http://www.millionaireorbust.com teaching you how to think about your finances Thu, 02 Feb 2012 08:07:31 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 2006-2009 david@millionaireorbust.com (Flying Squirrel Media) david@millionaireorbust.com (Flying Squirrel Media) personal finance 1440 http://www.millionaireorbust.com/images/podcastlogosmall.jpg http://www.millionaireorbust.com 144 144 teaching you how to think about your finances teaching you how to think about your finances personal finance, business news Flying Squirrel Media Flying Squirrel Media david@millionaireorbust.com no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/debt-consolidation/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/debt-consolidation/#comments Sat, 20 Nov 2010 06:26:34 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/?p=294 http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/debt-consolidation/feed/ 3 http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0090/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0090/#comments Mon, 18 May 2009 12:00:53 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/?p=121 http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0090/feed/ 1 0:18:49 In this week’s episode of Millionaire or Bust, the main topic was the taboo of talking about money. But, first I covered the news for the week: How the major stock indexes fared The surge in gas prices US videogame sales down 17% in April A p[...] In this week’s episode of Millionaire or Bust, the main topic was the taboo of talking about money. But, first I covered the news for the week: How the major stock indexes fared The surge in gas prices US videogame sales down 17% in April A proposed Senate bill would allow a return to lower credit card rates An FDIC economist tries to rob bank Then I finally talked about the taboo of talking about money. I talked about why it is important to discuss money with others and some options you might have if you or your friends and family don’t feel comfortable discussing money with each other. The personal finance site I mentioned that tracks all your financial information, compares it against others and shows you ways you can save money is mint.com. If you enjoy Millionaire or Bust, please head on over to iTunes and give it a nice review. If you have some feedback on how to make the show better, shoot me an email and help me improve the show. I appreciate all your comments. Thanks for listening everyone! podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0025/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0025/#comments Wed, 16 Apr 2008 22:45:55 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/?p=42 http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0025/feed/ 0 0:26:34 This episode we’re discussing Clarence and Naomi. They’re a fictitious couple starting out with budgeting. In discussing their scenario, we’ll be looking at some common issues that people encounter when trying to establish and ut[...] This episode we’re discussing Clarence and Naomi. They’re a fictitious couple starting out with budgeting. In discussing their scenario, we’ll be looking at some common issues that people encounter when trying to establish and utilize budgets. For those of you looking to get started on budgeting, We’ve included a few links to software you can use for budgeting. If anyone has any other suggestions, please mention them in the comments below. We’re thinking about reviewing the different options and would like some other good ones to compare. Budgeting Software Links Open Office – spreadsheet program (free) – Mac, Linux, PC Mint.com – online personal finance (free) – Mac, Linux, PC Quicken Online – online personal finance (30 day trial – $2.99/month) – Mac, Linux, PC Remember, we’re completely changing the format of the show, so let us know what you like, don’t like or what you think we could add to make the show more useful for you. Post your suggestions in the show notes or check out our contact information and either leave us a voicemail or an email. Thanks for listening! podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0023/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0023/#comments Fri, 10 Nov 2006 20:16:25 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/11/10/show23-millionaire-or-bust-utilities-pt3/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0023/feed/ 0 0:06:34 Topic of the Week This week is Part 3 of our utility saving special. We’ll be focusing on ways that you can save more money by planning your water usage and making the right decisions. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip Don’t water larg[...] Topic of the Week This week is Part 3 of our utility saving special. We’ll be focusing on ways that you can save more money by planning your water usage and making the right decisions. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip Don’t water large groups of plants that are spread out using sprinklers. Use a drip system that delivers water only to the plants you’re watering, not to the bare ground and any weeds that might be sprouting there as well. