In the course of my time creating and developing this blog, I have learned so much more than I ever thought possible in the field of personal finance.  Recently, it occurred to me that it might be worth looking into becoming a Certified Financial Planner. 

I know a few CFPs, but don’t know anything about the certification process.

Now, if any of you know anything about me or may have read my book, you know that I come out firmly against the use of any kind of debt consolidation companies to get yourself out of debt.  Initially, I thought that CFPs would fall under this same category, and therefore, should never be employed.

However, in my small amount of internet research, I found this not to be the case.

In a nutshell, here is what I found out about how to become a CFP, and whether or not you should employ one, in my opinion.

The certification process is much more extensive that I ever imagined.  Originally, not knowing any differently, I thought that becoming certified was similar to becoming a certified home inspector.  If you didn’t know, basically, there is NO certification process involving home inspectors.  Basically, you can just wake up one morning and decide to be a home inspector, and poof!, you’re a home inspector.

This is far from the case with Certified Financial Planning.   A Bachelor’s Degree is a pre-requisite.  There are other educational requirements.  But apparently, any CPA, any licensed attorney, and people in a few other professions can get around these educational requirements.  For those not in these professions, there are a variety of courses available at universities to take which would satisfy this part.

Additionally, there is a 10-hour exam that must be passed. It covers a variety of topics, but basically tests your knowledge in just about all areas related to financial planning, and your abilities to communicate this knowledge to clients.

There is also an experience requirement of three years in work related to certified financial planning.  You must also pass a background check and pays fees that look to be in the area of $1000 and then also some annual fee to maintain your certification.

What I did learn was that I think that CFPs are a group that can be trusted (as opposed to the home inspectors I spoke of earlier).  Would I ever consider becoming one?  Maybe, but not right now.  It seems that your income is based almost solely on your ability to market, network and build your client base, which I would not have enough time to do effectively.  However, I would consider it as a future endeavor.

I guess more importantly, the question remains:  Should you consider using one?

My answer is this:  if you are in need of some advice on how to get out of debt, then I would absolutely NOT use one.  The only reason that I say this is that all the advice you need is out there for you to learn through either experience or research.  I did it strictly through experience.

On the other hand, should you need advice on just about any other topic regarding personal finance (investing for the future, retirement planning, estate planning, etc.)  I would consider utilizing the service of a CFP. 

So, depending on what you r needs are, you may want took into the use of a financial planner.  I think that they can be trusted and could prove to be helpful in a variety of areas outside the realm of debt management.

Comments?  Suggestions?  Feel free to do so below.

I was discussing some personal finance issue with a colleague of mine the other day, and he said something to me that I had already known n for years.  It was just eye-opening to hear someone else say it.

He told me “If I had only known a lot of this stuff when I was a kid, I would have been much better off.”

Well, wouldn’t we all, right?

Then he said something that never occurred to me before.  He continued,

“They should make this stuff required classroom material for all kids-that way, we won’t have to worry about it.”

At first, it sounded a little silly but the more I thought about, the more it made sense.

This is how I look at it.  Our country is carrying the worst federal deficit that we have ever had in history.  Some say our country is on the verge on bankruptcy because of it.  And although the statistics seem to be getting better, the average American simply lives in debt.  And amazingly, they are content to do so.  Can you imagine how much our economic “position” in the world would improve if we did not have so much debt?

On a more personal level, how much more bargaining power would we all have is we were not in so much debt?  A better credit score would mean lower interest rates on cars and homes, better opportunities for employment, and a host of other things.

Yet, where did all these problems with debt begin?  I guess you could say the core issue is parents and parenting.   Parents who either did not know the disadvantages of being in debt or did not effectively communicate them to their children.

But, what if a lot of this education were a required part of a schools’ curriculum?

I think it could easily be incorporated into a required schedule of classes for children.  The more I thought about it, this is what I came up with:

Grade school-I have not begun to think of the logistics of doing this, but here you would educate on the basics–how to open a savings account,  maybe how interest works etc.

