Our kids are growing up quick, and in the past month they’ve both hit new numbers for their birthday.  Little Boy Beagle just turned 4 last month and Little Girl Beagle turned 2 on Saturday!

Birthdays are always great, and this was the first year that both of them got excited about their birthdays, Little Boy more so than Little Girl.

However, we recently celebrated their birthdays, and were able to do so in a fun, easy way that really saved us some money.  Here are six ways we saved!

1. Combined their parties – Being that their birthdays are only 20 days apart, we were able to throw a combined celebration that took place between their actual birthdays.  This may not fly down the road, but we pulled it off and made them both happy by having a combined theme party that they both loved.  This years theme was “Mickey and Minnie Party”
2. Limited the guest list – For each of the kids first birthday parties, we invited pretty much everybody in our family, including aunts & uncles, cousins, as well as a lot of our close friends.  While we love our family, we kept the invite list to immediate family, and only invited a couple of families with some of the kids really close friends.
3. Kept the menu simple – This year, we kept the menu to hot dogs, corn, and macaroni and cheese, and watermelon slices for the main items.  Who doesn’t love those items, and they’re all easy to make?  In the past, items like regular salad, fruit salad, or other dishes were popular, but took a lot longer to make.  This menu allowed us to put together a really cool fixings bar for the hot dogs, and keep the rest of it simple, so that we could spend more time with our guests rather than preparing food.
4. Re-used decorations and supplies – We were able to re-purpose some of the decorations from earlier parties, and also had some generic party supplies from parties past that kept our costs down.  Does anybody really remember that we used blue plates for cake last year? Didn’t think so.
5. Make one thing memorable – My wife came up with a great idea for something that was a standout item, but took pretty minimal effort.  She made ‘party labels’ for water bottles.  We simply peeled off the old label and used packaging tape to put on new labels customized to our party and our kids.  My wife designed them on the computer weeks before the party, and we put them on in an hour a few days before the party.  Time spent during the party: None!
6. Kept the drink menu simple – Some beer, a few bottles of sangria (thanks, Costco), the aforementioned water bottles, iced tea, and some coffee kept people satisfied and gave something for everyone without having to buy 10 different bottles of soda (which all come away half empty) or worry about large containers for dispensing various items.

It was a great party and  we got to enjoy it while still feeling like we put on a nice menu and a great theme.   Best of all, the kids loved it!

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The owner of the company who installed our new roof (more on that in another post) was a great guy and he was very easy to talk to.  As such, after the job was completed, he came to our house to collect the final payment, and Mrs. Beagle, Bob (the roofer) and I talked about a few different things outside of the questions we had about the roof.

I can’t remember the specific context, but he mentioned that he lives a pretty quiet life in that he doesn’t smoke or drink.  He then paused, and said that this wasn’t always the case, that he is in fact a recovering alcoholic.  I asked how long he was in recovery and he said that it’s been 19 years.  I was very impressed and let him know as such, and he then told us something that made me really stop and think.

He told us about his ‘George Bailey’ moment.  I’m sure most know, but just in case, George Bailey is the main character of the Christmas themed movie It’s A Wonderful Life.  In the movie, things go wrong and he says out loud that he wishes he had never been born, and then gets to see his wish come true.  A guardian angel takes him to a world in which he’d never been born, and he gets to see how things changed for many of the people (his wife, friends, family) whose life wouldn’t have been touched had he not been born.

Bob’s story obviously wasn’t centered about what would have happened had he not been born, but instead about how things likely would have turned out had he not stopped drinking. He told that during his ‘really, really wild days’ (his words), he had a best friend who was there with him at every turn.  They drank together, partied together, got out of had together, got in a lot of trouble together, and lost control of themselves together.

At a certain point, Bob realized that he couldn’t do that.  He knew he was out of control so he quit drinking.

His friend didn’t.

