How to Churn Your Credit Cards And Reap Benefits!

Today I have an awesome guest post about credit cards and taking advantage of their sign-up benefits.  Do you know what "credit card churning" is?  I sure didn't!  I'm glad Russ Nuata, Founder of Creditcardreviews.com pitched the article to me, and of course with it being such an interesting financial strategy, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have him share it with you.  Shall we get started?  Let's do this!

We all like receiving free things. That’s why “sample Sunday” is so popular at the local grocery store.

But if you have higher goals for receiving something for free than a sample meatball with a toothpick in it, credit card churning is worth considering. When you churn a credit card, you sign up for a new card to receive sign-up bonuses. As long as you fulfill the requirements of the credit card and you’re careful about how you use the card, you’ll receive the rewards with no cost to you.

We’ve put together some ideas that will help you understand the process of credit card churning and make the most of it:

Source: CreditCardReviews.com

What is churning?

When churning credit cards, you'll sign up for multiple credit cards, all in an effort to receive a sign-up bonus from each credit card issuer such as the following:

• Airline miles
• Hotel stays
• Car rentals
• Merchandise
• Gift cards
• Cash back

Normally, you'll have to spend a certain amount of money on the card in a designated time period to receive your sign-up bonus.  After the sign-up bonus period, other perks may accumulate at a slower rate as you use the card.  But when churning, you're seeking the large influx of bonuses the issuer offers you as a new customer.

Credit card issuers use sign-up bonuses to entice new customers to open an account, hoping that customer will use the card long term. However, credit card churners will stop using the card after they've achieved the large sign-up bonus, moving onto the next card.

Tips for churning

If you're thinking about churning credit cards, we've compiled four things you need to consider.

1. Set goals for your churning.  For example, if you have a goal to earn vouchers to take a trip, this goal will keep you on task for signing up for new cards that primarily focus on travel rewards.  You won't waste your time and effort with credit card bonuses that focus on merchandise.
2.  Understand all of the rules you need to follow to receive your bonuses.  You don't want to sign up for a card that requires you to spend $2,000 in the first month to receive your bonus if you only can spend about $1,200 per month, for example.
3. Don't make late payments when churning.  It defeats the purpose of receiving free gifts if you end up paying penalties for late payments.  Additionally, you'll harm your credit score with late payments.  No matter how amazing a free gift is, it isn't worth ruining your credit score.
4. Stay organized with your credit cards.  If you're going to churn credit cards, you need to track due dates and rules for fulfilling the requirements for the bonuses to have success with this process. 

Understand that churning isn't for everyone.  You truly have to be disciplined and organized to make this process work to your advantage.  Make several mistakes and the consequences will be costly.  But if you have the skills and desire necessary to try churning credit cards, you'll love the feeling of receiving something for nothing!

Are You Financially Cheating On Your Spouse? Do This Now!

Infidelity, or extra-marital affairs, is a top ten reason for divorce in America.  However, in many cases, infidelity in a couple's marriage occurred because of other factors, e.g., boredom in the bedroom, lack of romance, a failure to communicate, and so on.  Contrary to belief, being betrayed by your lover is not always the metaphorical straw that breaks the camel's back and ends a relationship.  Divorcemag.com reports that 60-75% of couples who have experienced a betrayal stay together.  Of course "staying together" doesn't mean things are rosy once again.  People choose to stay together, according to the article at Divorcemag, because they are afraid of the alternative, i.e., separation.





Separation signifies: 1) Being single once again, 2) An unknown as to the level of damage a divorce may cause on the kids, and 3) Worrying about finances as a single person with or without kids.

What effect does financial infidelity have in a marriage? Although probably not as bad as its carnal cousin, financial infidelity also strains many relationships.  Let me get into a personal story...

About five years ago while my wife Jessica and I were inside of that precarious three years of marriage period, you know, where you're just getting to know and trust each other, I discovered that she had opened up a Wells Fargo credit card without telling me.  So what, right?  I mean, no big deal it's just a credit card.  Not quite.  You see, the statement I opened (that was wrong of me to do) had a balance of over $2K!  We were at the time attempting to qualify for a mortgage for a rental property so naturally I imagined the worse: being denied for having too big of a debt-to-income ratio.


I also felt very much betrayed.  The foundation of trust we'd built up to this point with respect to our joint finances, had been cracked.  When I confronted Jessica, she shared with me that she had gotten carried away with her direct sales/network marketing business, believing she'd have everything paid off before I found out.  Obviously her plan didn't work.  We fought about it several times with me exerting my position of power over her.  I was making the most money at the time as a high school assistant principal so I felt I had more say in how our money was to be used.  From then on I demanded she never do this again and always tell me whenever she was making a major financial decision.

In retrospect, I was a bit of an ass.  Okay...understatement.  I was a total ass.  Yes, I had right to be angry.  But a more patient husband would've reacted with more forgiveness.  Jessica had stated repeatedly to me that she would pay it all off, but I kept "seeing red," meaning, several months of not getting ahead on our collective savings because of her financial indiscretion.  It took a couple of years for me to finally let it go, and re-admit Jessica back on my financial team, so to speak.  If only I'd have moved on sooner we would've saved both time and energy by communicating from a starting position of trust once again.

So now I ask you: Are You Financially Cheating On Your Spouse?

Have you...

A) Opened a secret savings account where you stash cash?
B) Opened a secret credit card, choosing electronic statements to avoid detection?
C) Siphoned off small sums of money from a joint checking account and deposited them into a secret checking account?





Marketwatch.com cited a 2016 study by the National Endowment for Financial Education that reported roughly 40% of Americans admitting to some form of financial infidelity.  If you're currently cheating on your spouse financially, I suggest you come clean.  Secrets and sly actions damage both trust and respect in a relationship.  So how do you do this?  How do you "come clean" to your significant other.  I recommend the following:

1) State the truth.  Tell your spouse what you've been doing at an opportune moment, i.e., when the two of you are alone.

