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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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12 Cheap Date Options

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frugal date, cheap date night, frugal dating

12 CheapDating can be very expensive if you’re not careful. Some people are spending crazy amounts of money during dates even if they don’t have it. It’s helping them stay in debt. In today’s post, I will discuss 12 cheap date options that will keep some money in your pocket.

Happy Hours

Happy hours are a good place to have a cheap date. When you mention happy hour, you usually just think of cheap drinks and one or two appetizers. More and more restaurants are adding more food to their happy hour menus. Many places have a late afternoon/early evening happy hour and one during the late night usually after 10 pm.

Coffee Shop

Coffee Shops are a nice place to have a date. The drinks are cheap and the coffee shops usually have a laid back crowd in them. It’s usually not too many people there or loud.

Drive-In

If you have a drive-in movie theater near, you should definitely visit it. Drive-ins are not as popular as they once were, but they are an excellent date option. With a drive-in, you can usually see two movies for the price of one. Also, you can bring your own food with you.

Beach

If you live near a beach I’m jealous of you. Not only are you near the ocean, you also have the opportunity to have dates on the beach. You can easily grab some food and enjoy a day on the beach. That is a date idea that would probably never get old.

Picnic at the Park

The next thing on the list is to have a picnic at a park. It’s very easy and fun to do. You can cook your food at home or grab a few items from a restaurant. After that, you just have to grab a blanket and find a park. This would be a perfect date to do in the spring or the summer.

Game night

Having a game night is another fun and cheap date idea. There are many games to choose from such as monopoly and scrabble. Find a night that you and your date are available and make it happen.

Bike

Riding a bike around your city is another fun cheap date option. Some cities are more bike friendly than others so you must take that into consideration.

Go for a hike

The next thing on the list is to take a hike at your local state park.  The entrance fee shouldn’t cost too much. The parks also have designated free days. A hike gives both partners time together in the great outdoors.

Be a tourist

Another cheap date option is to be a tourist in your city. If you live in a large city, you and your date can visit different areas every month. You can visit new shopping districts or check out a museum.

Zoo

Going to the zoo is fun and inexpensive. You can spend half of the day checking out all the different exhibits.

Thrift stores

The 11th cheap date option is going to thrift stores. You never know what you will see in a thrift store. That’s part of the fun of it. Value Village and The Salvation Army are a couple thrift stores that you can start with.

Festivals

The final cheap date idea is to attend festivals. Most cities have free or low-cost festivals throughout the year. Check your city’s local website to see what they have to offer.

What are some of your favorite cheap date options?

How to Save For an Emergency Fund?

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emergency fund, financial preparation, financial tips

How to Save Foran Emergency FundAn emergency fund is something that everyone should have. Life is very unpredictable. Things can happen in the blink of an eye. When those things happen you may not always be ready for them financially. An emergency fund can help you become better prepared to face them. That fund can help you to not accumulate new debt or get stressed about your situation.

Dave Ramsey states that a beginner’s emergency fund should start with at least $1000 in it. Sometimes people will look at that number and wonder how they are supposed to save that amount when they are living check to check. It’s not easy, but it can be attained. I know that everybody is busy, but saving $1000 for an emergency fund must be done. Below are three things you can do to help you save for your emergency fund.

The first way that you can save money for an emergency fund is to have a particular amount of money automatically deducted from your paycheck each pay period. Any amount helps. Even saving $5 per month is better than not saving anything at all. The point is to start saving! You may have to change your budget around depending on how much money you make, but it will be worth it.

If you want to save money for an emergency fund faster you can make money by learning a side hustle. Side hustles can be done before or after you go to work. There are literally thousands of side hustles that you can do such as freelancing, selling candy or sweets, blogging or selling items on eBay. In my life, I have done a lot of side hustles to help bring in some extra money whenever I needed it.

Another way that you can save money for an emergency fund is by getting a part time job. To some, that doesn’t sound like the most attractive thing to do, but it’s about saving that $1000 right now. People may think that they don’t have the time to work a part-time job. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many people that work a part-time job for a few hours after they get off of their full-time job. You can also work Saturday’s and Sunday’s as well. Remember, you don’t have to work the part-time job forever. You just want to work it until you have enough money in your emergency fund.

Having that emergency fund can give a piece of mind. Earlier this year I had a small situation happen. I had two flat tires in back to back months. In the past, that inconvenience would have me stressed out a bit. I would have had to use money from my regular checking account or worse my credit card.  This year I didn’t have to worry about any of that. I had an emergency fund. I was able to go to the ATM and withdraw that money to pay for those tires. It felt great to not stress about something like that for once. Without an emergency fund, it would not have happened.

