money really matters

Many of you frugalers are surely die hard fans of shopping websites like Amazon.com, Craigslist.org, ebay.com saving money on every gifts you purchase and try to find deals on day to day shopping as well. Recently we bought diapers at Amazon saving $10 compared to walmart. I don't know an item Amazon don't sell. Anyways, here is few more to add to your list. These websites are all different kinds, not just shopping websites so check them out.


SmartyPig.com - Saving smart towards goals.


I like to call Adult version of PiggyBank, real and smart. It is a unique patent pending savings program launched to help people save for specific goals. It is neither a bank or credit union. It is just internet company who bridges consumers and banking breaking away from traditional savings methodology. I came to know about this website from mymoneyblog.com.


In our traditional banking world, we all have checking and savings account. May be you can have "n" number of savings account in ING Direct but still it is just another savings account towards a goal. But SmartyPig main motto is about giving importance to your goals and savings account is  placed behind it. They can add money into your account. It gets even better with high interest from reputed BBVA bank insured by FDIC.


You can have goals like buying a car, Christmas shopping or anything. Another intersting aspect, you can use social media to invite friends to help save for you. Few things which turned me away initially was, they are not a traditional bank with account numbers for your saving goals. You can only transfer or withdraw money via ACH or debit cards. With high interest rate and retailer gift cards with bonus percentage, it is an attractive savings program hard to miss out. I will post more details about SmartyPig in my later post.


VistaPrint.com - Cheap Marketing tools.


This one is my favorite when comes to ordering marketing tools like business cards, banners, car magnets, T-shirts. I been using Vistaprint for almost 2 years now. They been around for a while but expanded their offerings a lot in recent years. They offer cheapest marketing/advertising in the internet. I only paid $9+ shipping to get a T-shirt, Cap, Large and small car magnets. Actually I paid only shipping and item are free. If you are small business and just want to put words out, it is the cheapest and simple way to start your marketing for the business. Quality is reasonbly good and worth for the price paid.


Neighborgoods.net - Borrow, Share or lend and save...


This one is interesting site taking our good old concept online. A website where neighbors help neighbors to save by borrowing and sharing..


We all used to knock on neighbors door for a tools or pint of sugar when in need but these days neighborhoods have become so security conscious and privacy oriented. We lost the human touch of living in a lively neighborhood. I am not going to say this website helps to get along and party but it surely helps on step forward to share, lend, borrowing items in need. I signed up and posted few items which I don't have problem lending to a neighbor who can prove me he/she lives in and around the neighborhood. That's the way it should be.



Groupon.com - Daily deals at Best



I discovered this website last week from different sources. It is about group purchasing and offering the deals to consumers. If you are aware of woot.com which was recently bought by Amazon.com, the idea is similar except Groupon is not about just product. It can be any businesses. At woot.com, they used collective purchashing to publish great deals everyday and consumer has to purchase quickly until it runs out. Groupon.com uses similar collective/group purchasing concept to find deals for consumers in different areas and market it with consumers who are signed with them. Simple concept to deliver best deals for group of consumer using email and social media in your area and around town. You can sign up and check it out.



Meritline.com -  Find almost any Handy Electronic stuffs cheap.

Last but not least, I always wanted a website where I can find everyday electronic or tool stuffs which we usually don't have time to search and get at HomeDepot or Lowes. Meritline is the place to go, it has been real saver of time and money. I have ordered many items like battery charge finder, LED lights for kids, cheap head phones and more for the past couple of months. Most of the time no shipping, just pay for the item and it usually ships from Hong Kong or Singapore and takes 2-3 weeks. As per the quality, I cannot guarantee it. It depends on the product and various. You get what you pay for. Try it out.


Finally a bonus website, OverMyMinutes.com - Use your minutes wise.
I been using this website for almost a two year or so. It saved me bunch of dollars by alerting when I was close to go over my talk time. You can put your provider info in their websites and they will alert you to make you aware that you are close to your allowed talk time. It is a useful tool for your kids cell phone as well which every parents needs these days.

