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Author Archives: Jason Butler

Avatar photo About Jason Butler

Jason Butler is an Atlanta native, as well as businessman, blogger and teacher. Not only is Jason a prolific flipper, marketer, writer and side hustler his number of years in higher education and student support have given him expert knowledge in understanding the economics of the student loan industry.

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8 Reasons to Get Life Insurance

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life insurance, insurance advice, insurance tips

8 reasonsLife insurance is a contract with an insurance company. The company promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money in exchange for a premium upon the death of the policyholder. There are many reasons you should get life insurance. Today, I will go over a few of them with you.

Funeral costs

The first reason that you should get life insurance is to help offset the cost of funerals. They are not cheap by a long shot. The average funeral costs over $6600. The life insurance policy can help pay for your funeral and burial costs. Your family will be glad that you purchased one.

Supplement your income

The second reason that you should get life insurance is that you can use your life insurance to supplement your income. It can help with numerous financial obligations such as your kids dental or doctor’s visits.

It can protect your loved ones

The third reason to get life insurance is because it can protect your loved ones. It will help them out financially during their time of need. The life insurance policy could protect your spouse and children from financial problems if you pass away unexpectedly.

Provides a peace of mind

The fourth reason that you should get life insurance is that it provides a peace of mind. With life insurance, your family won’t have to worry how they are going to pay for your funeral and burial. Life insurance takes care of all that for them.

Life can be unpredictable

The next reason to purchase life insurance is because in life anything can happen. Life is unpredictable. Things happen outside of our control all the time. Life insurance can help your family if the unexpected does happen.

Provides a cash value

The sixth reason that you should consider life insurance is because it provides cash when it is needed the most. During your time of need, the policy will pay the benefits to the beneficiary. Different plans pay out different amounts. Make sure that you do your research and pick the best one.

Create an inheritance

Another reason you should purchase life insurance is that you can create an inheritance for your heirs. All you have to do is name them as beneficiaries on you policy.

Pay off estate taxes

The final reason that you should purchase a life insurance policy is because your family can use the money to pay off estate taxes. Those taxes could fluctuate depending on a person’s lifestyle. Estate taxes is something that your family may not have the money to pay for out of pocket. The insurance will take care of that for you.

To summarize, the reasons to get life insurance are to help with the costs of funerals, to supplement your spouse’s income, to protect your loved ones, to provide your family with a peace of mind, to help your family if the unexpected happens, to provide your family extra cash, to provide an inheritance, and to use the money to pay off estate taxes.

Do you have life insurance? Why or why not?

10 Ways to Become Frugal

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frugal living, frugal lifestyle, being frugal

Become FrugalGood Morning Dinks. I hope everything is going well with you. Today, I want to go over 10 ways that will help you become frugal. All of these ideas are things that any person can do.

Buy store brands

The 1st thing on the list is to buy store brands when you are shopping for food. From my experiences store brands are just as good as regular brands. Depending on what the item was I couldn’t even taste the difference. Store brands are also cheaper than the name brands too.

Used car

The next thing on my list is to purchase a used car. New cars depreciate by a few hundred dollars once you leave the car lot. A good used car can be just as good as a new one. It is also much cheaper.

Cut cable

Cutting cable is the next way to becoming frugal. A lot of cable bills are over $100 per month. That is too much money to be paying for it. More people are cutting the cord each month as cheaper alternatives continue to present themselves. There are options like Netflix and Hulu. You can also stream shows from the internet as well.

Cut back on going out

By going out less, you can save a couple hundred dollars each month. There are several things that you have to pay for when going out such as drinks, food, and parking. If you go out three times a week and spend $30 each time, that’s $90 a week and $360 per month. If you stop going out you could save that extra $360 each month.

Smaller place to live

Number 5 on the list is to find a smaller place to live. In most cases the smaller the apartment or house is the cheaper the rent is.

Cook more

It’s no secret that cooking is cheaper than going out. One way to become more frugal is to make your lunch and bring it to work with you every day. This is a practice that I’ve been doing for the last few years. I can say that I’ve saved at least a couple hundred dollars by doing this.

