DIY Entertainment Center

While browsing for an ugly Christmas sweater at our local Goodwill, we stumbled upon a dresser. We had been looking for a good quality wood dresser for quite some time to convert into an entertainment center. I discovered this idea via Pinterest, shocking, I know.

The instant I saw this dresser I knew it was the one. The price listed was $80 and I already thought that was a great deal. Soon we discovered the entire store was half off, the dresser was a no-brainer and we bought it for $40.

Once we got it home (thanks to the help of a friend with a truck!), we proceeded to sand off the current finish to prep the piece of furniture for staining and painting. The top required the most intensive sanding because we were staining it. The drawers and body of the dresser only needed a light sanding because they would be painted.

Now it was time to paint the body and drawers of the dresser.

We let the paint dry and proceeded to tape off the top and stain away! We used sponge brushes for the stain and it worked very well. The stain took a few days to dry since we were staining in cold weather (would be much quicker during the warmer months).

Next up was to mount part of our old TV stand onto the back of the new entertainment center. We added support 2 x 4's to the back of the dresser and drilled the new spine into several strategic locations.

Viola! A new entertainment center!  The last piece of construction included using a circular saw to cut holes in the back for the cable box, DVD player, etc. cords to run through. This makes for a very clean look with no visible cords.

We purchased the new knobs at Home Depot for $2.98 per knob ($35.76 total cost).

We absolutely love this custom piece and are so happy that we were able to create a beautiful entertainment center for under $100.  Have you ever looked at the prices of entertainment centers from Crate & Barrel or Pottery Barn? Oh wow, they are pricey! And definitely not in our budget!

We hope this inspires you to look for the potential in ordinary furniture and look for furniture in unexpected places (i.e. thrift shops, garage sales, free section of Craig's List). Go and get creative!

Let's Eat In

Are you guilty of eating out for lunch every day of the work week?  Think about it…. If lunch costs an average of $9, that is $45 per week.  Annualize that number, and you are spending $2,340 per year on eating out for lunch.  Ouch, that number hurts a little bit when it is put in that perspective, huh?  This number might even be on the low end of the spectrum.  With a lot of meals, once you add chips and a drink, you will be closer to $12 per meal!! And that doesn’t include the Starbucks coffee and pastry you picked up this morning either. Then think about taking the family out to dinner, even more expensive!

At Financial Fitness are dedicated to cooking quality meals for both lunch and dinner.  Below are some of our favorites along with extra info about the dish as well as approximate average cost per meal.  You will notice that several of these are crock pot meals.  We love the crock pot because prep is relatively short and the food cooks while you sleep or while you are at work!

Crock Pot Balsamic Honey Pulled Pork [via Simply Scratch]

This is hands down one of our favorites!  We discovered this recipe after starting the Paleo diet at the beginning of 2013 (therefore, we excluded the cornbread).  But it has been one of our staples for lunches as well as entertaining purposes.

Total recipe cost: $44.43 from Wal-Mart

Cost per meal (assuming 6 meals): $7.41

Crock Pot Chicken Tacos [via Two Healthy Kitchens]

It doesn’t get much easier than this. Crock pot and three ingredients.  Set it and forget it! The chicken shreds perfectly at the end of the cooking time and is delicious.  You can eat in taco shells, tortillas, in a salad or over quinoa.  So many options!

Total recipe cost: $12.16 from Wal-Mart

Cost per meal (assuming 6 meals): $2.03

Crock Pot Chicken Taco Chili [via Skinny Taste]

Do we love the crockpot or what?  But really, it is amazing.  This is a very hearty dish that is great to have at lunch.  You will be looking forward to lunch around 9:30 in the morning!

Total recipe cost: $22.19 from Wal-Mart

Cost per meal (assuming 6 meals): $3.70

One Pot Wonder Chicken Lo Mein [via The Wholesome Dish]

Craving Chinese food?  Well make this one for your lunch tomorrow!  Easily makes four large servings.

Total recipe cost: $34.34 from Wal-Mart

Cost per meal (assuming 4 meals): $8.59

Kale Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette [via Damn Delicious]

Wanting to be super healthy?  Instead of going to the super trendy salad restaurant, try this kale salad with homemade dressing.  Quinoa, kale, pomegranate and avocado are listed as superfoods.  Could you be any healthier?

