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How much are you worth?

How much are you worth?

Let’s take a minute to look at your assets and liabilities:

Assets (what you own)
Cash: checking account, savings account, money market, CD, treasury bills, silver, gold
Securities: stocks, bonds, mutual funds
Real estate: Personal residence, vacation home, rental properties
Business interests: business owner, MLM
Retirement funds: IRA, KEOGH, 401K, vested portion in company plan, annuity
Life insurance: cash value
Personal property: cars and other vehicles, household furnishings, boat, plane, 
 recreational vehicles, antiques, collectibles, art, furs, jewelry

Liabilities (what you owe): 
Current bills: credit cards, charge accounts, medical, dental, store cards
Debt: Unpaid bills
Taxes: income (federal & state), property (real & personal)
Mortgages: residence, other properties
Loans: auto, home improvement, education, life insurance, margin account

Total net worth = total assets minus total liabilities

Don’t like what you see?  Well, let’s start working on that.  Whether you’re looking for a full-time job or just a part-time gig to bring in some extra cash, there are many options. To help 
you get a better job, start by acquiring some new skills and do a quick resume brush-up.  

Check out www.abetterjobsearch.com to first see what kind of jobs are out there and which ones can 
offer you flexibility and security.Placing your resume online doesn’t mean a lot in a sea of faceless names available to 
employers.  

You need to get more creative, especially if you want to work from home.  Rather than posting a resume on www.monster.com, which will mostly result in getting you a ton of 
junk mail, try connecting with people you already know on www.linkedin.com or searching for 
local jobs at www.craigslist.com.  

Here are some other great resources:
• www.betterjobsearch.com  
• www.indeed.com  
• www.beyond.com  
• www.backdoorjobs.com  

You can also find some terrific freelance jobs online based on your expertise, at sites such 
as:
• www.sologig.com 
• www.elance.com 
• www.guru.com 
• www.ablestable.com 
• www.freelancejobslist.com       
• www.rentacoder.com       
• www.fiverr.com 
• https://www.odesk.com/

If you’re artistic, you can get paid for your creativity and accept as many or as few jobs as you’d like at:
• www.designoutpost.com 
• www.logoworks.com 
• www.logosforwebsites.com 
• www.cafepress.com 
• www.zazzle.com     

Sell your photography skills at:
• www.shareapic.com 
• www.123rf.com 
• www.shutterstock.com
• www.fotolia.com 
• www.crestock.com 
• www.dreamstime.com 
• www.bigstockphoto.com   
        
Virtual customer service jobs allow you to assist other companies from your computer.  If 
you have a landline, a computer, and your home is quiet, you can take incoming calls for 
companies or help them with data entry tasks.  See who is hiring at:
• www.arise.com 
• www.liveops.com 
• www.workingsol.com     
• www.homeworking.com 

 There are simply too many to list!  
Are you feeling empowered with your finances yet?  You should!  You probably already know how to do many things that companies out there are willing to pay you for!  Write a list of 
all your skills, talents, hobbies and interests.  You’re worth more than you know!

CENTSerely,
Trina Boice
(The FruGAL)

Money doesn't grow on trees

There are a ton of things you can do to bring in extra money to pay those bills and stretch your dollars.  

My dad used to always say, "Money doesn't grow on trees."  The fact is, nobody is going to just hand you money; you have to do something.  No, wait a minute...they just might! 

You may actually have free money hiding out there that you don’t 
even know about!  It’s true! Every state has an “Unclaimed Property” department which you can easily use to help you find money!  

Start at www.unclaimed.org, the website of the National 
Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.  Every state’s procedure for claiming money is different, so be sure to check every state where you have resided and worked, and follow their 
guidelines.  Amazingly enough, you may actually have forgotten about some pennies out there!  

Hey, it’s worth a shot, and will only take you a few minutes online.   

I found a small paycheck my husband forgot to pick up when he did seasonal work for a company as a teenager.  (I would never forget to pick up a paycheck!)  I also found some money 
for my dad that was sitting in an old bank account he had closed years ago.  (Yes, I gave it to him and didn’t keep it for myself.)  You’ll need to produce certain documents to prove you are who 
you claim to be before the money is released.

Good luck and happy hunting! 


CENTSerely,
Trina Boice
(The FruGAL)

What advice does a billionaire have for you?