Hope you get chance to check out the above websites and share you feedback. If you know of any other similar type of website, please share with us too.

Beginning of this month, we saw an update on the CARD Act and talked about possible changes expected to happen in response to the bill both from credit companies perspective and personal level.  Making credit card statement simple and easy to read is one among many changes requested by law. Many credit companies and banks made those changes way ahead and you should be getting new version of your credit card statements now. It is really very detailed in every aspect for the consumer.  Thanks to Card Act 2009.


If you are an American express credit card member, you should have also got a pamphlet explaining the changes in your credit card statement. Not all banks and credit unions spent time and money to explain the changes to their consumer. Let us see the changes in details by looking at the old and new statement side by side.

OLD		NEW

2. Summary Section

In this section, they summarized full activity of the credit account clearly to give a detail picture by breaking it down to show the fees, advances, interest and so forth. It is a very important section which will surely help even experienced credit consumer.

3. Fees and Interest Breakdown

This last section at the bottom might seem redundant but it another break down of fees and interest charges. If you have fees for late payment or cash advances, this will break it down to show them. Also if you have many different interest changes, Interest charged section will show that in detail.  Last but not least, Interest charge calculation section gives an idea how interest is calculated and charged.

I took my DCU credit card statement and AMEX had similar sections and most credit card statements should have them as well according to the law. These new addon sections to the credit card statement comes real handy for any type of consumer. We can only hope atleast now everyone reads their credit card statement and not give silly excuses they don't understand it.

When I was choosing the name for this website, I thought different and various possible names. Finally, I ended up with money really matters because I really made sense. Money really matters to every human being in this world. Don't you think?
 

Money really matters to our livelihood.  It  obviously matters to each and every one of us to exist in this world. We all want a money tree or Duck laying golden eggs. But, let me rephrase with a caveat. It is not only that matters for our life. In our life many important things matters like family, friends, love, joy, fun and much more. "Life shouldn't be printed on dollar bills", said by Clifford Odets. socialist.  I totally agree but those bills surely brings and binds it all together. Let me share 5 factoids which I came up, why Money really matters to each and every one us.


Fact #1: The Life Supporter

Money is our life support like breathing to our body. Without taking breath, human cannot survive. Similarly one cannot survive without money in this earth. It helps to satisfy our essentials, needs and wants.  Zig Ziglar, an American author and motivational speaker once said, Money isn't the most important thing in life, but it's reasonably close to oxygen on the "gotta have it" scale. 

Fact #2: The Driving Force

Money is the driver behind all our lives. Almost every one of us wake up every morning and run to work or to their business just to make buck or more so all can live our lives and take care of our family.  It is the driving force but you are the driver behind the wheels. Don't ever make the money drive you crazy.  Robert Orben, famous magician and comedy writer once said, "Every day I get up and look through the Forbes list of the richest people in America.  If I'm not there, I go to work".


Fact #3: The Problem Creator & Solver

Finally, Money  is the problem creator and as well the solution for it. Studies in many countries have shown that the main reason for breakup in relationship or divorce is money. It is the force behind your muscle which need to be controlled and never let it give a loose punch. "Money is neither my god nor my devil.  It is a form of energy that tends to make us more of who we already are, whether it's greedy or loving"  said by Dan Millman, former Tramphilon world champion athlete, college professor


Fact #4: The Dream Enabler

Money is the enabler of our dreams. It helps to reach our life financial goals which leads to personal growth. When you set a timeline to your dreams, it becomes goals. When you pave the way to achieve them, you draft a plan. When you implement your plans to get to your goals by taking action, it becomes a milestone or success. Money many times helps you get to your dreams whether its a dream vacation to visit 7 wonders or buying a home.