2)  Tell them why you did it.  Be clear in your communication.  Admit exactly what provoked you to do this even if it's an insecurity you had about your relationship.  Holding anything back would raise further suspicion.

3)  Apologize profusely and provide solutions.  How are you going to fix things?  What sacrifices will YOU make to repair your joint financial house?

4) Agree to new behaviors with parameters.  From now on you will do X, Y, Z before making a major financial decision.


What if your partner is refusing to let your betrayal go?  If your partner constantly brings up what you did in arguments, and is choosing to treat you with contempt anytime you handle money, then you may need relationship counseling.  There's nothing wrong with this; it just means the two of you need more time to talk things through with the help of a trained expert.  You may find that reverting to the both of you handling household finances is a good initial strategy to feel like you're together once again when it comes to money.

What about separating one's finances?  Personally, I think separating your finances completely as a result of financial infidelity would be a bad move.  This is in essence a failure to compromise AND gets you one step closer to divorce.  It works for couples who started off with separate finances, and never looked back.  But for you who have "cheated," it's basically admitting that you can never trust each other financially again.  Not to mention it's the easy way out.  Working through your problems makes a marriage stronger!  So commit to reconciling your financial differences.


Alright, there it is.  I reiterate: Confess your financial infidelity to your spouse as soon as possible.  Well, that is if you truly love and respect them.  Otherwise continue to cheat and wait for the lawyers to discover your secret accounts.  Ha!  Hasta next time my peeps.
       

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10 Ways To Manage A Full Course Load Working 30 Or More Hours A Week

College students nationwide are at home this week, enjoying their time off from school.  For many, this also includes a short break from their on or off-campus job.  Juggling a full course load (12 units or more) and a job of over 30 plus hours is incredibly hard to do.  In fact, it's highly discouraged by college counselors who insist focusing on your studies is the best move you can make.  Unfortunately, some college students don't have a choice.  There is now an actual term used to define full-time college students who work more than 30 hours a week: working learner.



For obvious reasons, working learners are more likely to be disconnected from school and drop-out, and to be stressed.  My sister-in-law, Chelsea, a sophomore at Cal State San Marcos, is a working learner.  She earned a 3.8 g.p.a. her first year, in spite of having a full class load, and working more than 35 hours a week to pay for rent, car insurance, and other expenses.  She's in town for Thanksgiving, and spoke to me about her current struggles in Chemistry.  She's getting an "A" in Biology, and her other classes, but currently failing this one class.  She thinks she did well on her last test, and feels she can do well on the final.  Still, her working learner status won't make her "comeback" in Chemistry particularly easy.



I asked her what some of her recommendations were to other college students in the same situation.  In other words, how could they have the success she's had so far?  This is what she came up with: 

1.  Have an app scheduler that reminds you ahead of time when an assignment is due. iStudiez Pro allows you to prioritize assignments, plan study sessions, and include your class schedule. 

2.  Use Quizlet to make studying easier.  Some students don't study because studying may require them to make flashcards, and then sit down and actually study them.  With the Quizlet app you can look at previous students' digital flashcards or you can type the course name and get flashcards ready made for you to study at any time with your phone in hand.

3.  Have the right mindset for being constantly busy.  Don't compare yourself to full-time students who don't have to work.  They may have every evening to party, while you may be spending every evening at work.  Remind yourself that your efforts are paying off in the form of accruing less college debt over time.  This is a huge win for you!

4.  Have a balance and do include both sleep and a social life.  Despite your machine-like efforts, you must make the time to still enjoy somewhat of a social life and have consistent sleep habits.  You don't need a mental breakdown!

5.  Make use of professor office hours.  You may need an occasional assignment extension, and that decision is made easier when your professor actually knows who you are.  Seeing them about a concept you don't understand opens the door to being comfortable asking for a few more days to finish work you haven't been able to get to because of your busy schedule.

6.  Choose on-campus jobs over off-campus ones.  Aside from being more convenient, your bosses will be more flexible with you during finals, scheduling you to come in at more suitable times.  Commutes will absolutely destroy your valuable time unless you can get audio books or notes and hear them as you travel.

7.  Have the right roommates.  You may not have a choice your first year of college, but by your sophomore year, you should be able to know who you can live with out of your circle of friends.  Pick other studious people to share housing with that will have your back, meaning, they won't entice you to party, and will cheer you on to keep going.

8.  Make time for exercise.  Exercise is proven to reduce stress and make you feel good about yourself.  Your brain will get more oxygen helping you think more clearly.  "I don't have time for exercise!"  Nonsense!  30 minutes four to five times a week is all you need.

9.  Maximize every spare minute!  The bathroom is now a mini study session room.  Your phone is with you right?  Then use going to the bathroom, eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, heck...even showering, as times to be pumping information into your brain.  There are no rules!

10.  Improve your reading speed.  Keeping up with all of the assigned reading is a college student's number one challenge.  Why not learn speed reading techniques to help with this?  Here's a great article on speed reading techniques.

Being a "working learner" is perhaps the best real-life preparation a college student can have.  If you can work and go to school, you're essentially prepared to do what professional adults do all over the country.  In fact, yours truly earned a Masters in Administration while working as a full-time teacher and being married.  I failed at my first marriage, but I did earn that Masters.  Ha!

In all seriousness, life is hectic and learning to manage your time is a HUGE skill.  I applaud all working learners, and want to tell you, if you happen to be one, I'm your biggest fan!  Hang in there and never give up.  Thanks for reading.

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10 Financial Things To Be Grateful For

If only we could be grateful for the things we have more often.  It's my personal belief that gratitude is the foundation of ambition.  What I mean is that if one doesn't start striving for "more" from a place of gratitude for what they already have, then they'll never be satisfied with the things they gain out of life, whether that be money, success, or both.  Their achievements will never fill that bottomless pit they've created for themselves in their mind.  Therefore, they'll never be happy.