As is often the case when substance abuse is the driver of a relationship, they drifted apart as Bob went down a path of sobriety and his friend didn’t.  I didn’t get into the details of the story (it was only a few minute conversation), but I got the sense that Bob really cared about his friend, and I would bet that he probably tried to pull his friend out of the path of destruction that Bob had avoided, but his friend didn’t.

Nineteen years later, and Bob knows that his friend is homeless.  He sweeps a parking lot at a bar/restaurant for a few hours a day and gets paid $10 for doing so.  He lives in a field behind a local KMart.  Bob said he saw him walking down the road a couple of years ago. He stopped and his former best friend barely recognized him.  He could not speak complete sentences.  He refused any help Bob tried to give him.

I heard this story and I said, “Wow, that must have been heartbreaking.”  You could tell by the look on his face before Bob even answered that it was.  But Bob pointed out that it also gave him an opportunity to see what his life would have become had he not made the decision to take control of his alcoholism.  Now, he’s got a family, a successful business, he’s a happy, upbeat, outgoing guy and I have to believe that as hard as it is to have seen his former buddy in the shape he was in, seeing that continues to reinforce his recovery, and gives him the strength to continue his recovery.

How many times have you had a George Bailey moment?  Maybe where you saw an ex and realized that breaking up was painful at the time but one of the best things that ever happened?  Or looked at something you didn’t buy and realized that as much as you wanted it at the time, it was better that you didn’t buy it?  Or have you had it work the other way around?

Readers, what’s your George Bailey moment?

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It kind of seems like it would go the other way around, wouldn’t it?  Simple logic says that if you have something you need done, and you ask a group of people to do it, that you’re increasing the chances that someone has the knowledge, the ability, and the time.

While all that may be true, what it doesn’t address is that by asking multiple people to complete a task, you’re taking away accountability, and that is the key component that trumps any of the other variables I mentioned.

Simply put, if you assign a task to one person, you’re putting the accountability on that person.  If you assign it to a group, you’re putting the accountability on….nobody.

I’m guilty

I’ll admit, I’m guilty of engaging in this behavior when the tables are turned.  Just yesterday, someone sent an e-mail to me and four other people who were involved in a project asking a question and requesting action.  If it had been sent just to me, I probably would have given it immediate attention and taken care of it, or at least responded back saying that I would get to it, and give them a timetable of when they could expect a response.

As it was, I was in the middle of something else, so I simply reasoned that I would check back on this when I was done, hoping that somebody else would step in.

For this particular circumstance, someone did actually answer the question by the time I got back to it.  I was off the hook!

Now, in my defense, I was legitimately busy, but I know darn well that other people will employ this duck-and-dodge strategy anytime the opportunity presents itself, regardless if they actually are busy or not!  You know the type, I’m sure.  (And, if you don’t, then you’re probably very much guilty of it yourself…just saying!)

So, I’ve found that if I want something done, the best approach is to involve one person.  Even if that person doesn’t have the knowledge, the ability, or the time, they should be able to direct you to someone that does, in which case you can transfer the task…and the accountability.  The point being, that you’re holding one person accountable for the task at all times.  Depending on your environment, you might always be delegating to a manager, and even if he or she isn’t doing the actual work, if you handle it right, they will always make sure the work gets assigned and done as long as it’s clear that they are accountable for the work.

When it comes to assigning tasks, often less is more.

Readers, do you share my thought that assigning tasks with a narrow focus will yield better results?  What are your real world experiences? 

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Not so fast!

At least if you’re shopping at Dick’s Sporting Goods.

We’ve had a couple instances of very good luck using coupons that, according to the rules on various coupons, shouldn’t have worked.

Two Bikes

Last year, my wife was in the market for a new bike.  I think this was prompted by the fact that my sister-in-law had just got a new bike, and while usable, the aqua green 10-speed from the 1990′s just wasn’t alluring.  We do quite a bit of bike riding during camping trips, so she used birthday money to get her bike.