Fact #5: The Social Signature

Money gives you a strong signature in the society to show your status. If you say, you are millionaire or billionaire. You are surely going to good reception in society. Having a luxury car, bigger home or beach house really adds up to your image. Money identifies you and me to this world whether by categorizing as middle class, lower, higher or upper middle class. 


But Mr. Warren Buffet, one of richest man in the world said, "Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars." It is that simple.


So money really matters to us but you decide how it actually matters to you. Whether to you shape your life or actually start a life. What is your factiod about Money? Share with us..



Image sources: universityofvirgina.com, newbeetleclub.com
Quote sources: quotegarden.com,brainyquote.com

Few months back, I got a letter from Citibank regarding my cashReturns credit card like many other consumers. The letter states  that they will start charging annual fees from April 2010 onwards.
 

Thanks to new credit card rule changes by CARD(Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure) Act 2009 which took effect last month.(July 2010) It is causing waves of destruction to many good credit card holders. It's good and dandy to have rules to protect creditcard consumers but it shouldn't come at the cost of efficient credit handlers causing lot of hassles and loss of benefits.


Click here to refresh your memory by taking a Quick lookup at CARD Act.

After Effects, Moves and Maneuvers

Adding to the bloodshed caused by the economy downturn and higher defaults, the new law changes costs more for the credit card companies. In order to compensate the loss, many companies worked tirelessly since last year when the bill was signed, trying to find new ways to tackle the bills and balance their income sheet. They either hiked the already existing fees or invented new fees and pushed to consumers. Afterall credit card companies are in the business to make money.


Below are the list of some common after effects and maneuvers by companies to get over this bump.


Resurection of Annual fees: Annual fees are back again after 10 years to make another round. They used to only exists for air miles related cards but now it is going to be ordinary credit cards as well. Several banks adding these annual fees to even existing accounts like Citirgroup. Many Citigroup customers will start paying a $60 annual fee on April 1. They offered an option on how to get the fee waived by averaging monthly charges above or equal to $200. According to their new process, they will credit the fee first and reimbursed part of the fees every month depending on the usage of the card $200/average per month. Check out the letter copy if you want.

Vanishing Rewards Programs: My Visa credit card provided by DCU offered reward points and it is going away as per their recent communication. Their excuse, high cost associated with the program and also CARD act. They are planning to offer reward programs seperately with high percentage credit cards. It doesn't make sense. If a good consumer who has a credit card with low percentage won't get rewarded and cannot earn points for their best effort to their account. That's totally not right. 


Raise old fees and add New fees: These include a $1 processing fee for paper statements for cards issued by stores such as Victoria’s Secret and Ann Taylor. Inactive fee starting from $15 will be charged if the card is not used for certain period, example $19 inactivity fee charged by Fifth Third Bank. no customer activity for six months. Also overdraft fees are increased as well.


Rate Increases: The average rate offered for a new card climbed to 13.6 percent last month from 10.7 percent during the same week a year ago — meaning cardholders had to pay almost 30 percent more in interest, according to Bankrate.com. Many banks including JPMorgan Chase raised their cost of balance transfers to 5 percent of the transfer from 3 percent.

Some cards linked to rewards programs for purchases like gasoline were shut down. Card companies also slashed credit limits for millions of accounts that remain open. Besides making credit more expensive, banks also made it harder to get and keep credit cards. One big reason: Since the financial meltdown, many credit card issuers have been trying to reduce risk.


These changes might not come as surprise to many but still we have to adapt and make proper changes in our credit card usage. As per me, I already closed my Citigroup card which started charging annual fees and will continue carry cards with no annual fees.  There are many good things came out of this bill particularly now the bills are clear and very detail. That will be very good thing for average consumers.


Recommendation


Keep an eye out for credit card statement and policy changes and take the decision to whether you want to continue to carry the costliest card or go for cover under a better card with no strings attached like Costco Truesavings or Bank offered credit cards.