Do you have an emergency fund?

 

Disease Called Debt

How to Stay Focused!

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stay focused, goals, ethics

unclesamFor some folks, it is very easy to stay focused. They have a laser-like tendency when it comes to focusing on things such as creating a side hustle or learning a foreign language. For other people, they have a hard time with focus. Their mind can be all over the place. Today, I discuss five different ways that can help you stay focused.

Get enough rest

The first thing you can do to help you stay focused is to get enough rest. Technically, you’re supposed to get at least 8 hours of sleep each night. I’m not sure how many are able to do that. I’m lucky if I can get between 5 or 6 hours each night. One way that you can get more rest is to start going to bed earlier each night. Going to bed an hour early each night will definitely help. Another way to get more rest is that you can keep your nightlife activities to a minimum.

Watch less television

According to the New York Daily, the average American watches 34 hours of TV each week. That’s a lot of time being wasted. A lot of those hours could be used to work on a business or a side hustle. I personally know that minimizing TV will help you get more focused. I used to waste valuable time watching countless hours of TV a few years ago. I started replacing some of that TV time with other activities such as reading and planning out my day. I noticed a mental shift. I had less mental clutter and was able to focus much more.

Being organized

Another thing you can do to become focused is to become more organized. Organization is one of the keys to success if you ask me. In today’s day and age, people have a lot of things going on. Many have full-time jobs as well as side hustles. Without being organized how could they expect to stay focused and get things done. Using a planner is one of the ways that I stay organized. I jot down things that I need to complete each week and each month in my planner. I also use a content calendar for my blog. This helps me make sure I don’t discuss one topic too many times in a row. Finally, I write things down on post-it notes. This helps me remember small tasks that I need to complete.

Use social media less

Social media is wonderful, but in my opinion it is one of the main reasons that people aren’t focused as much as they could be. I still struggle with my social media usage from time to time. There are way too many sites out there to distract you such as Facebook, Twitter, Snap Chat and Vine. One minute you could be focused on something, then the next minute you’re on Instagram liking multiple pictures. Below are 3 ways that can help you use social media less.

Take the apps off of your phone.

You can turn the notifications off.

Use a website such as cold turkey or one that is similar to block social media sites for an extended time.

How do you stay focused?

How to Get the Best Out of Your Black Friday Experience

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Black Friday sale, Black Friday experience, Black Friday discounts

Shopping galleryBlack Friday will be here in a few days. If you’re one of the people that like to brave the crowds to find deals, then today’s post is specifically for you. I will share with you a few tips that will show you how to get the best out of your Black Friday experience.

Plan

Planning for Black Friday is very important. You should plan out everything. You should ask yourself the following questions. What stores do you want to go to? Do you want to start shopping early in the morning? Do you want to shop in the afternoon? Who are you buying gifts for? What is your budget for Black Friday? Those are just a few of the many questions that you should think about. You don’t want to be at a packed store or mall without a plan.

 

 

 

 

 

Research

Researching can save you a lot of time and money. By researching, you can find out what stores have the real Black Friday deals and which ones only have a few. The last thing you want to do is go to a store and waste your time. I’ve heard about places that have so called deals where they will only have a certain amount of the item for sale. An example of this practice is a store selling the latest flat screen television for dirt cheap. They may only have 50 of the TV’s for sale. Once they are gone, that’s it. That would suck to be the person who missed out on them because they didn’t do enough research.

Map out your destinations

After you’ve done your research the next thing you want to do is map out where you want to go. If you live in a big city, you don’t want to waste time driving around all day. You want to get to and from each location in a timely manner. You don’t want to backtrack.

Get enough rest

If you’re going to be out there running around on Black Friday please get enough rest. There is a good chance that you will be out and about for a while. Getting enough rest will allow you to have the energy to stand in those long checkout lines.

Eat a good breakfast

Make sure you eat a good breakfast before you start your shopping. If you plan on visiting a lot of stores, the last thing you want to do is miss out on a deal because you became hungry. If you eat a good breakfast but think that it will not be enough you can always pack a small cooler with snacks and leave it in your car.

Get mentally prepared for crowds

Some people don’t have a problem with large crowds while others despise them. Regardless of if you’re one or the other you have to get your mind ready for the crowds. People go crazy for Black Friday deals. The news shows that people get trampled, run like wild animals and even start fights just to make sure they get that last PS4 or I-Phone 6. Most of the time the crowds are cool, but get your mind prepared for anything

How do you get ready for Black Friday shopping?