My sister-in-law actually came up with the suggestion to try to use our Entertainment Book coupon, where Dick’s has a few entries.  I looked at the coupon and it had some brand exclusions, one of which was the bike my wife wanted.  I asked my sister-in-law and she said that they took hers without a problem, even though she bought a bike from the same manufacturer.

Sure enough, when I went to the store to pick up the bike, they took it without so much as a second glance.

We saved $15!

Two Canopies

Last year when we had my daughter’s first birthday party, we borrowed a couple of 10×10 canopies from my aunt and uncle.  They worked great.  So much that we thought it would be a good investment to buy a couple for ourselves.  We knew we’d have parties and gatherings at various points, plus we also figured it’d be good to take one on camping trips, as it could be good to add covered space in addition to the awning on the camper.

They typically retail for $100, but we saw one for $80 and were thinking about getting at least one.

Then, my wife hit the jackpot.  There was a coupon in the Sunday insert that allowed you to buy one for $50.  That’s half off!  We asked my parents for their coupon, and went in with the age old strategy of deciding to buy one each, since the coupon clearly stated ‘One per customer’.

Then, I remembered what store I was working with.  I looked in this year’s Entertainment Book and saw that they had two coupons that we might be able to work with.  One was $10 off $50 and the other was $20 off $100.

I looked at the coupon and it also said ‘Cannot be combined with other offers’ but what harm did it hurt to try, right?

We took all the coupons with us, and walked up to the register.  Our first option was to use the $20 off $100 coupon, so I asked if we could put both on the same order and use two coupons.

“Let me check,” the cashier said.  She scanned both items in, scanned one of the coupons…and both of the items immediately went to $50.  So, they don’t even program their computers to match the written policy.

We then asked if we could use the coupon from the Entertainment book.  She looked at it, scanned it, entered the value, and we got an extra $20 off.

All told, with tax, we paid slightly over $84 for two canopies.

Earlier in the week, we had been prepared to go get one for a sale price of $80.

So, even with what we were prepared to pay, we got two for the price of one!

Just goes to show that the fine print which is written on coupon policies might not always be enforced, so next time you think about tossing that coupon, think about giving it a shot.  You might be surprised.

Readers, have you ever had luck using coupons that you didn’t think you would be able to?  What deals did you score?

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But, there are times when your boss might love you, for all the wrong reasons.  What does that mean?

Well, it’s simple.  You might be a sucker!

If your employer ‘loves you’ for any of the following reasons, then maybe it’s time to change your strategy a little bit

1. You don’t take all of your time off – If you don’t take all of your time off that’s given to you in the course of a year, you’re essentially working for your employer for free for the time you leave on the table.  They calculate your salary as part of a total benefits package which includes time off.  Unless your employer pays you dollar for dollar for time that you don’t use, you’re essentially giving them back part of your compensation package.  Good for them.  Not so good for you.
2. You work during your time off – Some people might take time off but how many people do you know still check their e-mail or call into meetings?  Even if you’re on a cruise ship, the fact that you’re still doing work makes it beneficial for your employer and not you.
3. You don’t contribute to your 401(k) match level – I’ll admit, this one doesn’t apply to me, because we had our match cancelled and have yet to have it re-instated, but if your company offers a match, and you’re not contributing to the level, you’re leaving money right on the table.  Again, that’s all calculated as part of your total compensation, so take what is coming to you.
4. You always say yes – If your boss is always giving you the extra tasks that pop up, you might be getting taken advantage of.  If you’re not overly busy, then by all means, say yes when asked to do something.  But, if you’re totally swamped, it’s OK to say no some times.  I say that with some stipulations.  First, make sure that you are legitimately busy with tasks that your boss is aware of.  Second, don’t say ‘no’ and just leave it.  Bosses don’t like that.  Instead, lay out (very high level) the tasks that you’re working on.  Third, present options.  Again, bosses don’t like when you simply say that you can’t do something.  If you lay it out like “I’m really tied up with this project for the rest of the week and the customer is expecting me, but how about I look at this on Monday?” you’ll end up in a situation where your boss will be given options to choose from, and if they’re any good at their job, they’ll appreciate your commitment to your current tasks.
5. You never offer suggestions or input – Companies and bosses don’t like loudmouths, so if you’re constantly piping up about problems you have or things you would do different if you were in charge, then chances are your boss has tuned you out long ago.  But, on the opposite end, if you say nothing, you’re missing out on a great opportunity, and a good boss will appreciate your input.  In fact, one thing I’ve found is that bosses hate when employees don’t provide input about something, then leave their job, offering their ‘input’ during their resignation.  Bosses aren’t mind readers, and if it’s eating you up on the inside that you haven’t been sent to a training class in three years, then go talk to them about it before you up and jump ship.