Sources: chronicle.northcoastnow.com & Chron.com

For the last two post, we have been talking and sharing lot about Millionaires and their mindset. Particularly in the previous post, I have listed few questions which was asked by friends and even asked myself many times. So I wanted to dwelve into those questions and crack some myths and misconceptions about Millionaires from research/study.

Let's start with something simple.

#1. I have to become a millionaire/rich person to live happily.

That is not true but many think that way. If you ask me, that's a misconception by many people. It became ingrained in many people minds after looking at rich people,  that they can live happily once they become a millionaire/billionaire or rich person. 

One person's success in life shouldn't be all about money and how much he/she makes. It is just a part of the puzzle. It is mostly about how you live with what you make and how you help others to get what they want.Studies have for years shown that cash has only a small effect on our well being.  One can still  lead a miserable even after getting a windfall of money and there are many examples to prove that case.

#2. Millionaires are lavish spenders.

That's totally wrong. If you take Mr.Warren Buffet, he is one among the richest people in the world but he still lives in his old house. He drives his own car which is pretty old too. There are many other rich who lead a conservative and frugal life. Many new millionaires are true frugalers and made to the list by saving and conscious spending. Not everyone makes to millionaire list by winning a lottery. You should check out the book, frugal millionaires(http://www.thefrugalmillionaires.com) and you will understand how millionaires think differently than normal person.

#3. I will be financially free when I  become a Millionaire.

Don't count on it not in this current economic situation and expected high inflated one in the future. These days, simply being a (one) millionaire is not enough to be financially free, depending on ones age. Financial freedom is totally independent of being rich person. Not all rich people call themselves financially free. Here is an interesting reportfrom study conducted by Universty of Belgium, UK and  Canada about Wealth and well being. Actually money makes you financially dependent. When you have more money, you become more dependent on it for everything and anything.


#4. Only men are up against Million dollar goal.

According to a report, nearly half of all millionaires are all women. There is no big difference among Men or women when it comes to making millions. Here is the listof women billionaires all over the world.


#5. You need to have Millionaire Mindset to be a Millionaire.

Not entirely true but it helps to reach the goal quicker. You can ask, What is millionaire mindset? It is explained in detail in the best selling book wrote by famous network marketer Bob Protector. He shows how an ordinary person can create his/her own economy by using their mind and thought process. You can read more at free ebook copy.  I also found this ezinearticleto be more precise and short. To be short, it is about fine tuning your act and mind to decide your own the destiny and move towards as the only goal. I don't truely follow up them since I believe in my simple 3P strategy, Plan, Persist and Perseverance.  


#6. I really need a Millionaire goal to be successful.

Not actually. It depends on each individual. Every individual is different in their own approach but many analyst recommend having a higher goal can lead to higher success rate. As I said earlier, success in life is different for each individual and it doesn't have to measured in dollars.  Sometimes it is fun to track numbers and dollars to see the progress. But most of the time, it is about pride to say that you are one among list of High networth individual in this world.

Also tracking Many experts from their real life example, "What gets tracked, gets improved?" If you don't track your progress, you won't know where you were and where are you now. Tracking the progress is an important part for financial advancement.


#7. Everyone can't become a Millionaire.

Why not? If school drop outs like Bill gates, David Mudrock(Dole foods CEO) can do it, you can too.  You don't need an MBA or doctor to be a Millionaire. Here is the list of all drop out millionaires,  and here is one from forbes 2010 list of top ten drop outs.

If this makes you feel better and get you working on your Million dollar goal, go for it.

I have unrevealed some myths about millionaires, now you might ask how can easily become a millionaire?

It is actually a million dollar question and nobody has silver bullet answer for this question. If I had known the exact answer, I would have been a millionaire by now. Obviously, you cannot be a millionaire overnight unless two things happens, winning lottery or waking up with million dollar idea. There are "n" number of ways to become a high networth individual(over 1million).

