Independent Beginnings

$15 Olay Rebate

admin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:27:23 +0000

There are only three days left to take advantage of the $15 Olay mail-in rebate. For this rebate, you get $15 back when you buy any three Olay facial moisturizers, facial treatments, facial cleansers, hand and body lotions, body washes, or 6+ bar soap packs by March 12, 2010. I used this rebate on Alice.com to get 1 Olay facial cleanser for $3.99, 1 Olay body wash for $3.99, and 1 Olay in-shower body lotion for $3.99. That means I am making money on this rebate! Target, Walgreens, CVS, and other stores also have great deals on these products. Don’t miss out on this great deal!

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The Purpose of Debt

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:00:13 +0000

Image: quazie

It seems that nowadays everybody carries some amount of debt. Some people go into debt to start a business, some go into debt to obtain an education, and some go into debt to make large purchases. With opportunities for financing and loans everywhere to be found, it is no surprise that young people can find themselves drowning in debt without ever even seeing it coming. Misuse of debt leads to some of the worst financial disasters: foreclosures, bankruptcies, and even divorces. With all of the dangers of debt, why do people still use it? What is its purpose?

Before discussing the purpose of debt, it is important to emphasize what debt is not. Debt is not a shortcut to buying luxuries you cannot afford. Recently, I have seen many people using debt for this purpose. These people almost always end up regretting it later. Sure, that new motorcycle, nice car, or big screen TV might seem nice now. However, the interest you will end up paying on it will seem awfully ugly when it comes time to pay it. Too many people see debt as a way of obtaining luxuries now. They rationalize the use of this debt by saying that they will have the money later. However, this is often untrue. With the uncertainty in the job market and unexpected emergencies lurking around every corner, there is no guarantee you will have any money later. Not to mention that a large part of that income will be eaten up by nothing more than the interest you will be spending on that purchase. Many people find that a few months after the purchase was made, they owe more money on the purchase than the current worth of the item. Good financial sense? I think not.

So, if debt is not about buying luxuries you cannot afford, what is the purpose of debt? Debt is a tool used to start a profitable investment. Have you ever heard the phrase “It takes money to make money”? Sometimes, this is absolutely true. Unfortunately, some opportunities in life simply do not come free. For example, a prospective engineer simply is not going to make it into the field without a college education. A college education costs a lot of money. Many people do not have the money to pay up front for an education. Since a college degree will help the prospective engineer make more money in the future, going into debt to obtain the degree may be a viable option. Likewise, someone starting a business may need to take out loans to build a profitable company or a family may need to take out a mortgage to buy a home that will grow in value over its lifetime. Each of these scenarios represents an investment–something that will make the owners money in the long run.

But, what about emergencies? Surely emergencies can present appropriate times to use debt. To that response, I would argue that debt is not necessary if you are prepared and have a healthy emergency fund. It is essential to plan for the unexpected by putting away a portion of your income into an emergency fund. That way, when your car breaks down you can get it fixed or replace it with a cheap used one. That way, you can pay for that emergency dental procedure. That way, you can make it through a few months of unemployment. For those people who are very young and have not had time to establish a healthy emergency fund, debt may be the only viable option in the case of an emergency. However, I must emphasize that this is a use of debt by necessity. This is not the true purpose of debt.

So, next time you are considering going into debt, ask yourself, “Will this purchase cause me to make or lose money in the long run?” If the answer is “make”, then debt may be a viable option, although certainly not always a necessary one. If the answer is “lose”, then the argument is over: do not go into debt. Debt can be a useful tool if used appropriately, but it can also be a dangerous weapon if used inappropriately. Decide carefully.

What is your philosophy on debt? Do you agree or disagree with the comments above? I would love to hear from you!Similar Posts:

Frugal Friday: Best Deals of the Week 2-28 through 3-6

admin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 17:25:59 +0000

Image: Daniel Y. Go

Welcome to this week’s edition of Frugal Friday! Here, you will find this week’s best deals form around the blogosphere! This week features a wide variety of different kinds of deals. Hopefully you will find something that appeals to you!

