Making Good Personal Budget Decisions

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Most families are faced with income deficiencies at some time during their life. One or more members of the family are faced with the decision of cutting spending, looking for a new job, or a source to supplement the present income.

There is a multitude of potential part time income opportunities. Many of them do not produce additional family income , they actually increase family expenses. When looking at multi-level marketing opportunities, a definite level of commitment is necessary. Many of those that enroll in a business opportunity run with a multi-level marketing format have great expectations without making a firm commitment to make it work.

If the business you are considering requires the purchase of an inventory, beware! Thousands of people have garages full of products from companies like this with little or no way to dispose of this inventory. The family budget is strained to get into the business. At that point many people start looking for part time jobs with employers just to get back to the point they were before making this mistake.

My wife and I have been associates with doTerra essential oils since company began nine years ago. My son enrolled us and we began using the essential oils for alternative medical uses and household cleaning, and personal uses. We did commit to purchase a $100 a month of product which was approximately the amount of product we would use in our family. Purchasing at that level entitled us to enroll other associates and receive a commission for those sales. We knew we would not get rich at the level we were able to pursue, but it did provide enough to pay for much of the essential oil purchase we made. My son and his wife are very successful with doTerra and work at it full time. It is a matter of the commitment a person or couple are willing to make. There are risks but there are great rewards if a person keeps a positive attitude and works hard to succeed.

Many years ago my wife and I enrolled with Amway. Amway required those wanting to make a business of it to purchase a large inventory and supply those they enrolled with product. The investment was high, the people needed a place to store the product , and the cost of driving to distribute the product reduced the income potential. We were just associates , we purchased our product from those that had the inventory in their garages. We made a small amount of income but we unwilling and unable to purchase the inventory they mandated to be successful. Also all kinds of devious ways were used to get people to watch a video about Amway in hopes they could be enrolled.

When families are faced with the mother of a family going to work to help the husband and they have children, a lot of considerations need to be made. Having two cars, the cost of fuel , the cost of child care , are costly components that may deter the benefit of the mother working. Many mothers use child care as a means of helping with the income. That option takes away the need for another car, and the child care expense.

After considering all of the additional income possibilities for your family, be sure to consider cutting your expenses so that the family can live comfortably within the current family income.

Good luck in coming to an intelligent decision on living within your family income!

Personal Budget Mid-Year Check Up On The Family Tax Status

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The header photo was taken at Wrigley Field home of the Cubs on July 4th 2017. I was in attendance at the Chicago Cubs vs. Tampa Bay baseball game and took this photo.

Half the year has passed which provides a good checkpoint on withholding to date or tax estimates paid to date. Has your family paid enough in Federal and Stateincoone tax through June 30th 2017 so that a penalty and interest will not have to be paid when you file your taxes after the end of 2017. Keep in mind the IRS expects the taxpayer to match their Federal tax payments to the income earned during that period. If for some reason a person pays no taxes on some of the income earned that will be taxable and tries to make it up before December they can incur a penalty and pay interest on the deficiency.

How do you determine what your midyear income year to date is? Look at your paystub for the last pay period in June 2017. Most employers show the earnings year to date on each pay stub. As an example if that stub shows year to date earnings of $25,000 and Federal withholding of $4,200, and State withholding of $1200, you need to see if those tax amounts are adequate?

One way to establish your estimated annual income is to double what you have earned during the first six months and also double the tax amounts. Then determine if you think you will have enough deductions to itemize on your Federal Tax Return. Estimate your annual itemized deductions Contributions, Allowable Tax Deductions, Tax Preparation, Medical Deductions in excess of deductible percentage, casualty losses, employee expenses, and any other items that may be deductible such as auto expenses with your use your car for your job. Total the estimated annual amount for the deductions and see if they exceed the Standard Deduction for your tax status. If the itemized deductions do not exceed the Standard Deduction then you may not need to keep track of the itemized deductions, just use the Standard Deduction.

Use your estimated annual income for your Federal Form 1040 deduction, compute the amount allowed for personal exemptions for your family and get a sub-total. Then deduct the Standard Deduction from that sub-total. The resulting total will be you estimated Taxable Income. Then look in the Federal Tax Table for tax year 2016 for the tax status you represent for the tax on that Income. Your tax status might be Single, Married filing jointly, Married filing Separately, Head of Household, etc.

