Lazy Man and Money

10 Ways Frugal Living Prepares You for an Emergency

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[Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post by Carmela Tyrell. After she introduced her site to me, I asked if she’d be willing to write a guest post and here it is! (Obviously!) Carmela is an experienced prepper that enjoys spending time working in her garden and exploring new ways to generate off-grid electricity and water for her family’s home. She prides herself in working hard to cut reliance on all things “municipal” and transition to a more self-sustainable living. She is also very knowledgeable about herbal remedies, surviving a nuclear disaster and bugging in. You can read more of Carmela’s work on Survivor’s Fortress.]

As someone dedicated to both frugal living and prepping for short and long term disasters, I can tell you that it is possible to achieve both goals. In fact, my experiences lead me to conclude that frugal living is one of the most important things you can do to be ready for any emergency. Sadly, I’ve seen more than a few of my fellow penny pinchers run to the stores to buy all sorts of useless stuff before an emergency hits because they completely lose sight of what frugal living has already made available to them. Have a look at how your frugal lifestyle may make surviving an emergency easier (and less expensive) than expected.

Your Priorities Will Always Be Clear

I don’t know about you, but when I’m focused on saving money for a new computer or paying down a debt, Kim Kardashian’s antics are the last thing on my mind. When you have a set of priorities, few things can steal your valuable attention and cause you to waste energy and money on less important matters.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: The ability to remain focused on tangible objectives is also very important in an emergency. No matter whether it takes hours to prepare potable drinking water or days to reach a safe location, keeping to your financial priorities is an excellent practice that will translate to other situations even if no money is involved.

Your Goals Will be Tangible and Practical

If you are as frugal as I am, there is also a very good chance that everything you buy must:

  • be something you can use to make more money than you spend on it
  • have a tangible purpose that advances some basic necessity of life
  • be cheaper to operate and last longer than comparable items on the market
  • must be on sale, or marked well below the average cost.
  • Must never make you get that naggy feeling that you are spending too much.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: During an emergency, the most important thing you can do is start off by understanding what must be done and what isn’t as essential. When you are careful with your money, then it is very easy to measure everything you do in terms of what will best advance your goals as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Become Immune to Marketing Ploys Many people are surprised when I reveal that I have a smartphone that cost well under $200.00, yet it has a better camera, a faster processor, and overall better performance than some of the most expensive phones on the market. Now, frugal living isn’t always about choosing an “off brand”, nor is it about doing without things that are important for achieving your goals. It is, however, about taking the time to shop around and actually have clear ideas about similar products that are available. Why buy a “premier” smartphone scandalized by exploding batteries or an expensive cell phone plan when the most frugal among you already know that:

  • there are unlocked phones with stellar features and safety ratings
  • a phone with WIFI can work right off your home router, or a public hotspot for calling, texting and getting online without spending an extra dime on a cell phone plan.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: Frugal minded people that also want to be ready for any emergency must also always keep in mind that a fool and his/her money are soon parted. You can prepare for most emergencies with relatively cheap, multi-purpose items if you do your research carefully and learn how to master some basic skills. Remember, there is a world of difference between the hype used to sell the newest model knife and your ability to actually use it to build a shelter. When pressed to prepare for an emergency, your frugal mindset can keep you focused on what you need as opposed to what a marketing specialist wants to sell you.

Practical Improvisation Saves Money

Being frugal doesn’t mean you must put up with dirty clothes because the washing machine died or your home must be a mess because furniture
and home care products are so expensive. On the other hand, you don’t need to spend $10.00 or more on the Laundromat when you can make a reusable bucket washer (complete with wringer) for a fraction of the cost. By the same token, many frugal people are well acquainted with making soap from scratch as well as many other things required for daily living. If you rarely go to the store for routine living needs, then rest assured you already have a number of valuable skills that will help you get through a number of emergencies.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: Now, if you still buy soap, food, and other “necessities”, this is a perfectly good time to learn how to make your own goods, grow your own food, and collect your own water. Aside from being fun, you will be taking your frugal lifestyle to a whole new level and be ready for both large and small scale disasters.

