budget tips Archives - The Free Financial Advisor

5 Steps to Care For an Older Car

December 30, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba 32 Comments

As of 2019, the average car age is 11.8 years. People are driving vehicles longer (source). That’s great news for everyone’s pocketbook. When people drive their cars longer, the possibility that they have a loan payment for that car goes down. During that period between making their final payment and buying a new car, they can save more money! To improve the longevity of your vehicle, you have to take care of it. In this post, we’ll go over the steps to care for an older car.

Change Fluids And Filters Regularly

There are several different types of fluids your car uses. Oil, coolant, brake fluid, transmission fluid, etc.

It’s important to regularly change those fluids, and clean out the paths that those fluids travel in. You should change your oil and oil filter every 3,000 – 5,000 miles (depending on the car and the oil you use).

The recommendation for your transmission fluid is a full flush every 30,000 – 60,000 miles. You should flush your coolant every 30,000 miles.

Your brake fluid should get flushed every 20,000 miles. Bleed the fluid by removing the end that supplies the brakes and stomp on the brakes until nothing comes out. If the liquid coming out is an amber color, you’re good. If it comes out looking dirty, then a flush is in your best interest. (Step by step process provided by Brake Performance)

It’s also important to inspect your air filters during every oil change. You can probably go 2-3 oil changes until you have to change your air filter.

Another piece of advice I saw while doing research for this post was to use high-octane fuel once per year. High-octane gas runs hotter than normal gasoline but also has more additives and detergents that help clean out the engine.

Inflate Your Tires

It’s incredibly important that you keep your tires properly inflated. On the inside of the driver’s door, there’s a sticker that says what the desired tire pressure is for your car. The correct tire pressure will help with the handling of your vehicle and will also improve your miles per gallon (saving you money).

You should also regularly rotate your tires. How often you do this depends on the brand of tire you use, but the standard recommendation is every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.

Keep It Clean

Frequent wash-and-wax of your paint job keeps the car sparkling and prevents rust. It also helps hold up the resale value for that day when you’ll finally sell the vehicle. Don’t forget the interior. Catching spills quickly, vacuuming the interior, and shampooing carpets can keep your older car looking like new.

If gauges fail, have them repaired immediately. For someone caring for an older car, checking engine gauges often is your key to successfully keeping your ride on the road.

Find A Good Mechanic

Similar to visiting a doctor for a yearly physical, you should take your car to a qualified mechanic regularly to check out and avert any potential problems. Remember the key here: the longer your older car runs, the longer you’ll avoid costly car payments.

Paying a few dollars to the right mechanic is a small price to pay to keep your vehicle healthy and avoid much more expensive new car costs.

Spark plugs

The last piece of advice, with regard to taking care of an older car, I’ll leave you with is to replace your spark plugs. The recommendation for this is to replace every 30,000 to 90,000 miles (depending on the make and model of your car).

A bad spark plug can lead to a misfire in one of your cylinders. If you have a 6 cylinder car, but only 5 are firing, your engine is working harder than it needs to. That can lead to problems down the road.

By practicing good care for an older car, you’ll help your dollars stretch so you can use them for more important items on your agenda.

If you’d like an in-depth breakdown of repairs and costs, Edmunds has a fantastic article.

Why Are Fixed Expenses Difficult to Reduce?

December 23, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

When you’re making a budget, there are two columns: income and expenses. A large majority of those expenses don’t change from month to month or change very little. These are fixed expenses. If you’re trying to cut costs, you may find that the fixed expenses are difficult to reduce. Why is that? How do you reduce fixed expenses?

We’ll explore the answer to those questions, among others, in today’s post.

Types of expenses

There are two types of expenses. Fixed and variable.

As the names suggest, fixed expenses don’t change or rarely change. Generally speaking, fixed expenses are the largest, recurring expense. Things like your rent or mortgage, utilities, internet, streaming/cable, debt payments, and insurance are all part of your fixed expenses.

Variable expenses, on the other hand, are constantly changing. There isn’t a bill or invoice you get every month. A variable cost is paid by your own directive. Things like groceries, “fun money”, and the like are variable expenses.