If you decide you are going to be able to itemize deductions you might follow the same procedure as for those that know they will taking Standard Deduction. You can adjust the estimated Taxable Income by the amount of deductions in excess of the Standard Deduction and see how your estimated tax comes out for your tax status.

IF YOUR CURRENT WITHHOLDING AMOUNT DOES NOT EQUAL 50% OF THE ESTIMATED TAX DUE, THEN YOU SHJOULD FILL OUT A FORM W-4 REQUESTING AN ADDITIONAL PERSENTAGE BE DEDUCTED FROM YOUR PAY THAT WILL RESULT IN THE ESTIMATED WITHHOLDING ABOUNT BY YEAREND 2017. SINCE MANY STATES BASE THEIR TAX ON THE FEDERAL RETURN, POSSIBLY IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO INCREASE YOUR STATE WITHHOLDING BY THE SAME PERCENTAGE.

If your total estimated taxes withheld equal at least 90% of the estimated tax liability, you might defer making changes in Federal Withholding until you see how you are doing at the end of the third quarter after September 30th 2017 There would still be time to change your withholding for a small amount before yearend.

Tables that show what the amount per exemption, filing statuses, and the Standard Deduction amounts by category appear here http://www.obliviousinvestor.com/2016-tax-brackets-standard-deduction-personal-exemption-and-other-updates/

This Month’s Income Opportunity
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Creative Vacation Ideas On A Tight Budget

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There are years when a family cannot fit the cost of a vacation into the family budget. Does that mean the family cannot benefit from a break in the work and school routine? Absolutely not.

A friend of mine spoke to his boss and ask if he could have four Fridays and three Mondays off using some of his vacation days? The boss agreed to that arrangement. The family began to plan seven mini vacations around close to home. Some of their ideas was three day camping trips some to State and Park Service campgrounds camping in their tent or popup camper. Another was going to a nearby town in a tourist area staying at a KOA Kampground where it cost about $40 and they had the use of the bathrooms, showers, miniature gold, bicycles, swimming pool, weekend breakfasts offered, and a campfire every night. Another option was to rent a barebones cabin , bring your own bedding and have the use of the facilities for $75.

Day visits to nearby museums from your location is a fun activity. Going to the local municipal pool for a family swim is always fun. Attending outdoor concerts in the summer time can be memorable. Going to plays and melodrama’s can provide great entertainment. Just watching local teams on the public fields playing softball can be entertaining. Playing tennis with the family , horseshoes, family softball game, throwing a football around, playing catch with a softball or baseball is also relaxing and fun. A day at the zoo or a park is family fun and low cost.

Family work projects to help a family in need to clean up or do building repairs can help break the routine and make you feel good inside.

Fishing and hunting can occupy many hours and offer relaxation.

All these things can be done on weekends and extended weekends on a low budget

This Month’s Income Opportunity
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Family Budgets Can Be Assisted By On Line Purchases For Necessities

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Amazon and eBay and other online sources can greatly help reduce family buying costs for many items. The amazing thing with the move toward online buying is that in many cases the family can have the items within a day or two delivered right to their door.

I have purchased a number of non-prescription items on eBay and Amazon for prices equal to or less than they would be in the drug store. Computer , cell phone, and television, supplies are generally cheaper online than you are at Walmart or Best Buy. The customer needs to be careful that they are getting a quality cord or item for their electronic devices and that it is coming from the United States. Many items listed on eBay look very cheap and then when you look at the shipping source it is in China and has a two to three week delay in arrival. Television sets can be purchased from about any store that you see in the mall by going to the site on the web for that company and can either be shipped to the purchaser or can be available for pickup within a couple of days at the store closest to your location.

Many grocery items are available on the web , even diapers , and higher costing bathroom items can be cheaper from Amazon.

Most of the sellers have feedback percentages listed. Those vendors with a 95% or higher feedback percentage are usually very reputable sellers. Also eBay will make sure a vendor makes it right by filing a report on their website.

