Archive for February, 2012

Some Foxy Updates & Additions

Posted Feb.29, 2012 under Blog

If you’ve been following me here since my launch in 2010, you’ll notice I haven’t done many upgrades to the look of the blog. I’ve kept things simple for the most part. The layout has been the same for a while, even though I switched to a different WordPress theme six months after my launch. I’m currently using a free WordPress theme that I’ve tweaked the shit out on the back end. A lot has fallen on my shoulders, simply because it’s nearly impossible to find a talented and more importantly a reliable programmer. I’ve contacted several programmers (some don’t reply at all and others reply weeks later), and most are simply not talented enough to my liking. If someone calls them selves a “PRO”, I expect professional advice, suggestions and input. It’s sort of like going to a hair salon versus going to a barber. I don’t want just another hair cut. I want the input from the stylist on what type of style would suit my big head, how short, and what suits my facial structure. That’s the difference between a $35 hair cut and a $12 cut at the local barber shop.

My expectations with programmers are right up there with my hair salon example. I’m looking for someone to work alongside with me, while constructively (key word here is constructive) suggesting ways to better monetize my blog, theme, coding issues and offer some fresh ideas. It’s not a lot to ask for, and I certainty don’t have an issue paying for quality talent. However, I’m not interested in half-ass mediocre talent or someone who’s too lazy to get out of bed in the morning.

This has led me to do a lot of coding work my self. Most of the coding is done trough trial and error.  I’ve made my share of mistakes and it’s been a pretty steep learning curve.  There have been times when sometimes things go awfully wrong. This is usually occurs when I become too brave. Thankfully I’ve made pretty good relationships with two designers outside of the PF community who are there to take over and resolve the errors I already made.

I have to admit that I’m a total backseat designer. This is totally me.Typically I create mock ups (often scribbled in pen on paper) and get the major changes to be implemented by one of the two part-time designers I use. Thus far, this strategy has paid off.

I often don’t write many posts on changes/updates to this blog. Simply I try to dish out quality content pertaining to personal finance. After all that’s what you asked for and it’s my duty to deliver that. However, if you’ll excuse me today, I wanted to share a post and give you some changes, additions and updates happening on Finance Fox.

New Additions

1. Email Newsletter

Last year during FINCON11 in Chicago  I had the opportunity to meet Justin (Marketing Director) from AWeber Communications. AWeber happens to be one of the leading companies in providing and helping website owners build  email marketing programs. Aside from an attractive price point that AWeber provides for the use of their email marketing service, they’re also excellent customer service providers and implementing the code is as simple as a few clicks of a button. Trust me, if a newbie in coding like me can do it, you can too.

I’ve been quite impressed so far with the service and the amount of readers that have signed up. I just wish that I started my email marketing campaign 8 months earlier at the inception of this blog.

If you haven’t joined my email list, I am comfortable enough to say you’re missing out. If you are one of the ones who has signed up already – THANK YOU. Your tremendous support is always valued. Since the launch of the email campaign four months ago over 100 readers have already signed up and continue to receive  a pretty comprehensive weekly newsletter with exclusive personal finance tips, motivating ways to save money and giveaways not offered on the blog.


2. My Debt Page

I created the “My Debt Page” as an outlet to summarize my debt story and what I’m doing to defeat my debt.  Everyday new readers are popping in, and having an intimate page like this gives everyone (new and old readers) the opportunity to learn about me, how I got into debt and most importantly what I’m doing to get out of debt. The link to the page is located in the header.

Click Here and check out My Debt Page!

3. PF Talk Page

I’ve been tinkering with this idea for a while now and recently I created a page called “PF Talk”. In short PF Talk stands for Personal Finance Talk and it’s a page dedicated to display the interviews that I’ve conducted and will be conducting with various Bloggers, Writers, Investors, Advisors, CEOs, Business Owners, Recruiters and anyone pertaining to personal finance.

The personal finance talk (PFT) is a lifestyle page dedicated to life advice, cool interviews, intimate photos and a look behind from behind the scenes. I’m hoping to cover a wide range of topics including investing, career advice, life advice, insurance, and fresh ways for us to become more money savvy.

My promise to you is that I have a lot of cool interviews lined up.  All of the interviews will be featured with some juicy photos to spice things up. Some interviews have already been conducted, so stay tuned for the articles going live soon.

blogging, website, personal finance, blog

Future Plans

1. New Theme

The plan to switch over to a “premium” theme has been on the back burner for a while now. In order to take this blog to the next level, I need to upgrade the theme. Even though I like this theme, there are many limitations. I’ve also done my fair share of tinkering with the theme and exhausted majority of the different options one can do to a theme on back end.