A lot of these things depend on the style of your boss.  Some bosses want employees who don’t say anything, and if that’s the case, then these suggestions probably won’t make much difference.  Personally, though, I’ve never worked well with these types of individuals.  These suggestions tie with bosses who are leaders and who actually take the time to realize that their success and happiness is tied to that of their employees.  If you have a boss like that, make sure you’re working with them and not falling into any of the traps above.

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I’m not buying it.

Or selling it, I guess would be the right term

Many of those who think we’re in a bubble use some combination of the following arguments to state their case:

• The big run in the stock market has taken all opportunity away
• Unemployment is not falling fast enough
• Corporate profits are leveling off
• Europe and Japan are in a recession
• Our mounting national debt

Here’s my take on each of these

• Opportunity is not fully priced in -  When the economy and the market tanked in 2008-09, many people left the market altogether.  While many have returned, there’s still a lot of money sitting on the sidelines.  Some of those jaded investors may never return to the market, but I still think there are many investors who would consider re-entering the market.  There is upside
• Unemployment is fine – One of the things that’s separated this recession from many others is that unemployment did not fall at the end of the recession.  Many argue that’s a bad thing, but I argue that it’s a good thing.  Companies aren’t just hiring en masse, but only hiring when they need positions.  I’d feel comfortable saying that the jobs being created today are more likely to stay in the event of a slowdown.  I think the job market is building a much more solid foundation, so while there are less jobs, I think they’re a sign of long term stability.
• Profits are only one piece of the puzzle – Many companies are making record profits, but the rate of profitability is slowing.  First, this is to be expected as many companies are returning to profitability after suffering losses, so the first jumps are always the strongest.  Second, and more important, is even if profit growth does slow, many companies are continuing to strengthen their balance sheet.  They’re adding more cash reserves.  They are paying off debt.  They’re investing in new technology.  These are all things that will provide profitability way down the line, something that investors will pay a premium for.
• Europe and Japan are less important – The crisis in Europe probably isn’t done and we’ll here more bad news along the way, but it seems to me, that compared to 18-24 months ago, Europe has leveled off.  If investors believe that the worst is behind, they will not discount stocks whose companies are exposed to Europe.  If the economies of those countries start actually showing signs of recovery, investors will be rewarded further.  As far as Japan, they’ve been in such a rut that I’m not sure they factor in much either way.
• The Fed has the debt covered for now – Eventually the debt will catch up to us, but for the time being, I think the debt is a non-factor.  The Fed is keeping interest rates down, and there are signs that the national deficits will actually start falling, meaning that we’ll be adding less to the debt than we have in years past.  I fully expect this to be something that hits us hard down the line, but for now, I believe the risk is minimal.

These are simply my thoughts (I’m no investment professional) and I’m hoping that this leads to continued upward momentum in the stock market as I’d like to see some additional gains in my 401(k) and personal portfolio.

How about you, what do you think about the stock market and its chances for continued success in the short and long term?