Fixed expenses rarely change or vary slightly, and someone or some entity is looking for a payment. Variable expenses constantly change and are voluntarily paid.

Why are they so difficult to reduce?

When you first “sign up” or “agree” to these expenses, more often than not, you’re already shopping for the lowest price for that item.

What else? Internet, streaming, and cable have a pretty standard rate when compared to competitors. Debt payments are structured by the length of the term, interest, and (when referring to credit cards) minimum payments.

Basically, the costs are what they are, and they don’t vary a whole lot.

Methods for reducing fixed expenses

Mortgage payments could decrease if you refinance at the right time. Utilities could go down if usage goes down. Insurance premiums could go down if you mess with coverages and deductibles, but I advise you to talk with an agent first.

Cable/dish generally increases after one year. Often, you get an introductory rate for the first 12 months. If it goes up too much, call and complain or threaten to leave. Normally, they’ll oblige and agree to lower your monthly bill.

If you have a debt to pay and money is tight, talk with your lender or credit card company. Let them know about your situation and they might be willing to work with you.

What Is The Difference Between Bookkeeping And Accounting?

October 2, 2020 by Susan Paige Leave a Comment

It’s very important to keep track of your books. It’s the only way you’ll be able to measure the profitability of your business. In other words, there are only two reasons that a business can go bankrupt. First is when the owner doesn’t have enough money to pay the bills. The second is when there’s a discrepancy in the books. That being said, bookkeeping and accounting are critical things to consider as a business owner. [Read more…]

Down Payment, Rainy Day, Be Prepared

August 12, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

During the month of June, I wrote an article Down Payment or Investment Opportunities. It was my perspective on what to do with my savings, as I want to buy a home as soon as possible, but I also saw incredible opportunities to make money in the stock market.

Review a previous post

I thought I would revisit this topic, but my mindset shifted a little bit. That’s not to say that I’m proceeding in a different way than I thought I would, but now I’m thinking about it differently.

In that post, I said that I wanted to save $25,000 (I think) for a down payment, and wanted to do it in 4 years.

That meant that I would have to set aside a decent chunk each month to make that a possibility. The caveat to that is I would forego many chances to put money to work in the stock market.

Saving money for a down payment versus actively participating in the market is not the smartest financial decision (in my opinion), but in terms of what’s best for my family and for my psyche, this is the right move.

Because I have conviction in my decision now, my “regret” for not participating in the market has gone away.

When I first made the decision to save for a home instead, I often felt regret because the opportunities to make money were so great. Just from when I wrote that post (June 17) to now, the S&P 500 index ETF (SPY) is up 7.5%.

But I know this is the right choice, so I’m better able to focus my efforts on this goal. I’m eating out much less, I reviewed my budget to see where I could save more, and I’m finding bargains or buying second-hand items where I can.

Rainy day

While we are on the topic of saving money, I want to stress the importance of having some set aside for a rainy day.

As we’ve seen over the past few months, life can get pretty ugly. Now economic and humanitarian events of this scale don’t happen very often, but that’s not the point.

What I’m trying to convey here is that life is unpredictable. You don’t know what’s going to happen, or when. You don’t know how bad it’s going to be, so it’s important you have something set aside if things do get bad.

What’s more, it’s clear that the majority of businesses and corporations don’t have hardly any money set aside when disaster strikes. We like to think that if we put our time and energy working for a company, that they’ll take care of us when the time comes, but it’s clear now that most businesses won’t do that. They’ll protect the bottom line, and that’s that.

Obviously, not every company is like that, but I think it’s safe to say that the majority of organizations operate in this fashion.

Now, I do believe that this event will change how businesses operate. They’ll back away from the lean and mean operations, and start focusing on supply chain redundancy, as well as paying a little more for the security of their products and their people.

Be prepared

What I’m trying to say here is you need to look out for yourself and your family first. Sometimes, it’s necessary to forego big vacations, big expenses, or take out.

I think there’s room to be optimistic but also plan for the worst. I think it’s necessary to do both.

Living a life full of optimism is great, but you become a deer in the headlights when something bad happens. Taking the other side of things, being pessimistic, turns you into a cynic, and that has to be a depressing way to live.