Work out at home

Canceling the gym membership and working out at home is another way to become more frugal. Gym memberships can be expensive. If you’re not going to the gym at least twice a week that membership could be considered a waste. You should cancel it and exercise at home. Working out at home can be very easy. You can grab some weights and a small mat from your local thrift store and start a workout plan. If weights aren’t your thing you can look at hundreds of workout videos on YouTube.

Stop smoking

The 8th way to becoming more frugal is to stop smoking. If you’re a smoker you know that your habit isn’t cheap. By eliminating the cigarettes, you will save $100 – $200 per month. You will also be healthier.

Use coupons

Using coupons is a very popular thing to do if you’re frugal. There are coupons for a lot of items out there these days. It doesn’t make sense to pay full price for things anymore. Speaking of paying full price, that leads me to the final way to become frugal on the list.

Negotiate

The final way to become more frugal is to negotiate things. Whether it’s the price of your internet service or an item you see at the mall, try to negotiate it. The worse thing that could happen is that they will say no. Closed mouths don’t get fed. That’s the honest truth.

What are some ways that you are frugal?

Disease Called Debt

5 Ways a Bad Credit Score Can Hurt

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bad credit scoreGood Morning Dinks. A couple of years ago I had a bad credit score. Many factors contributed to it. Not making on-time payments and not making full payments on certain bills were two of those factors. Things are much better now. My score isn’t in the 500’s anymore. I’m also actively paying off my debt. Having a bad credit score wasn’t fun, especially if you need money. In today’s post, I will be going over 5 ways a bad credit score can hurt.

Higher interest rates

The 1st way that a bad credit score can hurt you is that you may have higher interest rates on loans and credit cards. Because your credit is low, you’re looked at as a risk to the lender or creditor. Because of that, you have to pay more in interest than people with good credit. At one point my credit card was charging me almost 26% in Apr. That wasn’t fun at all.

Deposit on utilities

If you have a bad credit score, you will likely have to pay a deposit for your utilities. When I moved to the place I stay now my credit was good so I didn’t have to pay any deposits. I’ve known people that have had to put a deposit on certain utilities such as power, gas and water.

Denied a job

Some jobs will flat out deny you because of your bad credit. While you may not think it’s fair, I understand why some companies do this. An example of this would be if you’re looking for a job in the accounting industry. If you’re horrible with your own money why on earth would someone hire you to work on their accounts? Companies also look at patterns. If you have an up and down pattern with large amounts of debt that you’re struggling to pay off who’s to say that the stress of that won’t affect your work ability.

Loan application denied

The 4th way that a bad credit score can hurt is that you could have loan applications denied. If you’re already in thousands of dollars of debt, a lender might not approve your loan because if you can’t pay your other debts off there is no way you will be able to pay off a new one. A couple of years ago I applied for a personal loan to help me pay some things off. The loan was denied. At the time I was a little hurt, but now I’m glad that it wasn’t approved. I didn’t need the extra debt. Eventually, I was able to bounce back without it anyway.

Unwanted phone calls from debtors

The final way that a bad credit score can hurt you is with unwanted phone calls. While these unwanted phone calls won’t technically hurt you, they are very annoying. There were times where I used to receive multiple phone calls from Sallie Mae daily. They would literally call every couple of hours from 9 am to 8 pm. Since I’ve gotten my act together and started making payments, those calls have stopped. If you have any creditors calling you, please answer the phone and try to work something out.

Has having a bad credit score hurt you before?

Different Types of Life Insurance

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life insurance, types of life insurance, understanding life insurance

Life insuranceLife insurance is something that every adult should think about getting. A lot of adults don’t have it because quite honestly they don’t want to think about dying. Life insurance protects your family members. It pays out a sum of money to them after you pass away. In other cases, you might opt for a viatical settlement in the event of debilitating illness. The thought of ever needing this sort of protection is morbid to say the least, however, the regrets of having one always come to late. What’s the cost for peace of mind and security for those we love?

There are four different types of life insurance. The four types are term life, whole life, universal life and valuable life insurance. In today’s post, I will briefly go over all of them.