Practice Using Time Wisely When I tell people that it only takes a few hours to make enough soap for one year, they laugh because they think it is wasted time. These very same people never mention the fact that the average trip to the supermarket takes well over an hour between getting there, shopping, standing in line, getting home, and unpacking. Even if you only buy soap products once a month, you will spend a minimum of 12 hours on this task, plus you will spend well over $1,000 dollars a year just on dish detergent, bar soap, laundry soap, and shampoo. Compare that to my measly afternoon making soap and around $70.00 in cost for a year’s worth of the above mentioned soap types.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: Time is incredibly valuable regardless of the situation. Invariably, when you spend your money carefully and know how to make do with what you have, you will also find that your time is also spent wisely. Perhaps if you don’t have enough time to pursue a cherished hobby, you should try making soap as a starting point for saving money, saving time, and also being ready for any emergency.

Useless Clutter Will Never be an Issue

To be honest, when I visit my friends and family members, I can always tell which ones are sensible, frugal people and which ones are “wannabes”. Nothing says “wannabe penny pincher” like a spotlessly clean house filled to the gills with knick knacks and other assorted … well… to my eye… junk. People that are legitimately frugal and know how to manage their money don’t need to be surrounded by useless stuff. Rather, when you walk into their home, you will see clean rooms free of clutter.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: There is always plenty of counter space for cooking, canning, or making all kinds of daily living needs. A frugal survivalist is likely to have old, but well-maintained tools and equipment and there will be plenty of signs that everything has a purpose and a place. When you can only take one bag of items along with you to a place of safety, being able to pick the most important items is truly critical. Practice this skill by decluttering your own home.

Fewer Pieces to Pick Up Makes Rebuilding Easier

Some of the most frugal people I know can literally pack their belongings in a matter of minutes and be ready to move hundreds of miles with very little difficulty. These people know exactly what is important and they never worry about what they left behind. Not only have these people saved thousands of dollars over the years, starting over in a new location is much easier.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: In an emergency, the less you have around that can be broken or ruined, the easier it will be to move on and make a new life for yourself. In fact, if you put the money away that you would squander on things that are likely to be lost or ruined in a hurricane or other disaster, you will be amazed at how much easier it will be to start over if needed.

 

You Will Focus More on People Instead of Useless Junk

One of the things I love most about frugal living is the strong connections with friends and family members that legitimately care. When you live a frugal lifestyle, you aren’t tempted to base your associations on outdoing each other in the spending department. There is truly more joy and tangible satisfaction in spending an afternoon fishing or helping with a building raising than spending a small fortune on a new evening dress so that everyone will be jealous.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: Never forget that possessions are possessions. They can do nothing without you. On the other hand, good friends that aren’t bound by money can work together to meet any emergency and come out ahead of the situation.

Less Debt Equals More Options to Succeed

To be fair, far too many people (including frugal ones) wind up using credit cards to make it from one paycheck to the next. Chances are, you may also be in search of ways to save money because you have a mortgage, car loan, and other debts to pay off. Now, as in any emergency situation, the less you owe, the better off you will be.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: Even something as simple as cooking your own meals in bulk can reduce your debt and make it easier to manage an emergency. The options are truly endless and span every area of daily living.

Gives You a Chance to Save for a Rainy Day

Within a very short period of time, frugal living can lead to saving money. Even though money will become useless at some point in both large and small-scale emergencies, having some extra on hand is never a bad idea.

From Frugal Guru to Survivalist: Expand your savings methods to include foreign or alternative currency options. Make sure that you know when it is best to use barter and when it is best to use cash.

Are you surprised at how similar frugal living is to prepping for emergencies? If so, you may not have realized that some of your most prized money saving habits translate directly to skills needed to manage an emergency. Please feel free to share in the comments below about some of your frugal living methods and how you think they can be translated into meeting emergency situations more easily.

Starting A Stock Portfolio? There Are Apps For That

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The following guest post on investing methods was written by Jim Cooper. Jim is a part-time freelance blogger who covers lifestyle, finance, and similar topics.

“Step 1: Open a brokerage account if you have several thousand dollars.”