High school– I can remember so many “blow off” classes that I took in high school, that I am sure a “Basics of Finance” or “Your Money, Your Life” class could easily be fit in.  Here, you go hard and heavy about the dangers of credit card debt, what exactly it is, the effects (both short and long term) that it can have on you, and so on.

College-Once again, I can remember so many of my “core” classes for college that I simply didn’t need, that again, some sort of finance or money class could easily be factored in.  Here I think you continue with the credit card debt theme, but maybe also throw in al little about the basics of investing.  For example, what a 401K is, what a Roth IRA is, and so on.

To me, the basics of personal finance is far too important to put on the shoulders of parents. They have too many other important responsibilities.  Also, I think a lot are simply ill-equipped to properly educate their children on the subject. I say put it in the school system and let’s watch our country improve, one child at a time…

Well, everybody, I have some great news.  It seems as though my blog has been able to break through to the top 100,000 on Alexa and I have been able to sustain this for some time now.

Of course, that does raise a few questions.  For me and probably for you.  For you, the question probably is “What in the world is Alexa?”  Which was my question several months back.  Briefly, I can tell you that Alexa is a subsidiary of Amazon that tracks visits to sites.  However, it only keeps track of sites that have the Alexa Toolbar installed, so it is far from perfect.

So, the good thing is that my ranking is going up; the bad thing is that I am not sure exactly what it means.

I could go on to bore you with a lot of other stuff about what determines your ranking, about why breaking into the top 100,000 is a pretty big deal and so forth, but I won’t.

Let’s just suffice it to say that I am very grateful and appreciative to each and every one of you who made this possible.  Yes, being in the top 100,000 is a big deal, but the next goal is to get into the top 75,000 and then the top 50,000 and so on….

On another note, I know that there have not been too many original, “money-saving” posts by me personally this week, and for that, I do apologize.  No real reason to speak of, there was just a few guests I wanted to feature and a few other things.

We should be getting back on track with great money saving tips and everything else next week.

I hope none of you have lost interest or thought that I have.

Have a great weekend!

If you have any advice or feedback on Alexa and what its rankings mean, feel free to comment below.

Today is Earth Day, and is designed to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth’s environment.

Over the past few days, during the course of my visits to a few retail stores, I wanted to tell you about my experiences there.

They will remain nameless, but at the first one, they had their cash registers fully stocked with green Earth Day bags and were packaging all their customers’ purchases in them.  This was a major retailer by the way.  When it came to me, of course I asked, “Is this bag free?”  The lady replied “Yes, how can we expect people to go “green” if it’s too expensive to do so?“  Or something to that effect.

I almost fell over when I heard this statement.  I could not imagine what the cost of all those green bags would be to the company by the time Earth Day had concluded.  At the second store, I brought my purchases to the counter, and was promptly asked by the cashier if I would like to buy a green Earth Day bag for $1.75.  I would have said “no” anyways, but I  responded that I already got one for free at my last stop.  She didn’t really respond to that, and I didn’t really expect her to.

Then I got to thinking about two pretty important points.  First, I don’t think it is right to place your finances over protecting the environment, unless the expense is simply too large.  What I mean by this is that if you can afford some “green” household cleaner by spending a few more pennies, I feel it should be done for the sake of the environment.  However, I am not advocating that everyone go out and spend $10K to install solar panels on their roof to conserve energy.

I never used to think this way, but I began to recently.  Although I will do almost anything to save money in my everyday life, I don’t think it is right to sacrifice the environment to do so.  For the household cleaners that we still buy(rather than making at home) I do spend the extra money to get ones that are environmentally safe, and our household does recycle everything we can, although it does involve spending money on storage supplies and involves extra trips to the recycling center and so on.  Simply put, I do spend extra money to be mindful of the environment.

Which brings me to my second point.  Why should it cost us more money as consumers to become “green” to begin with?  Shouldn’t it be less expensive?  Do we really believe that it is more expensive to produce some sort of household cleaner (or any other product for that matter) from natural, organic ingredients rather than the other chemicals they are made with?