Term Life

The 1st type of insurance that I will be going over today is called term life insurance. Term life insurance provides life insurance coverage for a specified term. The time is usually between 10-30 years. Term life insurance doesn’t have any cash value to it. The premium is fixed for an initial period of time. The premiums per term are usually lower in the beginning than other types of life insurance. They increase as the policy owner gets older and once you get closer towards the end of the term.

Whole Life

Whole life insurance is the next one on the list. Whole life insurance coverage is lifetime. It is commonly called straight life insurance or ordinary life insurance. The premiums are fixed. They are based on the age of issue and typically do not increase with age. Whole life policies carry a cash value that grows at a guaranteed amount. The premiums are fixed. The benefits are guaranteed for the insurer’s lifetime.

Universal Life

Universal life insurance is a flexible policy. It is a variation of whole life insurance. There are several types of universal life insurance policies such as equity-indexed, variable universal life, and guaranteed death benefit. You can vary the amount of your premium with universal life insurance policies by using part of your accumulated earnings to cover part of the premium cost. Cash values earn an interest rate that is set by the insurance company.

Variable Life

The final type of life insurance that I will be discussing is called variable life insurance. Variable life insurance policies are the most expensive because they build up a cash reserve that you can invest in. It is designed to combine the traditional protection and saving features of whole life insurance with the growth potential of investment funds. With variable life insurance, the value of your cash reserves depends on how well these investments are doing.

To summarize, the four types of life insurance options that I went over today were term life insurance, whole life insurance, universal life insurance, and variable life insurance. Take the time to thoroughly read up about them. Sites like Investopedia go into further detail about them. Before you decide to get a life insurance make sure you weight the pros and cons for them. Remember, the cheapest option may not always be the best one for you.

Do you have life insurance? If so, what kind of life insurance do you have? Why did you go with that type?

Learning From Athletes Who Are Frugal

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frugal athletes, frugal sports, lessons from athletes

AthletesWhen I was younger I used to watch a lot of TV. On many of the shows people spent a lot of money for no reason. I rarely heard stories of people being frugal or saving money. People would buy things because they felt like they needed it or they were trying to keep up with those darn Joneses. Then the recession happened. People stopped their crazy spending habits and started looking for ways to be frugal.

The recession has been over for a few years now. A lot of folks remember what it did to their income. It affected everyone from teachers to athletes. These days you find more and more people being frugal including athletes. Today, I want to showcase a few athletes that are being frugal with their money.

Rob Gronkowski

Rob Gronkowski is a tight end for the New England Patriots. Over the last 6 years, Gronkowski has made over $11 million in the NFL. He hasn’t spent any of that money. Instead, he lives off of money that he’s made from endorsements. A few of the companies that he has endorsements with are Dunkin Donuts, Body Armor Super Drink, and Zynga.

Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins is the starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins. He is also one of the most frugal players in the NFL. Cousins just finished a four-year rookie contract that paid him a little more than $2.5 million over four years. He still lives a very frugal life even though he’s a millionaire. Cousins still drives a 16-year-old GMC Savanna passenger van that he received from his grandparents. He also still wears free clothes that he received when he attended Michigan State University. During his rookie year, a couple of his teammates helped him move into his apartment. He stated that he didn’t hire a mover because he was cheap and frugal.

A.J. Francis

A.J. Francis is a defensive tackle for the Seattle Seahawks. He made nearly $500,000 last season but has decided to work as an Uber driver during the offseason. He wanted to supplement his income since he doesn’t get paid during the offseason.

Alfred Morris

Alfred Morris is the starting running back for the Washington Redskins. He just finished a 4 year $2.2 million contract, but he still drives a 1991 Mazda 626. He drove his car from Boca Raton, Florida to D.C. after he was drafted to the Redskins. Mazda even refurbished his car for him free of charge because of the positive publicity his story received.

Ryan Broyles

Ryan Broyles is a free agent wide receiver. He previously played for the Detroit Lions. Ryan made over a million dollars in 3 years. He lives like he’s only making $60,000 per year. He pays off his credit cards each month. He also doesn’t have cable TV.

Ryan Kerrigan

Ryan Kerrigan is an outside linebacker for the Washington Redskins. There must be something good in the water in DC because he is the third Redskin on this list. Kerrigan signed a deal last August that will pay him $57.5 million for 5 years. He still drives a 2011 Chevy Tahoe. Something else that’s interesting is that he still has a roommate.