This is the first line I saw when, some time ago, I somewhat-embarrassingly started googling things like “How do I open a stock portfolio?” Literally speaking, it’s a pretty logical first line in describing the process. But where I was concerned, it was immediately overwhelming. Full disclosure: I wasn’t sure what opening a brokerage account entailed, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to commit “several thousand dollars” when I was really just looking to get my feet wet.

Let me back up a little bit. I think for the average young person, investing can seem pretty complicated. Not so for this lucky writer. I grew up in a household in which it seemed about as simple as could be. My mother was, for much of my life, a day trader who would sit in her home office listening to people yelling at her on CNBC and glancing at a few different computer monitors making snap buy or sell decisions. To me, it looked pretty straightforward: buy low, sell high, look for recognizable patterns in charts, and hope that the little number showing the change in the overall account for the day is green instead of red.

As it turns out, the average young person’s understanding is far more accurate than my warped and simplified one. Sure, the trading process is more or less what I saw it to be once you’re up and rolling with everything set up. But the part I never really witnessed (or, frankly, thought about) before I started to look into setting up my own portfolio was the logistical side of things. You have to choose a brokerage, set up your trading software, pay fees for transactions, and go about managing all kinds of other not-so-fun details as you go.

Perhaps it was silly of me to only see what was on the surface for all those years watching my mother, but then think about it with regard to other professions. If your parent is a lawyer, do you see the meetings and stacks of paperwork, or do you wonder how he or she went about obtaining PLLC status and renting out office space? If your parent is a teacher, do you envision the actual teaching and grading, or do you picture in-depth lesson planning and meetings with faculty and administrative people to outline a year’s worth of education? I digress. But my point is these things can look a little simpler when you’re close to them but not actually in them yourself.

The point is, I wasn’t quite prepared for the involved process of setting up a trading portfolio through an online broker, even if it’s something that millions of people learn how to deal with. And it turns out I’m not the only one. Having done a little bit more research on the topic, I’ve learned that a lot of so-called “millennials” (yes, I’m one of them) are weary of traditional investments.

What I also discovered is that my fellow millennials have gravitated toward alternatives more suitable to our general preferences as a generation. In a post specifically about how young people are approaching forex, it was mentioned that the availability of financial resources has surged as a result of companies developing new tech-based platforms to appeal to new audiences. In other words, financial apps are getting more popular because they speak the millennial language.

stashscreenshot_1

The first app I came across was Acorns, a clever tool that invites its users to experience “micro-investing.” To be perfectly frank, it was the image and interface of the app that drew me in first. Like Monument Valley in gaming, Acorns stood out as a particularly beautiful app that I’d actually enjoy using. Make no mistake, in the age of instant gratification, you can judge a book by its cover; something that looks nice has a better shot at grabbing a young person’s attention, and Acorns looks terrific.

As for what it actually does, it’s kind of like a digital piggy bank that knows how to invest. This app links up to your cards to take small amounts of money (rounding up to the nearest dollar when you make a payment) and then place them into a portfolio that’s already been compiled and is managed by professionals. You can choose from a few different portfolios by risk level and then simply watch your account generate income from your spare change. It’s not going to double your bank account or anything, but it’s completely effortless.

Two other apps that also popped up in my searches were Stash and Robinhood, which do largely the same thing. Basically, these are more hands-on mobile investing tools that actually challenge you to make your own buy and sell decisions. The fun part is that they don’t charge fees for transactions and they’re just a whole lot simpler than going the online broker route. Like Acorns, both are very attractive in a minimalist way, and both are simple to use. Robinhood and Stash offer real and active investing in addition to various tips and tools that can help you to analyze your own performance and learn on the go. So far I’m going with Robinhood, but it’s only because I like the look of it a tiny bit more. Both apps have generated some really positive attention and strong reviews.

Overall, I’d file apps like these under the category of “life hacks” for anyone else, like me, who looks at traditional stock trading and sees something far more complex than it needs to be.

What You Can Do To Get Your First Paid Freelancing Client

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The following is a guest post from Martin of Studenomics, where he writes about financial freedom in your 20s without missing a party. For more tips, check out his book, Next Round’s On Me.

“He said that I didn’t charge enough so he offered me more money because he felt bad for me.”