I think it is the environmental and moral responsibility of so-called “big business” to bring down the prices of all things “green” if we as a society want to seriously commit to caring for our environment.

Can you imagine how many more people would go “green” or become more environmentally responsible if they could also save money by doing so?

I am not here to make political statements or to get on my “soapbox” to call out big business. It is just that this simple little exchange about these two Earth Day bags made me realize that if it were more financially attractive to most people, I think the “green” movement would be less of a Hollywood anomaly, and more of a mainstream movement.

Agree?  Disagree? Your thoughts are always appreciated below.

Looking back on things, I basically categorize my life into two main sections-BD and AD.  Before debt and After Debt.

When I was in debt, I managed to motivate myself to get out of debt by using simple logic.  I knew that if I didn’t do something about my financial situation, that I would struggle with my finances for the rest of my life.  I also knew that if I fixed my finances, there would be a tremendous strain lifted off of my shoulders.

I knew I would have more freedom to do the things that I wanted to do, but I never really knew what that feeling was going to be like

I wish I could have gotten a little taste of it back then…

I guess what I am trying to say is that if I knew how many doors of opportunity would be opened up to me once I solved all of my debts, then I would have motivated myself to get debt-free much quicker then I was able to.

It is a shame that the “non-debt” people couldn’t invite the “debt people” over to their side of the fence just to sit down and have a chat. I bet the “debt people” would really see the light.

They would see that by being out of debt, you obviously create more income for yourself (i.e. no money paid in interest and fees, etc).  They would see that you save yourself money through lower interest rates on just about everything.

They would also see the other opportunities that come your way in the ability to MAKE money from your credit cards.  By signing up for a credit card with a cash back option, you can get your credit cards to actually generate income for you, rather than costing you money.

They would also get a true sense of the phrase “stress free financial living“.  Although living on this side of debt does not have its challenges, it is nothing compared to the monthly strain of waiting till payday so you can pay your bills at the last minute, always running behind on things, etc.

I really wish I had gotten the opportunity to just spend a few minutes on the right side of debt way back then.  It would have been exactly the kick in the pants that I needed to do something about my financial woes much earlier.

If you are less than thrilled with your state of financial affairs at this point in time, why not sit down and talk with someone who is?  Better yet, talk with someone who used to be in your shoes that is not any longer.

I can guarantee you that they will have a wonderful story to tell.  They will be able to see things through your eyes, but they will also be able to explain to you how much more fun life in general is without all of the constant  worrying and stress that comes with living in debt.

As always, your comments and suggestions are appreciated below.

So, were you one of the millions out there who decided to throw a few dollars into the office pool and fill out a bracket for the March Madness college basketball tournament? If so, how ya’ doin’ so far?

Are you still in the thick of it and looking for that big payout in a few weeks? Are you regretting your decision already, asking yourself why did you waste money on such a silly thing? Somewhere in the middle?

Well, I have a little confession to make. For someone who is as about as fiscally prudent as they come, I must admit that I did fill out a bracket. Yep, sure did. Maybe I’ll win; maybe I won’t (just so you know, the pay-in amount for my pool was $30, so it was probably a little higher sum than most).

Anyways, I just want to go over a few scenarios that seem to make sense to me. Basically, the question is: should you or should you not spend money on such a thing?I hope you find my thoughts to be helpful.

If you have more than average credit card debt, struggle to pay your minimums, or even struggle to pay your bills on time, then in my estimation, you probably shouldn’t be fooling with March Madness. I would definitely consider sacrificing that to focus more on your financial health.

However, if you have more than average credit card debt, but always pay your bills on time and have gotten on a program to knock down the balances of your credit cards, then hey, reward yourself and jump into the fun!

If you gamble more than the average person and are anything less than completely financially set, then I would consider at least cutting back in this area. I think it’s a pretty well-known fact that most people that gamble regularly lose money in the long run. If it’s something you really enjoy, maybe just consider slowing down till you are more financially set.

