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More Famous Money Quotes

I enjoy reading famous quotes, and as I was flipping through Robert G. Allen’s book titled Multiple Streams of Income, some of the quotes caught my attention. While some are thought-provoking or inspirational, others are just plain entertaining. Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.

The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. Vidal Sassoon

The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you’re still a rat. Lily Tomlin

Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out. Ty Boyd

If money talks, I need a hearing aid. Joe L. Whitley

You miss 100% of the shots you never take. Wayne Gretzky

Behold the turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out. James Bryant Conant

Many an optimist has become rich by buying out a pessimist.

I know that they say money can’t buy happiness but I’d like to find out for myself.

Buy right and hold tight. John C. Bogle

I’d like to be so rich that when I write a check the bank bounces.

If you think nobody cares about you try missing a couple of mortgage payments.

Opportunities are usually disguised as hard work, so most people don’t recognize them. Ann Landers

There is no security on this earth. There is only opportunity. Douglas MacArthur

Lottery: A tax on people who are bad at math

I started out with nothing and still have most of it left.

A study of economics usually reveals that the best time to buy anything is last year. Marty Allen

Most people’s goals are too low and too slow. Mark Victor Hansen

If you want tot get to the top, you must first get off your bottom. Khow Wong

Money may not buy happiness, but it surely helps one look for it in more interesting places.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal. Hannah More

I’ve never been poor, only broke. Being poor is a frame of mind. Being broke is a temporary condition. Mike Todd

Most folk’s financial problems are really quite simple – they simply don’t have enough money.

Money talks – mine only stutters.

Failure is often the line of least persistence. Zig Ziglar

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. Albert Einstein

October 20, 2009

General

Choose A Qualified Home Inspector Before Buying A Home

I watched part of Holmes Inspection on TV the other day and it was about this young woman’s experience in buying her first home. She bought a 20 year-old townhouse and had a home inspector give her the go-ahead to make the purchase. Within a week of taking possession of her new home, she noticed that something in her bathroom was causing water to leak through her kitchen ceiling. She hired a plumber to resolve the issue, but all the plumber did was make a large hole in her kitchen ceiling and then he told her he couldn’t find the leak so he wouldn’t be able to do anything. Nice!

So, when Holmes and his crew came to take a look at the situation, they were able to discover where the leak began. Unfortunately, the more work they did on the house, the more problems they discovered. The home had been recently renovated, so even a home inspector could not have possibly caught every problem since some of the issues were covered up. Nevertheless, the home inspector wasn’t thorough enough and should have seen some red flags that would have indicated possible issues with the home.

When purchasing a home, in order to save money and frustration in the long run, it’s good to make sure you find a credible home inspector. Also, be wary when purchasing an older home with recent renovations as the new laminate flooring or a fresh coat of paint could be covering up some nasty household problems.

Make sure to ask lots of questions about the house and find out as much as you can from the previous owners. Also, don’t be afraid to ask questions of the home inspector. Make sure they check the electrical and plumbing. The key is not to become emotionally attached to the house because if you do, you may end up buying a home against your better judgment.

Buying your first home can be really exciting. Do your due diligence and get a home inspection before committing to a home purchase. Make sure your home inspector is reputable and highly experienced. Buying a home is a huge investment; Make sure it’s a wise investment that you won’t regret.

October 8, 2009

General

Coping With Identity Theft

Lock your doors, hide your money in the safe, hire security guards to protect your prized possessions, but what can you do if someone stole your identity? If something valuable is stolen, you can call the police and hope to get your stolen property back. Rightly termed as the crime of the 21st century, victimizing millions of Americans, you can do very little if you find your identity stolen. Identity theft is on the rise, and nearly everyone is vulnerable to this new-age form of fraud.

How is it done?

Using all possible methods, criminals steal credit card numbers, social security numbers, telephone calling cards, ATM cards and other key pieces of an individual’s identities. The information on these is used to impersonate the victim, by spending maximum money in the shortest time they can.

October 6, 2009

General

10 Ways To Prevent Identity Theft

After writing about my experience of losing my credit card, I thought it wouldn’t hurt for me to delve a little deeper into the ways that we can proactively prevent, or at least protect ourselves from identity theft. Here are some tips below:

1. If you use the Internet, be sure to use antivirus software on your computer and keep it up to date. You should also enable the firewall on your PC.

2. Be careful what you send via email. Limit the amount of sensitive information you send in your emails. Be very cautious about including account numbers, credit card information, numbers such as Social Security Numbers or Social Insurance Numbers, etc. Keep in mind that someone else could be reading those emails.

3. Be creative in choosing passwords. Don’t use obvious personal info like your address or birthday. Instead, try to incorporate a variety of numbers and letters that would be difficult for anyone to guess.

4. Make sure a website is legitimate before entering any credit card information to make purchases. If you do a quick Google search on the company you will be able to find out right away if they are a scam. Also, check out the site’s Privacy Policy to ensure that they won’t be selling your information to spammers.

5. Limit information that you provide to people over the phone as well. You have no way of telling if they really are who they say they are. Never give out your credit card information or sensitive identification numbers such as a SIN or SSN over the phone.

6. Be sure to destroy all sensitive papers before throwing them in the trash. Using a shredder is an efficient way to ensure all the information is illegible. Be sure to file away the information you need to keep in a safe place.

7. Be careful to not let your credit card out of your sight. When at restaurants, it’s better to pay at the till then to let someone take the credit card from the table. Although for the most part employees are honest there are a few who take advantage of unsuspecting customers.

8. Check your online banking or bank statements regularly to look out for suspicious charges. If you see any unusual transactions, be sure to contact your financial institution.

9. Always be aware of your surroundings. If you are making a PIN purchase, do your best to shield your PIN entry from curious eyes from behind or beside you.

10. Don’t put too much personal information on your checks. The less you reveal about yourself, the better.

September 4, 2009

General

Who Cares What The Joneses Have? Not Me.

It can be really tempting to want to have as much or more than our neighbors, colleagues, friends, family members, etc. It’s like we want to prove a point – that we are successful and important. What most of us don’t realize is that we will be a lot more content and enjoy our lives a lot more if we are satisfied with what we already have. “Keeping up with the Joneses” is an unhealthy lifestyle choice that can cause serious debt problems among other things.

Instead of focusing on what others have and trying to attain those things, why not be thankful for what you’ve got? You will be more likely to save for things that are important to you rather than wasting your money to keep up appearances. Half the time we don’t really want the things we buy anyway – we just don’t realize it until it’s too late to return them.

It’s not that we shouldn’t buy anything – there’s certainly nothing wrong with having things. The main thing is the motivation for buying things should be because they will be good for you, not just because someone else has them.

My goal is to be willing to make small sacrifices now so that I can achieve future goals. For instance, my husband and I try to take a 2 week vacation every year. We forfeit eating frequent restaurant meals and other expensive forms of entertainment so we can save enough to take an enjoyable vacation. Rather than worrying that our neighbor recently landscaped their yard and feeling like we have to keep up with them or rather than being concerned that we are not going out all that often compared to other people our age, we are content because we know that we will soon be able to take a vacation and that we won’t have to borrow money to do it.

Not caring about what the Joneses have is very freeing, and it’s a lot easier on the pocket book. In the long run a lot of people who live expensively are often in debt up to their eyebrows, and I would much prefer to live more simply and work my way towards becoming debt free and ultimately financially free. I know this goal will take a lot of discipline but I am up for the challenge because I know it’s worth it.

August 7, 2009

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