This Month’s Income Opportunity
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Family Telephone Plans Can Destroy A Family Budget

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Unsupported Charges By Phone companies
In some cases the customer is giving the telephone companies a blank check with no bounds. We had a Verizon Jet Pack with a 10GB limit and then additional charges were at a much higher rate. The first few months we had it we exceeded the 10 GB and the additional charges were noticeable. About six months into the plan the charges went wild. We had turned off all our devices including the Jet Pack. That month they charged us almost $400 for the Jet Pack, $80 base charge and the balance additional usage fees. I checked and we had paid over $4,000 for the Verizon phone service most of which was for the Jet Pack. We completely quit using the Jet Pack and the high charges continued. I called Verizon customer service and they said if it shows you used the amount that supports those charges you used them. I requested to know the days and times that the charges were incurred, the representative said we do not have that information available. I said in that case I will not pay for the excess charges on the Jet Pack since it was turned off. We were obligated by contract to pay the monthly fee whether we used the Jet Pack or not for two years.

Finally, I wrote directly to the President of Verizon. He assigned his special assistant to correspond with me. Again his special assistant said we do not have the detailed information that could tell you the dates and times of usage. I explained the Jet Pack had been turned off for two months and still the charges mounted. She again repeated if it says you incurred those charges you owe them.

We cancelled the Jet Pack service and were told we had to pay a $350 penalty for early cancellation. We objected and the President’s assistant said we will turn you over to a collection agency if you do not pay the penalty.

Another Verizon problem was our phone service in the summer. We live at 10,000 ft south of Breckenridge, Colorado. Our place is located very close to a Verizon tower. The Verizon service is terrible. We have to search for areas where we can get service and they change daily. Verizon’s excuse is that we live too close to the tower and are under the umbrella where there is a limited signal. We have a phone booster with a Bluetooth which helps sometimes. We would have liked to cancel our service since Verizon cannot service our area, but my wife signed a new two year contract when she got a new Samsung smart phone from them and there is a large penalty fee to cancel. Verizon explained they do not have 4G service in our area only 3G, again a problem, our bill showed being billed for 4G. How can they bill a customer for service they cannot provide?

I sent a description of our problems with Verizon to to the FCC investigative division and never received a reply. Verizon customer service is not helpful by any measure.

Phones For Family Members Including Your Children
Before you sign a contract for phones for the whole family make sure you understand the data limits and the term of the contract you are signing in order to get a reduced price phone or a free phone. Make sure your children and family members understand a telephone is not a toy and mishandling has consequences for the whole family.

Shop Around For Phone Companies
I know in our case A T & T has better service to our area but we would have to pay a large cancellation fee for the less than satisfactory Verizon service. There are quite a few wireless phone providers. Shop around and I am sure you will find the best deal for your needs.

Touching The Bases Needed In Your Family Budget Building For Retirement

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Many people begin too late to prepare for retirement. I like to think of the considerations needed to be ready for retirement as a baseball diamond consisting of four bases.

First Base is allocating money in your budget for adequate life insurance for the husband, the wife, and possibly small policies on the children.

Second Base is systematic saving with plans designed to reach the funded money needed at different points in your life preparing for retirement.

Third base is acquisition of adequate family medical insurance, with an assisted living benefit, and covered burial and death expenses. This needs to be a budget item. Too many people wait until health problems arise and members pass on to fund those expenses.

Home Plate is where do you want to retire. Take trips and plan where you want to live after you are retired and determine the anticipated living expenses in that area now. Then project them with inflation built in for the date when you want to retire.

I have included the link to a article that appeared on Yahoo recently with a professional estimate of the amount of savings needed at different ages.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/heres-much-money-saved-every-141702355.html?soc_src=mail&soc_trk=ma

Regardless of your age now and the ages of the other family members, it is not too late to set up a plan to begin savings and planning for a retirement. The family needs to set a budget that is realistic and goal oriented so the retiring couple can realize their dream of retirement in a place they selected and planned for comfortably.

This Month’s Income Opportunity
Most people are probably not aware that magazines want full articles, short stores, jokes, and stories about actual personal or family experiences. If you sign up with Real Writing Jobs it provides the names of the magazines which includes the Saturday Evening Post and many other publications that want articles. It explains how to submit the articles and gives the addresses for submission. The articles can be submitted on line.
There are numerous job opportunities for editing , SEO optimization of existing dialog, data entry, proofreading, blog writing, and personal assistants all listed in the Real Writing Jobs lists.
Click on this link Real Writing Jobs The cost for this service is a one time fee of less than $40 after a 50% discount coupon on the site.