Find room for both. Expect the worst, hope for the best, and save for a rainy day.

Job Loss: What to do

May 13, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

Losing your job is like a big punch to the gut. At first, it’s hard to process, but then your head starts spinning. What will I do for work? How will I pay my bills and put food on the table? What will my family do?

Taking a deep breath is a good first step. After that, it’s time to put a plan into action. Many of you could be experiencing this right now, given what the world looks like today.

In this article, I’m going to lay out how to financially prepare before and in the midst of a job loss.

First thing

As I said, this will be a big shock to absorb. Give yourself some time to realize what has happened. More than likely, you’ll go through the 5 stages of grief.

Unemployment

One of the first things you should do is apply for unemployment. There might be some hoops that you have to jump through, but one imperative item you need to confirm with your old employer is that you were let go and without cause. Resigning or being fired for cause disqualifies you from collecting unemployment.

Set money aside for taxes. Unemployment does not withhold FICA taxes or state income tax (if applicable). If you normally receive a refund, you might get a reduced refund or none at all. Plan accordingly.

Severance

The next step has to do with severance. If you were let go or fired without cause, your company will, most likely, offer it to you. It isn’t required by law, but most companies do it. Take severance home and review it closely. Don’t sign right away. Once you’ve reviewed it, take it back and negotiate.

Job Search

Starting looking for a new job right away. It does not pay to wait. All jobs are first come first served, set get searching as soon as possible.

Be picky, but pick up a job of some sort that will provide you with some cash flow.

Is now the time for a career change? Have you been dissatisfied with your industry or line of work? Do you have the skills and/or qualifications to make such a change? These could be questions to consider.

Finances

With regard to any debts that you have outstanding, call your creditors and see if they will let you defer payments, or at least make reduced payments, for a while. Also, make the minimum on your debt payments. Having cash available for other necessary items is more important.

Relentlessly cut expenses and review your budget with fine-toothed comb. Again, cash flow is your friend in your new situation so the more liquidity you have the better.

Pad your emergency fund. Obviously, this is something that needs to be done before you lose your job, so it’s imperative that you listen. Common advice is to save 3-6 months’ worth of expenses. If you’re self-employed and are responsible for payroll and other business expenses, it’s prudent to have 6-12 months worth saved.

HELOC? That stands for Home Equity Line of Credit. Is that something you are able to do? Is that something that you want to do? A HELOC turns the equity you’ve accumulated on your home into a loan.

Insurance

Life and disability insurance are very important coverages to have, but a just loss and loss of income could derail those coverages. There is a rider that can be added (waiver of premium) at the time of application so your policy stays in force while you are unable to make payments. *Be advised: this has to be done when you sign up, not after the fact.*

Healthcare is another important item to take care of. First off, if you have any appointments you were waiting to schedule, do it now before your coverage changes. The next step is to find a suitable replacement for your current coverage. This could be taking your spouse’s insurance, finding new coverage on the marketplace, or signing up for COBRA.

Retirement

Avoid dipping into retirement savings – this should be your last resort. Retirement savings accrues most effectively when you leave it alone. That’s when compounding works the best. Not only that, withdrawing funds prematurely will subject you to income taxes and an early withdrawal penalty.

Do you have 401(k) loans? If the answer is yes, you’ll be required to pay that loan back in its entirety in the next 60 days, otherwise, it’ll be considered a withdrawal. Again, taxes and a penalty.

Make a decision on what to do with the old retirement plan – Do you roll it to your new employer, roll it to an IRA, or leave it with the current institution. If you have a lower account balance, your HR department could require you to transfer it or cash out. Each company is different.

Hacks for Covid-Related Issues

April 1, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

Our daily lives have been disrupted. People are working from home, unable to go to the store, or have lost their job.

For those of us that are able to continue living our lives, relatively normal, with some minor inconveniences, we need to adjust.

We need to take advantage of the 21st-century technology available to us. This could be anything from grocery shopping apps, social media, or the apps of your favorite stores.

In this article, we’re going to dive into some of the tools and hacks you can use to help get through this period of quarantine and social distancing.