A very conservative approach many banks suggest is to save a particular dollar amount from your early age like 21 every month and you can be a millionaire when you are 60 years old. It is also not set in stone because it depends on factors like saving rate and economical condition. But there are other ways like starting a new business, inventing some new product, work on multiple investment strategies etc., 

Just hook on to a strategy which works for you according to your comfort level and keep at it. Don't give up, just keep trying...


Image source: westLoh.com

Last blog post was an article from Trak.in about "India's Millionaires" and how the number got doubled last year even with all the economical uncertainity. I decided to continue the topic by writing about Millionaire Mindset and evaluating my own goal of becoming High Networth Individual (HNW).


I remember a funny saying, "You can easily get rich in two ways, by birth or by marriage." First one is obviously not in your hands but second option is feasible if you are confident about your people skills. But if you are a believer of  yourself, there are better ways. Things took a new turn especially during the dot com era and people mentality started dreaming on high places. Thats the same timeframe when "Who wants to be  a Millionaire?" show started airing and creating buzz all about becoming a millionaires. It surely boosted the moral of many individuals to aim big particularly many entreprenuers in the middle class.


Following the hit of the show and dot com era, many millionaires made news more often than ever and millionaires list started growing. According to the "World Wealth Report" which is a report on individuals with a net worth of at least $1 million in all assets except their primary residence. In the World Wealth Report 2007 - "The 11th annual World Wealth Report from Merrill Lynch/Capgemini finds the World’s High Net Worth (HNW) population growing to 9.5 million with their assets rising to $37.2 trillion.


Talk about becoming a Millionaire was everywhere in the internet. Many self made millionaires called themselves as gurus and grabbed the chance to preach their very own mantras via seminars and books. To name a few, Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosoki and more... But recently due to economy crash, investment values plummented and many millionaires dropped from the list.  "The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more, not including first homes, fell by 2.5 million to 6.7 million in 2008, according to the Spectrum Group report, as reported by Reuters. As of 2009, there were 2,886,200 HNWI's in United states. 


Even after seeing the uncertainity of market, job losses and economy struggle, millionaire fire continues to live on among many brave souls. Whether I consider myself as a one among wannabe millionaires or it is just one of my goals, I strongly feel it is a challenging goal to have in your list. It is surely not a easy task for any one especially a guy like me who came from middle class indian family. But it is an achievable target for any hard working individual.


If there is a WILL, there is always a WAY to reach it.  Whether you choose to work hard in your profession, spend less and save more or putting money on different invest vehicles or trying to invent new business ideas or products like iPhone or Joined MLM network, every route has got challenges and worth trying it out.


First thing I did was started tracking my progress by updating networth every month towards my goal to become millionaire in 2015. It really helps me to put things in perspective like where I was, where I am now, know periodic progress and what I need to do move forward in my journey.


Being a hardcore wannabe Millionaire, many times I asked myself number of questions like,

Is the Millionaire goal truely worth it?
Do I have to become a millionaire to live happily?
Why do you need to have Millionaire goal?
Can I have my Financial Freedom when I become Millionaire?
Does only men are up against Million dollar goal?
What is Millionaire Mindset?
Are Millionaires lavish spenders?


Are some things just myths about being a Millionaire or real truth? I plan to dwelve more into these questions in my next post. If you have any questions like above, please share your thoughts and views.

High Networth Individuals(HNI) or Millionaire lists always grabs my attention any time of the year. Because, I am interested to see who made to the list and get inspired so I can make to the list one day.  

I read the below interesting article from Trak.in about the India's Millionaires count doubling in the last year. A developing nation where millions of people still live under poverty line but can still produce more HNI every year only proves the point that Rich are getting rich more and Poor are getting more poorer. The gap is widening and there is no solution on the sight to bridge it. I thought may be you guys would be interested, so posting with the persmission from Trak.in editor. Read on...