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Affordable ways of sprucing up your home that won’t break the bank:

• Revamp the kitchen: According to Which, the average price of a new kitchen is £8,000 in the UK, and around $25,000 in the USA.   However, this doesn’t mean you have to spend this much if you want your kitchen looking as good as new. Fortunately, these days, kitchens cupboards are made so that replacing the cupboard doors is a very straightforward procedure. So rather than spending thousands on a new kitchen, you can pay hundreds and end up with a kitchen that looks nearly brand new.
• A touch of paint: Painting is one of the most affordable and easiest ways of improving a property. Painting will save the hassle of having to re-wallpaper every few years and once you have paint on the walls, it’s far easier and cheaper to transform, should your tastes change. Another great aspect to painting is making a home more sellable. Lighter color paints make a room look bigger and as a result, will add to the appeal should a prospective buyer view the property.
• Flooring: Whether you are looking to sell, or just brighten the place up, flooring can play a huge part.  A new carpet can and does brighten the home up and do everything from improve the appearance to add value. However, if you have children, pets or just like to change the décor reasonably often, it may be financially prudent to opt for a carpet that is easily cleanable and a solid neutral colour. A neutral colour will match a variety of furnishings and won’t have to be changed every time you get a new suite or curtains. Some carpets are tougher and easier to clean than others. The initial outlay can save money down the line that will often be spent on cleaning or replacing. Here’s another tip; if you haven’t already, look under the carpets. It’s amazing how many homes have carpets sat on natural wood. It could be that you could improve the look and value of your home by just pulling the carpets up and hiring a sander.
• Add a box room: If you have a large cupboard or a utility room it could be that all it needs is a couple of windows and you have a box room. A window or two will completely change the appearance and can add extra value to your home, or simply make it more comfortable if the size of your family is about to increase. If you visit websites such as Anglian Home you can be sure you have many things to choose from.
• Lighting: Taking time to address the lighting in the home can make a big difference to how it looks and feels to you and to prospective buyers. Using brighter bulbs where possible can make rooms look lighter and fresher. Whilst brighter rooms look bigger and more appealing to someone considering buying your property, they can also make a huge difference to the look and feel of a room. Replace thick, dark lampshades with lighter ones whilst you’re at it, as this will help as well. Do take the time to shop around for energy efficient bulbs, as you can get bulbs that are both bright and cost effective. In no time the initial outlay will pay for itself.

Even if you aren’t looking to sell your property, approaching improvements from this viewpoint is a good way to make enhancements without shelling out too much cash. Before you know it, your house could be transformed without the cost that you would normally expect.

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So, for the moment my wife is living with this mess of a phone:

But we’re not exactly sure what to do next.

The setup

My wife is on a Sprint  family plan with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.  My wife was on the plan first, and the other two lines were merged in later.  Thus, my wife is technically finished with her contract and is eligible for a new phone.  The other two lines are also eligible for a full upgrade, but are still under contract until July 29th (Sprint allows you to get a full discount a few months before your contract is up).

The issue

My wife could just go to the store and get a new phone, and could get it at a full discount. The issue is that it would lock her (and presumably the other two lines) into another two year contract.

And we’re not sure if we want to stay with Sprint.

Up until last summer, there were four lines on the plan.  I was the other line.  But, my employer offered to provide me a phone, and since I was done with my contract and it would save us about $40 per  month, I took them up on the offer.

My employer is on AT&T and I have to admit, their service and network is much better.  Sprint has still not rolled out 4G LTE service in the area.  Yes, according to Sprint, it’s OK to offer service two generations behind what everybody else offers.  Also, Sprint just doesn’t have a great network.  They actually provided us an Airave signal booster to make their phones usable in our house.  Sprint phones barely work in my in-laws house, my parents house, and last year when we were camping, there was one campground where we even got a hint of service (where I saw campers at other sites using their phones with no problem).

Since our employer has a deal with AT&T, we could get a discount on our service.  If we transitioned all three lines, the overall cost difference would be minimal.

The issue is that the other two lines can’t transfer (without paying an early termination fee) until July 30th.