Grocery Shopping Hacks

There are several hacks you can use to make your trips to the grocery store more efficient and effective.

Get what you need and get out. You HAVE to make a list and you NEED to stick to that list. This isn’t the time to browse or look for sales (more on that in a minute), buy the items on your list and leave.
Plan your route – If there’s a particular store you frequently visit, use that store’s app to plan your route. Personally, I go to Walmart for almost everything. The first thing I do is make my list. Then I go onto the app and start searching for the items on my list. The location marked as “your store” will pinpoint which department, aisle, and shelf position for your item.
Buy in bulk – with items that won’t go bad or if the time in which you need to use it by is several months or years in the future, buy it in bulk. Be careful, however. It is important to do the math. Figure out the “per unit” price and make sure buying in bulk is an economically beneficial decision.
Look up recipes ahead of time that require only a few/minimal ingredients. Ideally, you’ll want to find recipes that require few ingredients that can also make a healthy amount of food. That way you have leftovers. The way I like to think about it is how much does each meal cost?
That brings me to my next point…buy foods you can freeze, or make meals that you can freeze. This gives you food that you can use down the road and also gives you something easy to eat if you’re tired or aren’t feeling well.
One more quick one – Use your knuckles and/or elbows when possible. We all want to stay healthy and avoid passing Covid onto others. Where it makes sense, try not to use your hands.

Grocery Shopping Apps

There are possibly hundreds of grocery shopping apps available, but in doing my research, I found five apps that I thought were extremely useful.

Flipp – Matches coupons from your favorite brands with the weekly flyer from your favorite store.
MealBoard – Manages your recipes, grocery list, and it also keeps track of what you do or don’t have in your pantry.
Grocery Pal – Browse sales and coupons from the stores you frequent, and seamlessly add sale items to your grocery list.
Out of milk – Lets you know what’s in your pantry and what you need to add to your shopping list.
Big Oven – Kind of like a social network for groceries and recipes. Find out what your connections are buying to get inspiration for recipes. You can also type in the ingredients you do have and find some recipes you can make with those ingredients

Working from home

It’s no doubt that we are extremely fortunate to be able to work from home. With all of the technology available, a considerable amount of the workforce is able to tap in from a remote location and still get their stuff done.

As lucky as we may be, working from home comes with its own unique challenges. Here are some hacks for those working from home.

Get dressed like you’re going to work – this is something that’ll help you psychologically. It’ll trick your brain into thinking you’re going to work. This helps you frame your mindset for work.
Designate a work-space in your home – a psychological trick as well as a means to an end. You can’t work in front of the TV. You need a space where you can actually be productive.
Keep a strict schedule (if you can) – Now this isn’t possible for everyone, especially if you have little kids at home that need constant attention. Just do your best. Lean on your family members to watch the kiddos for a little while so you can get some work done. Also, please remember to take breaks. Check-in with friends and colleagues. Try to make your day as normal as possible.
Communicate everything – Almost to a fault. Send emails and texts. Make phone calls about anything and everything. We’re so familiar with communicating in person that we don’t realize how much we actually say.

Working together

My favorite part of this post. Writing about the human condition and how in times of crisis we always put our differences aside to help our neighbor.

During this pandemic, do what you can to help your fellow humans. Offer to pool resources together. Share recipes. Have a rotation of who goes to the grocery store.

If you have an elderly neighbor or family member, do everything you can to help them. Go to the store for them. Send letters to loved ones. Send letters to folks in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

We’re not all scientists, healthcare professionals, retail employees, or other essential professions that are keeping the wheels turning, so we have to do our part in some form or fashion. Be nice.

Reading and Resources:

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Saving at a Bank

How to Succeed this Year

January 8, 2020 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

A New Year often brings lofty goals. I want to get in shape or I want to get that promotion, but how often are our yearly goals about our finances?

In this post, we’re going to talk about some of the things you can do to set yourself up for financial success this year.

Put your credit cards away

For the vast majority of people, credit cards hurt more than they help. If you’re financially responsible and pay off your balance right away, they’re an extraordinary tool. For everyone else, credit cards often come with financial pain.