Getting off to a good start! First Months Family Budget Ready to Review

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The header photo is one I took of the pier at La Jolla California. There are a large number of seals near there which attracts many people, I love this scenic spot.

If you started your family budget January 1,2017, now is the time to see how your actual family finances fit the budget. If you did not start January 1st, then now is the time to start your February 2017 family budget using the pattern explained in the previous blog post.

Hopefully you have a worksheet set up on an Excel spreadsheet with the following column headings: (1) Line item description (for example: monthly income with employer or business name) (2) Budgeted Amount (3) Actual Amount (This is the column where you will post the actual January amounts) (4) Difference (This is the amount you are over budget if it is a minus and under budget if it is a plus amount)Total the columns for income and the expenses in all columns with a Total Income and a Total Expenses and show Over or (Under) Budget Total

With this information the family can see if the budget is realistic, spending is realistic , and what items in the budget may need to be adjusted. Also determine where the budget can be cut in order to cover overages.

Form W-2 and 1099 Time. January 31st is the deadline for employers, banks, and investment companies to sent out the W-2 and 1099 forms to the those people that are required to receive them. if you have not received all the of W-2’s or 1099 forms call or send a message to that entity so you can get those forms so you can proceed on your tax returns.

Time to accumulate the back up for your deductions for your tax return, like donation totals, taxes paid and type, medical expenses, casualty loses, tax preparation costs from last years return, interest received but not included on a 1099 form, etc.

Don’t wait until April 1st to get all of your tax back up information ready to prepare your return. Turbo Tax is very easy to use and follow. Start now and install Turbo Tax. Then enter your personal information. You will see if you have used Turbo Tax in previous years that they will auto fill the next years return with this information so you do not have to enter it. Then begin posting the items that you already have for your 2016 return, and as you receive items keep adding them to the return until you have all the known income and expense items entered. Then e-file the returns after it had been checked and shows no errors. The Federal Tax return is free with Turbo Tax and the return for one State is $19.95 that can be deducted from a refund or the person may pay with a credit card. Usually with in a few hours the taxpayer will receive a text message stating the IRS has accepted your Federal Tax Return, and a separate text message comes from the State usually a day so after you receive the text message from the IRS. If you send your return in early like now or in February the refund usually comes within three weeks.

DO NOT GET A LOAN FROM A TAX PREPARING SERVICE SO YOU CAN GET AN IMMEDIATE OR ACCELERATED TAX REFUND. THE EFFECTIVE INTEREST RATE FOR THE LOAN IS ASTRONOMIC AND NOT WORTH IT.

Good luck with your budget and preparing your 2016 Tax Return.

This Month’s Income Opportunity
Most people are probably not aware that magazines want full articles, short stores, jokes, and stories about actual personal or family experiences. If you sign up with Real Writing Jobs it provides the names of the magazines which includes the Saturday Evening Post and many other publications that want articles. It explains how to submit the articles and gives the addresses for submission. The articles can be submitted on line.
There are numerous job opportunities for editing , SEO optimization of existing dialog, data entry, proofreading, blog writing, and personal assistants all listed in the Real Writing Jobs lists.
Click on this link Real Writing Jobs The cost for this service is a one time fee of less than $40 after a 50% discount coupon on the site.

Scams Can Have A Big Impact On A Family Budget

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Most families feel secure and in control of their spending if they regularly practice family budgeting and track their spending. But, what happens if you fall for a scam and find that you have been ripped off or are being targeted to carry out a scam.

As an example, in the previous two posts I have mentioned having a used bicycle business with bikes in a rented storage unit and advertising the bikes on Craigslist. In one month I have had four scams that could have had a real negative impact on my budget.