There is a fine line between success and happiness.  Many people reach enormous levels of success, but live a closet life of depression.  The saying goes, "You can't buy happiness."  It's true!  Money can facilitate a life of less stress and worry, but it can't make someone feel "at peace."  According to a 2017 World Happiness Report, Costa Rica, a third-world country in Central America, is 2 spots above the United States at number 12.  Chile, Brazil, Argentina, and even Mexico are not too far behind despite being world's apart in Gross Domestic Product, safety and security.  Is it because the people in these poor countries are more grateful for the things they have?  Now that would make for a great study.

It's Thanksgiving today.  The one day Americans are forced to be grateful and to give thanks.  I happen to love Thanksgiving because it further reminds me what an awesome life I'm living!  Seriously.  I came from Mexico, and have that built-in cultural gratitude sentiment in me.  I considered my life a win the day I graduated college.  I was one step closer to escaping poverty.  Everything from then on became like icing on the cake.  So today I want to share with you 10 financial things you too should consider icing on your cake.  Your life is better than you may think.

1.  You have a place to live in.  Your rent or mortgage may be high, but at least you're not homeless.

2.  You can feed yourself 7 days a week.  Even if the meals aren't prime rib or lobster every other day, you still can nourish yourself to keep you from starving, unlike millions of poor people worldwide.

3.  You have a car.  9.1% of Americans didn't own a car in 2015 and this figure is probably bigger today.  Uber and Lyft are changing the way people commute to work, but in some parts of the country, having a car is indispensable.

4.  You have full health insurance.  Do you understand how much of a blessing this is these days?  I hope you don't take it for granted.

5.  You can clothe yourself and your kids.  Sure, there are consignment stores everywhere, but if you can buy new shoes or clothes once in a while, you're already more fortunate than millions of people in the world.

6.  You have a gym membership.  Why may this be something to be grateful for?  You can work on your health!

7.  You have a great marriage.  You paid a bunch of money for a wedding, the rings, etc., and that financial decision is paying off in the form of love, passion, and eternal companionship.

8.  You have children.  Having children will run you about $200K per for 18 years, but their value is priceless in terms of bringing you love and joy in life.

9.  You have a job or a profitable business.  According to a Gallup poll, the underemployment rate for adults 18 and over is 14.1%.

10.  You can afford a hobby to keep you entertained and enjoying life.  I'm so grateful for my road bike and being able to afford this expensive hobby/exercise regime.  Some of you have expensive hobbies of your own that keep you full of life.

There you have them ladies and gents.  Ten things to be grateful for today, in addition to everything else you're grateful for on this festive day.  You know what else I'm grateful for?  YOU being here today and every time I post.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!  Happy Thanksgiving!    

Ranking Bad Financial Decisions Parents Make To Help Their Millennial Children Buy A Home

What would YOU do for your adult children?  As a parent of an adult, you've already done your job, making sure your child stayed alive past the age of 18.  You've bought your kids pretty much everything they've ever needed, and still some of you have bought them almost everything they've ever wanted too!  When your child went off to college, you were there to help them with some of their costs.  Maybe you were "Parents of The Year" material and outright paid for your child's college education using money from a 529 savings plan?




But it's never enough, is it?  Children will keep asking for money even after you've paid for some or all of their college expenses, first car, and even their wedding day!  A big mistake parents make is not front loading their kids with future financial "No's" while their kids are young.  Jessica, my wife, and I have already told our daughter who turned six yesterday by the way, that she is to pay for most of her college education.  Two of my daughter's younger aunts go to local universities (SDSU and Cal State San Marcos) and as a family we've visited them in the past.  So the concept of college is already in my daughter's head, and so is the idea that she'll have to save throughout her young life if she plans to attend someday.

No, we're not bad parents.  We just know that we'd rather let our daughter grapple with self-reliance.  As her parents, we may be able to pay for some of her college, and wouldn't hesitate to help her out a little.  What's a little?  Helping her with books, some of her tuition, and buying food.  We'd never agree to co-sign any loans, take out parent loans, or gift any monetary amounts that would jeopardize our retirement being fully funded.

WHAT'S MY POINT WITH ALL OF THIS?

Whether it's college or making a home purchase, more and more parents are making some bad financial decisions in the name of helping their children, especially millennials.  

A 2015 national poll done by GFK Custom Research North America found that 17% of parents of millennials expected to help them buy a home within the next five years.  This is an increase of 31% compared to 2010 poll results.


Now, let's be clear on something.  Helping an offspring purchase their first home is not in and of itself a "bad" financial decision.  That's because there are many ways a parent can choose to help.  Some methods are innocuous.  Others are downright stupid, sorry...I call it as I see it.

Before I start to share the methods parents are using to help their millennial children buy a home, and ranking these from financially innocuous to simply foolhardy, let's talk home buying fever first.  Let's use for our setting, the Detroit metropolitan area.  Apparently, Wayne, Macomb, Livingston, St. Clair, and Lapeer counties are on fire these days.  Home prices are up 83% in August, compared to their 2011 lows.

Why is it that many people get even more desperate to buy their first home when it's a hot market?

They get outbid on one, maybe two homes, but instead of calling it quits, and waiting for a local or nationwide real estate market crash to be in a better position to buy, they instead resolve to buy a home no matter how overpriced it may happen to be.  Not smart, people.  Parents of millennials in the counties mentioned above: What are you doing?  Why would you agree to assist your children in buying an overpriced liability?  Most likely you got a sob story from your adult child, became emotional, and agreed to do some of the things below.  These are ranked from low (1) to high (10) on my Financially Dangerous Scale:

1.  Allowing your child to move back in after college.

2.  Letting your child and their significant other move back in with you.

3.  Helping to pay your child's other expenses, e.g., their car insurance, electricity bill, student loans, etc., once in a while.

