The TV is Broken Should I Repair or Replace?

Image via WikipediaThe picture on our TV went out the other day. The sound is OK, but no picture. The repair man came over and said it was a bad X-Sustain board. It would be only $350 to fix it. We spent $1100 for the 42" plasma TV 5 years ago. The question in my head is should we repair or replace the TV.

A new TV the same size could be purchased for $500 today. With the $150 difference from repairing it, I have decided to buy a new one. This decision was pretty easy to make because of the age of the TV and the probability of other things breaking on the set in the years to come.

Sometimes the decision to repair or replace is not so clear. I did have to give this one a little thought and a trip to the store convinced me that the TV's today cost 50% less than when I purchased my TV and the high cost of repair was not encouraging.

A few years ago My roof was in question. Should I repair a 30 year old roof or replace? The repair cost was 25% of the new roof cost. Also the maintenance on the old roof was high compared to the new roof which is negligible.

So how do you decide?

I put together a check list of common things that could be repaired or replace around your home.

Your Roof: 

There is a time in every roof’s life when it needs to be replaced. But, do you really need that new roof now? It’s a difficult decision given that a new roof can be costly. Just because the roof is leaking a bit does not necessary mean it needs a full replacement.

Replace it if:

• It is 20 years old or more. The average roof life is 15 years.
• There 1/3 or more of the shingles are damage, missing, cracked or curling.
• You see sagging roof boards or mold in your attic.
• It was significantly damaged by a storm. Your insurance may cover this

Repair it if:

• You see minimal water damage in your home. Most water leaks can be repaired.
• You are only missing a few shingles. Repairing a few shingles may only cost $75 – $250.

Your TV: 

It’s a sad day when the tube stops working. It’s usually very high on the list of priorities, but a decision has to be made to fix or replace first

Replace it if:

• There is a recall for a defective TV. Sony is replacing certain models of their TVs for a great discount because they have defective parts.
• It’s old. New technology is better than ever and has become more affordable. You will likely get a better TV at a lower price than your previous one.
• The repair will cost more than half the price of a new TV.

Repair it if:

• You bought the extended warranty.
• It’s a really big expensive TV. It will not be easy to afford to replace this and will be worth the cost of a repair.

Your Business Copier:

 An office copier can be an expensive investment. What do you do when you your copy machine isn’t working properly.

Replace it if:

• The cost of repairs over the last six months adds up to more than fifty percent of the cost of the copier.
• It’s not reliable and you are losing money on your business without it.
• Leasing a copier is cheaper than your monthly repair bills.

Repair it if:

• Your warranty has not expired.
• You can purchase the broken part on the cheap and replace it yourself.
• It doesn’t break down very often.

Your Gutter System:

 Gutters carry out an important function for your home: Carrying water away. It’s important that they are functioning properly, so action needs to be taken when you notice something is wrong.

Replace it if:

• You notice that the system is rusting out or the nails are pulling away from your home.
• Water is pouring over even when the gutters are clear of debris. The system may be too small for your home.

Repair it if:

• They simply need to be cleaned. Some gutters leak because they are full of leaves. Gutter cleaning only costs $150 to $300 per day.
• Less than 2 or 3 sections are damaged.

Your Hardwood Floors:

 A hardwood floor can hold up for more than 100 years! Refinishing your hardwood floors can make them look like new again in most cases, but there are a few exceptions when you will need to replace them.

Replace them if:

• You want a different grain or much lighter color.
• There isn’t enough material left to refinish it again. It has been sanded many times and the nail heads are showing at the seams.
• Water damage has caused the floors to warp or buckle.
• They have very deep holes or cracks.

Repair (or refinish) them if:

• There are scratches or traffic wear, but plenty of material left to sand.
• You found them underneath your old carpet or vinyl floor. Old hardwood is very valuable and a refinish will take off any material left from the carpet or vinyl.