It is quite surprising to see the wealth of High Networth Individuals soaring  drastically even though we are just coming out of a global recession. Last couple of years have been tough economically through-out the world – but the wealthier seem to have gone even more wealthier, while the middle class&lower class seem to struggling even more.

According to the World Wealth Report recently released by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, most countries in the world have increased their HNI (High Net-Worth Individuals) count. While, India has more than doubled it – maximum compared to any other country in the world.

In 08-09, India had 84,000 HNI’s which grew by 50.9% to take to the number to 1,26,700 HNI Indians !

In Asia Pacific region, Hong Kong saw the maximum rise with 105% growth in number of HNIs followed by India (50.9%) and China (31%).

I think one of the main reasons for such kind of growth in India is appreciation of stock market in India. The market capitalization increased 103 per cent in 2009, compared to a dip of 64 per cent in 2008.

Here are some of the highlights of the Report

Medical insurance is a big part of every American household. It takes about 5-10% of the income if covered by employer or more around 10-25% for self employed individuals. Self Employed individuals including myself are forced to shop for their medical insurance needs in the open individual market. With no proper regulation, they face lot of hazzles to get coverage for themselves and their family.  Without proper medical coverage is a major concern for many individuals.

The hazzle starts with coverage limitation for pre-existing conditions, even rejections in some cases, high premiums, high out of pocket expenses and much more. I myself changed insurers many times in the past 5 years just to keep low deductibles under the budget. With the new National Health Reform Act, we hoped for some relief and looks like some relief is here.

Drawbacks of Current individual insurance market

Let's first look at some major downsides in getting individual health insurance coverage which might help to appreciate the changes.

• An individual/self employed cannot buy coverage in the “group market” like small business or corporate companies. Employers usually cannot be turned down for coverage in the group market and also negotiation power.  Instead, the self-employed have to buy coverage in the open individual market which might allow flexibility to choose from different insurers but premium is not bargainable.

• Also Insurance companies many times rejects applicants with pre-existing conditions and are not required to cover them at anytime. They even cancel the insurance for many individuals when they get sick very badly. So people with serious health conditions was never able to buy coverage in the individual market. Even if they do, they can only get very expensive coverage in the high risk pool, if they can afford it. On top of that, there will be annual or lifetime benefits limitation.

• Treatment for pre-existing conditions can be excluded for up to 18 months for coverage offered to self-employed people in the individual market. Usually it is only 12 months for the coverage sold to small businesses or corporate in the group market.

Changes on the way by New Health Reform Act

That's correct. Changes are coming on our way and we can only hope them to be good. Below are some of the proposed regulations, most of them are expected to go active by next year.

• Insurance companies would no longer be able to deny coverage to kids with pre-existing conditions.
• Certain annual and all lifetime limits on benefits would be prohibited.
• Insurance companies would no longer be allowed to drop coverage when policy holders get sick.
• Prohibits insurers from requiring policyholders to get prior authorization for emergency services.
• Insurance companies must also spend at least 80 percent of their premium revenue on direct medical care for individual policyholders — or pay rebates, starting next year. 
• Insurance companies will not be able reject applicants with pre-existing conditions or set premiums based on a person’s health status.
• Individuals and Self employed people can buy coverage in the Health Insurance Exchange (just like members of Congress), where he/she can choose among competing insurance companies.

As per reports, National health reform act is expected to help around 13.1 million self-employed Americans. At the same time, there are things which still need to considered like Pregnancy coverage. I don't see any relief for young self employed who want to grow their family. Maternity insurance is another area individual insurance doesn't cover and hope they do something about it.

This week I am so happy and mentally relaxed, feeling a big sigh of relief.  I finally completed the CFP course and I am so excited about it.  Yes, I did it after all!!

Many of you know or might have saw it listed as one of my goals is to get CFP Certified by 2010. Completing 6 course series is one of the education eligiblity requirement to sit for CFP Certification.  While I am thrilled about finishing the course, I know my journey is not over yet. I just crossed half of the ocean. I need to cross another half and hope to make to the other side soon!!