4.  Paying your child's rent for a while or once in a while.

5.  Gift your kids money for the downpayment or closing costs.

6.  Loan your kids money for the downpayment or closing costs.  Of course, your child would need to report this money as a gift from you so it isn't counted as debt by the lender.  Loans between family are never a good idea.

7.  Taking out a home equity loan to raise the money to help your child pay for their down or closing costs.

8.  Co-sign the mortgage.  Guess who's credit will be ruined if your child can't pay the mortgage?  Or worse, stops paying and doesn't even tell you (because they didn't want to worry you) about it until the mortgage is three months late.

9.  Cashing in some of your retirement savings.  What, are you nuts?  Why would you liquidate from your 401(k) or IRAs to help junior with his house purchase?  You've lost compounding interest power with that move.  Will you have enough now to retire?

10.  Getting on the "Mortgage Merry-Go-Round."  You refinance your home and get enough cash out, $100K or more, to outright buy your child's desired home.  This makes your kid (really, you) an "all-cash buyer" and better in situations where bidding wars would ensue.  Once they close on their new (all paid for) home, your child takes out a mortgage on his new home and uses all that money to pay you back.

There are many reasons why #10 above is highly dangerous.  First, by refinancing, you've put yourself at the very beginning of a brand new 15 or 30-year mortgage.  This means your mortgage payment will be mostly interest and not principal once again.  "But my child is going to pay me back so I will put that lump sum back in and pay less interest."  Did you do your due diligence when buying the house all cash?  Meaning, did you have it appraised?  The bank will appraise the home before giving your son or daughter a mortgage.  What if the two amounts (what you paid and what the bank wants to finance) aren't the same?

Second, did you get a great interest rate on your own home when refinancing?  Even if you're able to put back all the money you squeezed out of your home from the refinance, are you now stuck at a higher interest rate?  Rates are increasing currently.  Although it may seem clever to do, the Mortgage Merry-Go-Round is a high risk move that could cost you dearly.

Conclusion

There's a lot of good intentions in the above 10 ways you can help your child purchase a home of their own.  If you're wealthy, you have nothing to worry about.  By all means, buy your child a home outright and tell them it's part of their inheritance.  Everyone else, however, has to be very careful how far to go when thinking of lending a hand to their adult child on any major financial decision, especially buying a home.  Parents, don't be scared to say, "No."  Tell your adult child that helping them with a home purchase will compromise your retirement.  Let them know you don't want to burden them in your old age.  Above all ask them:  If you don't have enough money for a downpayment yet, how can you hasten your savings or increase your income to raise the money you need?  Challenge your adult children!

Thanks for reading.

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11 Ways Blacks And Latinos Can Close The Median Wealth Inequality

I read an alarming article about our country's racial wealth inequality yesterday at Fortune.com: Blacks and Latinos Will Be Broke in a Few Decades.  If the current trend of wealth separation between blacks, Latinos, and whites continues, by 2053 "black median families" will have ZERO wealth!  Latino "median families" will be right there with them 20 years later.  Remember from your statistic lessons that the median signifies those right in the middle of a distribution or range.





Currently, black median household wealth (total assets - total debt) is just $1,700.  Latinos are basically in the same boat, with $2000 in median household wealth.  Whites, in stark contrast, have a median household wealth today of $116,800.  These numbers are a national disappointment and the number one reason why the United States as a whole is in 21st place in the world in median household wealth at $55,876.  Unlike Fortune.com, or MSN.com, I can on this platform ask some actual meaningful questions like:

Why should whites care that the two biggest minority groups in this country should be that far back in median wealth and wealth accumulation?  Here are a couple reasons:

1.  The U.S. will be a majority minority nation according to projections by 2043.  Not closing the wealth gap could be disastrous for Gross Domestic Product (G.D.P.) growth.  Meaning our economy would cease to grow, our national debt would never be paid (we're in danger of this happening now), and our children and grandchildren would have no future or country to speak of.

2.  To avoid civil unrest and violence on a national scale.  We see pockets of civil unrest today related to racial injustice.  I'd hate to have my children and future grandchildren grow up in a place where racial disharmony is worse than it is today.  And if you haven't noticed, the sequence of Obama-Trump pretty much destroyed every gain we'd made since the Civil Rights movement.

If you've ever visited my About Me and scrolled half-way down the page, you probably noticed my educational agenda: "...I also believe financial literacy has the power to transform the lives of members of ethnic minorities (especially Latinos and blacks) who are economically challenged."  My mission is to help everyone, but I obviously have a vested interest and obligation to help people of color with my brand of financial literacy.  Why?

I'm a Mexican-American who's married to an African-American and has two mixed children.  This country has given me more wealth than I could've ever created for myself in Mexico.  Lastly, I've learned how to create wealth.  My household wealth is somewhere around $375K and growing thanks to appreciating real estate (and paying down 4 mortgages) and paper assets mostly.  So I'm going to now embark on providing solutions to this massive wealth inequality problem that center on self-reliance.  Some will be financial in nature while others will be cultural.  If you're a minority and don't agree with what I have to say...oh well.  I really don't care.  Start your own blog and write your version of the truth.  Alrighty then, let's turn this mutha out!

11 Ways blacks and Latinos can close the Median Wealth Gap

1. Stop expecting whites to change how things are today.  You may protest if you like, and continue to fight the good fight by all means, but don't expect or wait for policy changes from whites to get you out of poverty.  Take action today for your own financial well-being regardless of the current political environment.