Free Redbox Movie Rentals. Use any of the following current Redbox codes to get one free DVD rental! The codes are DVDATWAG (only good at Walgreens), BREAKROOM (good anywhere), and DVDONME (good anywhere). You can use one code per credit/debit card. Don’t miss out on this free opportunity!

Free Travel Size Item With Any Purchase at Bath and Body Works! You can use this coupon up until March 24th to receive a free 3 oz. signature collection travel size item with any purchase at Bath and Body Works! There is no minimum purchase amount so use this with any purchase you make in the store!

Get a $10 Credit the First Time You Refill Your Prescription Online at Walgreens.com. That’s right, a $10 credit you can use on your next purchase! There are some limitations, so make sure you check out the details at Walgreens.com

Buy One Get One Free Starbust and Skittles Coupons. Get two B1G1 Starbust coupons and two B1G1 Skittles coupons just for becoming friends of Starburst and Skittles on Facebook! Hurry up before this offer ends!

The Home Made Simple Coupon Booklet Is Available Again. The Home Made Simple Coupon Booklet is available again featuring $30 worth of coupons from P&G. Request yours here.

Picaboo Leather Photo Book ($39.99 value) for Just $8.99 Shipped! Right now, new users to Picaboo.com can get a FREE Large Classic Photo Book. You just pay $8.99 for shipping and handling. The book can have up to 20 pages in it. Don’t miss out on this great deal!

Other deal reminders:

Make sure to check Ebates for great cash-back offers every time you shop online. Up to 25% cash back!!!
Don’t forget to print out your free coupons at Coupons.com. Many new ones are available!
Make sure to load your Upromise Ecoupons onto your cards. Activate all of them in case you accidentally buy something on the list!
Make sure you use Swagbucks for all of your web searches. I am up to over $200 in Amazon gift cards!
Sign up for YouData to easily make money viewing ads. I get paid each Friday from this site!

Did I miss any great deals? Make sure you let us know!Similar Posts:

New and Improved Free Monthly Budget Spreadsheet!

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:01:48 +0000

I am excited to announce that my free monthly budget spreadsheet has undergone its first major revision and is now EVEN BETTER than before! This is the spreadsheet I personally use for my monthly budget and I created it to meet my budgeting needs. The first version of this spreadsheet was released about a year ago and has been a popular feature of this blog. This version has been redesigned to make it even more useful. Just as before, this version is available for you to download and use absolutely free!

The new version is similar to the original version in many ways. It still has a section for income, a section for expenses, and a calendar section. The calendar section still has a cell for every day of the month where you put in how much money you made/spent in that category for that day. The new features do not change the basic concept of the spreadsheet, but they do add more functionality to it. First of all, the colors have been updated to make the distinction between income and expenses more clear. Second of all, the categories have been updated to include the most common budget categories. This means less revising for you! Thirdly, there is now a separate sheet for each month of the year and the calendar for each month includes the correct number of days for that month. Finally, there is a new “Current Standing” section where you can keep track your total amount of liquid assets each month.

I firmly believe that this revision is full of improvements for you. Make sure you check it out and let me know what you think! Are there any other revisions you would like to see made? You can download the spreadsheet by clicking on the link below. There is also a download link on the “Budgeting” page of this blog. Enjoy!

Download the New Monthly Budget Template

Excel Monthly Budget Spreadsheet by Olivia is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.Similar Posts:

Last Chance to Print February Coupons

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 00:51:05 +0000

It is the end of February and that means that today is your last chance to print February coupons on Coupons.com. Come tomorrow, your favorite ones could be gone! There are 123 coupons to choose from, including $1 off a box of Uncrustables, $0.75 off a package of Gold’n Plump Chicken, and $1 off a Freschetta pizza! Check the site today and print off any you think you might use–they are all free!

