Beating Broke

Personal Finance from the Broke Perspective

Free Credit Score Report

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Your Credit Score ReportIf you read this blog through a feed reader, or just haven’t visited in the last week or so, you likely haven’t seen the new banner that I’ve put up on the right side of the site.  It’s a lovely little banner (designed by me) for a White Paper / Report that I put together.  The subject, fittingly, is Your Credit Score.  In it, I write about what a credit score is, how it is used, and the steps that you can take to improve your credit score.

My hope is that the report will be help people learn what the correct usage of a credit score are, and what the benefits are of having a good credit score.  Which is why I’ve made it a FREE report.  All you have to do is sign up for the Beating Broke newsletter.

What is the newsletter?  Well, it’s a bit in the fledgling state, but the idea is that you will get the occasional update about the site with an article or two as well as some articles and information that won’t appear here on the blog.  I promise to not fill up your email inbox with the newsletter.  In fact, at the moment, I only plan on sending it out once a month at most.  More likely, bi-monthly.

The report is well worth it if you ask me.  I’m a bit biased since I wrote it, but I really do think it could be a very valuable resource for someone who doesn’t know much about credit scores.

Also, I want the report to get into as many hands as possible, so if you want a copy without signing up for the newsletter, just send me a note with the contact form and I’ll send you a copy.

Just Do It. Whatever It Is.

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No matter where you go, the advice of those that already do to those that want to do is almost always, without fail, just do it.  Want to be a writer?  Forget the courses, workshops, and conferences.  Just write.  Want to be a photographer?  Just go out and take some pictures.  Want to be healthy and fit?  Yes, Nike said it best.  Just do it.

The mantra holds true for personal finance as well.  Want to retire rich?  You’ll need to save quite a bit up.  Don’t hem and haw about how much you can afford or when, just save it.  Don’t just learn how to retire by 40,  actually retire by 40! Want to become debt free?  Just pay it off.  Whatever it is in your personal finance life that needs work, you need to recognize that it’s not going to improve itself.  You’ll need to work on it.  And whatever it is, you need to also recognize that if you don’t just do it, you’ll never get it done.  Do your research, make a decision.  Once you’ve made a decision, follow up with it as quickly as possible and execute it even quicker.  100% of plans fail that don’t get acted upon.

Review: I Will Teach You To Be Rich

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I Will Teach You to be Rich
By: Ramit Sethi

I’ve been a reader of Ramit’s blog (iwillteachyoutoberich.com) for several years now, so when I heard that he was writing a book (and publishing one) I knew it would have to find a way onto my list of books to read. Which it did, and I did read it.

If you aren’t familiar with Ramit’s writing style, it’s some what irreverent. Light and joking, it’s as if he were talking to you over a beer. Which, of course, works pretty well for a book that is meant to be read by a twenty-something single person. There’s a reason it’s on the New York Times Bestseller list!

Ramit takes you through a 9 chapter, 6 week journey of personal finance.  He covers everything from credit cards, savings and checkings, investing, budgeting, and saving for goals.  For the person who finds themselves fresh out of high school or college and overwhelmed by the amount of credit offers and spending temptations, this book is a must read.  Ramit did a very good job of pointing out and explaining some of the very common pitfalls of personal finance, and he does it in a way that makes sense.

There were only a few things that I found I disagreed with.  The biggest of these was what he calls Conscious spending.  As he describes it, it is the act of consciously setting limits and goals for spending so that you don’t overspend.  Where I disagree is when he says that it isn’t a budget.  It certainly sounds like one to me.  While it may not be a budget that accounts for every penny and every category, it still is a budget.  Maybe I’m giving budgeting too broad of a description, but to me any ordered system that sets limits and goals for spending and saving is a budget.  What conscious spending is, is a very high level budget.

Anyone who has read this site for very long will know that I am not a fan of credit cards.  I’m not really a fan of debt at all, but credit cards (to me) are one of the worst offenders.  So, it was with some trepidation that I began the chapter on credit cards.  It was somewhat refreshing to have someone actually explain how they use cards, and why.  Because of my stance on credit cards, however, I couldn’t help but disagree with several points.

Overall, this is a spectacular book for it’s intended audience.  Seasoned personal finance students will surely find a few nuggets, but the rest is likely review.  If you know anyone that is just stepping out on their own personal finance journey, I suggest you get them this book.  Ramit does an excellent job of laying out a wonderful foundation for successful personal finance management.  And, yes, it may even teach you to be rich.

You can pick “I will teach you to be rich” up at Amazon, or just about any corner bookstore. As of this writing, the book is less than $11 at Amazon, which is likely better than you’ll see it anywhere else.