2.  Stop obsessing about racism.  I spent all of my high school (and some college) years (read my book!) obsessing about whites and their racism.  It was stupid and a complete waste of my time.  Had I just focused on minding my success I would've become money conscious sooner.  Does racism exist? Yes, both overt and systemic.  But will it do you any good to spend thousands of calories thinking, stressing, etc. about it over the course of your lifetime?  Money is green, not racist.  Money buys space, peace, and lawyers.  Just ask O.J.  

3.  Embrace capitalism.  We do our kids such a disservice by making them think the pursuit of money and riches is evil.  We live in the U.S., a capitalistic nation for crying out loud.  Believe me, I used to have Che Guevara posters hanging on my dorm room walls at UCSB.  No way in hell will I ever indoctrinate my kids to think wealth is greed and greed is bad.  I'll be doing the opposite and so should all black and Latino families if we're ever to get out of this deep hole we're in.  Money consciousness is a good thing people!

4.  God will not drop off a pile of money at your doorstep.  Too many blacks and Latinos are indoctrinated by the Christian and Catholic church to put their faith and trust in God.  "God will provide this, and God will provide that."  No God won't!  Blasphemy?  God helps those who help THEMSELVES!

5.  Cultural identity, both a blessing and a curse.  What does being black mean?  What does being Mexican or for that matter, Latino mean?  It means pride, heritage, and belonging.  Those are the positives.  But many times our cultural identities keep us from broadening our world views, our perspectives, from learning from each other or from whites even.

6.  We have to break the "we are victims" mindset once and for all.  Yes, the past happened.  Yes, the present isn't rosy, but I'll be damned if I ever let my daughter and son constantly express any minority victim mindset words.  We "push through" damn it!  See any victims in the video below?  Thank-you, Jasmyn Wright, M.Ed. for your excellent success mindset education.

7.  Stop overestimating public schools.  Mexican parents drop their kids off at school with all the trust in the world that the school will prepare their child for success in life.  The same can be said for many black families.  Great schools are the exception people!  Certainly not the norm.  This means you have to provide additional curriculum for your child at home.  The default end to the learning day for minority families is the answer to this question: "Did you finish your homework?"  So f'in what if your child finished his/her homework?  That doesn't mean they get the next two hours to be bullshitting on their smart phone or game system.  Don't you get it?  We're behind people.  Behind!  This means we need to have our kids double their learning.  Two additional hours after school (reading, on Ed apps, building things with their hands, etc.) after they've completed their homework, plus doing something educational during the winter and summer breaks should just about put us on par with whites.

8.  Stop living above your means.  Mexicans love their expensive trucks, and throwing their life savings into their daughter's Quinceanera, baptismal parties, etc....everything is cause for celebration in our community.  Blacks most definitely throw money away too in their own ways.  We need to develop a culture of saving!  It's bad enough we get paid less than our white counterparts in many instances.  We don't need to compound matters by living above our means.  How can you ever enter into the realm of investing, the key to wealth building, without having savings to invest?

9.  Learn to invest!  There is absolutely no excuse these days not to know how to invest in the most accessible wealth creation vehicle man has ever known: the stock and bond markets.  You know, there's this thing called the Internet, where you can go to a "search engine" thing-a-ma-bopper called, Google, and ask it questions.  Stop being lazy, people.  Stop being ignorant of these things.  Your conspiracy theories about the market being rigged, or it being for whites only, are no longer a good excuse!  Let me let you in on a secret: It was never a good excuse.  It was just your victim mindset in operation.  If I can invest in the market and have made a profit every year since 2007, so can you.

10.  Set goals and let one of them be to buy at least one real estate property in your lifetime.  Real estate is about having a stake, not necessarily about wealth.  When you own land and property, you are catapulted from indentured servant to landlord.  It's even better if you own a rental property.  Now you can take advantage of the current tax system and itemize, saving on your taxes.  Whites aren't wealthy simply because they make more money than other ethnic groups; they're wealthier because they save a shit load on taxes and they do so with purpose.

11.  Learn the principles of success.  Shameless plug here: Buy your Tweens and teens my book (see the left sidebar).  I explicitly share how minority youth can be successful in life.  13!, 5-star reviews so far.  At least take a look!  It won't kill you to browse the Amazon page and read some of the reviews.  Having a success mindset with strategic skills to get through challenges in life is key to building wealth.

Look, I realize that privilege exists.  Many whites start out in life yards ahead in the race of life.  One can't deny this (see video below).  But that doesn't mean we, blacks and Latinos, should give up.  That we sit back and don't even take part in the race.  We can narrow those yards of separation by doing the things I've mentioned above.  And then when the race gets underway, we'll be in a better position to win that $100.  Mad love and respect to the minority students who ran the race from way back and still competed, beating many people.  There were some as you can see who didn't even run.  So last words: Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up!   

         
Thanks for reading.

13 Ways to Save On Health Care If You're Without Insurance

About 50 million people paid a penalty this past tax season for not enrolling in "Obamacare," as the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is often called.  For tax year 2017, the penalty was 2.5% of your total household adjusted gross income, or $695 per adult and $347.50 per child.  The max penalty was $2,085, so a family (2 adults) with three children or more wasn't placed into a deeper financial hole thankfully.  The tax amounts are expected to increase for 2018 unless all of the ACA is repealed.


For the sake of many Americans, I sincerely hope the ACA, if repealed completely, is replaced with something that works to affordably cover the majority of Americans not currently on an employee health plan.  The stakes are high then for Republicans, but it's nothing in comparison to what the common man without insurance, paying the tax penalty because it's the most affordable option, has to do to get the health care they need.  

According to the CDC, today 40% of US adults have high deductible health plans.  This basically puts them in the under-insured category because oftentimes they forego getting medical attention in order to avoid paying that high deductible.  What's worse, when they're on the verge of death and finally decide they can no longer let their condition go unaided by a health professional, these people make the emergency room their last resort.  I've had one friend almost die of pneumonia and another almost die from an abscessed tooth all because they didn't have insurance and didn't seek medical/dental help.  BlueCrossBlueShield puts the average cost of an emergency room visit at $1,233.  Moral of this story, get help before your health deteriorates to the point of needing emergency care!