Disclosure: Independent Beginnings does receive a small monetary payment for each coupon printed. Independent Beginnings only affiliates with reputable companies and fully believes in the value of each product advertised on this blog.Similar Posts:

Guest Post Guidelines

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:19:24 +0000

Happy Friday! Today, Independent Beginnings has added a new page to the blog– “Guest Posts”. Independent Beginnings welcomes and encourages the submission of guest posts. When submitting a guest post, however, there are a few guidelines that must be followed:

1. The article must be original and not previously posted on another blog or website. 90 days after being posted on Independent Beginnings the post may be republished elsewhere.

2. The article must be written on a topic that would be beneficial to the readers of Independent Beginnings. Generally, this means that it must fall within the realm of personal finance, frugality, or independent living. Check the categories for more detailed subtopics.

3. I will not accept product reviews or any sort of commercial advertisements as guest posts. This includes advertisements of the author’s blog. No affiliate links should be included in the post.

4. The author may choose to include a one or two sentence by-line with a maximum of two links to the author’s blogs/websites. Again, no affiliate links will be allowed here.

5. Guest posts should be proofread and free of grammatical errors before being submitted. They should also be appropriate for a family audience. The author agrees to allow Independent Beginnings to edit the article in any way deemed necessary.

6. Guest posts should be around 500 words, although there is room for flexibility here. The length should be appropriate for the article’s topic.

7. Independent Beginnings has the right to accept or refuse any guest post for any reason.

If you have any questions about the guest posting policy, please feel free to comment here are contact me using the contact form.Similar Posts:

Happy Birthday Swagbucks!

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:51:48 +0000

Image: jessica.diamond

Today is February 25th, and that means it is time to celebrate the birthday of my favorite search engine on the web–Swagbucks! In its first two years of existence, Swagbucks has continued to impress me. For those of you who do not know, Swagbucks is a search engine that randomly awards you points called Swag Bucks when you search. Those points can be redeemed for prizes such as Amazon gift cards. Since I have joined about a year ago, I have earned over $200 in Amazon gift cards. No wonder I love it so much! You can also get points by finding Swag Codes hidden throughout the internet, referring new members, and completing special offers (I have never tried this last option). Basically, you are getting rewarded for doing something you already do!

Today’s birthday celebration has been long awaited. Swagbucks promised us some new features, and they have delivered! Swagbucks has been completely redesigned giving it a more modern and fun look. A big change this year is that they have increased each Swag Buck to be worth 10 Swag Bucks. This means that the 50 Swag Bucks I had in my account yesterday are now 500 Swag Bucks. Unfortunately, the cost of the prizes also went up to reflect this change. This change seems a little pointless at first, but Swagbucks has promised to release new ways to make Swag Bucks that will make the change necessary. Overall, I am sure it will be a good change.

As a big part of this celebration, Swag Codes are going to be released all day starting at 10 a.m. PST. If you click on “Swag Codes” in my Swagbucks widget on my right sidebar, it will tell you if a Swag Code is currently available and where you can find it. I would not be missing out on this great chance to earn a ton of Swagbucks if I were you!!!

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Why the Health Care Overhaul Is a Bad Idea

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:15:16 +0000

Image: gumuz

This week, President Obama announced his own version of the massive health care overhaul that has been in the workings for the past year. His version, which is really just the Senate bill with a few small variations, would cost $950 BILLION over the next ten years. It would require all Americans to purchase health insurance, ban “excessive” insurance premium hikes, and delay the proposed tax hike on high-value insurance plans until 2018. To pay for the bill, there would be cuts to the Medicare Advantage program and fees would be charged to companies and individuals that do not comply with the bill. Sounds great, right? WRONG. This proposal has people up in arms–and for good reason. This article will explain why many Americans, myself included, believe that this proposal is the wrong solution to the wrong problem at the wrong time.