Now let me lay out my personal financial situation to you and explain to you why I think it is alright that I dropped $30 into this thing. I certainly would never ever want to come off in this blog a having a holier-than-thou attitude. Am I completely financially set? By no means. I would like to be able to contribute a lot more to my retirement savings plans than I do. Other than that, yes, I am probably financially set. I have no debts besides my house payment, no credit card balances and my bills are always paid on time and in full.

But here is the key. I spend very little money on myself. I don’t go out to eat (and my family rarely does), I hardly ever buy new clothes for myself and when it comes down to it, if you take out necessary purchases for our household I really don’t spend money at all. So if there is someone who could justify losing the $30 in my pool, I think it would be me. Also, I definitely consider it to be a form of entertainment. It is three weekends of fun, of keeping up with how I and my friends are doing, and of watching some great basketball.

And, to be completely honest with you, I can’t really lose. You see, I participated in a similar type pool for the NFL playoffs and won $30, so in the end, I will either break even, or win the whole pot and come out way ahead!

What are your thoughts on March Madness and your finances? Your comments and feedback are appreciated below.

I would imagine that many of you out there are parents.  Maybe parents of young children, maybe your kids have already grown.  Possibly, somewhere in between.  For any and all of you, I want to pose you one simple question:

What are your children’s thoughts on money?

It is a broad question, but I wrote it that way to make it applicable to as many situations as possible.  To go into it a little deeper, I’ll ask these questions:

Have you EVER talked to your kids about money?

Do you feel qualified to do so? (Meaning, are your finances generally in line?)

Have you talked to your kids about the two sides of money?

And I could go on and on.

My first point is this-you need to talk to your children about money.  Yes they have teachers at school and coaches at school and friends and they have you for a variety of other things, but I think you are doing your children a disservice by not talking to them about money.

What about money?  Well, in a nutshell, everything.  Many figures have been bandied about as to when is the best time to begin talking to kids about money.  In my estimation, I think that “right now” would be a good time.

The only thing that I think needs to be looked at is to what level you discuss money with them.  I have a three-year old at home, and we have talked about money, but trust me, it hasn’t been about investment strategies for my 401K.  For him, it’s more along the lines of “Well, we can’t buy something from every single store we go to because we don’t have enough money.”   Or “If you help me vacuum the house every week, I will give you a dollar so you can go buy some of your favorite suckers.”

This is not a comprehensive list, but I think that there are some concepts that we need to do our due diligence on and ensure that our children are at least aware of.  Of course, if these are concepts that you yourself don’t practice or believe in, well, maybe this isn’t the conversation for you.

Here is my short list:

First, that money is not an infinite thing.  That you don’t have all of it in the world (at least not yet).

Second, that with work (not necessarily hard work), comes money.

Third, that in this world that we live in that thinks it’s OK to constantly be in debt, there are huge, unending benefits to staying out of debt.

Fourth, that if you have extra money, you can get that to make more money for you without working.

And I could go on and on.

Another thing that I would be sure to instill in them is that there are two sides to money.  Not necessarily a good and a bad side, but just two sides.  I will give you an example.   When I was growing up, whenever it came to something extra in our household, it almost always came down from the mountaintop (if you know what I mean) that we didn’t have enough money for it. Whatever it was.  And I guess, most of the time, it was true.  My parents lived a middle class lifestyle, and we had our fair share of nice things, but I always remember hearing that we never had enough money.

The problem with that is that when we were able to build a pool in the back yard, or buy a brand new car or whatever else it was, we never really heard that we actually did have enough money.  Therefore, we felt guilty for the first few years of having the pool because we still thought that we didn’t have enough money for it, and that my parents would be in the poor house because of it and how could we enjoy it and so on and so on and so on.

I understand why my parents took this approach with us; I am just saying that I think it was wrong.  Of course it’s important to let your kids know that money is not an infinite thing, but you also have to let them know that by spending it wisely, that you can ENJOY certain things in life as well.  This is what I like to call the two sides of money.