Why Use an Online Bank Instead of a Brick and Mortar Bank

Image via WikipediaThe main reason people don't use an online bank is that they are afraid of losing control of their money. This is simply wrong. An online bank will give you the same or added control of you money. If you have made a purchase online you have used the same process that online banks use. 


A credit transaction is basically a money transfer you are responsible for. You trust your credit card company to complete the transfer of money to the online store so you will receive your purchase through the mail. The online banking system uses the same transfers and safety protocols that the credit card companies use.

Everyday when I go to work I pass by my bank. The only time I stop by is to use the ATM. My income is directly deposited into the bank weekly. I never go in the bank. Over the last 15 years I have used this bank I have gone in 3 times. It's not necessary. All my transactions are done by computer. I check my balance, deposits, and my online billpay on my computer at home. If I need checks, I order them online and they are delivered by mail. There is no reason to go to the bank for anything but my ATM use.

Benefits to Online Banking.
Interest on your account balance. The bulk of brick and mortar banks give little or no interest. Online banks give over 1% interest and even more on their CD's. When you don't have a physical building to maintain and pay for you have more money to pay interest and give rewards on checking accounts.

Automation for your finances.
Automation of your finances means using the banks online billpay services. These free services allow you to pay your bills with a few clicks of your mouse. Billpay does all the work when paying your bills online. It's easy to set up. You can set up billpay to pay your bills for any day or any month way in advance. You can even set up billpay to pay your bills a year in advance if you wish.

Automation of your saving.
Just like setting up your bills to be paid online, you can set up your saving to be automatic. Set a weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly transfer of money to your savings account. You can even set up transfers to your stock and mutual fund accounts.

How to find an Online bank.

Google has an online comparison site that shows the details on different banking an saving accounts. Got to Google Comparison Savings Accounts to see what's available.

An online bank I use is PerkStreet Financial. PerkStreet Financial is the only checking account that has rewards for using your debit card. Customers have the choice of cash back, music downloads, or a free coffee. PerkStreets claim to fame is that just by using your debit card on just your normal purchases, you can easily earn $600 cash back every year.

Improve your financial life with the PerkStreet Financial^SM Debit MasterCard®. Save money, have fun and stay on budget with the only unlimited 2% cash back debit card. Don't miss out. Sign up today.

5 Ways To Fight Those Overspending Bad Habits

Image by Food Thinkers via FlickrYou have made up your mind to get out of debt. All your spending and expenses are laid out in you new budget. You are going to be different from almost half of all Americans who don't even have a budget. You have a plan.

The problem is old habits are hard to break. You used to be unorganized and didn't even know where all your money went. The reason for that was you were a splurger. You saw something you liked and you bought it. You didn't care about a budget or saving, you wanted it and you wanted it now.

The budget process is a lot like being on a weight loss plan. You plan to eat less and work out at the gym but that chocolate cake sure looks good. The temptation is very strong and it takes a consistent effort to not eat the cake. The same is true for your budget. Old temptations to buy something you know is not on the budget is an old habit that is hard to break. It is possible that you may never be free from the old habits, so you need to understand how and when these temptations come up and form a plan to avoid them.

Human behavior is a hard thing to change, so we have to set up roadblocks to this bad behavior. If we were on a diet we would not have a chocolate cake on the kitchen table, so also we must remove items that cause us to spend to much.

1. When making a large purchase, talk it over.
Before you go out and spend money on something talk it over with someone you respect. After talking it over with someone you may realize that you don't need to buy the item you want. You may see another or cheaper alternative to your need. Plus this delaying of the purchase may just put you off to it altogether.

2. Put an item in your budget for these splurge purchases.
It's you emergency cushion for slip-ups in your spending. Planning on your future mistakes will allow the mistake to not mess up the rest of your budget. If you don't mess up use this money as a reward for getting through he month successfully.

3. Stash your savings in penalty rich accounts.
Penalty rich accounts are accounts like Ira's or 401(K)'s where withdrawing from them trips a penalty and income tax payable. When you think about the money you will be losing upon withdrawal you will think twice about using it.