Like my friends you might ask, what is CFP actually? What is the big deal in getting CFP certified? Let me explain a bit if you didn't google about it.

What is CFP?

Many say CFP certification has reputation similar to ceritifications like CPA and tough to pass close to bar exams. It is recognized as standard among those who seek the knowledge and skills necessary to objectively assess their clients' current financial status, identify problem areas, and recommend appropriate actions--in short, to provide comprehensive, client-based financial planning. With trouble economy, consumers are looking for trusted and authority advisors. CFP is a symbol of authority for planners to show their expertise in financial planning to help guide clients in the right path of financial well being. 

What is CFP certified means?

CFP ceritification is administered by CFP board which enforces strict rules and ethics to be followed by the planners. This gives great level of comfort to consumers who wants to talk about their personal financial matters and their future growth. It is difference as simple as asking advice from nobody or certified plumber to fix your faucet.

The Certified Financial Planner® or CFP® Professional Education Program has defined the financial planning profession since 1972 and has been the basis on which many other financial planning education programs have been developed.  

To become a CFP certificant, you must get thru (5 E's):

1. Eligibility - To start with, certification will require an undergraduate bachelor's degree from an accredited college.
2. Education - Satisfy an educational requirement taking CFP board-registered program if you don't have finance background.
3. Exam - Pass the CFPCertification exam: a 10-hour test that takes 1.5 days (four hours on Friday and six hours on Saturday), conducted three times during the year (typically on the third Friday and Saturday of March, July and November).
4. Experience - Acquire three years of qualifying full-time work experience (or equivalent). Qualifying work experience is defined by the CFP board as "the supervision, direct support, teaching or personal delivery of all or part of the personal financial planning process to a client.
5. Ethics - Agree and adhere to the Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibility

As of now, I just got through 2 E's and need to get pass another 3 E's.

Motivation and Experience

I even asked myself, Why am I doing CFP? Being a software guy by education and profession, what is the need and motivation to take on this leap effort?  The answer in short, I am passionate about money management. At the same time, I want to share my wealth of every day successful experience about money and help guide others. In the blog flocked internet era, anybody who has small experience are also posting and sharing their experience. How can I differentiate myself and show authoritative. A person is only considered as an authoritative source only when he has formal education and experience.

Today, I share my knowlege and experience through this money matters website and other avenues as ordinary individual. But I want to be an authoritative source. I have motivator that's Mr. Ray Lucia, CFP who can talk and answer almost any type of financial questions. I want to be like him, may be work for him some day. Whether I make money or not, I want to help middle class individual with their money and financial issues. 

One more thing, I like to challenge myself now and then. I get bored if I don't do that. I took the challenge to run a marathon in 2002 just after starting to run in 2001. I completed in 3 hrs 41 mins. So this is another challenge which can help others too. I feel this is even bigger than Marathon. I have done many Microsoft certifications in the past and I thought it would be a breese.  I was proven wrong. I signed up for Self study course with Boston University CFP program. The program was well explained and also got good support from tutors. I paid only 60% of fees compared to other insitutions charge because I signed up the right time to get a very good offer.
 
I started at Dec 17,  2008 and took me till Jun 15, 2010. There were hundreds of topics discussed in detail manner. I thought of completing well in advance but once I started it took me 4 months to finish my first course and another 3 months to do the next one. I realized, I won't be able to complete all of the course in 18 months time period given by BU. I have heard many people took 3-5 years via self study path and I don't want to take that long. So I decided to speed it up and start to put more time and completed one by one in every 2 months by skipping the reading assignment.

I am so glad it is over and my long study hours are done for now.  It took around one and half year while working full time and having another baby along the way. It is well worth an experience to learn and connect every aspect to the real life scenorio. But it wasn't an easy task. I am happy to have accomplished part of my 2010 goal.