If you don’t do this, I fear your children will grow up with a quite negative view of money (some people call this your “money blueprint”, I say call it whatever you want).  That money is something that has to be worked hard for, and very hard.  That money is just something that you constantly never have enough of.  That you’ll spend your entire life chasing that “money” carrot, always to fall just a little bit short.

I think it’s up to us to show our children that money is something to be worked for, but also to be enjoyed when possible.

Instilling the correct beliefs about money in our children is a responsibility that I think we as parents all need to take seriously.

If you’d like to see what people are saying about my book with respect to the influence it can have on children, check out the reviews it has received on Amazon.

I never even thought of this, but if you do have children in your life who need some money guidance, this book could play an important role in getting them on the right track.

When I was in college, the routine was simple at the start and end of every college semester. At the beginning of the semester, I’d sign up for my classes, gather all of the syllabi (not sure if that’s a word or not) and trudge off to the on campus bookstore, dreading the massive hit that my wallet was about to take.

I’d go inside, pick out all the books I needed, and, like a man facing impending doom, slowly make my way to the cashier, just waiting for the damage. It more often than not hurt, and hurt a lot.

Then, at the end of the semester, it would basically be the reverse process. Classes were over, the textbooks were now useless to me, so I’d go back to the same bookstore, waiting to get ripped off once again. That prized biology book that I paid almost $100 for not three short months ago now only fetched me $15 (or some other ridiculous amount). My visions of walking out of that place with ANYTHING close to what I spent at the beginning of the semester are dashed suddenly. It was almost criminal.

There may still be some of you out there still participating in this farce. Well, I have news for you. Great news. The rip-off is over. The conspiracy can be thwarted.

Here are a few simple steps that you can take at the beginning and end of each semester that should allow you to save more on the front end and get more back on the back end.

The only presumption that I make is that you do not have some undying need for “new” textbooks. I don’t see the point in this, but some of you may. If you do, your savings on the front end may be affected.

Anyways, the first thing you should do is to get your textbook list ready as soon as possible. I was quite involved in this process with my wife who just recently finished college, and as I remember, some of the textbook lists are available before you even sign up for the class. Regardless, get this list as soon as possible, as you’ll need to allow for a little extra time for shipping.

Next, go to one of the millions of websites out there that deal in used textbooks. I personally prefer Amazon, as I feel you can get a larger selection. It is an auction type site so you can probably find multiple versions of your book available (anything from almost brand new to falling apart) depending on what your needs are.
Comparison shop with your local bookstore if you want, but trust me, your savings will be huge. Now, the higher powers that be have already figured this out and sometimes you may find that “new” is the only way to go. They switch “versions” of certain textbooks on a ridiculous schedule, just to force you to buy new. In this case, I doubt there’s anything you can do. But, you should be able to save a great deal over the on-campus store.

Then, at the end of the semester, you kind of do the opposite. Definitely don’t go to the bookstore on campus. No sir. Here, you also have a few options. If you just want to dump them all and be finished with it, again, go to one of the millions of sites out there dedicated to this. Two I have had direct experience with are Book Byte and Blue Rectangle. The process couldn’t be any simpler. Go to their site, type in your ISBNs, see if they accept them all or not. For the ones that they do, if you agree to their price, they give you a pre-printed shipping label, and all you need to do is find a box to put them in. Put the label on there and give it to your postman. That’s it. It takes a few weeks for your money to show up, but that’s it. If you’re a little more gamey, post your books on Amazon, and you might be able to get a little more for them. Use common sense, but price them however you want to. Of course, you’ll be responsible for monitoring your account, shipping them in a timely fashion, and so on, but you might find that you can make a little more going this route.

Personally, I used a combination. Some books I found that I was paid more for by going through one of the sites I mentioned above, and others, I got more from Amazon. The choice is yours. One choice you shouldn’t make under any circumstances-the big bad dreaded on campus bookstore.
Happy holidays, and happy buying and selling!