4. In your mind pretend you already own the item.
When in the store shopping you may see something you want to splurge on. You know you shouldn't, but you are going to anyway. Trick yourself by holding the item as you walk around the store. Soon the need to purchase the item will pass and you will put the item down.

5. Leave your money and credit cards at home when you are shopping.
When shopping just bring the cash you need to get the job done. You have physical removed the most important thing from the purchasing equation, your money. No money, no splurging. It may seem childish, but you are in a financial mess and drastic steps need to be taken.

Learn from your mistakes.
More people than ever are filing bankruptcies, don't be a part of that statistic. Be creative about fighting your spending issues. It's hard, but in the end it will be worth it.

The Best Place For You To Work May Just Be Under Your Own Roof

Image by Let Ideas Compete via FlickrThe traditional job market is expected to have slow growth for many years to come. This has forced many people to find work in the most unlikely place, their own home. There are indications that business are hiring, but they are hiring workers on a contract basis.

Let's face it,our slow economy is going to be slow for quite a while longer. Businesses are not hiring because they just don't have the work or just don't have the money to hire full time employees. Their only option is to hire part time, contract based employees.

The benefits of part time or contract workers to the employer are many. They don't have to pay for the usual expenses like health care, social security, 401(K)'s, and actual office space. Hiring outside help, is a big savings for the company.

The facts.
The facts are online employment middleman Elance is showing tremendous growth. The increase is 50% higher than last year. They have had over 48,000 jobs posted in the last 30 days.

There has been a reboot of the way companies hire people to do their work. The Bureau of Labor Statistics states that 68% of hiring in 2010 was in the form of contract based freelancers.

This kind of freelance work is the bread and butter of the younger generation just entering the workforce. The freedom of working from home for multiple employers is highly appreciated.

Many people have pounded the pavement, sent out resumes, and have gone interviews only to be disappointed. Many of them should have stayed home and started a freelance business.

Many online sources can get you the work you have been looking for. With the expansion of the information age and telecomputing, you will never have to leave your home to go to work, again.

There are many sites to find work, but the biggest is Elance.com. There you will find work consisting of programming, designing, writing, marketing, administration, consulting, and finance. There are othe websites so search around to find the perfect job for yourself.

Some key skills are needed to make working from home a good experience:

• Enjoy your work. If you don't love it, it will show.
• Sure working from home has a lot of perks. But make sure you like the work you are doing. Do the thing that you are most qualified for otherwise you may tend to lose interest. 
• Make sure you are educated with home tech. Like computers, fax machines, and printers

To make working at home easier you must have a basic knowledge of your computer and it's peripherals. Getting online and being able to cure a sick computer or business machine is a must.

Are you a self starter?
You have to be a self motivated person to work at home. You won't have someone looking over your shoulder every day.

Give your best effort.
You must always over deliver on your freelance work. Many times your work is given a score on free lance websites. A bad review may make you unhireable in the future.

The bad economy has caused a shifting in the standard job. The new norm is independent contractors and free lancers.

Top 10 Ways To Get Ready For Retirement

Image via WikipediaAccording to the United States Department of Labor, less than half of all Americans have figured out how much they need to save for retirement. In 2009, 13 percent of private industry workers with access to a defined contribution plan (such as a 401(k) plan) did not participate. The average American spends 20 years in retirement.

1. Save early and often.
If your saving for retirement already, don't stop. If you haven't started yet, what are you waiting for, get going. The fundamental reason to start early is that it will have time to grow. Just putting money in an account isn't enough, the miracle of compounding will transform your weekly deposit into a large amount when it comes time to retire. It only works if you start early.

2. Know the amount you need to live on in retirement.
Retirement is not cheap. Experts say that you will need 70% of your pre-retirement income to maintain the same standard of living you enjoy now.

3. Participate in your retirement plan at work.
If your place of work has a matching 401(k), make sure you contribute all you can to it. The matching is free money in your pocket. Your taxes will be lower, your company may kick in more, and automatic deductions make it easy. Over time, compound interest and tax deferrals make a big difference in the amount you will accumulate.