Today I have some help for the non and under-insured.  I've researched the net and have compiled 13 ways to save on health care.  Let's get it started!

1.  Part-timer with no benefits?  Your employer may provide free flu-shots, blood pressure tests, or other preventative screenings.  Take advantage!

2.  Go to your local health clinic and pay for a visit an amount commensurate with your income.  Find a local clinic at Haelthcare.gov.

3.  Try Livingsocial or Groupon.  These two sites often work with businesses looking to grow their clientele.  So they'll post money saving coupons for chiropractic care, medical massages, and teeth cleanings and X-rays.

4.  Go to training schools.  Clinics near teaching hospitals or offices where dental and chiropractic students learn often will offer steep discounts (sometimes free!) to drop in patients.  Don't worry, procedures are overseen by trained staff and instructors.  Go to Studentrunfreeclinics.org and contact them to find a clinic near you.

5.  Visit an urgent care center.  At an urgent care center, you can get treated for allergic reactions, injuries that are non-life threatening like cuts and burns, run a blood test, or even take X-rays all for a fraction of the their usual costs.  A visit can be as little as $120.

6.  Go retail!  Some supermarkets, drugstores, and big retailers like Walmart have "retail clinics" where you can get treated for common illnesses.  Costs are as low as $55 to $75.



7.  Generic is just as good.  Name brand medications cost 85% more than their generic counterparts.  Still, be sure to shop around for the best price for your generic meds.  Needymeds.org, a non-profit, is a great resource for people looking for ways to pay for their medications.

8.  Apply for Medicaid.    

9.  If you're denied Medicaid, see if your county has a medical assistance program and apply.

10.  Go straight to a Direct Primary Care Provider.  DPCPs are great because they don't discriminate on the basis of having a pre-existing condition.  You pay a low monthly fee in exchange for unlimited visits with primary care doctors.

11.  Think you got an STD?  Go to Plannedparenthood.org for a cheap screening and practice safe sex from now on!

12.  Be a guinea pig.  Sorry...I should say: Participate in a research study.  Call the National Institute of Health at 1-800-411-1222 or the National Cancer Institute at 1-888-624-1937 to see if you qualify to be part of a study.  Cancer sucks.

13.  Go south of the border.  The U.S. shares a long stretch of land with good ol' Mexico.  Everything is so much cheaper there.  Just go to your nearest border city, cross, and get what you need.  Do your research before crossing.  Many established clinics, dental offices, and pharmacies in Mexico have great bilingual websites. 

I don't want to leave out psychological care.  That is as important as my thirteen tips above.  Consider finding therapists that will work with your particular financial needs.    

Conclusion

It's a damn shame that in one of the richest countries in the world people have to seriously struggle financially to get the healthcare they need.  It is what it is, I guess, so the next best option is to look for ways to make our pains go away more affordably.  These 13 tips should be of some help.  Finally, remember that even if you look like a fitness model, you should still be making at least an annual visit to the doctor.  Many ailments don't have symptoms.  Get routine care so you discover problems early on!

Thanks for reading!  Until next time.

How Much Of Your Paycheck Should You Spend On The Holidays?

The Holidays are right around the corner.  We got Thanksgiving in less than two weeks, and Christmas in less than two months.  It has never been a better time to be a Jehovah Witness.  They don't celebrate crap!  And in the process they save a ton of money all year long.  It's also great if you're Jewish because Hanukkah apparently really isn't the most important holiday of the year for my Jewish peeps, and there's no need to go Christmas shopping of course.  So the rest of us (and I apologize if I left out your religion) are stuck once again figuring out just how much we should be spending, outside our normal monthly budget, on these traditional times.



The holidays are perhaps when staying disciplined financially is the hardest.  The "holiday spirit" sets in and people start to feel warm and wonderful all over.  So it's a super emotional (not logical) time of the year.  Shopping, also an incredibly emotional experience, is like the match that lights the gasoline.  We allow ourselves to get carried away online or at the mall because our brains are chock-full of endorphins, our bodies are on never ending sugar highs (think Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Hot Chocolate, Pies, Ice Cream, etc.), and our soul is full of love.  Essentially "giving," which usually isn't free, trumps "saving."

How bad does saving get neglected during the holidays?  Would you believe the majority of Americans will spend at least one paycheck on Thanksgiving and Christmas?  GoBankingRates survey of 2000 adults (cited in the linked article) across the U.S. is eye opening.  More than half of respondents, some 57% said they will shell out at least one entire paycheck on the combined expenses for turkey day and Xmas.  The average pay for Americans who get paid every two weeks is $1,908 by the way.  Folks that's a lot of money for just two fancy meals and presents for the kids.  If that's not the straw that broke the camel's back then the next finding is.  The remaining survey respondents, nearly 44%, said they plan on spending more than one paycheck for these two days of the year!

How Much of Your Paycheck Should You Spend on the Holidays?

I did a Google search and scoured the first page for some answers and this is what I found:

1) No more than 1.5% of the annual family gross income on Xmas presents, decorations, trees, etc. (Source, Sapling.com) should be spent.  If the total gross income between you and your partner is $100K, then 1.5% would be about $1,500.  However they point to a 2011 Deloitte Development survey that many people spend less than 1.5%.  For the couple earning $100K, the average on Xmas was $800.  For households making less than $100K, the average on Xmas was $300.  With inflation, we're talking easily over $900 and $400, respectively, for the two groups noted.

2) An even simpler formula is shared at The Clear Point Blog.  They recommend you spend 1.5% of your net income on the holidays.  Currently, the average household income in the U.S. is a little over $59K.  So, 1.5% of this amount would represent a holiday expense budget of $885.  We're back at $1,500 for those households making $100K.

