Living Large in the Summer

Montrose Beach Volleyball Court

For someone like me, summer is the best time of the year.  Not only is the weather conducive to hanging outside 24/7 and the days are longer so you can fit more activities in, but it’s the easiest season to save money while still having fun.

Winter is tough, because if you’re watching your wallet by foregoing dining out, pricey movies, and paid events, inclimate weather may keep you stuck inside and potentially isolated.  Spring and fall fare better on the penny pinching scale, as you can at least more easily incorporate outdoor transportation such as walking, biking, or even waiting comfortably for the bus or train, when it comes to getting to and from fun events or activities.  Summer, on the other hand, offers a plethora of opportunity for fun in the sun on the cheap.  Check out these no-brainers for enjoying those things in life that are important to you while living comfortably within your means.

• Put your gym membership on hold and get your fit on outdoors.  Exercise on your own or get a group together for community sweat.  You could save $20-$100 month on club dues alone.
• Forego the cabs, UberX, cars, and public transportation and walk, run, skate, scoot, or bike to and from social outings.  Commute with your own legs for work also, and you could be saving $5-$50 per day.
• Attend free organized events that interest you and keep a cool head when it comes to spending once you get there.  Many festivals and parties will suggest a donation of X dollars for entrance, but it’s just that, a suggestion.  There is not requirement to pay a dime.  Plan ahead by packing your own snacks/drinks if you want to go the extra mile and spend nothing at all, which is my preference.  

  

  Andersonville Midsommarfest with own food and drink

• Engage in your city’s free daily offerings.  In Chicago, I like to visit the free Lincoln Park Zoo and Conservatory with my kids, people watch by the hour at Navy Pier or Mag Mile, swim and play at the free park district beaches and pools, and attend free concerts and dance lessons at Millennium Park.  Investigate what your city’s offerings and get going!
• When dining out, choose BYOB establishments.  Depending on your alcoholic intake preference, liquor can account for up to half of your tab.  A beer averages $6 at a restaurant, while you can usually buy the same quantity and take a few with you for less than $1.50 per beverage.

  

  Lincoln Park Conservatory Garden Picnic

• Lose the expensive organized sports, activities, and shows, and instead engage with your family one-on-one.  Take an extended family walk or bike ride to a new area or neighborhood, grill outdoors for meals, hit the outdoor courts for a game of tennis, basketball, or volleyball, work together in the garden or on an outdoor project, or build a campfire outdoors and tell ghost stories.
• Get together with friends and plan events at free outdoor locations instead of restaurants, bars, or other venues.  Sit on the stoop with neighbors, meet friends at parks and public gathering places, and invite others over for dinner or drinks on the patio or yard.

There is no reason to overspend in the summer.  Use common sense when it comes to spending, plan ahead by researching free offerings in your area, and organize your outings.  How much can you set aside this summer while still having a ball?

Money Smart Week in Chicago

Many of you have asked me for resources on how to succeed in the financial rat race.  On your mark, get set, GO: Money Smart Week in Chicago is your answer!  FREE live and online classes will be offered in the city of Chicago the week of April 18-25, 2015, on a slew of financial topics ranging from Retirement Savings to Women and Money to Cost-Saving Tips for Homeowners.  

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago’s public awareness campaign, is designed to help consumers of all demographics better manage their personal finances. Money Smart Week programming takes place all over the US through the collaboration and joint effort of hundreds of organizations across the country.

Become a Budget Superstar, Understanding Medicare, How to Stretch a Buck, Energy Savings, Implications of Same Sex Marriage, Wills and Trust, Credit Repair, How to Start a Business with Very Little money, Love and Money, Property Tax Appeals, are but just a few of the incredible classes offered.  For a list of classes in Chicago and Illinois, click here.  For a complete list of classes across the country, click here. 

While you may have a general idea of how your child’s college will be payed for, if you’re not 100%, check out Smart Money Week’s Learn How to Pay for College, where you can get online tutorials on Starting the Process, Understanding Student Loans and Grants, and Borrowing Responsibly.

Bottom line:  do not miss the opportunity to get the information you need about your finances.  You will be Living Large in no time!

Living Large

I love being a parent to my kids and sharing my insights on parenting issues through ParentUnplugged.  It wouldn’t have been possible for me to spend enough time with my own kids, though, to come up with my ideas on parenting, had my wife and I not made the unpopular decision to change the way we view money. 

Six years ago, we found ourselves stuck in a financial mindset we had never actually subscribed to, yet felt obliged to perpetuate, because that’s just what people in auto-pilot do in attempts to keep the plates spinning.  We were living in an affluent neighborhood with big houses, big cars, big spending appetites, and big debt.  From the outside we looked happy, and we were, to an extent.  We had family, friends, and enough material things to keep a small country afloat.  But that happiness could only go so far as we were buckling under the overwhelming debt we had unconsciously accumulated. 

Everyone has their own reasons for taking on more than they can handle, but in our case, we had lost 2 pregnancies and we simply stifled our grief by spending money or shit that didn’t matter.  You name it, we bought it:  possessions for ourselves, our child, and our pet, meals out, entertainment, trips, experiences, new cars, new hair, and even a $40K “investment property” that is worth about thirty-seven cents on the open market today. While we could afford to pay the piper for all of our purchases by utilizing payments on multiple revolving or installment credit lines, we were just skating by and not saving a dime.  We were actually building debt daily at an alarming rate. 

Sensing potential disaster, I picked up a copy of Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover.  I read it cover to cover on a 2-hour flight and de-boarded the plane with a new lease on life.  The chapters didn’t offer any fancy tricks or specialized financial advice, but simply supported the main concept of the book, which is to spend less or make more to reach financial security.  More specifically, reducing debt, creating surplus, dismissing the use of credit, and most importantly, living only on the cash in your pocket. 

I set off on a new course immediately, and within a year’s time, we had paid off over 80% of our accumulated debt, abandoned my job and its six-figure income, which allowed me to stay home and raise my own kids.  For the past five years, my family has been enjoying a quality of life I didn’t really realize was possible, almost exclusively within a one wage-earner family model.  Creatively saving money and generating income is now engrained in my being, and I’ve spent so many hours sharing my ideas and experiences with friends on my couch and strangers in line at the store, that I decided it’s time to start incorporating it into my writing.  

I’m passionate about balancing the ideas of living comfortably within my means and whole-heartedly enjoying those things in life that are most important to me.  I call it Living Large.  I’ve developed quite a diverse playbook of how to pinch pennies without much effort and how to bring in extra money without really working.  So look out for my Living Large suggestions in upcoming posts, as well as your favorite parenting stories.  Thank you for your continued support via feedback, comments, and sharing my blog and its posts.