Advertising on Craigslist- The first thing Craigslist advertisers need to do is vet interested buyers before you invite them to your home or storage area. If you are buying an item always take two people with you and do not give any indication that you are bringing a large amount of cash with you to buy the item or items. In Canada on their version of Craigslist a person recently called about a listed pickup that they were interested in. They expressed that they were very interested in purchasing the truck. The seller told them to bring cash, they would not accept a check even a cashiers check. The buyers went to buy the truck and had the cash with him. The seller was standing outside the truck when the buyer spotted him in a parking lot at a shopping center. The seller shook hands with the potential buyer and ask if he brought cash? The potential buyer did not say anything but was reaching in his pocket as the seller shot and killed him. The seller then searched the buyers coat pockets and found the cash took it and left. There were witnesses near by but they did not get the license number and the killer has not been identified or caught.

My Personal Scam Experiences This Month I sold two bikes to honest buyers the first week of the month and was encouraged about the potential for the month. I had seven bikes in my rented storage shed. Craigslist will only let you add an ad for a similar item every 48 hours, so it took about ten days to get all of my bikes on Craigslist. When I put an ad for a higher end Schwinn Midtown men’s bike on Craigslist within minutes I had a text message and two calls on the bike. The text message came first, a woman said here is my husband’s email address, send info on the Schwinn to him that is his favorite model of Schwinn, I am sure he will buy it. I emailed the husband. I got a reply immediately that said, “I am a very busy man and cannot pick up the bike myself. My agent will pick up the bike and ship it to Hawaii where I am moving. I am sending $30 extra over the $160 in the form of a cashiers check, since you are nice enough to hold it for me. As soon as you get the check , text me , and my agent will pick up the bike and ship it. Also be sure to take the bike off of Craigslist immediately so someone else will not buy it. He also said tell me why I should trust you to handle this transaction. We texted back and forth until I finally agreed to that arrangement. I had to send the buyer my name and address so he could get the cashier’s check and mail it. The check came in about four days priority mail that had tracking. The buyer texted me and said the check is in your mailbox. I picked up the check , it was for $1,500. I immediately texted the buyer and said what is your name and address so I can return this check , I will only accept a check for $160 the price of the bike. The buyer said the difference is for my agent, I have some things I owe him for and things I want him to buy and ship. I texted I am not your banker. The buyer texted, “Cash It”! I explained I do not have a bank account here , my account is in another state. I showed the check to a banker, it said “Cashiers’s Check” on Plaza Bank In Irvine CA. There was also the name of an LLC CPA firm in the upper left of the check. It had not been run through a check protector. I texted the buyer , the bank said this is not a legitimate cashier’s check. Again I ask for the buyer’s name and address. He continued to insist that I cash the check. I responded if you do not give me your name and address so I can return the check , I am reporting it to the FBI. He did not give me his name and address. I still have the check and have reported it to the FBI.

Scam #2 Different Buyer-two days later- This time minutes after I put a TREK 4300 bike on Craigslist, I get a text message that says I want to buy your bike but I am very busy and cannot come to pick up the bike but my agent will pick it up after the check arrives. The first scam was still in progress, so I was not fully aware that it was a scam at that point. This person wanted my name and address to send a check for the bike. He did not offer to send any more than the $175 for the bike. He said after the check arrives, text me and I will have my agent pick up the bike. He ask that I remove the bike from Craigslist so no one else could buy it. A check for $1,000 arrived Fed Ex two days later , it was not a cashiers check and had paperwork with it that ask that I call a check cashing service to give them information and they would give me permission to cash the check. This check had a corporation’s name and was on the USAmeribank in Florida. In a text message he also ask that I give the $825 to his agent. By that time I had figured out the $1,500 check was a scam. I texted the second buyer that it is obvious that this is a scam and ask what his name and address was so I could return the check. He also refused to give that information. I texted him that I was turning the check over to the FBI for investigation.

Three weeks later I Advertise the new Schwinn Bike again’ Within in minutes of listing it late at night I get a text message stating they wanted to buy my bike but were very busy so would have an agent pick up the bike after I received their cashier’s check. They also said they would pay me $50 extra for holding it for them. I texted back that this scam had been tried twice already this month and I was reporting their text transmission to the FBI. I did not receive any other communication from them.