1. This is not health care reform; it is health insurance reform. It is really frustrating to me to keep hearing this proposal referred to as health care reform. In reality, this bill would do nothing to reform health care. Instead, it targets health insurance. While this may just seem like semantics, health insurance is not the root cause of our health care problems. Any successful attempt to reform health care needs to start at the root of the problem–not the symptoms of it. Inefficient practices and overspending at the hospital and physician’s office level need to be corrected. Something needs to be done about the huge amount of money being spent to protect against malpractice suits. A stronger focus needs to be placed on preventative medicine: it is much cheaper to prevent a medical condition from occurring than it is to treat a fully developed medical condition. Does this mean that the health insurance industry is perfect? No. What it does mean is that if we are going to spend a fortune on a massive health care overhaul, it needs to actually focus on the problems that need fixed the most.

2. We are in a recession; this is not the time to be spending massive amounts of money. If you are reading this blog, you probably have a good awareness of basic financial principles. One of the most important financial principles in existence is to not spend more than you earn. Our country has a massive debt and this bill will only add to it. I do not buy the claims that this bill will not affect the deficit. I can only see it raising the deficit and costing taxpayers more money in the long run. During this difficult financial time, we need to be responsible with our money. We need to be focused on lowering our debts and finding ways to keep our budget balanced. Just like a person shouldn’t be out buying expensive luxuries when he or she is unemployed, our country should not be spending about a trillion dollars during a recession. Instead, we should be focused on cutting costs, paying off our debts, and creating jobs.

3. We do not want the federal government controlling our lives. American citizens are already responsible for following many laws and paying many taxes. This bill would only increase the government’s control over our lives. Why should everyone be required to purchase health insurance? I am a huge believer in the importance of health insurance, but that does not mean I want to force everyone to feel the same way as me. What about the multi-millionaire who has enough money to insure himself? What about those who only want a minimum amount of insurance for catastrophic events? This bill may not eliminate high-deductible insurance plans and health savings accounts, but it will bring us one step closer to doing so. I want the freedom to choose what I do with my own money. The more the federal government controls, the less freedom we have.

4. Wealthy people are already paying a majority of the taxes in this country, why should we ask them for more? Let me start by saying that I am not opposed to wealthy people paying more taxes than low-income people. However, I feel that they are already paying much, much more in taxes than low-income people and the amount we are asking from them is becoming ridiculous. I firmly believe that people should be allowed to work hard and obtain financial success from that hard work. I do not believe in punishing someone for becoming successful. While I believe that wealthy people have a responsibility to help those less fortunate than themselves, I believe it should be left to the individual to decide in what way they wish to help. They should not be forced to give away all their money without any say in where that money goes.

5. The majority of American people do not support this bill. Despite my opposition to this proposal, if the majority of Americans supported it, I would not be nearly as angry about it as I am. However, poll after poll and the special election in Massachusetts have repeatedly proven America’s overwhelming opposition to this proposal. It shocks and frightens me that our government, a government designed to represent the will of the people, seems to be completely ignoring the people it represents. I feel as though our government is going out of control and has been for a while. This is NOT the way our government is supposed to work. In order for this bill to be passed, a tricky process called reconciliation would have to be used. This would require the House accepting the Senate bill as it is and then both chambers of Congress passing the changes suggested by Obama. To pass these changes, only a simple majority would be needed instead of the sixty votes normally needed in the Senate. I believe using this process in this way is a complete abusive of the legislative process. It is a sneaky way to try to pass a bill that does not have the support to be passed in the normal way. Tricky tactics like this only further my distrust in our government.

I firmly believe that if this bill passes, Congress is going to have a rude awakening come this year’s elections. If a highly democratic state like Massachusetts can vote in a Republican, then many other states can too. This election will be the only way for Americans to make their voices heard. Also, if Obama keeps ignoring the will of the people the way he has been, then he will be shocked to find himself serving only one term in office.

Do I believe we need health care reform? Yes. Do I believe that this is the way we should do it? No. What do you think? What side do you stand on? I would love to hear your thoughts!Similar Posts:

Tax Credits for Education: Why It Pays to Go to School

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:00:30 +0000

Image: BdwayDiva1

College is often a time strewn with financial difficulty. With tuition, fees, books, supplies, rent, food, and all of the other expenses involved with college, it is usually hard to make ends meet with just a part time job. However, being a college student can, sometimes, have its own financial perks. One of those perks presents itself every year during tax season: education credits. 2009 brought with it some temporary changes to the education credits that will prove to be beneficial to many students. This post will take a look at the 2009 credits and will help you decide which one is right for you.