Total recipe cost: $29.17 from Wal-Mart

Cost per meal (assuming 4 meals): $7.29

All recipe costs factor in purchasing spices/pantry staples (think olive oil, sugar, salt, pepper, etc.) that you may have already in your pantry or refrigerator. Compare your grocery lists to what you have in stock at home to potentially save even more money!

For more budget friendly recipe options and restaurant copycat recipes, follow our Pinterest boards!

Being Financially Fit, Part 1: You need a plan (budgets are the maps of personal finance)

There are millions of different opinions, articles and self-help books about how to structure your finances. So how you avoid getting caught up in the weeds?  The formula for being financially fit is easy; the execution is the tough part.  Just like the whole diet/fitness industry, you will find millions of ways to get in shape, lose weight fast, how to have a 6 pack! Etc. The diet/fitness industry and the personal finance industry have a lot in common, both are simple, the execution is the hard part.  How do you lose weight?  Well take a look at calorie intake for your age group, consume a balanced diet according to your target calorie intake and exercise for 30 minutes 3-5 days a week (easy right?).  How do you become financially fit?  Well, save more than 20% of your income, live debt free, and invest (again, that is easy right?). 

So why do so many people struggle with both these concepts?  I believe it all comes down to behavior and training yourself to have discipline.  After you train yourself to live a certain way, it just becomes second nature.  The introductory period/change in behavior is the tough part.  So how do you begin? You need to have a plan.  My value proposition to the world is show people how much happiness/value you can add to a person’s life by creating a financial plan and sticking to it. 

Think about it, do you go to the grocery store with a list?  How much easier is it? How much happier are you at home?  Personally, making a list at the grocery store creates a lot of value for me.  First, I spend less time in the store which I like.  Second, I don’t waste as much food ($ savings!). Last, I have the food I want during the week (SNACKS and good meals!).

Now think about how you manage your yearly budget.  Do you have one?  How do you know where you will end up at the end of the year?  How much can you spend each month and still save enough?  What are your financial goals? How are you tracking compared to those goals?  Do you ever stress about money?  Why would you live without a plan to monitor one of the most important aspects of your life?

In my opinion, many people in my age group (generation Y) just turn a blind eye to having financial goals.  We think the world owes us, and at some point we will have the nice house, nice cars and fat savings accounts.  But again I ask how are you going to do this?  Ask yourself, what is the plan?  Most people cannot see further than six months from now.  Every financial decision you make daily will greatly affect you for the rest of your life.

The first part of being financially fit is to develop a plan.  Think about how useful it is to have GPS on your phone.  You know exactly where you are going and how long it will take to arrive.   This is what your yearly budget plan should be, a roadmap for your future.  Think about the stress it will take away when you understand exactly where you will be at the end of the year; as well as what you need to do each day/week/month to get there.   The correct plan for you is unique, but each plan has the same underlying principles.  

How will I come up with a plan?  What is the financially fit plan for me?  How will I get out of debt?  How should I plan for the large purchases in my life?  If you are asking yourself these questions, you are heading in the right direction.  Becoming financially fit is a total transformation of your current lifestyle.

Tune back in for the next installment – Being Financially Fit, Part 2: The Plan (how to create a budget).

If you have any questions or you would like help becoming financially fit please contact us and we can talk about getting your finances in shape. 

Spring Cleaning Your Expenses

Ahhh…springtime.   The weather starts getting warmer, the birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming… and it’s time for a little spring cleaning.  This year don’t just spring clean your house; we want you to clean out those unnecessary expenses! 

I want to start out by saying my objective with this article is to not tell you to sit inside all summer and save money, that would not be a very fun summer.  But there is a long list of monthly items the average consumer pays for and does not realize full value.  There are a lot of ways to spend zero money and have your free time booked with fun activities, but that is another article in itself…. I will save it for later.

One great way to understand the full impact of you spending habits is to bring up your most recent bank statement.  Categorize your spending activity and multiply that number by 12 to see what you are spending in a year.  Things like upgraded cable, fancy gym memberships, high data limits on your phone, or any type of monthly recurring cost. 

Now I’m big on the “value” aspect of spending.  Analyze your habits a little, how much of a product do you use?  In the example of cable, cell phones and gym memberships you could save yourself a good chunk of change on an annual basis.  Are you watching all the programs you’re paying for? Are you using all your data? Could you use Wi-Fi to save on data at work or at home? Do you use all the facilities/classes at your gym?  Of course anytime you sign up for these things the sales representatives will always upsell you on the “value” of more, but who is getting the value? 