For all these, I owe a Big Thank you to my lovely wife. She stood behind me, pushed me by reminding and encouraging me all the time to get this course completed.

Next Step

I am taking a break for couple of months. I am so close in getting my 2nd rental property and need to  work on it to put up for rental. After that, I plan to sign up for review classes in August to prepare for the Nov exams. I have confident and hope to clear the exams in the first attempt and plan to write about it. 
 
Image source from bionicturtle.com

Last month, it was bad one for my vehicles. I was involved in two accidents. Fortunately, I am ok but it is unfortunate to have accidents and none of 'em is my fault. Both times, I was actually rear ended and spared with minor damages. It is not fun to get involved in any type of accident. That's for sure. But what can we do, even if you drive safely and careful enough other drivers tends to just find us and hit.

First, it was my Ford Truck which is already 13 years old but runs quite well so I can't complain. It was a teanage driver who was trying to squeeze her Ford Tarus car on the left side to take left turn while I was waiting infront of the light. She hit me on corner and caused small dent with scratches on the bumper. We stopped and witnessed the damage. I decided to let her go because it wasn't that bad and truck was already old. I didn't bother to get it fixed. For the benefit of her, I let her go even without taking any insurance information.

Next my Honda Accord which is only 6 years old. It is in good shape and I like to keep that way because it is our family car. This time it was lady again who thought I started moving after lights change and read ended directly behind me. I felt little neck pain but not bad. We pulled out of traffic and stopped near by to assess the damages. It wasn't too bad outside but I was worried about internal cushion/absorber damage. So I took her license information anyways but didn't call any cop for the report and we left.  

Daunting Questions

In both the instances,  damage was minor and nobody was hurt. Like any accident, they came shocking and unexpected, bringing in some kinda of uncomfortable feeling. At that moment, one has to act fast and think what needs to be done next.  This only holds true when it's a small/minor accident and you are in stable and consicous condition. Questions I started thinking were,

1. Do I call the insurance company and report?
2. If I want to report, do I need to call Police to get report?
3. Am I ready go through the hazzle of getting this small problem fixed?

Answers to all the above question depend on analyzing various aspects like,

I. How old is your vehicle?
II. Do you own the vehicle or lease it?
III. Are you some one who care so much about your car, even small scratch bothers you?
IV. Are you willing to go thru the hazzle of insurance calls and fixing the vehicle?
V. Are you in hurry to go somewhere?

For example, if it's my own car, reasonably new and damage was physically visible, I would better call and report to insurance and also get  a police report if I and other party has more time.

Let me remind you one important thing. As per the insurance contract, we all are suppose to inform the insurance company of any accidents to our vehicles. But how many people do it for sake of avoiding the hazzle and insurance premium increase.There are surely Pros and Cons behind reporting.

Pros

1. Increased resale value because of dent/damage free vehicle
2. Peace of mind because your Vehicle is safe without any internal damages

Cons

1. Your future auto premium can go up according to your Insurance score were claims are part of calculation. If you make more claims whether it's your fault or not, insurer might have unfriendly logic to quote higher premiums as per my experience.

2. Hazzle and Time Consuming process - You either have to take your vehicle to body shop or make an appointment for an appraiser to come out and get estimate. Take to body shop to get it fixed. Meanwhile you need to get rental vehicle or alternative commute arrangement to work and list goes on.

3. Vehicle might not be safe to drive with damages unless they are cosmetic.

4. Carfax report gets updated with vehicle accidents and reselling might be hard. At the same time, if you didn't fix the damages you won't get price for the vehicle. It's a catch 22.

So I would like to conclude by saying, Use your own judgement. My situation and decisions might not fit everybody's. Try to use the lists of questions mentioned above which might help you to make a sound decision. Don't drive a unsafe vehicle just because you need to spend some time and money. That would be my personal caution.