2. Logo

This is seriously long overdue. Logo is an identity of any business, and this is no different in the blogging world. I’ve had various pitches in the past to create a logo for this blog. Unfortunately not of the logo pitches came to fruition due to the price point. I’ll be honest here, I didn’t want to pay $600 for a 2D logo design.

This is essentially where the designer takes some clip art to create your logo. There are usually 4-5 revisions in the process before the logo is called complete. The biggest ingredient missing in this logo process is creativity. There is no originality. I call this mush. If I’m going to pay someone, I’m looking for some originality. I’m not interested in what the last guy got.

Enter Pete Anderson. He’s the owner/blogger on Bible Money Matters and a full-time graphic designer. He runs a side business in graphics design helping people like me with basic logo design, web-page banners and any other website graphics. Pete’s work is top notch and very, and I mean very affordable. Furthermore, he’s quick to respond and won’t stop tweaking your design until you’re fully satisfied.

Pete did a simple and very attractive logo design for my commercial cleaning business. I was happy with the end result and more importantly I’ll be a returning as a satisfied customer for my Finance Fox logo.

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Sunday Link Chairty # 12 – Survived Another RRSP Season!

Posted Feb.26, 2012 under Blog

Despite a shorter week, it was a busy week never the less. Between work, doing some last minute RRSP running around and preparing for tax season the weekend definitely couldn’t have come sooner.  Despite a busy week, I had the opportunity to sit down for a fun meeting and interview with the Co-Founder/CEO of InsurEye.  I won’t get into any serious detail now, but there are some exciting things coming your way in the very short future.

Please don’t forget that March 29th (upcoming Wednesday) is the last day to contribute to your RRSP fund for the upcoming tax season, make sure you squeeze in any extra cash you may have lying around. Trust me, your retirement plant will benefit and you may even get a nice little return from the tax man.

I haven’t gotten much reading done, but I managed to select a few great articles to make you think this week. Enjoy!

Blonde on a Budget – Cait got a nice tax return ($2,700) and had a lot of inquires on how such is possible. I’m not surprised at all by the tax return, but that’s just me. Here is why Cait got a LARGE tax return.

Prairie EcoThrifter – Ever wonder you’re always broke? Here are 10 reasons you’re broke.

Thousandaire – Kevin waves goodbye to another student loan, so he decided to share his secret to aggressively paying off debt. Great job Kev and congrats.

Mo Money Mo Houses – Jessica goes back to the basics with her post; The bread and butter of personal finance – 5 simple rules to live by.

Ask Ross -  Have you ever heard of the Taylor Move? Neither have I, never the less it sounds interesting. Turn your unused RRSP contribution room into thousands of dollars.

Thanks to all those for hosting some wonderful carnivals and including Finance Fox.

Festival of Frugality, Life Stages Edition

Yakezie Carnival Mardi Gras Edition

The Carnival of Financial Camaraderie – Rain Man Edition

Carnival of Retirement, 8th Edition – How we want to retire

Carnival of Financial Camaraderie # 22

Control Your Cash – Nice Guy Edition

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Supercharge Your RRSP

Posted Feb.25, 2012 under RRSP

supercharged, rrsp, loan, investing, investment, rrspsAnyone with some earned income can and should contribute into their RRSP. Contributions can made up to March 29th,2012 for this year’s tax season, and with the cutoff date fast approaching time is of the essence to make your contribution. The contribution limit is set at $22,970 for this year, and will rise again next year to $23,820. It’s never too early or too late to start contributing to your RRSP. If you’re in your twenties, time is on your side. Even with a small contributions of $50/month will add up over the course of the year, so you’ll likely end up with a generous return, but more importantly you’re saving for your retirement down the road.

Since this year’s RRSP season is slowly coming to a close, now is the time to plan ahead for years ahead. Any savvy investor or professional advisor will tell you to plan ahead, rather than make a lump sum last minute contribution. This way you’re saving throughout the year, and no easier way to contribute to your RRSP fund than through automatic withdrawals. It’s setup automatically and you don’t have to worry about it.

So, in spirit of becoming a more organized RRSP contributor and planning ahead; I wanted to share six savvy tips to get better organized, supercharge your RRSP for the year ahead and years to come.

How about a raise?

One of the easiest ways to grow your savings faster and grow your RRSP is by taking advantage of a salary increase. Rather than blowing your newly found money, why not direct it into your RRSP?  You’re already making the most of your previous salary, so you won’t miss the new money. Another bonus of directing your newly acquired money to your RRSP is that it will prevent you from overspending.