10 Frugal Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

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frugal Valentine's, Valentine's gift ideas, frugal Valentine's gift ideas

10 Frugal Valentine'sHello, Dinks! January flew by. I hope everyone had a pleasant and productive month. It’s now February 1st; Valentine’s Day will be here before you know it. Have you purchased your Valentine’s Day gift for your significant other yet? If you haven’t don’t worry, I have ten frugal gift ideas for you to choose from.

Groupon

The 1st frugal Valentine’s Day gift idea is to get your significant other a Groupon certificate. Groupons are coupons for different events or services. Typically Groupons are inexpensive. There are Groupons for things such as restaurants, spas, brewery tours, and concerts.

Cook

The 2nd idea on the list is to cook for your partner. You could cook them breakfast in bed, or you make their favorite dish for dinner.

Homemade gift

The next item on the list is to make your partner a gift. If you are a DIY person, then this is right up your alley. You could make them jewelry or a beautiful card.

Candy

You could never go wrong with buying your partner their favorite brand of candy. Candy is inexpensive, so you could grab a lot of it if you wanted to. Some stores may even have it on sale making candy an excellent frugal gift choice.

Movie at home

The next item on the list is to watch a movie at home. You have several options out there. You can order a movie through your cable provider. You can see what’s showing on Netflix. Or you can see if anything good has been released recently and buy it from Target.

Waffle House

The 6th frugal Valentine’s Day idea is to take your date to Waffle House. Waffle House? Yes, you read that correctly. Select Waffle House restaurants will be offering candlelit Valentine’s Day dinners. They will also be taking reservations. Check Waffle House’s website to see which locations will be participating in this event.

Gift card

Getting your partner a gift card is the next gift idea. You really can’t go wrong when it comes to purchasing them a gift card especially if it is to their favorite store or restaurant.

Baked goods

The 8th frugal Valentine’s Day date idea is to bake something for your partner. If they like cookies, you can bake them their favorite kinds. If they happen to have a type of cake that they love you can bake that one for them as well.

Spa Basket

Creating a Spa basket is the next idea on the list. These baskets are very easy and inexpensive to make. You should be able to find most of the items to make one at your local Walmart, Target or Bath and Body Works. Some items that you can put in it are candles, washcloths, body wash, soaps, and lotion.

Flowers

The last item on the list is flowers. Flowers are usually priced pretty inexpensive. Make sure you check with a florist in advance because since they are popular, flowers can sell out quickly.

Have you finished shopping for Valentine’s Day yet? What are some frugal gift items that you’ve purchased for your significant other?

What is a Credit Report?

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credit report, credit report explanation, credit score

16260976057_a82b52ab8c_cA credit report is a detailed report of a person’s credit history. It is prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining if a person should receive credit or not. In my opinion, a person should check their credit report a couple times each year. In today’s post, I will be going over what can be found on a credit report.

Personal Information

A credit report has your personal information on it. It has all names that a person has used or gone by. It also has different addresses that you have lived at. My credit report has places where I haven’t lived at in nearly 5 years listed.

Accounts

The next area on your credit report is the accounts section. The accounts section is basically a summary of your credit history. The accounts that are on my credit report are credit cards, auto loans, student loans, and other loans. According to credit karma, I have a total of 36 accounts. The crazy thing is that 31 of them are student loans. The good thing is that all of them are not active. Some of these accounts are closed. Others have been merged with each other. I’m not sure what I’d so if all of those accounts were active. In my opinion that would be way too many open.

Detailed account information

The next section of your credit report shows you the detailed account info. This section gives you the length of your credit history. It also shows you the average age of your accounts. It then shows you your credit utilization and the available credit that you have. You’re also able to see how many accounts that you have open, how many that is closed and how many are negative.

Credit Inquiries

The fourth part of your credit report consists of credit inquiries. Every time a creditor pulls your credit report it is documented in this section. My recent report shows 3 credit inquiries. They range from 6 months ago to nearly 2 years ago.

Public Records

The next section on your credit report is the public records section. Public records are documents that are not considered confidential. This info is collected and reported by the county, state and federal courts. There are three kinds of public records that can appear on your credit reports. They are bankruptcies, civil judgments, and tax liens. These marks can negatively affect your credit scores.