Personally I don’t watch much TV, only a select few of channels, so I would opt for the basic package.  For my cell phone, I try to download everything to from a Wi-Fi network to avoid using data when streaming content.  At the gym, I go for a basic membership at a large chain (pay all up front) and print out different workouts online to follow instead of hiring a personal trainer. 

Next take a look at any direct debit expenses; these are like a virus to your savings.  Direct debits are classified as giving a company authorization to take money out of your account without you initiating each month.  Not good.  Most companies love to set this up so they can get paid without you actually having to physically shell out any money or even think about shelling out the money.  I would cancel anything you have setup this way in order to evaluate the value of the product that is being paid for on a monthly basis.  You want to be in the driver’s seat of your spending, not the backseat.

Before the summer starts take a step back and study your monthly spending, categorize it and annualize it.  Then take a step back and think about the “value.” Is Starbucks coffee worth $1,000 dollars to you?  Maybe it is, but I guarantee you that you will find some items that are not worth the total yearly spend you are currently dishing out. 

If you find some expenses you don’t want, cut them.  Use this money to pay down debt (the mortgage is not classified as debt here).  If you are debt free and this puts you ahead of you budget (because you need to have a budget), then spend it on something you value.  Life is not all about saving and the goal of a budget is to stick to it, so if you beat your budget I would suggest you spend the difference because you worked hard to beat your budget!

What expenses can you clean out this year?  Eating out every day for lunch? Getting Netflix instead of paying for cable?  We want to hear your ideas!

Roth vs. Traditional IRA Accounts

For our first official blog post we are going to start with something that is so important: retirement planning, specifically Roth vs. Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA’s).

First and foremost, whatever type of account suits you best, start investing in retirement as early as possible. 

So let’s get started.  The primary difference between Roth and Traditional IRA’s are the tax implications.  With a Roth account, you will pay taxes on the money before it is invested and no taxes upon withdrawal.  In a traditional account, you invest tax free money but you are taxed upon withdrawal.  The amount you contribute to a traditional account will also reduce your taxable income for that year.

Here are some facts that these accounts have in common. Both have a maximum yearly contribution of $5,500 (for 2013 & 2014) if you are under the age of 50 - $6,500 if you are over 50.  There are very few situations in which you can withdraw from your retirement account without paying a 10% penalty:

1. You are at least 59 ½, woo hoo! Bring on the retirement money!
2. You are using this money for a down payment on your first home (maximum withdrawal of $10K).
3. You are disabled in one way or another and need the funds to cover expenses.
4. You are using the money to pay college tuition for someone in your immediate family.

So which on is better?  The answer is…. they are both great retirement savings tools.

Although contributions to a Roth account don’t help reduce your taxable income in the current year, you don’t have to pay any taxes upon withdrawal.  So… that means that all of your earnings are tax free.  That is a great tax break since any other money that is invested is subject to Capital Gains Tax.  Also, say you’re currently in the 25% tax bracket, and when you retire you’re in the 35% tax bracket; if you invested in a Roth account you just saved 10% on that money. 

Even though you don’t save the tax money on the withdrawal side with a traditional IRA, there are different benefits to this type of account.  Since you don’t pay taxes on the money up front, you are investing a larger sum.  This larger initial contribution of money will grow over the years to retirement and your account will be larger due to compounding growth effects.  When you do withdraw from this account, you will pay taxes on the income.  Additionally, there is a tax benefit you will realize upon investing in your traditional IRA.  Say your annual salary is $50,000, you invest $5,000 pre-tax into your IRA and you are taxed in the 25% bracket.  Your taxable income after your retirement investment becomes $45,000, which saves you an estimated $1,250 in taxes.  

Aside from these taxable implications, there are additional differences. 

•           Roth accounts have an income cap – if you make over $167K (married) or $105K (unmarried) you can no longer contribute to a Roth.  
•           Traditional IRA’s require minimum withdrawals by April 1^st after the age 70 ½. Roth accounts do not require minimum distributions.

If you invest the same amount of pretax money into both types of accounts and your tax bracket never changes, upon withdrawal the amount of money would be the exactly the same. 

Both types of accounts have their benefits.  We recommend looking at your personal finances and deciding which is best for your situation.  Our strategy for retirement is to invest in both types of retirement accounts, what is your strategy?

Check out this Roth vs. Traditional IRA calculator to see the potential of your retirement account!

http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/retirement/roth-traditional-ira-calculator.aspx