If you are thinking about shopping on Black Friday, you can find out everything you need to know at The Penny Hoarder.

Money Scams to Watch Out For!

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money scams, money advice, money tips
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Criminals are getting more bolder every day. They prey on the elderly and the uninformed through numerous scams. I don’t want anyone that is reading this to ever become a victim. Money scams come in all shapes and sizes. Today, I will discuss 4 money scams that you should watch out for.

Foreign Lottery Scam

If you play the lottery from time to time you want to pay special attention to this 1st scam. The foreign lottery scam is a very popular scam that is conducted online. A person is sent an e-mail saying that they have won a foreign lottery. The 1st red flag that should go off is that I’m willing to guess that 99% of the people receiving that e-mail has never played a foreign lottery, so how could they have won? That alone should make them think twice about that e-mail. Unfortunately, some people are blinded by the thought of easy money and fall for these e-mails. They end up sending scammers personal information such as bank account or social security numbers.

Asking for money upfront

This is a popular scam that I’ve seen on Craigslist or in newspaper classifieds. This scam is where someone is selling or promoting something and they want you to pay for it upfront. An example that I saw was an ad on Craigslist telling potential actors and actresses that they can get them a-list roles by joining their exclusive website. By joining their website, they would have access to a list of all the roles that were coming to their area. They were charging $30 for people to join that website. I hope no one fell for that scam.

Money orders

This scam can also be found on Craigslist as well. The money order scam goes like this. Somebody will send you a money order for a service. The money order will be for a higher amount than the service. They will want you to deposit the money order in your account. After you keep your part of the money, they want you to send them the rest back. Don’t fall for this scam. The money orders look legit, but they are fake. Your bank will find out and alert you. Your account could be closed due to fraudulent activity. If something seems too good to be true it usually is.

Fake Inheritance

The fake inheritance scam consists of receiving an email from someone claiming to be a representative for your so called long lost relative. The e-mail states that the long lost relative passed away with a substantial amount of money. It also says that you are next of kin and that you will receive that money if you follow the directions in the e-mail. They typically want your account information or want you to pay some kind of bogus international transfer fee. Don’t do it. These criminals will keep your transfer fee and you will never hear from them again.  It’s sad to know that people will do anything for money these days. These types of e-mails generally are caught in your e-mails spam folder. If you see one delete it immediately!

Have you dealt with of any of these scams up close and in person?

4 Ways to Stay Out of Debt

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debt freedom, debt tips, stay out of debt
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

A lot of people including myself have debt that we are actively trying to get rid of. We are trying different things such as side hustling or looking for part time jobs to help us pay it off sooner than later. Once it’s paid off I know that I want to stay debt free. If you don’t have any debt I want you to pay attention specifically to this post. I will be going over 4 ways to stay out of debt.

Pay bills on time

Paying your bills on time is one of the easiest ways to keep you out of debt. Late fees are no joke. From experience, I know that they can add up very quickly. If you’re not careful they can get you into a financial bind. By paying attention to due dates every month you won’t have to worry about late fees. I’ve seen late fees range anywhere from $35 to close to $100.  Could you imagine having to pay an extra $100 on a bill that is already over $100? That would not be fun. Make sure you pay your bills on time so that you don’t have to worry about those annoying fees.

Ignore the Joneses

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Keeping up with the Joneses” before. The Joneses are basically people that buy things to try and impress other people. The Joneses are broke because of that. I don’t want that to be you! There is no reason for someone to be something that they are not. Unfortunately, a lot of people get caught up trying to keep up with the Joneses and end up broke. Don’t fall into that comparison trap.

Create a budget

Creating a budget can drastically keep you out of debt. A budget will help you allocate your spending. By doing that, you will know exactly where your money is going. At the beginning staying on your budget might be tricky. The longer you stay with it the better you will get. Make sure you leave yourself some wiggle room because sometimes things happen such as emergencies.

Watch credit card usage

This could have been the 1st point on this list. In my opinion it is one of the most important things you should pay attention to. If you use credit cards, please use them with care. It is so easy to fall into the habit of always swiping your credit card. You could be in hundreds of dollars of debt in no time. Once you first get a credit card you may have plans of just using it here and there. If you’re not disciplined or careful you may eventually start swiping it for everything. If you have a low minimum payment that could also get you in trouble as well. The credit card debt will continue to add up. If you must use your credit card try to pay it off each month or at least pay more than just the minimum.

Are you trying to stay out of debt? What are you doing to make that happen?

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