Money Mindset, More

How The Beatles Success Strategy Can Motivate You

I know you probably came here to get some money making and money saving tips today. Sometimes I write about that specific topic and other times I see myself as some kind of motivational writer, the kind that can get you to think about the “how” you can do better with your finances, job, and life. I think I can do that for a couple of reasons. One, being older, it’s fairly easy for me to see the mistakes I personally have made and looking back on the things I could have done to avoid them. And two, there’s the practical me. The person that can see clearly now just what to do and how to reach goals and fulfill dreams. Unfortunately it took 70 years or so to get there, and I’m telling you so you have a better chance to get there sooner rather than 70 years later or never.

Few have reached the level of The Beatles success, so what can we learn from them? Here are a couple of elements of their success and how they apply to you.

So that got me to thinking. What do all of us really want in life? Is it fame and fortune? Is it wealth? Is it security? Or is it true that “All You Need is Love” as the Beatles once sang? It might just be all of the above rolled into one giant big ball. So, how do we get there?

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Frugality

Stop Throwing Money Away: 16 Ways You Are at High Risk

No one really would throw their money away on purpose, would they? I mean that would be just crazy. You work pretty hard for it and then just spend it on nonsense or literally just toss it away? Never right? Err, ah…wrong.

It's easy to be throwing money away without even realizing it. Here are 16 ways your money is slipping away and how to stop it.

It can totally happen, especially when you are unaware of some of the ways that your money is slipping through your fingers right now. Generally, the things I’m going to share with you here are not huge expenses when they stand alone. However, if you add all of these little things together, you can be throwing away hundreds and even thousands of dollars a year without even knowing.

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Money Mindset, More

How High Can You Fly? (Attitude Determines Altitude)

Sometimes even I can get a little depressed. I know admitting that out loud may turn some people off and if it does, I may just have to bear the burden of that. It seems that way too often I have been expected to be just a ray of sunshine and a beam of light to everyone around me and sometimes that’s a big burden for me. It’s even truer when it comes to publishing the written word like I do here. After all, do you really want me to depress you with anything negative I might offer up on my blog?

Zig Ziglar's phrase "attitude determines altitude" means that positivity will take you further in your quest for success. But can you change your attitude?

And that’s a big part of my point here, even though sometimes “Rainy Days and Mondays” may get me down, “Attitude Determines Altitude” and I know that.

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Insurance, Retirement, Saving & Investing

Are Annuities Good or Bad for Your Retirement?

A lot of financial experts and bloggers don’t recommend annuities or even like to talk about them very much. They are more likely to recommend and want to talk to you about investments in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds for growing your wealth and prepping for retirement. That may leave you to wonder what annuities really are and whether you should you invest in them for your retirement years.

Annuities...good or bad? They have a poor reputation, but there can be good reasons to include the right one in your retirement plans.

I chose to purchase an annuity about 20 years ago (when I was 50) with qualified money I used from a 401(k). Then, about 5 years ago, I took that money and used it to purchase a 5-year deferred annuity that will start paying me beginning in January of 2020. Those payments are guaranteed to me or a beneficiary (my wife who is 20 years my junior) for 20 years, or for my entire life as long as I live (even if I live to be 100 or more). This made good sense for my situation. But, before you decide that an annuity is either a good or bad choice, ask yourself this: Have you taken a really good look at annuities and do they make any sense for you?

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Travel

14 Tips That Help You Save on Travel

As summer hits its middle, it’s not too early to think about next year’s vacation and how to save on travel. This year we may just be lounging around the community swimming pool and having a few BBQ nights on the grill, but not next year.

When planning your vacation, follow these tips to save on travel. The more you think about it in advance, the less you'll worry on your trip.

My wife and I are in the process of planning a big vacation for 2020 right now and we’re getting pretty excited. Excited, but also a bit worried, too. After all, vacations these days have become a pretty hefty expense and because of that we have to use our “super saving” skills to limit the cost and to maximize the fun.

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More, Shopping

Not So “Pretty in Pink”: The Pink Tax

Here’s a very disturbing fact to still be talking about in the 21st century: Women are charged more when shopping for some items even when they are the same items as men’s. An actual 2015 study by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs Office found that women paid more for 42% of the nearly 800 products they surveyed! Let me repeat that one: 42%! And in 2019, it isn’t any different.

The pink tax, where women are charged more for products simply because they are women, is completely unfair. Here's what you need to know to fight back.

Even though the survey was four years ago, things have actually gotten worse. Manufacturers and retailers know that they can take advantage of this phenomenon and although it may seem like a silly little thing, the pink tax is very real.

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Frugality, Saving & Investing

Saving Money Doesn’t Mean You Have to Have No Life!

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I guess I have always been surrounded by the “aura” of saving money. It started for me as a kid, simply because I grew up in a family that didn’t have a lot of extra money and I was the child of parents who grew up during the Great Depression. I am pretty sure that experience shaped my Mom and Dad’s philosophy about money and the importance of saving for a rainy day. The rainy days of the 1930’s were pretty rainy, so I get it.

If you feel like you have to have no life in order to save money, it doesn't have to be that way. Here's how to save and still enjoy life.

Of course, my parents were also around for the post-war abundance and prosperity of the 1950’s and things got a lot better for them and for all Americans as the 20th century rolled on. But even with that, the art and skill of the “saving of money” (which really primarily fell on my Mom’s shoulders as the main shopper and budget keeper) was still upper-most in their minds. And yes, of course, since I was right there by their side, mine too. But despite the emphasis on the saving of money, it didn’t mean that we had to have no life!

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More, Shopping

Gen Z and the Retail Revolution

No, that’s not the name of a new rock band from across the pond. Rather it’s a description of what is happening in the world of retail these days, or should I say this decade. Yes, there is a retail revolution taking place and it’s something that we are all involved with no matter what letter is used to describe your GEN-eration—Z, X, Y or BB (that’s me, ha ha).

As the generations change, a massive retail revolution is occurring. Here's why the old retailers are closing and the new retailers are technology-driven.

Generation Z shoppers are a force to be reckoned with and are now a major influence on the retail market.

Generation Z (or Gen Z) is the demographic age that arrived after the Millennials (Gen Y). Demographers and researchers typically use the mid-1990s to late-2000s as birth years. That makes them somewhere between age 10 and 25 years old about now. Most of Generation Z have used the internet since birth and are comfortable with technology and social media. They really know no other way. That’s the reason for today’s post about Gen Z and the retail revolution and how it is affecting everyone!

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