Collections

The collections area is next. An account goes to collections if you’ve fallen behind on payments. These types of accounts can negatively affect your credit report.

Items to review

The last section will show you items that you may want to review. Some things that could show up in this section are the number of missed payments in history, remarks on an account, employers reported and expiring inquiries. There is also information on how to0 dispute anything if you happen to find an error.

How often do you view your credit report? Have you ever had an error on it?

Money Mistakes that Athletes Make

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money mistakes, financial mistakes, athlete's money mistakes

money mistakesHave you ever noticed over the years that some athletes remain rich after their playing days are over while others end up broke? There are several factors that come into play. Some athletes make a ton of mistakes. Today I will share with you a few money mistakes that athletes make.

Splurge

Many athletes go broke because they splurge too much. Some players make enough money to spend it any way that they want to without any repercussions. Many of them can’t, though. Every athlete isn’t making $20 million per year. ESPN showed a “30 for 30” documentary titled “Broke” a few years ago. They talked to several former athletes that had money and lost it all because of their mistakes. Many of them spent ridiculous amounts of money on cars and houses. A few players were spending money to try and keep up with their higher earning teammates. Obviously, that didn’t work out for them.

Not educated

Some players are not educated about money at all. They may not have been raised in a household that knew about or even had money. Imagine getting a large sum of money in your early 20’s after being poor your whole life. If you didn’t know anything about money I’m sure you’d make a few mistakes as well. The messed up thing is that by the time some of these athletes decide to learn about money it’s too late.

Hiring the wrong people

Some athletes hire the wrong people. There have been numerous stories where financial advisors and agents have been stealing money from athletes. That’s a horrible situation. Athletes should do thorough research before they go out and hire just anyone to be their financial advisor.

Don’t have multiple streams of income

A lot of athletes don’t have multiple streams of income. They may have made millions during their playing days, but mismanagement of those funds could have them broke. By having multiple streams of income, athletes will, at least, be making money in more than one way.

Don’t plan for life after the game

Unfortunately, a lot of athletes don’t plan for life after the game. I’ve read far too many stories where athletes blew their money and ended up having to get a regular job. Many of them only thought about today, when they should have also been thinking about tomorrow.

Helping too many people out

I’ve heard about a couple situations where athletes went broke by trying to help too many people out. There is nothing wrong with helping your family and friends out, but you can only do so much. Going broke shouldn’t be part of the process. I know athletes probably have friends and family coming all out of the woodwork. It’s a shame that some people would ask for more money after you already helped them out.

To summarize, the money mistakes that athletes make are splurging too much, they don’t educate themselves about money, they hire the wrong people, they don’t have multiple streams of income, they don’t plan for life after the game and they help too many people out.

5 Ways to Make Extra Money in the Winter

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side hustle, extra income during winter, making money during winter

WinterWinter 2016 is officially here. Winter storm Jonas has left large amounts of snow all over the east coast. Even though cities may shut down, there are always opportunities for you to make extra money in the winter. In today’s post, I will discuss five ways that people can earn extra money during the winter. Depending on where you live you may have more opportunities to try out some of these hustles than some of us.

Shoveling snow

The 1st way to make money in the winter is to shovel snow. If you live someplace where it snows often then this is the side hustle for you. Depending on the neighborhood that you live in determines how much business you could have. If you live near the elderly you have a good shot of them being potential customers. Some people need help with shoveling their walkways and sidewalks. If you have a shovel and some time you can easily make a couple hundred dollars every time it snows.

Sell firewood

The 2nd item on my list is to sell firewood. Most people don’t have enough trees on their land to make any real money selling wood. This is where you have to get a little creative. You will have to find and collect the wood beforehand. The 1st place that you can check for wood is at a recycling center or a dump. Many people drop off logs at those places because they don’t know what else to do with them. You may be able to find a nice supply there sometimes. The 2nd way that you can find firewood is to contact tree removal companies and see if they have any available scraps.

Scrape ice off cars

Number 3 on the list is to scrape ice off people’s cars. Some people are lazy or they may just not be in the mood to scrape ice off their car. This is where you come in. Once you get the right tools you can start promoting your service by posting flyers in the neighborhood or through social media.