Here are the options:

Stay with Sprint

If my wife, her mom, and her sister were to agree to stay on Sprint, my wife could just go get the phone replaced and nothing would really change.  Nobody loves Sprint, but everybody knows it’s inferior service.  Maybe they’ll upgrade service and coverage?

Stay with the broken phone

My wife could stick with the broken phone for another two months, at which point everybody could transition.  However, my wife doesn’t think the phone will last that long and has made it clear she does not like this option.

Utilize insurance for two months

We have insurance on the phone so we could actually get it replaced.  However, there is a cracked screen deductible of $100.  This would give her a usable phone for two months.  At that point, some of the cost could be recovered if the phone could be sold, but it’s a pretty old model and I wouldn’t expect it to fetch more than $25-50.

Have my wife transition first

My wife could go over to AT&T, and the other two lines could follow in July.  The issue is that my wife’s plan would cost roughly $90 per month, while only dropping $40 per month from Sprint. This would essentially equal the cost of just paying the cracked screen deductible (and could turn out worse if you assume salvage value of the phone).

Borrow or buy a beater

We could look around to see if we could borrow an unused phone or buy a cheap one to get us through the next couple of months.  You can buy some older phones for $50, and you’d hope that you could get some of that back in a couple of months, but who knows? Also, Sprint would likely charge the $36 activation fee in this case.

What to do?

Ideally, my wife would not have dropped her phone, or would have done so closer to the July 30th time where we could leave.  But, fate didn’t work out that way so we’re in a strange position.

Any recommendations on what to do?  I know the best answer from a financial standpoint is to try to live with the current phone but I know my wife doesn’t like this idea (and I don’t blame her).  What would your ‘next best’ option be if you were in my shoes?  Has anybody heard how Sprint’s service upgrade is going? I’ve heard that they are rolling out 4G LTE and you’d have to think this would be a requirement across the board if they want to keep up.

Thanks, readers!

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Fast forward many years and the grill was still working.  Around the time we bought our house, I bought a cheap-o grill from Big Lots, so I knew I was not getting quality.  And quality we certainly did not get!

Within a couple of years, the entire grill started self destructing to the point where the low setting was ultra-high on most other grills.  Pieces were rusting, and it wasn’t long to see that this thing was better off in the scrap heap.

My parents still had ‘Old Faithful’ and offered it to us.  My dad replaced all of the grilling surfaces, and re-painted a lot of the surfaces.  We also put on some new knobs, and it was good to go.

The biggest issue we had with it over the few years we’ve had was when it caught fire during a family party we had.  Turned out a spider had built a nest in one of the pipes.  Spiders like propane and tend to do this.  This was causing a wee bit of gas to come out of a relief valve, and since it was gathering right next to the grill, it was hot enough to ignite.  After turning the propane off and leaving that burner off, we had no issues the rest of the party, and the problem was fixed by dismantling the pipe and cleaning it out with a pipe cleaner.

Bad spider!

Last year, we came across the latest problem, which was the regulator in the hose line between the propane tank and the grill.  There’s a small circular device that regulates how much gas gets through, and something went awry, as gas was coming out of a relief valve.  Luckily this was way lower than the last problem, so any gas that got out escaped.  Still, I knew that something needed to be done, so I went online and ordered a hose.

I did so in October of last year.  With every intention of replacing the hose before getting everything put away for the winter.

Well, that didn’t happen.

So, come spring, after getting the roof done and re-painting the deck, my wife and I hauled it back onto the deck and I set to work to finally get around to replacing the hose.  As I struggled to get the old hose off, I happened to look at the fitting of the new hose, and realized that it sure as heck was not the same size as the fitting that I was loosening (and after 30 years, that took some doing!)

Crap.  I’d bought the wrong hose!

After seven months, I knew that there was no way I could return the hose, plus I could not even remember or find where I had bought it from.  Oops.  I was fairly certain that I had bought it from Amazon, but my order history showed otherwise.  Mrs. Beagle seems to think that I ordered it from Sears, maybe, but I didn’t even keep the shipping or order verification, which is totally not like me at all.