The American Opportunity Credit.

This temporary education credit is the talk of the year! A variation of the Hope credit, this credit is available for the first four years of post-secondary education and has a maximum value of $2500 (100% of first $2000 of expenses and 25% of next $2000 of expenses). The best part about this credit is that 40% of the credit is refundable! This means that this credit can increase your refund even if you have no tax liability! This credit is also amazing because it allows you to claim tuition, required fees, and required supplies (including textbooks). This can lead to a substantial amount of money back! There are some restrictions on who can claim the credit. First of all, if you are a dependent, then only the person claiming you as a dependent can claim the credit. Second of all, if you make more than $90,000 for a single filer or $180,000 for married filing jointly filers then you are ineligible. Finally, you must be seeking an undergraduate degree or another recognized education credential and be enrolled at least half time for at least one academic period beginning in 2009. For more details about the credit and whether or not you are eligible, check out these IRS tax forms.

The Hope Credit.

While the Hope credit has been replaced by the American Opportunity Credit for most taxpayers, an expanded Hope credit is still being offered to students from Midwestern disaster areas. If you meet the Midwestern disaster area requirements, then you may be eligible for this $3600 nonrefundable credit. This credit is only available for the first two years of post-secondary education and the credit starts to be phased out if your adjusted gross income is at least $50,000 ($100,000 for joint filers). This credit cannot be claimed if you are claiming the American Opportunity credit for any other student in the family. To be eligible for this credit, you must be seeking an undergraduate degree or another recognized education credential and be enrolled for at least half time for at least one academic period that began in 2009. Finally, if you are a dependent, only the person claiming you as a dependent can claim this credit. For more information about the Hope credit, check out these IRS tax forms.

The Lifetime Learning Credit.

For those of you who do not qualify for the American Opportunity credit or the Hope credit, it is likely that you do qualify for the Lifetime Learning Credit. This $2000 nonrefundable credit is available for all years of post-secondary education and an unlimited number of tax years. The student does not need to be degree-seeking or enrolled half time to be eligible. Like the other credits, if you are a dependent then only the person claiming you as a dependent can claim this credit. You also are ineligible for the credit if your adjusted gross income is $60,000 or more ($120,000 for joint filers). For more information about the Lifetime Learning Credit and whether or not you are eligible, check out these IRS tax forms.

Don’t miss out on your chance to claim one of these three great credits! Both my husband and I were able to claim the American Opportunity credit this year and it sure was worth it! Feel free to post any questions or comments below!Similar Posts:

Taxes Are Done. . .And a Surprise!

admin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:08:59 +0000

Well foks, it’s that time of year again–tax season!!! Now, you may be wondering why I am so excited about something that can be such a pain for so many people. The first reason is that I actually really enjoy doing my taxes and learning more about personal finances. I feel such a great sense of accomplishment knowing that I was able to prepare them on my own (with the help of tax software). The second reason is that I am done and we will be getting a very nice refund this year! I guess it pays to be married and still in school. This tax refund could not come at a better time for us. I am student teaching this semester and, because of this, I am unable to work. While my husband still has a nice part time job, the money was starting to get a little tight for us. This will give us a nice amount of wiggle room to make it until the summer.

Another reason this tax refund comes at a good time for us has to do with a new development taking place in our lives. For those of you who do not know, WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!! We are due July 25th and we couldn’t be more excited. We will find out if it is a girl or a boy in two more weeks. This tax refund will help us to be able to get everything ready for this little one’s arrival.

So, for those of you still waiting to start your taxes, I would encourage you to get started. You may just end up with a nice refund. Stay tuned to Independent Beginnings this week to learn about some new tax credits that may end up saving you a ton!

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