A student of mine actually told me this. He wasn’t confident enough to ask for a higher rate so he put out a low offer just to get the gig. He wanted to charge $120 for the two hour gig. The guy offered him $150 since that was his budget for the project. I’m happy for him that he’s finding clients now. He’s actually struggling to keep up with all of the demand now.

Let’s go back a few months…

Trevor was struggling to find any clients. I told him that I had a friend who wanted some video work done (Trevor produces videos). The good news was that he could get some experience. The bad news was that he would only get paid in experience. The friend was only offering $20 and dinner. I told Trevor to take this because this friend has a deep network (he knows lots of cool people).

Trevor and this guy hit it off. They were recording until 4am and cracking jokes (hopefully not about me). This guy even ended up giving Trevor a ride to a presentation an hour away when nobody else was available. Once the video went live, everyone was asking about who created this video.

Suddenly Trevor had a new paid client. The pay would only be $20 a video. The good news was that this guy wanted videos done on a weekly basis. Once again, this client led to more paying clients.

How can this story help you find your first freelancing client?

Don’t feel sorry for yourself if nobody’s paying you yet.

You haven’t established yourself. That’s okay. We all start somewhere. Nobody’s going to throw money at you just because you put up a business page and ordered a stack of business cards.

You have to offer high quality work for free. Just because you’re not getting paid it doesn’t mean that you have permission to slack off. You have to prove your worth to the world. You have to build up a portfolio so that we can see what you’re capable of.

Would you ever pay someone for anything without seeing at least some proof of their abilities?

Stop worrying about the useless stuff.

Yes, business cards are great. No, you don’t need them. You don’t need to spend money on printing business cards when you haven’t made a penny yet.

You don’t need to worry about getting an expensive design for your website either.

You have to find people willing to trust you to take you up on your service.

Too often do I see new freelancers get lost in the world of useless stuff. Focus on becoming the best at the service that you provide and then get the word out. That’s all that matters when you’re getting going as a freelancer. The world doesn’t need another fancy business card.

“Great marketing is all about telling your story in such a way that it compels people to buy what you are selling.” — Gary Vaynerchuk

Remember that nobody cares about your problems.

We hire freelancers and outsource work to make life easier. We want problems solved. That’s all. You do the work and that’s that. Nobody wants to hear about your problems. You’re now a problem solver. You have to be able to solve every problem that comes your way. Never respond with an excuse.

Promote the hell out of your work.

You need to create some quality work and then promote it.

This can be your highlight reel, your portfolio, a sample of your work, or a happy customer.

You have to get the word out. Let us know about what you’re doing and how amazing it is. You’re never going to find a paying customer if you keep your best work a secret.

Ask for testimonials and referrals.

Nobody wants you until somebody has you. We all ask a friend before we try anything (from a new place to eat to logos for a website). This is why you need to ask for testimonials and referrals. Testimonials help because the more people who promote your work, the more likely someone else is to pay you.

The two most important steps here in the process are:

  1. Create quality work for free or a low cost to let people know what you have to offer and to build your portfolio.
  2. Ask for testimonials and referrals.

You do this a few times and you’ll have no trouble finding clients. We all tell our friends about a great service. The toughest part is getting started. Once you get the ball rolling you’re going to be fighting clients off.

That’s how you can get started with freelancing and find your first paying client. Good luck to launching your freelancing career.

Four Ways to Earn Passive Income by Investing in Real Estate

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[Editor’s Note: The following is a guest post by Ben Miller, CEO & Co-Founder, Fundrise.]

Most of us earn a living based on the work we do five days a week and then every few weeks or so we receive a paycheck. When we quit working, the paychecks stop and we’re left with whatever money we may have saved. This is called active income.

However, some people (likely including the visitors to Lazy Man and Money) are fortunate and smart enough to strive to build what are known as residual or passive income streams, payment that you continue to earn even after the work required is done.

How can you earn residual income?

When given the option, most of us would much prefer to continue to reap the benefits of our work even after we’re done. Why then do so many people support themselves only through active income? One answer is that most assume the ability to earn residual income is a luxury that can only be created if you’re already wealthy. However, there are many ways to create residual income streams that don’t require huge upfront investments.