But, anyways, after looking, I found the absolute correct hose.  This time it was on Amazon, so I ordered it.  I even confirmed that the picture of the hose had the exact fittings that I needed.  So, it should be OK.

The question is, what do I do with the wrong hose?  It’s perfectly good.  All that’s happened is that it’s been taken out of the box.  That’s it.

Craigslist? Seems pretty random that someone would be looking for the part.

eBay?  Maybe.  I usually just buy.

Amazon Sellers?  Amazon actually does sell the ‘wrong’ hose that I have, so I could likely sell it there.  I’ve never done this so I’m not exactly sure how it works.  I’m assuming Amazon gets a flat fee and/or a percentage of my cut.  Seems easy enough, I guess.

At this point, I seem to remember the hose costing around $20-25 so if I were to even net out 75% of that, I’d be fine.  Otherwise, I know I’ll end up sitting on a hose that I’ll never use and that will just take up space.

Readers, what are your thoughts on how to get rid of the perfectly good wrong hose?

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Our debt is pretty simple:

• A mortgage – We re-financed our original 30 year mortgage (set to pay off in 2037) with a 15-year mortgage in late 2011.  This will put us on pace to pay that off in 2026.
• A student loan – My wife has one outstanding student loan.  It is a private loan with a rate lock of just over 2% and a payment under $100 per month.  It’d be nice to pay this off early but we’re not changing our current strategy to do so.  Additional cash flow would have to open up.
• Credit cards – None.  We use credit cards simply to earn cash back rewards
• Car – None. We have two cars, both fully paid off.

It’s great as I see a lot of bloggers write about paying down debt, paying off debt, or discussing their personal debt payment strategies.  For the most part, they’re usually pretty good.

However, there is one thing that I usually see left off, and that’s to have a ‘No New Debt’ provision, and a plan to reach it.

If you start off with $100,000 in debt, work hard, and pay off half of it, that’s awesome!  What if you have $10,000 in debt, and you pay it all off.  That’s great, too!

And, with most debt payment stories, that’s often the ‘end’, so to speak.

What it doesn’t address is to make sure that number never goes higher.  In other words, if you pay off half of that $100,000 debt, you should make sure to do everything possible to avoid having that number go higher.

If you pay your debt off, congrats, but resist the urge to go splurge, financing a new car, vacation, boat, or whatever that’s going to get you right back in debt.

In other words, here’s my debt payment plan that you should adjust every month.

1. Calculate your starting debt
2. Make your payments
3. Calculate your new debt total (it should be lower now)
4. Set the new debt total as your debt ceiling

That’s right, every month you need to make sure that you set a goal to make your current total your maximum.

What that means, though, is that your debt payment strategy should plan for this.  I have read many articles on whether it’s advisable to save or to have an emergency fund if you are paying off debt.  The answer, based on my advice is: It depends.

How?

Well, if you are in a position where you are risk of emergencies, then yes, you should have an emergency fund.  Do you drive an old car that’s prone to breakdowns?  Do you live in an old house with a furnace or boiler 15 years past it’s expected date?  If these or something like these are in place, then you need an emergency fund.  If you live in an apartment and drive a bike to work, you might not need this as much.

Same goes with savings goals.  If you buy a house and you know you’ll need a new roof in 5-10 years, then start saving along with paying debt.  Otherwise, when that roof goes and you’ve paid every dollar toward debt, you’re going to have nothing left to pay for that new roof.  As good as it is to have paid off more debt, you’ll be violating your debt ceiling’ rule.

That’s not good.

So, make sure your strategy is complete, and if you focus 100% on paying debt, you have the best of intentions but you’re leaving a blind spot, and just like with driving, those can lead to peril in the blink of an eye.

Readers, what is your strategy to pay away and keep new debt at bay?

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