, know what to look out for. Here’s an overview of the top 12 tax scams – and how to combat them…

Happy Monday everyone! The weekend was fun even though I wish the weekend was a lot longer. The weather here was awesome this weekend and spring has definitely started here. I think it’s supposed to be in the high 70s all week which will be nice. Having the windows open and the nice weather just feels great! The picture above was taken after a long walk with our two dogs
We finally set a wedding date too…

Setting up and running a business in Oman may not be top of the list of priorities of many Western investors and entrepreneurs. In fact, let’s begin with a little honesty here. How many of us actually know where Oman is? Thought so. Can’t see too many hands up!
British Royals Charles, The Prince of Wales, and Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall, certainly know a thing or two about Oman after their recent two-day visit there…

There are a number of reasons to take out a personal loan. You can use it for debt consolidation of credit cards which have high interest rate, help finance any sudden unexpected expenses such as medical bills, kitchen repair, home repair, taxes, weddings and so on. Taking out a personal loan to meet expenses can …

Ok, now I’m having a hard time focusing on writing this post, instead of humming the 1983 chart-topping single by Donna Summer. Did you know the woman Donna was singing about in the song was a bathroom attendant who was later featured on the back cover of the album? I didn’t. Thanks SongFacts…

If you’re a long time reader (and thanks if you are), you might remember way back when I wrote a series of articles that I called the Great Debates. These articles looked at some areas of the personal financial arena where there isn’t widespread agreement on the best approach to money management, or at least, those areas where said disagreement is the most fervent and hence, the ‘Great Debates’…

One of the things I firmly believe in as a young professional is the need to always look for ways to improve yourself. Because of that, I have been a frequent reader of blogs and they have helped me out a lot! Here are some great posts I read this week:Link LoveElizabeth at Broke Professionals discussed the value of her History degree…

Debt is a huge part of today’s economy, but it should not play a big role in your personal finances.  The average consumer debt (outside of any mortgages) as of January 2013 was $22,720 per household.  This may seem pretty high or pretty low depending on your current situation, but I think we can all agree that it’s not a good thing…

Managing Your Credit: How To Build It & Avoid Trouble
Club Thrifty – Stop spending. Start living. 
The following is a guest post by our friend John from Fearless Men. If you are interested in guest posting at Club Thrifty, please see our guest posting guidelines.
 
Fiscally responsible, financially conscious – these are phrases that will have a lot more meaning to you when you start building your own credit…

“If I could go back in time I’d invest in Apple before the iPod”
“If only I would have held onto that IBM stock, I’d be able to retire early”
“I shouldn’t have invested everything into all of these companies“
Coulda, shoulda, woulda. Those words don’t really fly when it comes to investments…

I am very excited to share with you the redesign of my blog!
First and foremost, a huge thank you to Jennifer and Jason at New Season Design.  They took care of every step of the site redesign, patiently going back-and-forth with me as needed.  I highly recommend them, and as you can see, their work speaks for itself…