One of the most well known forms of residual income is owning stock in a publicly traded company. Residual income streams can also include royalties from the sale of a book or song. Additionally, real estate — both residential and commercial — has become one of the most popular ways to build residual income. Historically, building a residual income stream through real estate has required a large upfront investment, both of time and money, but thanks to new investment vehicles those wanting to earn passive income through real estate have many options to choose from.

Ways to Build Residual Income through Real Estate

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

In the 60’s, Congress passed a law creating Real Estate Investment Trusts, large portfolios of income-producing real estate. A REIT is required by law to distribute 90% of its earnings to investors each year. Due to their special tax status, REITs must follow strict compliance standards and thus carry a certain quality standard for both the vehicle’s investment strategy and the real estate experience of the managing team.

Today, an estimated 70 million Americans invest in REITs.

There are two primary types of public REITs: traded and non-traded. Traded REITs offer the benefits of being traded openly on an exchange, giving investors liquidity. However this liquidity is likely to be priced into the value of the shares, resulting in a “liquidity premium”, or lower relative returns for all investors, regardless of whether or not they choose to sell their shares. Furthermore, traded REITs tend to be correlated to broader market volatility, meaning that the value may fluctuate depending on how the stock market is doing, regardless of whether or not anything has changed with the underlying properties owned by the REIT.

On the other hand, non-traded REITs have become more popular because of the perceived consistent double-digit dividends. However, non-traded REITs have recently come under heavy scrutiny because of the large upfront fees often charged to investors — and dubious practices around the disclosure of those fees.

New Technology Platforms

In the past few years, new platforms have emerged that use technology to make the process of real estate investment more efficient, resulting in increased transparency, lower fees, and higher returns. As the broader financial technology space grows, more and more investors are moving to online platforms that give them more control over their finances and take advantage of the efficiencies that transacting on the web can offer.

These companies aim to offer the benefits of public market access, but with lower fees that potentially help investors earn better returns. Fundrise, one of the pioneers in the space, has leveraged both technology and new federal regulations to offer investors the first ever low-fee, diversified commercial real estate investment available directly online to anyone in the United States, no matter their net worth.¹ Fundrise is working to do to real estate what Vanguard did to stocks – create a low-cost way for individuals to invest a diversified pool of assets. The savings they generate through more efficient technology are passed on to investors in the form of potentially better risk-adjusted returns.

Over the past six months, the company has launched the first ever eREITTM investments – two different $50 million real estate investment trusts both with direct online distribution models. You can learn more about Fundrise here.

However, it’s important to remember that every platform uses a different set of due diligence criteria to determine what investments it offers its members and, as with any investment, investing in real estate through an online platform carries significant risk.

Investment Property

An investment property is an asset purchased with the sole purpose of earning revenue, through leasing space within an asset or an eventual sale. Owning an investment property can result in both potential appreciation value over the long-term and direct tax benefits of depreciation.

However, acquiring an investment property often requires a large upfront investment ($100K to several million dollars depending on the type of asset) and lots of hands on work. Furthermore, as with any investment, investment properties carry the risk of large, unexpected, and costly problems, which many investors do not have the experience or time to effectively handle. An investment property is relatively illiquid — meaning you can sell at any time, but the sale process can often take months and may be unsuccessful.

Private Equity Funds

Conversely, a private equity (PE) fund is a collective investment fund that pools the money of many investors to invest in real estate. Private equity funds often consist of several different investments, which increases diversification for investors. Additionally, PE funds are often managed by real estate experts with very rigorous underwriting standards.

Traditionally private equity fund investments are illiquid and carry high investment minimums. Private equity funds are often formed by institutional investors and high worth individuals with a “two and twenty” fee structure, meaning a 2% annual asset management fee, and 20% of any profits earned by the fund.

Regardless of which avenue you decide to pursue to earn residual income, an essential part of the investment process is objectively evaluating each opportunity as it arises and working hard to remove any preexisting biases. Take your time to figure out which approach makes the most sense for you and your investment goals and remember that diversification into different asset classes is one of the most effective ways to build unique streams of residual income, and a profitable portfolio!

