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money

General

4 Things You Should Know About Bitcoins

While the financial world is anything but predictable, few innovations hail such a change as bitcoins. Only entering public consciousness in 2008, the bitcoin is a relatively recent discovery, and as such, its full impact on the way we think about currency is yet to develop.

As with any major shift, many are keen to capitalize on the opportunities this new form of digital currency could offer. But before this can happen, there are 4 things you should know about bitcoins.

Who Invented the Bitcoin?

The identity of the bitcoin’s inventor is still a matter of some interest. The shadowy figure named Satoshi Nakamoto has never appeared or been photographed by the press, and was claimed, in 2016, to be an alias for Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright. Initially convincing, Wright’s story eventually crumbled under scrutiny, and while he maintains his claim, the larger bitcoin community has deduced his proof inadequate.

January 10, 2017

General

Could You Live Without Money?

Do you think you could live without money for a day, a week, or even a month??? Most of us would probably be able to handle it for a day, and perhaps for even a week, but definitely not any longer than that.

There is an incredible German woman by the name of Heidemarie Schwermer who actually has pulled off living money-free now for sixteen years, and she says she is very happy. She had previously lived a “normal” life, but after her two daughters had grown up, she decided to give all but a few of her possessions away and live without money.

It first started out as an experiment for her back in 1996. She thought she would try to live without money for one year as she was sick and tired of living within a greedy consumer society. She traded her skills of gardening, cleaning and doing therapy sessions in exchange for food and shelter. Talk about gutsy!

Not too many people that I know would be so bold as to take such a big leap of faith. But this German grandmother truly is unique.

To share her experiences with others, Schwermer has written three books, and a documentary film entitled Living Without Money is available on DVD.

To learn more about this amazing grandmother, check out this Yahoo! article entitled German Grandmother Lives Money-free and Has Never Been Happier and watch the short video clip.

She truly is an inspiration. Although most of us won’t be able to imitate her lifestyle, at least we can get a little insight into what truly matters in this world. What Schwermer really wants is “to help people reflect on their way of life and their relation with others.” And she says that for her, “giving up money gave me quality of life, inner wealth and freedom.”

February 17, 2012

General

Do Men And Women Handle Money Differently?

I’ve been reading a very interesting book about understanding the differences between men and women called Men Are Like Waffles Women Are Like Spaghetti by Bill and Pam Farrel. Although it doesn’t focus too much on men and women’s differences when handling money, there are a few things the authors mentioned that caught my attention that I thought I would share:

“A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he wants.

A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item she doesn’t want.”

Another illustration the authors provide compares when men and women eat out with their friends:

“When the bill arrives, Mike, Charlie, Bob, and John will each throw in $20, even though it’s only for $22.50. None of them will have anything smaller, and none will actually admit they want change back. When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.”

April 30, 2010

Money Saving Tips

What Are You Saving Money For?

It’s great to save money, but what are you saving it for? Money is simply a means to an end. It helps you to achieve your goals, whatever they may be. But saving is almost impossible if you don’t have a goal for the money you are saving.

If you are currently having difficulty saving money, you need to ask yourself what your goals are. Do you want to travel, start a hobby, or buy a motorcycle? It’s important to define your goals. Once you have determined what you are saving for, it will make it so much easier to save.

It’s really hard for a person to save money for the sake of saving. What good is money if you don’t have a plan for it? It’s like buying a vehicle and then letting it sit in your garage untouched. The best way to ensure that you will be able to save is by determining what your goals are. It’s important to consider your short, medium, and long- term goals and then begin to tuck away money towards each of those goals.

Focus on your goals instead of focusing on how hard it will be to save up to reach your goals. By doing so, you will be motivated to live within your means and you will be less likely to overspend. As the saying goes, “keep your eyes on the prize.” Try it and see how it works for you. Saving doesn’t have to be a hard and frustrating task. It can be easy if you motivate yourself by setting targets that will enable you to achieve your goals and aspirations.

October 28, 2009

Money Saving Tips

Avoid Money Wasters

Although I have written blogs about some big money wasters already, I think it’s important to emphasize them so that we can avoid them. There’s no point in wasting money that we work hard for. Think about it this way, if you waste your money, you are also wasting your time. Why? Because the more money you waste, the more time you have to spend working to pay for it all! Below is a list of just some of the money wasters out there. There are many more, so watch out for them!

1. Eating out rather than bringing your own lunch to work. Bring some leftovers from last night’s supper rather than spending $5 to $7 everyday to buy lunch.

2. Buying food and then letting it rot in the fridge. It happens to all of us. But why? We need to be more aware of what we are buying and make sure that we are eating it before it goes bad.

3. Bottled water. Rather than buying hundreds of bottles and polluting our environment, why not save your money and the environment and drink filtered water brought from home? At around $1.50 a bottle, if you buy one bottle of water every day, you are wasting almost $550 per year!

May 7, 2009

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