4. Look into your employers pension plan at work.
If your employer has a traditional pension plan, check to see if you are covered by the plan and understand how it works. Ask for an individual benefit statement to see what your benefit is worth. Before you change jobs, find out what will happen to your pension benefit. Learn what benefits you may have from a previous employer. Find out if you will be entitled to benefits from your spouse’s plan.

5. Educate yourself about basic investment knowledge.
Educate yourself about the different ways to save your money. Put your savings into different kinds of investments. Learn how diversification and why investing in different places helps your overall rate of savings. Learn about your plan’s investment options and ask questions. Financial security and knowledge go hand in hand.

6. Do not touch your retirement savings.
If you withdraw from your savings early you will lose your principle, interest, and it's compounding power. You may even incur tax penalties for an early withdrawal.

7. Put money into an Individual Retirement Plan.
You can put up to $5000 per year into an IRA, when you are 50 or older you can put even more. When you open an IRA, you have two options – a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. The tax treatment of your contributions and withdrawals will depend on which option you select. Also, the after-tax value of your withdrawal will depend on inflation and the type of IRA you choose. IRAs can provide an easy way to save. You can set it up so that an amount is automatically deducted from your checking or savings account and deposited in the IRA.

8. Find out about your future Social Security benefits.
Social Security pays benefits that are on average equal to about 40 percent of what you earned before retirement. You should receive a Social Security Statement each year that gives you an estimate of how much your benefit will be and when you can receive it. For more information, visit the Social Security Administration’s Web site or call 1.800.772.1213.

9. Ask lots of questions.
While these tips are meant to point you in the right direction, you’ll need more information. Talk to your employer, your bank, your union, or a financial adviser. Ask questions and make sure you understand the answers.

10. Check out these web sites for more information.

AARP
American Savings Education Council
Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards
Consumer Federation of America
The Investor’s Clearinghouse
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

 

Do You Tip For A Job Well Done Or Out Of Guilt?

Image via WikipediaWhen you leave a tip are you doing it for good service? Do you leave the same amount of tip even for bad service? I know I have. I have been told servers are paid a meager wage and the bulk of their income is depending on tips. I know it makes me feel a little guilty that I may be, short changing my server.

Even if I have gotten lousy service I can never work up the notion to stiff someone or leave a small tip. I guess some people are neurotic and need approval by leaving a decent tip. We don't want to be thought of as cheap. So out comes the cash.

Cornell professor Michael Lynn has found in 20 years of research, the main reason people tip is to avoid social disapproval.

What was a shocking fact was that the level of service has little to do with the amount of tip. He found out that the level of satisfaction was influencing only four percent on the decision of how much to tip. Also that our willingness to tip regardless of service was because of a sense that the customer is in a better position financially than the server and wishes to avoid the servers envy. Thus a tip is a payment to reduce that envy, says Professor Lynn. Also that the tip is a way to say, sorry that you have to serve me.

Tipping is a cost of being served

If you think about the pay structure of service people, you will see that tipping is sometimes their only payment for services. Tipping is expected. If restaurants paid the servers a living wage, then the restaurant owner would pass that expense down to you. You would be paying the tip in another form.

Tipping experts say that you should pay a server 15 percent for adequate service and 20 percent for very good service. For poor service you still pay ten percent. Remember that the servers have to pass on some of their tips to the busboys, bartenders, and hostess. Punishing the server, only punishes the others to.

You might think of the waitress, too. It's possible, just possible, the poor service you received was not really her fault. Maybe the kitchen was backed up or she was given too many tables to cover.

If you want to help cure bad service, rather than skip the tip, speak to the manager about the server's behavior or about what was wrong with your dinner.

What about the tip jar?

When you see a tip jar you can feel free not put anything in it. The tip jar is just a way to make you feel guilty by putting it in the open and everyone watch what you put in it. Starbucks, day care, convenience stores, and ice cream stands are not supposed to be tipped. It is optional, if you feel so motivated, put something in.