What Impact Could These Scams Have On My Budget? A friend of mine that lives in New Brunswick related a story of a similar scam last night that occurred in his town. A family wanted to sell some furniture for about $3,000 U.S. currency and had it listed on their service comparable to Craigslist. They got text messages saying that the person wanted to buy the furniture for the $3,000, but would add $500 since they were not there. They ask that after the check arrived to cash it and text them and their agent would pick up the furniture and have it shipped. When the check arrived in the mail it was for $7,500. The people texted why is the check for $4,000 more than you promised to pay? The person texted for them to give the difference to the agent so he could pay for the shipping. The people deposited the check in their account, it was supposedly a cashier’s check. A person came by and picked up the furniture with a rental truck and they gave him the $4,000. A week later the bank called and said that $7,500 check was returned it is on a non-existent account and we have charged you account. The bank said you have one week to pay the $7,500 to the bank. The people have sent multiple texts to the person with no response. They are out $7,500 and their furniture.

Only Accept Cash When Selling To Unknown Parties. Do Not Give Your Name and Address Out until you are certain it would be safe for that person to come to your house. I worry that since I gave that information out to the two people above that they could send a person to retaliate since I did not cooperate with them and have reported them to the FBI.

The Federal Bureau Of Investigation has a form on their website where incident tips can be reported. I reported the three incidents above to the FBI and told them I still have the checks for $1,500 and $1,000. I give them the phone number and the name of the person that texted me yesterday supplied.

Furnishing And Paying For Interior Decorating Of Your Home On A Budget

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Every few years families are faced with buying new living room , bedroom, and dining room furniture, appliances, and a washer and a dryer. The cost of these items can easily run thousands of dollars if you purchase all those products new. There are discount furniture stores that can trim the cost somewhat but still it is outside the budget of many people to completely replace the main furnishings and appliances in their home simultaneously.

THINGS TO LOOK FOR WHEN PURCHASING USED FURNITURE AND APPLIANCES
I am sure in every area of the country particularly in the larger city areas , there are many second hand stores with some of the products you might be looking for. But I am sure you have found that most of the items are well used and priced almost as much a comparable new item.

A good place to start looking for home improvement furnishings and appliances is Craigslist for the area you live in. The advertisers on Craigslist usually include a photo of the product they are selling and provide a phone number and email address. A search for the town you live in can isolate the items closest to where you live so you will not have to drive abnormal long distances to see the advertised items You can search for couches, hide-a-beds, futons, washers, dryers, stoves , bedroom sets, etc.

Look for ads that say the people are moving and need to dispose of the items listed very soon. There appears to be more items that are newer and quite possibly still have some life left in them available from people that are moving. Make an appointment to go see the items you are interested in. Make an offer on the products if the seller has not stated the asking price is firm. Many times you can get the products at a greatly reduced price from the original asking price. Look at the number of days listed at the top of the Craigslist page for the individual item. If the item has been on the market for two weeks or longer , there is a good chance you can make an offer and they will accept your offer because they are anxious to get rid of the item and stop the calls. There are businesses in many of the larger cities that only sell used appliances and will guarantee them for 30 to 90 days. That gives the person some assurance that they are getting some value for their money.

Habitat for Humanity has thrift shops in many of the larger cities that accept furniture and appliances and may have something that serves a families requirements or expectations. Goodwill and Salvation Army have thrift shops that are usually pretty well organized so you can see if they have items that still have enough use for your purposes. There are also many Church auxiliary thrift shops that vary in the quality and organization of the products from area to area that may have some good items available at a reasonable price.

A combination of used items and new items may be the best solution. If you stop to assess the life of a stove , refrigerator, washing machine , and dryer , it may be best to buy new items that are on sale or reasonably priced. Certainly mattresses should be purchased new. There are many different qualities of mattresses. They may range in price from a $150 to thousands of dollars depending on your tastes. Couches , chairs, dining room furniture, side tables , bed frames and headboards, may be more conducive to looking for used items.

The point of this post is that a family can save money and still furnish a home they can be proud of.

THIS MONTH’S INCOME OPPORTUNITY IS A USED BICYCLE BUSINESS:
Recently I decided to buy a used bicycle to ride at my son’s home when I visited them. I have purchased several bikes in Colorado and Arizona listed on Craigslist. There is a large number of bikes listed in Craigslist.