Spending 1.5% of your annual income on the holidays is a good rule of thumb.  So if we go back to the top where one paycheck represents on average $1,908 (or $49,630 in annual wages), and do some easy math, $1,908/$49,630 is 3.84%.  Clearly the average American is overspending on the holidays no matter how you slice it.  Is going over this 1.5% recommendation okay?  It depends.

I'd say if your debt to income ratio is low, meaning you have little debt, high income, or both, go ahead and spend that entire 2-week paycheck on the holidays.  In case you didn't know, to calculate your debt to income ratio, divide all of your current monthly debt payments (mortgage, auto and student loans, etc.) by your monthly income.  If your debt to income ratio is high, don't you dare spend an entire paycheck on the holidays!  You can't afford it, plain and simple.

Still confused how to figure out how much you should spend?

Clearpoint.org has an excellent "Holiday Budget Planner" that factors in your personal income to determine an appropriate budget.  When using $100K as a household's gross annual income, the HBP breaks down the budget as,

Gifts, $450, 30%
Parties, $150, 10%
Travel, $600, 40%
Food, $225, 15%
Donations, $75, 5%

How to Stay on Budget?

To stick to your budget you're going to have to be very self-disciplined, self-controlled, and creative.  Since gift giving and travel are the two likeliest categories where you'll overspend, I suggest you review your past practices and brainstorm new ones.  For example, do you have to travel somewhere this year?  Can loved ones come to your place for Thanksgiving?  If not, can you drive instead of fly your whole family to your destination?

When it comes to gift giving, go back and see how much you spent on people last year.  Try the following:

1) Trim your gift giving list.  Just tell your cousins and close friends you have to cutback this year because funds are tight.  They'll understand.

2)  Do a Secret Santa gift exchange with extended family.  Pick names and shop just for one person.  I do this with my siblings.

3)  Make gifts yourself.  If you knit, or are a great artist, photographer, etc., consider making meaningful gifts for others.

4) Give a certificate of a professional service you perform.  For example, if you're a massage therapist, give a loved one a free massage at your place of work.

5)  Consider re-gifting.  I get Starbucks cards at work almost every year.  I give those away as gifts to other people, and save myself both time and money.

Be smart about the holidays this year.  I can assure you that you will feel just as good about yourself if you truly focus on maximizing the experience of being with family during the holidays, and not worry so much about how much you spent on other people, food, and parties.  Thanks for reading!

Would You Use A Sugar Daddy Or Momma To Pay for College?

College debt is so darn terrifying to some young people that they have turned to "Sugaring" to pay for their expenses.  I learned of the term just today while watching a video on MSN Money and reading the accompanying article.  We all know some young people get into relationships with older rich men or women for the money, as opposed to love.  While I knew this was how some college students pay for their expenses at school, I had no idea it was this prevalent.  Some 2.5 million users of Seekingarrangement.com identified themselves as students.  That's a substantial number.  There are more Sugar Babies no doubt who are Sugaring offline.   Let's say the true number is closer to 3 million Sugar Babies that are getting through college with the help of a Sugar Daddy or Mommy.

According to Studentloanhero.com, the average Class of 2016 graduate has $37,172 in student loan debt, up 6% from the previous year.  This doesn't include the cost of obtaining a graduate degree.  The temptation to pay for college creatively without shooting the rest of your financial life to pieces with never ending monthly payments is therefore extremely high.  Back in my day, attractive girls turned to stripping to pay for college.  The strategy or some other form of it, being an atmosphere model, e.g., is still around today, but not nearly as lucrative as is Sugaring.  The young lady in the article (Christina) at MSN Money, happens to be a Sugar Baby, cocktail waitress, AND an atmosphere model.  And she's making bank!  Up to $2K to $4K per month according to the video.  All while working on her MBA!  Dang...now that's being productive with your time.



Question: So is the money you get from a Sugar Daddy or Mommy considered earned income?  A gift?  What?  LOL!

On a serious note, both young men and women are finding it easier to establish Sugaring relationships because of a platform like Seekingarrangement.com.  And at the other end, wealthy older men and women, some who are married, are finding it easier to access sexual or emotional excitement by paying for the company (or intimacy) of younger adults.  Just because the Internet has facilitated a woman's ability to become a Sugar Baby (most SB are women), it doesn't mean it's an easy job.  Below are some pros and cons of being a female SB.  

Pros of being a female SB (We'll stick with the gender most involved)

1) You make a whole lot more money than from a regular part-time job.
2) You can say "no" to a date, trip, sex, whenever you want, meaning, you "work" when you want to.
3) Other potential benefits such as gaining mentorship or feedback on your future from conversations with older rich men.


Cons of being a SB

1) Negative Stigma.  Only your close friends or other SB will not see you as a "gold-digger."  If you're secure with your femininity (and have plenty of positive self-esteem) this should not be a problem.

2)  Can't tell your parents.  Well, I take that back.  There are some parents who when you tell them you're a SB will simply say, "Be careful."  Most parents will probably say, "Are you out of your freakin' mind?!"

3)  Safety.  Whether you think you're in control or not, never underestimate the power relationship involved in Sugaring.  Men can become clingy, and even possessive.  They will proposition you for sex even if you state clearly all you want is a platonic relationship.  That's just how the XY rolls ladies.

4)  You will not be able to have a healthy, trusting relationship with a man your age while you are Sugaring.  I don't care what type of dude your man says he is, he'll be jealous.  It will eat him up inside to know his lady is out with an older, rich man, even if you say no sex is going on.

5)  Decreased interest in dating for yourself while Sugaring.  Dating (older rich men) has become your job!  Why would you want to do it on your spare time? You'll be emotionally spent.

6)  Feeling fake.  Having to put on the uniform (make-up all the time, being clean, smelling nice always, and dressing the part) will make you feel like you're living a double life.