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Don’t run the water faucet while you’re shaving or brushing your teeth. Just turn on the water when you need it. Tool of the Week Dripping Faucet Waste Calculator This handy calculator tells you how much of your water bill those dripping faucets are contributing to. If you fix them, you can see how much you might be able to save. Financial Psychology This is the segment where we examine a mindset or a way of looking at your finances that will set you up well for building wealth… This week we’re going to look at how the tips we’ve gone over during the last few weeks can be used to turn you into a millionaire. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0022utilities-pt2/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0022utilities-pt2/#comments Sat, 04 Nov 2006 02:31:57 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/11/03/show22-millionaire-or-bust-utilities-pt2/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0022utilities-pt2/feed/ 0 0:08:30 Topic of the Week This week is Part 2 of our utility saving special. We’ll be focusing on ways that you can save more money by planning your phone usage and making the right decisions. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Don[...] Topic of the Week This week is Part 2 of our utility saving special. We’ll be focusing on ways that you can save more money by planning your phone usage and making the right decisions. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Don’t know who’s calling you on your cell phone? Low on minutes? Let it go to voicemail and check your voicemail by calling into your voicemail box from home or at night when you have free minutes. That way you don’t waste precious minutes on a telemarketer. Most of the time, they won’t even leave a message. So no need for them to use your minutes. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week E-mail friends instead of long distance calls. You can really save a lot of money if you call a little bit less and email a few more times. I’m not saying not to call. You need to talk to your friends, but maybe you can shorten the time since you’re more caught up on the news and the gossip. Tool of the Week www.skype.com Skype is a program that allows you to make phone calls to anyone in the world, for free, using your computer. That is of the other person has skype as well. Skype however can call regular phones as well for a low per minute cost. And until the end of the year, you can call any phone in the US or Canada for free! All that you need is a computer, an internet connection, the skype application which you can download for free and a microphone. Either the built in mic or a better one. Financial Psychology This is the segment where we examine a mindset or a way of looking at your finances that will set you up well for building wealth… This week we’re looking at people who look at their phone bills and say, “Wow that’s expensive, but I need my phones after all.” You have to look at all the services you have on your phones and how much of them you use. Often there is $5 on one bill that can be eliminated, $4 on another one and a couple $2 ones here and there. Next thing you know, you can save $13/month or in other words $156/yr. If you have 10-20 different places in your budget where you can do this, it adds up. Imagine what you could do for your retirement with an additional $1500-3000/yr. Music by Segment Intro: “Money” by Flat Stanley Money Saving Tips: “Save Your Money” by Lee Maddeford Tool of the Week: “A Million Dollars” by Hastings Financial Psychology: “I’m So Broke (I Can’t Even Pay Attention)” by Doug MacLeod Outro: “Millionaire” by Full Nothing podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show21-millionaire-or-bust-utilities-pt1/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show21-millionaire-or-bust-utilities-pt1/#comments Fri, 27 Oct 2006 07:29:34 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/10/27/show21-millionaire-or-bust-utilities-pt1/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show21-millionaire-or-bust-utilities-pt1/feed/ 0 0:08:30 Topic of the Week This week is part 1 of our utility saving special. This week we’ll be focusing exclusively on ways that you can have more money by planning your energy usage and making the right decisions. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Ti[...] Topic of the Week This week is part 1 of our utility saving special. This week we’ll be focusing exclusively on ways that you can have more money by planning your energy usage and making the right decisions. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Install a digital programmable thermostat in your house – you can buy them at most hardware stores and your local utility might install it free of charge. That way you don’t heat your home when you’re not there or when you’re asleep tucked into your warm bed. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Install dimmer switches. Benefits – save electricity, nicer ambiance, and the incandescent bulbs don’t burn out as quickly. Tool of the Week http://hes.lbl.gov This website allows you to put in information about your home and how quickly you want a return on your investment on any changes you make for energy efficiency. Then it show you what you can do to save some energy and some money. Financial Psychology Thinking that light or television is only a little bit of energy and what does it matter if you leave it on. You’re right each time, but unfortunately in aggregate you’re wrong. Small changes made to how you use energy could cut your bill by a quarter or even half depending on how you use your energy. Most of the changes won’t even effect your lifestyle, just