I saw an ad in the Colorado Springs Craigslist for a Specialized Expedition 21 Speed Bicycle 2013 model in good condition for $150 in like new condition. That bike cost $483 new. I called and agreed to meet the advertiser at a storage shed complex at his rented shed. The bike looks like new , I offered him $110 and we settled for $115. The bike looks like new , no wear showing , and rides great It has a special Swedish gear indicator. This fellow had several bikes in his shed and had another customer there. He explained to me that he was an engineer for a large corporation, but decided to start a part time bicycle business. He said I sell about ten bikes a a week with an average profit of $50 or about $500 profit each week. He explained that he looked at Craiglist for bargains and went to garage and estate sales that had bicycles, to get the bikes. He commented that so many people just want to get the bike out of their garage so are willing to negotiate.

I would suggest that you stick to quality lower priced bikes like Schwinn, lower priced Trek, Diamondback Wildwood, and Specialized Expedition bikes. Specialized makes high priced bikes made of titanium that cost several thousand dollars. Specialized makes a lower priced quality line of 21 speed bikes also. Diamondback bikes cost from $200 to $400 new depending on the model , some are hybrid meaning street and mountain, and mountain bikes.

BASED ON THIS INFORMATION IF YOU LIVE IN AN AREA WHERE THERE IS A CRAIGSLIST AND A LARGE SUPPLY OF BIKES THEN POTENTIALLY YOUR FAMILY COULD HAVE A GOOD FAMILY BUSINESS THAT ALL MEMBERS COULD PARTICIPATE IN AND MAKE SEVERAL HUNDRED DOLLARS A MONTH.

I have started a bicycle business in Arizona where I live in the winter marketing used bicycles purchased on Craigslist. The name of my business is “Pops Cycles” . I hare rented a storage shed and have seven bicycles for sale. I have to list them one at a time. Craigslist has a rule you may not advertise similar items until a waiting period of 48 hours so to get seven bikes on Craigslist will take about fourteen days.

Buying and Budgeting For The Family For Christmas

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The header photo was taken 10-11-2016 from my deck located south of Fairplay, Colorado at an elevation of 10,000 ft. The photo is of Buffalo Peak showing the snow overnight and a rainbow.

“Big Box” stores start earlier every year putting out their Christmas stock items. This year I have seen Halloween items which are put out about Labor Day and then the stores begin putting out Christmas items right after that. On line shopping for Christmas has already begun the larger stores are advertising by attaching ads to emails. Amazon and eBay have included gift items in their lead screens for Christmas.

Why do I mention this early introduction to available gift items for Christmas? Because if a family sets a budget and makes a list of the wanted items for Christmas gifts now, they can watch for good deals over a longer period of time. In many cases the items are cheaper in October than they might be in December when the demand is high. Also for example extremely popular toy and game items have been known to sell out before the December Christmas shopping rush.

PREPARING A CHRISTMAS BUDGET- (1) Prepare a name list of the names of those you think you will gifting. Don’t put what you want to buy for them at this point. (2) After you have the name list, think of some of the items you may want to buy without necessarily assigning the gift to a person (3) Do some research on the internet, determine what sources appear to have the best prices for the items you have listed Most of the chain stores have a full compliment of products listed on the web. A person can either buy the products on line or in the store. Many times it is cheaper to order from the store’s on line ad and often you can pick the product up at Customer Service at the store. Amazon and eBay have many new items that may be cheaper than in the mall stores. Recently Amazon is trying to do away with UPS and FedEx as shippers and is doing their own shipping, it is not working well, I have had two items this week that never arrived and they refunded my money, they are not sure if it is the Post Office or their new shipping procedure.

After you are satisfied that you have done a lot of research and know what gifts you would like to give to each person on your Christmas gift list, enter the items by the names and the estimated cost. After you have entered this information for each person on the Christmas gift list. Determine the estimated total cost of the gifts. If it is within you budget , great, if not determine what gifts are causing the cost to exceed the budget. Then either change the gift item or God forbid , drop some people from the list.

Giving cash gift cards issued by various popular companies and restaurants- Determine how much you are having to pay for the card and when the card expires. Some gift cards expire and have an expiration date on the card. If they are not used the company keeps the money. Gift cards can be sent by email along with an electronic greeting card through Amazon. There is no additional charge for some restaurant gift cards.

LAYAWAY IS STILL AN OPTION If you are giving larger items that you do not want to store until Christmas, most stores will hold it for you until just before Christmas so you can bring that large gift home on Christmas Eve.

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