Smart money moves you probably aren't making
Posted
Sep 17 2008, 01:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Ron Haynes at The Wisdom Journal is almost ready to bet the farm that you aren't doing everything you could to better manage your money.
Doing our best to make every penny count could provide a greater sense of security as we collectively ride an economic roller coaster. So we took him up on the challenge and reviewed his "50 frugal things you aren't doing."
He's right. We're not doing all we can.
Here's what we haven't done:
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Protected ourself in case of disability. We're self-employed, so if something were to happen that kept us from typing on this computer, we'd be in a world of hurt. We need to look into disability insurance.
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Made plans for long-term care. We're not quite old enough to think about that, but the day is coming.
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Read a book in a while. Who has the time? But on the other hand, don't you hate it when people smugly remark, "I've never read a book." How is that a badge of honor?
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Installed CFL bulbs in every light in our home -- and we should. A post at Financial Ramblings says you're better off financially to replace standard bulbs with the more expensive CFLs now rather than wait until the old bulbs burn out.
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Tried to improve our mind with online courses. We're too busy following his advice (Tip No. 5) about making extra income.
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Figured out what our retirement will be. Retirement? What's that? But we are still saving religiously for it.
Among things we do or have done:
Here's another item we think should be on his list: Get health insurance if you don't have it -- and check out high-deductible insurance coupled with a health savings account. If you have insurance, try not to let it lapse. If you lose your group coverage, getting individual insurance can be difficult and very expensive if you've been without for a while.