Plowing driveways and parking lots

The 4th way to make money in the winter is to plow driveways and parking lots. This hustle will only work in cities that receive large snowfall annually. It will also only work if you have a truck and a plow. If you have those items contact residents and business owners and make that money.

Help people that are stranded

The final way to make money during the winter is to help people that are stranded. During the winter storms, people can get stranded for several reasons. Their flights could get canceled or their vehicle could stall out in the snow or ice. This is where you can come in and help. If you live near the airport you can rent out any spare room that you may have in your home. If you have a truck or jeep that has four wheel drive, you can help rescue motorists that are stuck during the snowstorms.

What is one way that you can make extra money during the winter?

 

Disease Called Debt

20 Birthday Freebies

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birthday freebie, free stuff, birthday perks

Birthday FreebiesGood morning Dinks. Today’s post is a little different. I want to share with you 20 free things that you can receive for your birthday. The majority of the freebies are at restaurants. Continue reading to find out which ones.

Applebee’s

Applebee’s is the 1st restaurant on the list. When you sign up to be a member of their e-mail club you receive a certificate for a free dessert.

Baskin Robbins

You get a free 2.5 oz. ice cream scoop for your birthday at Baskin Robbins. Once you sign up on their website you will receive the email for the free ice cream a few days before your birthday.

Benihana

Benihana is a hibachi restaurant. When you register for their e-mail club title “The Chef’s Table“, you will receive a $30 birthday certificate. The certificate can be redeemed at Benihana’s during your birthday month.

Houlihan’s

You get a free entree to Houlihan’s on your birthday. They also send you other coupons throughout the year.

IHOP

Who loves pancakes? If you raised your hand you should head on over to IHOP’s website and sign up for their mailing list. One of the perks is that you get a free meal on your birthday.

Moe’s Southwest Grill

By signing up with Moe’s Southwest Grill, you get a free burrito on your birthday.

Qdoba

Qdoba has something that they call Qdoba rewards. Each time you eat there you receive points that add up for free food. You also receive a free food offer during your birthday month. The food offer could vary, but most likely it could be a burrito.

Steak ‘n Shake

The next place on this list is Steak ‘n Shake. By signing with their e-mail list, you will receive a free steak burger on your birthday.

Twin Peaks

Twin Peaks is one of my favorite places to go and watch a game. When you sign up for their e-mail list you will receive a free meal on your birthday.

Waffle House

Waffle House has something called the regulars club. When you sign up with them you get a free waffle for your birthday. You also get coupons for free food throughout the year.

Bojangles

Signing up for Bojangles e-club gets you a free biscuit with any purchase on your birthday.

Catalina Express

The Catalina Express is a passenger ferry service that transports passengers to and from Catalina Island. The Catalina Express offers you a free round-trip pass on your birthday.

Don Pablo’s

When you sign up for Don Pablo’s you receive a $10 birthday reward email.

Joe’s Crab Shack

Signing up for Joe’s Crab Shack emails will get you a free appetizer on your birthday.

Krispy Kreme

I love Krispy Kreme. If you’ve ever had it, I’m sure you love them too. When you sign up for their e-mail list you get a coupon for a free donut.

Pat O’Brien’s

Pat O’Brien’s is a bar that was originated in New Orleans, LA. When you sign up for their email list you receive an e-mail voucher for the drink of your choice. Pat O’Brien’s also have locations in Orlando, FL and San Antonio, TX.

Planet Smoothie

When you join Planet Smoothie’s birthday club, you get a free smoothie. Who doesn’t love free smoothies?

Landry Restaurants

There are several restaurants that are a part of the Landry’s restaurant group. A few that you may have heard of are Morton’s Steakhouse, McCormick & Schmick’s, and Rainforest Cafe. When you sign up for their select club you receive a $25 reward that can be redeemed during your birthday month.

Cheesecake Bistro

When you sign up for their restaurant club you receive a free entree on your birthday.

Marco’s Pizza

The last place on my birthday freebie list is Marco’s Pizza. When you sign up for their e-mail club you get a voucher for free pizza.

 

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