Don’t close your credit card (more on that in this post, here). Take it/them out of your wallet and delete them from your “payment options” on Amazon and/or any other online retailers you frequently visit.

The easiest way to avoid temptation is to take it away. Avoid using your credit card(s) this year.

Pay yourself first

Before you spend a single dollar, set some money aside for yourself.

What you do with that savings will vary. Everyone should have an emergency fund. Ideally, 3-6 months’ worth of expenses.

At the very least, have $1,000 set aside for emergencies, and then build up from there.

Once the emergency fund is set, start building an account for short-medium term goals. A new car or a down payment, are two examples of short-medium term goals.

Last, but not least, you need to save for retirement. This should be its own line item on your budget (more on that below), but it’s something that requires intentional savings each month.

Savings

Your saving methodology, or how you save, deserves it’s own section because often times, we save after we spend.

We need to flip that around. You need to save BEFORE you spend. When you budget (make a spending plan), there are several line items.

What you pay, in order, should be necessities, savings, and then excess spending.

Additionally, your savings rate shouldn’t stay stagnant. It should constantly be adjusted. At the very least, on an annual basis.

Run the numbers. Do the math and figure out if you can spare another percentage of your salary, or another $5/month.

Invest in yourself

There’s no better way to improve your year than to improve yourself!

Put healthy habits into practice. Read, exercise, meditate, hang out with friends, go for a walk. The list is endless.

Some of those activities have compounding benefits. Walking is great exercise and is also meditative.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest” – Benjamin Franklin

Audit your spending

Figure out where all of your money is going. I typically look back three months, but Holiday shopping is there, so that will distort your spending a little.

If you can, audit October, November, and December, and remove any item that isn’t normal (i.e. gifts/presents).

Once you have a good grasp on how much you’re spending and where you can develop a budget.

Make a spending plan

My term for budget, as the word “budget” has negative connotations tied to it. Using your spending audit, create a spending plan.

List your necessary expenses – rent, utilities, groceries, travel, insurance, debt payments, savings
List discretionary spending – fun money. Give yourself an allowance here, but keep it reasonable.
Monthly income – What do you bring in each month.

Once you have these items listed (debits and credits, respectively) compare the two. The resulting number should be positive. Make adjustments accordingly.

A financial plan isn’t something that’s set in stone. It’s a living organism that’s constantly changing.

Be generous

If there’s one thing that’s been proven (time and again) it’s that helping other people makes you feel good. However, the reason for being generous shouldn’t be the dopamine rush that follows, it’s to help someone/something that needs it.

Whether that’s a stranger at the store or a cause that you strongly identify with, do what’s right. Live to serve.

Holiday Savings

Start saving now! December sneaks up quickly, and before you know it, you’re spending hundreds of dollars on things you didn’t budget for.

Save a little bit each day, week, or month. Whatever you’re comfortable. I encourage you to figure out what you think you’ll need for the Holidays and break it down.

Discern what is manageable for you and put it into practice.

How To Save Money Effectively

November 6, 2019 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

If there is one thing I would like to teach you, it’s how to save properly and effectively. Money shouldn’t be a life goal, but it is a necessary evil.

Track spending

How can you trim your expenses if you don’t know where your money is going? My advice, go back three months and add up your expenses.

Create categories for each item. Housing, utilities, transportation, insurance, debt, food, etc. Those are your necessary expenses.

Then create a category for “fun”. Eating out, going out with friends, etc.

Figure out where all your money is going and how much is going to each category. Trim where you can.

Spending plan (aka budget)

Using those 3 months of expenses, create a spending plan. For all intents and purposes, this is a budget, but I refer to it as a spending plan because the term ‘budget’ has negative connotations.

List all of your necessary expenses, and add them up. List your monthly income. Compare those two totals and see how you finish the month. Do you have money left over, or are you negative?

The answer to this question will dictate what you do next. Regardless, the goal of this article is to teach you how to save money, so I’d advise you to trim expenses where you can.

Planned expenses

I view every expense as a planned expense. Typically, planned expenses are things that come up on a regular basis. This month, you have a list of things you have to pay. Next month, the majority of those will have to get paid again.