Automatic Transmission

Be real with your self and get organized ahead of time. Make a promise to your self and dedicate some much needed care towards your future. Make the year ahead the one that you actually set up automatic savings plan to fund your investment account. I love automatic savings simply because I never see the money, and every few months I go into my online banking to see the snowballed effect of automatic savings. Lastly, I’m never tempted to spend the money, because I never see the money.

Get your employer on board

If you ever wanted free money, this is one opportunity no one should pass up. If your existing employers offers a defined benefit pension plan, make sure you join. Sadly, if your employer does not offer such a plan, maybe it’s time to seek out an employer who does offer this. If your employer offers a group RRSP plan, sign up NOW! If you’re already signed up, congrats, you’re taking advantage of free money. By having your employer on board and matching your contributions, you’re essentially getting free money and funding your retirement goals faster.

Mortgage vs RRSP

Should you pay off your mortgage first or continue funding your RRSP? It’s a question that has been asked many times. Most of us do both, we pay our mortgages and fund our RRSPs. Maybe you should contribute to your mortgage a little more, and here’s why; Compare the rate of return on your investments in your RRSP with the interest rate you’re paying on your mortgage. Obviously you need to take into account the risk level into account, and I’m certain that the return on your mortgage will prevail. This is especially true with today’s mortgage rates, such as 2.99% fixed over five years.  Most seasoned advisors will agree that the highest risk-adjusted rate of return will almost always be repaying debt. Just look at the interest rates you’re getting on savings versus the interest rates on borrowing. Which rate is higher? The answer is pretty clear.

Borrowed Savings

Or as called by most; “Forced Savings”. Sounds strange enough, but a lot of people borrow to save. This is especially true during RRSP season, and banks are loving the ones who come in to borrow to fund their RRSPs. This is called a “RRSP top-up loan”. This strategy works well and the rates are not too shabby. I inquired about this loan on $5k. The interest rate was 3.25% over 12 months. Eventually I decided against it, simply because I didn’t want to take on a loan with other projects on the go for this year. A top-up loan may be right for you, however be ware of this tricky strategy. If you can’t repay your loan back in 12 months, there is no point of you taking on this type of loan.

Readers, have you been successful at making regular contributions to your RRSPs?

Eddie

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The State of the Property Market in 2012

Posted Feb.23, 2012 under Mortgage

While the economy may be suffering in some areas, it is a buyer’s market when it comes to real estate. Property values are fair and it is the perfect time for consumers to purchase their dream home at a comparatively affordable price. Mortgage rates continue to be at an all time low, giving the consumers another easier entry barrier for home ownership.

Additionally, first time buyer mortgages are yielding low interest rates due to finance companies’ efforts to attract more customers.

Low Mortgage Interest Rates Are Here

According to the recent 2012 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, 30-year fixed mortgage rates are averaging below four percent, which is a 40-year low. A year ago, rates were over five percent. For 15-year mortgages, the rates are just over three percent. This is not only good news for new home buyers, but also those who want to refinance their current home loans.

This is the time for want-to-be homeowners who were fortunate enough to survive the troubled economy to look at taking out their first mortgage. With a large down payment and a good credit score, those consumers can find rates as low as 2.24 percent. For a smaller down payment of 10 percent, those consumers can still get low interest rates that range from 3.79 to 4.89 percent.

 

Getting More House Than You Pay For

Some homeowners who need to get out of their mortgages are taking big losses on their homes. Studies show that losses of 40 percent or more of the original value are common. In a situation like that, a young couple who is looking for their first home loan may be able to buy a house that would be worth 300,000 dollars for only 180,000. Some buyers are reporting even deeper discounts in some areas.

Preparing for Your First Mortgage

Lenders used to require at least a 20 percent down payment for first time buyers. Mortgage companies are more lenient now because they desperately need new customers. Many companies are offering loans for only 10 percent down and some are offering them for as low as four to five percent down.

To get ready for your first purchase:

  • Make sure you have clean credit. Pay all debts on time and try to reduce the total amount you owe.
  • If you have no credit, start building it with small loans or credit cards. If you have to get a secured loan, do so, but pay it on time.
  • Start saving your down payment. Save as much as you can, but try to put down as little as you can. Many experts agree that it’s not a good idea to put a large down payment on a house, so shop around and learn the minimum you will need. Remember, you will probably have closing fees too.
  • Do some math to learn what you can afford. Financial experts typically recommend budgeting more than 28 percent of your income for housing. After you know that number, you will know how much house you can afford.

Take the Plunge As Soon As You Can

Economic downturns have always reversed. Financial experts expect that to happen again. If you are planning to buy a home in the future, make it as soon as possible. The day will surely come when property values will increase again and first time buyer mortgages will have higher interest rates. If you can comfortably make your purchase now, your home will gain equity fast as the economy recovers.

 

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