Warren Buffet has an estimated fortune at around 50 billion dollars, 99% of which he intends to give to charity after his death.  Wow!  He is one of the top 5 richest men in the world.  You'd think he would have some good financial advice worth listening to, right?  Alrighty then, game on!  The following are some tips he has shared with the world on a variety of topics, including money:   On Reputation

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you'll do things differently.  On his most basic rules Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No.2: Never forget rule No.1.  On sources of income Never count on a single income. Make investments to create additional sources of revenue. On spending If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon have to sell things you do need. On saving Don't save what you have left after spending, but spend what you have left after saving. On taking risks Never measure the deepness of a river with both legs. On honesty Honesty is a very expensive thing, don't expect it from cheap people. On inheritance A rich man must leave his children enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing. On ideas You do things when the opportunities come along. I've had periods in my life when I've had a bundle of ideas come along, and I've had long dry spells. If I get an idea next week, I'll do something. If not, I won't do a damn thing.  On the trickle theory The rich are always going to say that, you know, just give us more money and we'll go out and spend more and then it will all trickle down to the rest of you. But that has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on.  On investing in the future Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.  On Habits Chains of habit are too light to be felt until they are too heavy to be broken.  On becoming rich I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.  On learning from betters It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction.  On price and value Price is what you pay. Value is what you get.  On taxes for the rich If anything, taxes for the lower and middle class and maybe even the upper middle class should even probably be cut further. But I think that people at the high end - people like myself - should be paying a lot more in taxes. We have it better than we've ever had it.  On challenges I don't look to jump over 7-foot bars: I look around for 1-foot bars that I can step over.  On being rich Of the billionaires I have known, money just brings out the basic traits in them. If they were jerks before they had money, they are simply jerks with a billion dollars.  On risk Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing. On wall street Wall Street is the only place that people ride to in a Rolls Royce to get advice from those who take the subway.  On how he invests I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years.  On hindsight In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.  On ponzi schemes Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked.  On learning from history If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians.  On healing the economy  Economic medicine that was previously meted out by the cupful has recently been dispensed by the barrel. These once unthinkable dosages will almost certainly bring on unwelcome after-effects. Their precise nature is anyone's guess, though one likely consequence is an onslaught of inflation.

Cyber Monday Mahem

   

While I’m not one to stand outside a store at 4:00 am for Black Friday bargains, I definitely get excited about “Cyber Monday.” Why? Because I can get great prices from the comfort of my home by shopping online!


Cyber Monday has become so popular and a part of our Christmas shopping lexicon that it’s even in Wikipedia now. The term Cyber Monday refers to the Monday immediately following Black Friday. Whereas Black Friday is associated with traditional brick and mortar stores, Cyber Monday symbolizes a busy day for online retailers. The premise was that consumers would return to their offices after the Black Friday weekend, making purchases online that they were not able to make in stores.

Each year www.walmart.com offers some of the best bargains and this year they’re in a price war with www.amazon.com I love that! Some of the common discounts include free shipping and percentages off the sales price. While I love going inside a real store and being able to touch the merchandise and get my picture taken with Santa, I REALLY love being able to stay home and shop in my pajamas!

Below are some really great web sites where you can see at a glance which retailers are offering discounts this year:

www.cybermonday.net

www.cybermonday.fm/

www.offers.com/cyber-monday/

www.cybermondayonlinedeals.com

www.dealtaker.com/cybermonday

www.visa.com/cybermonday

www.target.com/cybermonday



One of the great advantages to shopping online is that you can ship directly to your gift recipient, saving you hours of packaging presents, driving in crazy traffic to the post office, and standing in long lines during the busy holiday season! Some stores will even allow you to "double dip" which means you can stack discounts. Before you purchase anything online, remember to do an online search of the name of the store you're interested in buying from, along with the words "discount code" and you'll be pointed towards sites that give you special codes to use in the shopping cart to save even more money!

Some of my favorite discount code web sites are:

• www.currentcodes.com

• www.Couponcactus.com

• www.retailmenot.com

• www.couponcabin.com

• www.couponchief.com



Each year consumers spend more than $80 billion shopping on the Internet. It’s fast. It’s easy. No crowds. No searching for parking spaces. And who doesn’t love shopping in their pajamas? Unfortunately, one out of ten adults reported being victimized by online fraud in 2011, so you definitely need to be careful. Computer security experts have come up with some shopping tips to help protect you from cyber crime.

1. Investigate the vendor. Check the site for refund policies and contact information. It only takes a minute to review a company’s track record at www.bbb.org (Better Business Bureau).

2. Protect your private information by never giving financial information by email.

3. Start a paper trail. Print online receipts, product information and email confirmations.

4. Choose carefully where you shop. Only shop online at sites that provide password protection and encryption. When you see “https” you know the site is secure.

5. Protect your computer with antivirus software and firewalls.

The Internet has also made the world a much smaller place. There might be a company in Wisconsin who has exactly what your son’s school needs but can’t afford. www.throwplace.com is a great resource where charities, businesses, and individuals donate items and can get free items in return! Be sure to sign up your kids’ schools or your church!

The holidays are a busy time to be sure. Remember to pause and reflect on what’s truly important. Toss the guilt if you can’t buy the expensive gift for others that you wish you could. There is no shame in writing up some of those hand-made gift coupons, good for one back rub or car wash. People on their death bed never say they wish they had that gadget; rather, they often express regret for not having spent more time loving and serving others.