7)  Getting a mouthful all the time from feminist women.

As a guy, I'm all for attractive girls using their smarts (and looks) to get a Sugar Daddy.  Men have their own societal privileges and they don't hesitate to use them.  So why shouldn't women?  Would I want my daughter doing this?  Heck to the No with a capital N!  I guess I'm trying to say that if a young woman wants to enter into an arrangement with an older rich man, it's their prerogative.  They should however be ready to deal with any and all of the potential negative consequences.

So now comes the big question:
WOULD YOU USE A SUGAR DADDY OR MOMMA TO PAY FOR COLLEGE?

I've done somewhat of a decent job, I think, of informing you all about this.  Knowing what you now know, how would you respond to the above question?  If you don't mind sharing, drop a comment below.  Thanks for reading!  Until next time.

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You Only Need These Two Types Of Credit Cards For All Your Credit Needs

How many credit cards should someone own?  That's the topic of today's post.  I happen to own just two, but I erred in that the two fall within the standard, run-of-the-mill types of credit cards, high credit limits and no annual fees.  I've owned a Chase Visa Freedom card ($10,800 credit limit) since 1999!  I've also owned an Amex Everyday Card ($28,200 credit limit) since 2003.  Once in a while I'll participate in the occasional promotional cashback rewards program my Chase card mails me about.  You know, where they tell you to buy at certain retailers and you'll earn 3-5% cashback on all purchases.  I'm not an active credit card user, but I probably would be if I had opened up two specific types of credit cards.

First, being an active credit card user doesn't mean you have a spending problem.  Or for that matter that you're seriously crippled by your debt.  On the contrary, one can use a credit card responsibly, paying off every last expense at the end of the month and never having to pay any interest for card balances.  Why would someone have their credit card be their go-to way of paying for everyday things?  Why not just use your ATM debit card linked directly to your checking account?  Because of the perks credit cards offer!  Duh...you knew this already.

If you're currently in the market for a credit card, I suggest you consider getting or having two, and be done with it.  But which two types of credit cards should you possess?  The answer:

1) One that focuses on cashback rewards, AND
2) One that specializes in travel rewards.

Let's breakdown how to shop for each of the two main types of credit cards starting with the cashback reward variety.

Cashback Reward Cards

When shopping for a credit card that offers cashback rewards, the criteria you must use to weed out the good ones from the bad ones include:

1.  Lowest "Purchase APR."  The Purchase APR is the interest rate you'll pay on any outstanding credit card balance.  Purchase APR are based on your credit worthiness, but the range (of what you may pay in APR) given to you by a credit card company is comparable.  Do not be swayed by 0% promotional APR's.  When the promotional time expires, you're stuck paying the Purchase APR.

2.  No annual fee.  Unless you're wealthy and want to be part of some rich club, getting a credit card with an annual fee is stupid.  Eliminate any credit card with annual fees from consideration.

3.  Foreign Transaction fees.  You shouldn't have to pay for using your credit card to make purchases out of the country or from vendors abroad.  We want zero FT fees!

4.  0% Intro APR on Balance Transfers for as long as possible.  If one credit card gives you a 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for 12 months and another for 14 months with all else being equal (see 1 to 3 above) then go with the one with the extra two months.  Hey, you never know if you'll need to transfer debt from a credit card with a higher Purchase APR to one with a lower one.

5.  The most introductory perks.  Credit card companies are very creative when it comes to getting you to open up an account.  In the case of cashback reward cards, you'll want,

a) 1st year cashback match by the credit card company, meaning you earn 2X the cashback dollar amount for your first year,

b) 5% cashback rewards on category purchases with at least a $1,500 quarterly max; if you find a credit card that will let you earn more than $1500 in cash per quarter, great!

c) 1% cashback on all purchases not in a promotional category with no limit how much you can earn,

d) Cash rewards that are redeemable whenever and in any quantity,

e) Direct deposit of the cash you earn into your bank account or to use to pay off your card account.

f) Favorable conversion ratios.  Your points add up to dollar amounts, but when redeeming them, you need to pay attention to how many points will get you a particular gift card.  You may be able to get the same gift card for fewer points at a different store.

g) $1 in cashback = $1 at checkout.  It's that simple.  Anything less is junk.

Travel Reward Cards

To begin on the right foot with a travel reward card you must abide by criteria 1, 2 (most will only do a promotional $0 intro annual fee for the first year then charge an annual fee after that; get the one with the lowest annual fee!), and 3 from above.  If you can find a travel reward card that offers 0% Intro APR on balance transfers for a given time period, you're in luck.  Most won't do this type of promo, but will advertise $0 in fees at least for any balance transfer.  Other criteria to rate a card include:

The best introductory perks and offers.  For example:

a) The highest one-time bonus point offer when spending a certain amount within the first 1-3 months.  Don't screw this up!  If a card offers you 50,000 points (say a $500 value) for $3K in purchases within the first three months, then spend the $3K in 3 months!  Just pay off the balance each month.

b) Unlimited 2X the miles on every purchase, i.e., $1 spent = 2 reward miles.

c) Fly any airline and stay at any hotel ANY TIME.  Restrictions suck! Don't get a card with airline or hotel restrictions.

d) No Blackout dates.  Your card should let you travel whenever the heck you want.  If not, close the account and get one that does.

e)  No expiration of your miles ever!  So long as you maintain the account open, you should never have to worry about your miles expiring.

Alright my peeps, I've given you a breakdown of how to shop for the two types of credit cards you'll ever need.  When I opened my two credit cards way back when, I only cared that they had low Purchase APRs and no annual fees.  There is so much more value to a credit card these days.  They can be like savings vehicles if you opened an account with the right company, and if you pay off all your debt at the end of the month.  Happy credit card shopping!

Thanks for reading. 

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