This information does not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor does it contain any individualized tax advice. The information contained herein is not investment advice and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security or that any transaction is suitable for any specific purposes or any specific person and is provided for information purposes only. Each investor should always carefully consider investments in any security and be comfortable with his/her understanding of the investment, including through consultation with investment and tax professionals.

1. However, under the Regulation A+ rules, each investor is limited to investing no more than the greater of 10% of such investor’s net assets or gross annual income.

Betterment: Investing the Lazy Way

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I’m testing a new writer today. I’ve been meaning to write about Betterment (and other Robo-Advisors), but I thought I’d get another perspective. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Betterment is a complete online investing company that assists you in tailoring and determining your financial future. Betterment takes a look at your current financial situation in relation to your fiscal goals and where you’d like to see yourself in the short versus the long term. From there, it develops a personalized plan so that you can achieve your specified financial goals. Award-winning experience, smarter automation and better retirement planning are all part of the Betterment experience.

Betterment Trading Platforms

Betterment capitalizes on an assorted selection of exchange-traded funds. What Betterment does is invest in fractional shares—a unique strategy implemented so that you can reevaluate your investment goals in a shorter time frame. You define the precise amount you would like to invest and Betterment takes cares of the rest. By looking at your dividends and deposits, the automated investment broker rebalances your objectives, all while maintaining a low tax bill by reducing the need to rebalance (via selling). Betterment’s trading platforms work with six decimal points of accuracy, using all income funds to round up any imbalances in your situations

Betterment Fees

Betterment differentiates itself from competitors by utilizing an advanced technology which affords clients lower monthly and yearly fees. Where traditional account fees will run you approximately $83 per month at 1% annually, Betterment only charges $13 per month at 0.15% annually –a substantial difference, especially over a long period of time. The basic tenant of Betterment is that it lets you have more money to invest and the more you invest, the fewer fees you pay.

A few other advantages include no trade fees, no transaction fees and no rebalancing fees.

Betterment Account Minimums

Those who invest with Betterment have peace of mind knowing that they pay absolutely zero in commissions or transaction fees. Customers’ investments are collected via a three-tier foundation, which is dictated by account balance.

There is no account minimum with Betterment but it is suggested that you invest at least $10,000 in order to avoid paying additional management fees. Accounts that maintain a balance less than $10,000 are subject to an annual fee of 0.35% of the account balance, with a minimum of $100 a month in auto deposits. In the event that you cannot deposit $100 a month, a $3 monthly service fee will be charged. For those accounts of $10,000 to $100,000, the annual fee goes down to 0.25% and then down again to 0.15% with accounts that maintain more than $100,000.

Personalized Goals

We all have a vision of where we’d like to see ourselves during those retirement years. Betterment includes well thought-out goal-setting exercises so that the perfect investment plan can be determined for you. Factors such as age, current annual income, and expenses are all part of the questionnaire. Why do they ask? In order to determine your precise objectives.

The Smart Deposit feature that Betterment offers, takes out unnecessary funds from your checking account and automatically deposits them into your retirement investment. This is done through weekly monitoring where Betterment Smart Deposits looks at your weekly expenses and allocates how much you need. A determined sum of access funds are then transferred from your checking account to your investment account.

Tiers

Betterment Investments offers three tiers to you: Builder, Better and Best. Builder offers 0.35% of average balance with $100 per month direct deposit required. Better offers 0.25% of average balance with a $10,000 minimum account balance. Best offers 0.15% of average balance with a $100,000 account balance minimum.

Feature of Betterment

Apart from being completely self sufficient in its investment plans, goals, strategies, objectives and projections, Betterment offers portfolio rebalancing, tax loss harvesting, goal setting, and automated deposits. Your funds are situated where they will be optimized and where they use low cost, liquid ETF’s. You ultimately have complete control and the ability to maneuver your funds in any way you see fit with Betterment. Betterment simply suggests the best possible options for optimizing your funds. You maintain the freedom to adjust, change, eliminate or add anything you want to your investments whether it’s risk preference or smart deposits.

Betterment lives up to the utmost in security so rest assured that your accounts and investments are in compliance with the banking industry standards.