how much you pay to maintain it. Songs for this podcast brought to you from the Podshow Podsafe Music Network Music by Segment Intro: “Money” by Flat Stanley Money Saving Tips: “Save Your Money” by Lee Maddeford Tool of the Week: “A Million Dollars” by Hastings Financial Psychology: “I’m So Broke (I Can’t Even Pay Attention)” by Doug MacLeod Outro: “Millionaire” by Full Nothing podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0020-spending-money/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0020-spending-money/#comments Fri, 20 Oct 2006 08:40:13 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/10/20/show20-millionaire-or-bust-spending-money/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/mob0020-spending-money/feed/ 0 0:07:15 Topic of the Week Saving money by spending money. People say that to make money you have to spend money. Well to save money you also have to spend money. We’ll talk about how that is true. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Know [...] Topic of the Week Saving money by spending money. People say that to make money you have to spend money. Well to save money you also have to spend money. We’ll talk about how that is true. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Know where your cheap gasoline is and plan your fill ups, so you won’t be forced to overpay at the last minute. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Learn to make soup. It is low-cost, satisfying and it goes a long way. Besides, as the weather gets colder, it feels nice to have a nice warm bowl of soup with dinner or even with lunch sometimes. Tool of the Week www.coolsavings.com This website has hundreds of online and printable coupons that you can use to save yourself some money. So, either click and save or print and save! Financial Psychology Thinking about saving money as deprivation is a big mistake. People that think that way don’t save much or when they have an opportunity to save think of it as them being oppressed. They think it’s not living life when you save. Live every day, but allow yourself to retire and enjoy life as you get older as well. To alleviate these feelings of deprivation, give yourself a monthly allowance that you can spend on anything you want. The rest of the money that’s not spent on bills though, must be saved. Songs for this podcast brought to you from the Podshow Podsafe Music Network Music by Segment Intro: “Money” by Flat Stanley Money Saving Tips: “Save Your Money” by Lee Maddeford Tool of the Week: “A Million Dollars” by Hastings Financial Psychology: “I’m So Broke (I Can’t Even Pay Attention)” by Doug MacLeod Outro: “Millionaire” by Full Nothing podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show19-millionaire-or-bust-transportation/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show19-millionaire-or-bust-transportation/#comments Fri, 13 Oct 2006 14:59:57 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/10/13/show19-millionaire-or-bust-transportation/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show19-millionaire-or-bust-transportation/feed/ 0 0:04:22 Topic of the Week This week we’re going to talk about transportation and your finances. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Get a cheap little space heater at a garage sale and bring it with you for whatever room you’re in. [...] Topic of the Week This week we’re going to talk about transportation and your finances. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Get a cheap little space heater at a garage sale and bring it with you for whatever room you’re in. That way you don’t have to heat the whole house. (Especially useful in two story houses where the heat has a tendency to rise quickly leaving the downstairs freezing and the upstairs sweltering.) Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Make your own rags from old towels and clothes that are too worn too donate. Tool of the Week http://www.publictransportation.org/ This website gives you information on all the public transportation options that you have available to you in your community. It’s a good way to save you a little money and maybe reduce your stress and possibly even your commute. Financial Psychology Linking your transportation with image rather than function. Too many people link the way they get to work with their personal perception of themselves or the image that they want others to perceive. It should really be a function of utility and cost. What are you really getting out of your transport. If it’s just a lot of hours behind the wheel of a fancy car and debts, then a book to read and a train ride might be better both for your stress levels and your bank account. How You can Help Us… Please fill out our survey. It won’t cost you anything and all your information is kept anonymous. It’s only five quick questions that you can finish in seconds. Please help us, so that we can get sponsors and can continue to bring you the show. Thank you in advance for your time! podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show18-millionaire-or-bust-vacations/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show18-millionaire-or-bust-vacations/#comments Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:33:36 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/10/06/show18-millionaire-or-bust-vacations/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show18-millionaire-or-bust-vacations/feed/ 0 0:04:49 Topic of the Week This week we’ll talk about things to consider when going on vacation so that you can save some money or just have a better trip for the same money. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Bring some snacks or meals w[...] Topic of the Week This week we’ll talk about things to consider when going on vacation so that you can save some money or just have a better trip for the same money. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Bring some snacks or meals with you when you travel. Especially now that a lot of airlines won’t be serving you meals. Luckily the airline will still provide you with a drink on the flight, especially with the current restrictions that won’t allow you to bring your own drinks on the flight. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week If you buy lots of bottled water on your trips normally, pack a few into your checked baggage if you have room. Even if you can only bring a couple, you won’t have to search for a reasonably priced place to buy one right away. You’ll save yourself a few bucks that you can spend on something more fun. Tool of the Week www.fodors.com This travel site gives you a lot of information about destinations you might be considering, restaurants and hotels that are available there and prices. You’re better off looking elsewhere for deals, but they have lots of great information. Financial Psychology Picking a date to travel based on a good time for you and a location to travel to based on the place you most want to go to. You should probably only do one or the other. Otherwise, you might be traveling to a location at the most expensive time. Talli and I have learned that if you plan appropriately with location and time you can often get two vacations for the price of one. So, you can either travel twice as much or spend half as much. Either way, you’re ahead. Either in trips or money. How You can Help Us… Please fill out our survey. It won’t cost you anything and all your information is kept anonymous. It’s only five quick questions that you can finish in seconds. Please help us, so that we can get sponsors and can continue to bring you the show. Thank you in advance for your time! podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show17-millionaire-or-bust-buying-vs-renting/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show17-millionaire-or-bust-buying-vs-renting/#comments Fri, 29 Sep 2006 20:32:50 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/09/29/show17-millionaire-or-bust-buying-vs-renting/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show17-millionaire-or-bust-buying-vs-renting/feed/ 0 0:05:12 Topic of the Week This week we talk about buying a home vs. renting. We discuss a lot of the factors that you need to consider before making the decision. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week I found that washing in cold water all the t[...] Topic of the Week This week we talk about buying a home vs. renting. We discuss a lot of the factors that you need to consider before making the decision. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week I found that washing in cold water all the time can save you almost $25 on your energy bill every month if you do a lot of loads. The secret with detergent: less is more. I only use one cap full on a full load. Using too much soap is wasteful and requires more rinsing, which in turn uses more water and time which will cost you more on electricity. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Reuse Ziplock bags. Wash by hand and let dry. Turn inside out to help dry completely. You won’t have to buy bags as often. Tool of the Week http://new.homefair.com/homefair/usr/rentbuyform.html This website evaluates whether buying or renting is a better decision for you based on several factors. Those factors are: 1. mortgage rate 2. tax bracket 3. property tax 4. expected property appreciation 5. monthly rent 6. how long you plan to live there Financial Psychology This is the segment where we examine a mindset or a way of looking at your finances that will set you up well for building wealth… Needing a house. Don’t think that you need a house by a certain time. Buy a house when it makes financial sense and when you’re ready for it. Go into this purchasing decision with a clear head, thinking about all the financial ramifications. This is one decision that is easy to get emotional about, but it’s probably the biggest purchase you will ever make in your life, so it is very important that you stay rational. How You can Help Us… Please fill out our survey. It won’t cost you anything and all your information is kept anonymous. It’s only five quick questions that you can finish in seconds. Please help us, so that we can get sponsors and can continue to bring you the show. Thank you in advance for your time! podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show16-millionaire-or-bust-purchasing-cars/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show16-millionaire-or-bust-purchasing-cars/#comments Fri, 22 Sep 2006 07:24:20 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/09/22/show16-millionaire-or-bust-purchasing-cars/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show16-millionaire-or-bust-purchasing-cars/feed/ 4 0:06:33 Topic of the Week The topic of the week is car purchasing. What should you look at before buying a vehicle. http://www.consumerreports.org/ (It’s not free, it’s $26/yr, but it could be well worth it.) Money Saving Tips Money Saving Ti[...] Topic of the Week The topic of the week is car purchasing. What should you look at before buying a vehicle. http://www.consumerreports.org/ (It’s not free, it’s $26/yr, but it could be well worth it.) Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Put an insulation blanket on your water heater. It will reduce your heating bill. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Take your grocery sacks back to the store and reuse them. Some stores may give you cash back. “Reduce Reuse Recycle.” Tool of the Week www.leaseguide.com This website tells you all about how leases work, whether or not you should buy or lease a car for your personal situation and things to think about when you are contemplating leasing. Financial Psychology Schedule times to go out to dinner and stick to it. Don’t just stare at each other and say, “nothing at home sounds good to eat, let’s go out to ___________.” Once we start doing that it occurs more frequently. How You can Help Us… Please fill out our survey. It won’t cost you anything and all your information is kept anonymous. It’s only five quick questions that you can finish in seconds. Please help us, so that we can get sponsors and can continue to bring you the show. Thank you in advance for your time! podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show15-millionaire-or-bust-debt/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show15-millionaire-or-bust-debt/#comments Fri, 15 Sep 2006 07:28:36 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/09/15/show15-millionaire-or-bust-debt/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show15-millionaire-or-bust-debt/feed/ 1 0:07:07 Topic of the Week The topic of the week is good debt vs. bad debt. What are they? Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week buy cleaners in bulk or large refill containers and consolidate your cleaners down to a few different ones rather than[...] Topic of the Week The topic of the week is good debt vs. bad debt. What are they? Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week buy cleaners in bulk or large refill containers and consolidate your cleaners down to a few different ones rather than one for each specific application. It is cheaper to use a few than a separate one for each. Plus the highly specific cleaners tend to be more expensive. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week This is the segment for those people that want to go the extra mile to save those extra pennies. Make your own household cleaners. They’re much cheaper and they can be more healthy for you as well. For more info, you can check our website for a link to a page telling you how to make them yourselves. They’re easy to make, cheap and quite often as effective as the much harsher cleaners that you buy at the store. For more information you can check out Talli’s health podcast, “Being Healthy with Talli”. She dedicated Show #15 to the topic. Listener Question Question: In the same show, you talk about getting and using credit cards, yet your stat of the week tells of a poor saving rate. I like the premise of your show, but can’t reconcile “millionaire with credit cards”. When is your show on debt? Answer: Having credit cards doesn’t make one a millionaire or make one broke. Having said that, many people do misuse credit cards. They’re primarily good as a means to pay for things that you will pay off at the end of the month, but don’t want to carry enough cash to pay for, such as televisions or plane tickets. I prefer that people use credit cards with points associated with them rather than ones without, since they actually earn something with them. However, spending extra on your credit card to get points would be counter to what we want to achieve. Many people misuse credit cards. We touched on credit card debt briefly in show #7, so you can see what we have on it there and mentioned debt it in the course of multiple shows. As for a show dedicated to debt, I agree with you that it needs to be covered and so today we will. This will, by no means be an exhaustive show on the topic but merely the beginning of an important dialogue. Thanks for listening Bryan and we appreciate your post. Tool of the Week Cost of living calculator This calculator is good for someone who is contemplating moving to a different city. It will tell you how far your money will go in that new city. So, you’ll know with that new job whether or not you can live better or worse than you do where you are now with the income you have now. Financial Psychology This is the segment where we examine a mindset or a way of looking at your finances that will set you up well for building wealth… Why do you eat out? What do you like about it? Can you replicate it for less money? Often people eat out because they think it’s faster. When they do the math though, they find out that it might take the same amount of time or longer than making a simple dish at home and cost more. So, give that a thought when you’re thinking about eating out to save time. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show14-millionaire-or-bust-gambling/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show14-millionaire-or-bust-gambling/#comments Thu, 07 Sep 2006 21:41:38 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/09/07/show14-millionaire-or-bust-gambling/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show14-millionaire-or-bust-gambling/feed/ 0 0:05:50 Topic of the Week This week, we’re going to talk about gambling and ways to think about it if you just can’t keep yourself from doing it. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Pay bills online via the creditor’s website. [...] Topic of the Week This week, we’re going to talk about gambling and ways to think about it if you just can’t keep yourself from doing it. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Pay bills online via the creditor’s website. This will give you a few bonuses. You’ll save time and you’ll save some money on checks and stamps. I know it doesn’t sound like much, but if you pay a lot of bills every month, that could be a few dollars each month. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Cook with covered pots. It takes much less energy to cook if the pot is covered. So, you’ll save a little more on your electricity or gas bill. Listener Question Question: If I have a Upromise account and a Citi dividend card, do i get cash back through the credit card and also through Upromise, or will they consider only one of them? Is it double dipping? Answer: You’ll get cash back and the cash put into the Upromise account. Nice double benefit there! Enjoy. Tool of the Week 10 Best Casino Bets This website gives you a list of the best bets at the casino. Don’t confuse that with good bets. They’re just the best ones. You’re better off passing on the betting altogether. Financial Psychology This is the segment where we examine a mindset or a way of looking at your finances that will set you up well for building wealth… Save first and automatically. Set a certain amount of money every month for savings or investing. The first bill you pay is your investments. If you wait until you pay all your bills first, you’ll find that you never have anything left to invest. If you pay yourself first, you’ll find yourself adjusting your spending to the new lower amount you have left for your bills. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show13-millionaire-or-bust-healthcare/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show13-millionaire-or-bust-healthcare/#comments Fri, 01 Sep 2006 15:10:13 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/09/01/show13-millionaire-or-bust-healthcare/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show13-millionaire-or-bust-healthcare/feed/ 1 0:05:11 Topic of the Week This week we’re going to talk about healthcare and why it’s important that you make sure you have it, no matter the cost, as well as a few ways you might be able to get it easier or cheaper. Weekly Statistic Nearly 46 [...] Topic of the Week This week we’re going to talk about healthcare and why it’s important that you make sure you have it, no matter the cost, as well as a few ways you might be able to get it easier or cheaper. Weekly Statistic Nearly 46 million Americans don’t have health care. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Christmas/birthday shop all year round. Scout out sales with potential recipients in mind. You’ll save money on those last minute purchases, not to mention stress. Besides, you can avoid the congested malls during the season. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Measure everything, whether it is soap powder or flour. Dumping or pinches normally uses more than is necessary. You’d be surprised how every little bit adds up, especially with items you use a lot or expensive spices. Tool of the Week www.carfax.com With carfax.com you can get detailed reports on the used car you’re looking at to make sure that it isn’t a lemon. It will tell you what the car has gone through, floods, fire, car crash, etc. Often a carfax report is available with a used car for free. If it isn’t, ask the seller to pay for one. Financial Psychology This is the segment where we examine a mindset or a way of looking at your finances that will set you up well for building wealth… Limit television viewing. This frees up time to improve your life and saves you from the effects of marketing. Commercials infiltrate your subconscious even when you’re not paying attention to them, making you spend more. So, if you’re watching television, skip the commercials if you can or just mute them and ignore them. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show12-millionaire-or-bust-email-scams/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show12-millionaire-or-bust-email-scams/#comments Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:27:26 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/08/25/show12-millionaire-or-bust-email-scams/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show12-millionaire-or-bust-email-scams/feed/ 2 0:07:41 Topic of the Week This week we’ll talk about email scams, what they are, what to look for and how they can destroy your financial situation. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Travel abroad rather than traveling in your home count[...] Topic of the Week This week we’ll talk about email scams, what they are, what to look for and how they can destroy your financial situation. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Travel abroad rather than traveling in your home country if you have a stronger currency than the country you’re going to. A trip we took to Beijing, China cost us less overall than a trip that we had been thinking of taking to the Grand Canyon, even after souvenirs. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week When you’re getting down to the bottom of a bottle of liquid soap, shampoo or conditioner, you can add a little water to the bottle, shake it vigorously and then pour as much of the product as you need where you need it. You can get a few extra uses from the bottle, saving you a little bit over time and reducing waste. Money Making Tip Carpool with some of your coworkers. Either you can alternate days and save some money, or you can drive everyday and collect money for the gas and wear and tear on your car. You can get more than driving costs you. Tool of the Week www.epinions.com A website that you can use to evaluate the products so that you can get better value for your money. A penny saved is a penny earned Financial Psychology This is the segment where we examine a mindset or a way of looking at your finances that will set you up well for building wealth… Gotten a windfall? Inheritance, gift, gambling winnings, lottery? Set a certain percentage of these that you are allowed to spend. Put the rest into a high yield savings account and increase your monthly investments to account for it. A windfall helps to secure you future. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show9-millionaire-or-bust-gardening/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show9-millionaire-or-bust-gardening/#comments Fri, 04 Aug 2006 07:34:37 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/08/04/show9-millionaire-or-bust-gardening/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show9-millionaire-or-bust-gardening/feed/ 4 0:05:27 Topic of the Week This will be a themed show. We’ll be talking about gardening and how it can both save you and make you a lot of money. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Grow your own flowers and decorative plants. You can giv[...] Topic of the Week This will be a themed show. We’ll be talking about gardening and how it can both save you and make you a lot of money. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Grow your own flowers and decorative plants. You can give flowers and plants as gifts. You just need to go to your closest garden center or craft outlet and get a nice pot or vase for a few dollars. It’s cheaper than buying flowers at the store for gifts. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Grow your own vegetables and fruits. You can save yourself some money and your food will taste a lot better since it is picked fresh and eaten fresh. Financial Psychology Don’t avoid taking care of your financial situation because it takes time and you’re tired from working. This is the wrong attitude. The goal is to take care of your finances so that they take care of you. A few hours every few months could mean years less working or a much more comfortable retirement. So, put some time aside, put on some music and get yourself a cold drink or hot drink depending on when you’re listening to this and make your money work for you. Tool of the Week Morningstar IRA Calculator Designed to show you which type of IRA you are eligible for, compare various scenarios to find out which type of IRA works best for you and find out whether it makes sense to convert a Traditional IRA you already have to a Roth IRA. Next Week The next couple weeks will be a bit different. It’s summer, so we thought we needed to do something special. Since we’ve accumulated more money saving tips than we can cram into our normal shows, Talli and I are going to have two shows that are dedicated solely to hitting 5-10 money saving tips per show. Don’t worry though if you like the old format, we’ll be getting back to it. If you have any feedback on the old or new formats though, please email us at info@millionaireorbust.com. We can’t improve the show if you don’t let us know what you do and don’t like. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show8-millionaire-or-bust-college/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show8-millionaire-or-bust-college/#comments Fri, 28 Jul 2006 07:05:29 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/07/28/show8-millionaire-or-bust-college/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show8-millionaire-or-bust-college/feed/ 1 0:04:41 Topic of the Week This week we talk about college savings and programs that can help you do that. Below is a link to the Fool website that discusses different programs that are available: Fool.com Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Bri[...] Topic of the Week This week we talk about college savings and programs that can help you do that. Below is a link to the Fool website that discusses different programs that are available: Fool.com Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Bring your drinks to work. Bringing your own drinks is cheaper than buying them at Starbucks or the vending machine. One Starbucks coffee and two sodas a day can cost you an extra $875/yr per person…That’s a lot extra you can invest. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Bring your lunch to work. You can save between $15-40/wk per person That’s $750-2000/yr per person. Combined with bringing your drinks, you can save at least $1500 and maybe almost $3000 for one person. With two people…you do the math. It’s a huge savings and well worth it. Financial Psychology Thinking, “That won’t save me much. What’s a dollar here or there?” Add up all those items and they might translate into a couple hundred a month, or even several hundred a month. At the end of the year, those small savings which weren’t that painful anyway, might leave you with several thousand dollars of savings. Tool of the Week www.insweb.com This site is dedicated to helping you compare insurance companies, so that you can get the best rate. Give it a try. It’s free and it could save you some money. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show7-millionaire-or-bust-first-steps/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show7-millionaire-or-bust-first-steps/#comments Fri, 21 Jul 2006 07:07:28 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/07/21/show7-millionaire-or-bust-first-steps/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show7-millionaire-or-bust-first-steps/feed/ 0 0:07:23 Topic of the Week This week we talk about the first step towards building wealth. For those of you with credit card debt, paying that off is what we’ll be talking about. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Replace all the incandes[...] Topic of the Week This week we talk about the first step towards building wealth. For those of you with credit card debt, paying that off is what we’ll be talking about. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Replace all the incandescent light bulbs in your house with fluorescent. The price has really come down and the quality and selection are great. Not only will you save money on your electricity bills (within the first year after the cost of the bulbs), but they last up to ten times longer. Shop for ones with guarantees – some are for as long as five years. Fluorescents will cost you less in the long run. They will also help keep your house cooler in the summer — another savings if you use air conditioning. Bulbs are now made to fit into regular sockets and come in every brightness you could ask for. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week To see your electric bill take a nosedive, make it a habit to unplug non-essential appliances when not in use. When away from home or on vacation, these appliances can add dollars to your electric bill. It’s worth the extra savings. Money Making Tip Craigslist.org Sell some of the larger items you have that you don’t want on Craigslist.org. You’ll get a lot more for them than you would at a garage sale, especially if you set a price ahead of time. It’ll get you more than you would at a garage sale, save you time and be easier than trying to sell furniture on eBay. Tool of the Week Credit Card Minimum Payment Interest Calculator This tool will tell you how much interest you will pay if you only pay the minimum on your credit card. It will also tell you how long it will take to pay off your debt. This way you can see how much your debt is costing you. Financial Psychology This week we talk about putting purchases in perspective. How long do you have to work to make enough to buy an item? Remember to use your after tax income for this calculation. A $50,000 income might only become $36,000 after taxes in some states. A $1000 purchase here in the bay area becomes $1087.50 after sales tax. With those numbers, you would need to work for 63 hours to pay for that item. Is it worth it at that price. That’s your call. If it is, buy it. If not, don’t. Make frugal choices, but ones you can live with, so you don’t feel deprived. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show6-millionaire-or-bust-compounding/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show6-millionaire-or-bust-compounding/#comments Fri, 14 Jul 2006 18:33:34 +0000 David van Sunder http://www.millionaireorbust.com/2006/07/14/show6-millionaire-or-bust-compounding/ http://www.millionaireorbust.com/archives/show6-millionaire-or-bust-compounding/feed/ 0 0:07:19 Topic of the Week This week we talk about the magic of compounding. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Going to purchase something? Go to the website of the manufacturer of the item and the retailer you are going to shop at. Many com[...] Topic of the Week This week we talk about the magic of compounding. Money Saving Tips Money Saving Tip of the Week Going to purchase something? Go to the website of the manufacturer of the item and the retailer you are going to shop at. Many companies have internet coupons or rebates that you can print up and use that will save you money. Talli’s Tightwad Tip of the Week Spending too much on entertainment? Go to the library. Most libraries have movies that you can borrow as well as cds. So instead of buying movies, cds and books you can borrow them from the library and only buy the ones you really love and have to have. Money Making Tip Invest on an ongoing basis, so that you can dollar cost average. What should you invest in? For that I recommend you consult with a financial advisor. The big key is that you invest continually and automatically so that you budget your investments into your budget. Tool of the Week Millionaire Calculator Financial Psychology Keep letting your means outpace your lifestyle. Bank/Invest your raises. This way you can increase your investing as you increase your wages. Announcement Please tune in to Talli’s other podcast Being Healthy with Talli. It’s a great short podcast dedicated to teaching you how to improve and maintain your health. podcasts Flying Squirrel Media no no