I refer to all expenses as planned because to an extent, we can anticipate having to pay for certain things. Whether it’s next month or next decade.

Eventually, our car is going to break down, the water heater will rust out, and/or our roof will need replacing.

All of these things will happen, it’s just a matter of when. To relieve yourself of the financial burden this could cause, save early! If you figure a new roof will cost $10,000 and you have 15 years until that needs to happen, save now and save often.

Challenge yourself

I linked to it last week, but I feel compelled to do it again. When it comes to holiday spending, you need to save throughout the year. *Another “planned” expense.

You know it’s coming, don’t let it surprise you. Here’s the 52-week savings challenge I was talking about. Start early and save small amounts regularly.

Another neat challenge you can take part in is a no spend week/month. Obviously, the necessary expenses that have to be paid don’t count, but I’d highly recommend giving it a try. We buy for convenience, not necessity.

Utilize tech

I’m talking about apps, programs, and good old fashioned automation.

There are a ton of apps out there that can help you save money! Things like Acorns, Digit, and Gas Buddy. There are other ones like Personal Capital or Mint that help you keep track of your spending.

Some other go-to’s include coupon apps like Coupons.com or Rakuten. I’d also recommend browser extensions to assist with online shopping. I personally use, RetailMeNot, but Honey is another popular one.

Automation – I need to spend some time here because I am a huge advocate for automating your finances. It makes too much sense to not automate. The only time, I wouldn’t recommend it is if your income is variable.

Even then, however, I’d only not recommend it for a few months until you have built up enough reserves. Then, with enough cushion, automation shouldn’t be a problem.

Things to automate – bill pay, savings, and debt repayment.

In Tough Times Put Your Head Down and Keep Going

September 11, 2019 by Jacob Sensiba

Since this site is primarily geared towards finances, I wanted to write a reflection about my own personal struggles with financial matters.

I might toss a few other non-finance related items in there as well, but we’ll see.

I’ve been duped

There are two instances that come to mind, where I learned the hard way about investing/handling money.

The first is from early childhood when Pokemon was all the rage. This one day, a kid from the neighborhood wanted to sell me some cards of his. I ran home, opened my piggy bank and took out $5.

I ran back to the kid and bought one card with that $5 bill. I later found out that you can get a big deck of cards for that much. I’d be swindled.

Fast forward several years. I’m in high school now. This infomercial came on with a guy raving about how much money he made using Google search. Specifically, Google Adwords.

All you had to do was pay for the program. Said program would walk you through the steps to setting up a website (I now know the site was to be an affiliated sales rep).

A $90 lesson. But mistakes are made so we can learn from them.

Young and dumb

Before I begin this section, you need to know that I did not know I was going to be a financial advisor, and financial education was limited in my household and was not taught in schools (unfortunately, very common).

That said, I made pretty typical mistakes. Got a credit card, and another, and another. I had spent too much money that I didn’t have and I’m still paying the price for it.

So when I talk about getting out of debt and using a credit card wisely, it’s because I learned first hand the negatives of using it irresponsibly.

More often than not, when individuals make financial mistakes, it’s on the personal finance side of things. Things like saving money, debt management, budgets, etc. Get those things down, the rest takes care of itself.

Budget item

One part of my finances where I continually struggle is my budget. Very specifically, it’s one particular item, and that’s eating out. I am a sucker, no doubt, for restaurants. Whether that’s drive-thru or a sit-down place. It just takes all the hassle out of preparing a meal.

As good as it is sometimes, it’s also costly. My resolution was to actually include restaurant spending on my budget. I gave myself $50 for the month for take-out. This limits how much I actually spend and also scratches my itch for eating food outside of my home.

If there is an item you know you’ll spend money on, put it in your budget.

Related reading: Your Go-To Budget Guide

Personal Reflection

On the more personal side of things, it’s been a pretty challenging year for me. Had a mental health diagnosis that created some hurdles for me to jump through. As I write, I’m still jumping through these hurdles, but I’m starting to see the benefits of doing so.

By hurdles, I’m referring to medications and therapy. As well as things I can do on my own time, like exercise, journaling, and meditation.

Those last three items have been difficult for me to do consistently, but when I actually do them, I feel much better.

Another challenge of mine is that I am in the middle of a divorce. This has been incredibly difficult. It’s caused a lot of anger, sadness, doubt, among many other emotions.

What it did, however, was it forced me to turn the microscope inward and figure out the parts of me I don’t like, the parts of me I do like, and the past experiences that shaped me and the lessons to take away from those experiences to continue to grow.

Reflection Benefits

With all of the battles I’ve fought this year and as taxing as this year has been, it’s also been one of the more life-changing periods in my life.

For me, it was extremely difficult to look inside myself and analyze what makes me, me, but I’m glad I did it. It’s given me a better understanding of who I am, how I function, and what I can do to continue to grow and improve.

It’s given me the tools I never thought I would have. It’s helped me be a better parent. I’ve been able to focus more on the things that matter. And I’ve been able to be more present and limit the amount of forecasting I do for the future. (Don’t worry. On the finance side, I’m still looking ahead).

Takeaway

My advice to you is to just keep moving forward. At times, life is stuff. Navigating your finances can be challenging, but we, as humans, are resilient creatures.

Inexpensive Fall Activities

August 28, 2019 by Jacob Sensiba Leave a Comment

With Fall quickly approaching I thought it’s fitting to write an article about the (inexpensive) activities you can partake in that won’t break the bank.

Below you’ll find a large number of fun things you can do when the leaves start to change.

Go for a hike – Depending on where you go, this can be free! If the hike takes place in a state park, there might be a small fee. Regardless, a hike is a great way to spend time, get exercise, and experience nature.
Pick pumpkins – This is an autumn staple! Go to your local pumpkin patch and pick out your favorite pumpkin. Then figure out what design, pattern, or face you’ll carve into it and go to town!
Have a picnic – Ingredients for sandwiches, potato salad, chips, and a dessert item. What else could you need? Through in an item from below (scenic drive) and a nice spot to set up, and you’re good to go! Inexpensive and relaxing.
Apple orchard – Go apple picking! Gives you a great excuse to go outside, walk, and hand-pick some healthy food for yourself. A typical orchard operation will charge you $1.25-$2.00 per pound.
Local festivals – Most of these are free or cheap to attend, with most of the cost coming from the games and events you participate.
Maze – Many of the fall festivals will have a maze. These are typically made from hay bales. Additionally, farms that have pumpkins to be picked sometimes have a corn maze and/or hayrides. I have one of those near me and it was a ton of fun, and cheap too.
Football games – Local high school games are really exciting to watch. They’re inexpensive to go to, they usually have good food, and you get to show off some hometown pride. Added bonus, you could have a promising player on your team or one on a visiting team to watch. I don’t know about you, but watching a special talent is…well..special!
Haunted house – I’m partial to the scary stuff because I’m into things that frighten me, but haunted houses are awesome. Yes, some are quite lame, but when they’re done right, it’s exhilarating!
Sit around the campfire – This is an incredibly relaxing activity. Sitting around a fire with your family and/or friends, roasting marshmallows, and making smores – can’t get much better. Costs nothing more than marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate!
Scenic drive – For me, there aren’t many things that can beat a scenic car ride (the previous item does). Especially in the fall. Trees change colors, there’s a slight nip in the air, and it just smells like autumn.
Scary movie marathon – I understand that scary movies aren’t for everyone, but if you have a few and invite people over that bring additional movies, you can make a long and scary evening out of it. If you don’t have scary movies, go to your local library and check some out. It’s free!
Make collages with leaves – This could be a nice, little craft you can do as a family. Especially if you have young kids. They love getting messy and creating with their hands. They can also have a ton of fun jumping in leaf piles before you pick the leaves out for your collage.
Ghost hunting – Seriously. In doing research for this post, this actually came up, and it surprisingly checks out. There are a number of apps available.

All-in-all, autumn is my favorite time of year. I love the weather, the leaves changing, and all of the fun things you can do. I recommend doing at least one of these activities in the next few months!