Voices

*** Hey Run The Money fans, I want to share a guest post with you today from our buddy Jacob over at DollarDiligence.com. He’s giving us some great insight on lifestyle changes he made while paying off his debt. 

Fun fact about Jacob: Aside from his teaching career, he likes to learn & write about managing money and going on road trips to new locations. Make sure to follow him on Twitter @DollarDiligence! Take it away, Jacob! ***

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If you are like many Americans, you may find yourself in debt. Whether you owe money on a mortgage, a car loan, student loans or have crushing credit card debt, finding yourself “in the red” can cause tremendous stress and anxiety.  Yet it is possible to work your way out of debt — with smart planning and changes to your lifestyle and finances to slowly by surely dig your way out of your financial hole.

Related articles that required lifestyle changes to pay off debt:

• How my wife and I paid off $60,000 in credit card and student loan debt
• Danielle paid off $48,000 of her $70,000 debt. Here’s how.
• See how RTM reader Jodi paid off $67,000 in debt
• 10 side hustles anyone can start immediately
• 31 life hacks to save more money right away
• How much should you be saving at your age?

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Do you want do the Hard Cider Run? Well, if you’re a fan of challenging 5Ks, a competitive racing atmosphere, awesome runners’ swag, and, of course, hard cider — you’ve got to do this race. Check out my 2017 Hardest Cider Run race review — and seriously consider signing up for a race near you.

As I mentioned previously, the folks over at The Color Run reached out to me in June to run in the Hershey, PA Color Run. I happily obliged as it would be the first time I was able to represent Run The Money in person. It also gave me the idea to reach out to the awesome crew at Sour Fish Events and inquire about the Hardest Cider Run in Biglerville, PA.

And let me tell you — I’m so very glad I did! Working with Chloe to secure my spot and help promote this race and their upcoming Great Pumpkin Runs in Pennsylvania and Maryland has been nothing short of exciting.

But, enough about that. Let’s get to the Hardest Cider Run race review. That’s why you’re here.

Here are my takeaways. Enjoy!

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Making a smart investment is about making choices that will not only meet your unique needs in the present, but also ensure you are able to accomplish your financial goals in the future. This will likely be dictated by your personal circumstances that affect the decisions you make. Nonetheless, whether you are saving for retirement, a home or education for your children, it is imperative to have a plan that ensures the healthy growth of your finances. Therefore, before choosing any investment instruments, you need to consider some strategies.

1. Investing principles to consider

a. Know where you are

When looking to make an investment, it is important to consider where you are. For example, if you are approaching retirement, the safest bet will be to invest in risk-free instruments such as certificates of deposits or money market funds. However, these investments only offer dismal returns. On the other hand, if you are not nearing retirement, you can afford to invest in areas that pay higher yields. In addition, you need to figure out if you are investing for the long term or short term. This will help you in aligning your investments according to your needs.

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Have you ever participated in the Hardest Cider Run? How about joining me for the 2017 Hardest Cider Run?

I haven’t had the privilege yet either, but I’ll be there on Saturday, August 5^th, 2017 in Bigerville, PA. The 5K will be held at Hauser Estate Winery, home of Jack’s Hard Cider.

Get this – the Hauser course is the HARDEST course in the Hard Cider Run series. We can expect “varying terrains, sloped vineyards, and, of course, ‘The Hill’,” according to their website. Sounds like a fun challenge to me on a Saturday morning!

Oh, I forgot to mention that you can choose between the Standard 5K or the Hungry Apple 5K options. The first one comes without donuts and the second one comes with donuts … at every mile. So, hey, the Hungry Apple option is a great idea especially if you decide to walk part of the course. Get a little sustenance as you continue on the trail!

Well, I got the preliminaries out of the way. Allow me to give you the highlights of why you want to join me if you’re in the Biglerville, PA area.

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Hello, Run The Money fans.  I have a very interesting guest post from Lauren Rilling this week.  She has such amazing insight that I asked her back two weeks in a row!  Lauren discusses “that time I blew my grocery budget” as she was trying to eat healthier to decrease inflammation in her body. I could’ve pushed this post until next month, but it has such great information and advice that I really wanted to get it to you right away.

Lauren is a personal finance blogger herself and a Dave Ramsey-trained coach.  You can check out my interview with her and visit her blog at SaveGiveandSpend.com. Take it away, Lauren!

(This article contains affiliate links).

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How I Blew My Grocery Budget

Last month, I realized that my diet needed a serious overhaul. Not just an eat-less-junk-food health kick, mind you, but a total change to my approach to food.

I’m only 30 years old was diagnosed with osteoarthritis in my knees two years ago. It prevents me from doing a lot of what I enjoy and significantly limits my workout options (not that I make a ton of consistent effort in the exercise department… just being real with you guys). But anyway, arthritis? At age 30? Are you KIDDING?! (Spoiler alert: the new diet has already helped a lot!)

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Hey there, Run The Money fans! Today, we have interesting guest post from Barbara Delinsky on the topic of how parents put children into debt. I hope I’m not guilty of any of these with my son!

Barbara has expertise in personal finance and she loves to share her thoughts with her readers. She’s also written for many blogs. When not writing, she spends most of her time exploring new places, people and their culture. You can get in touch with her on Twitter @DelinskyBarbara.

Now, take it away, Barbara!

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How Parents put Children into Debt

Can parents put children into debt?

Yes, they can. More shocking is sometimes the parents put children into debt knowingly.

It might be they have no other way out than doing so and sometimes they do it with the intention of helping their children.

Here are 5 scenarios about how parents put their children into debt.

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Money is a tool.

Have you ever heard that phrase before? We seem to think of it as a means to an end. A destination. Or something to just accumulate a ton of and horde until the day we die.

But, no, that’s not a health view of money at all. Money is a tool — a means of exchanging value for value.

Realizing this can do wonders for your financial health. With that in mind, I asked Lauren Rilling of Save, Give & Spend to discuss her views on money. As a Dave Ramsey-trained financial coach and personal finance blogger, Lauren has seen it all.

I believe her personal and professional insights can really help us wrap our heads around the “money is a tool” concept. After all, we’re all here to learn from each other become better stewards of the money we have.

Now, here’s Lauren to enlighten us further on how money is a tool.

Related to “money is a tool”:

• Being smarter with your money than 15% of NFL retirees
• How much should I be saving?
• Here are 6 budget tips that actually work
• Become a master of your money

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Are you making healthy choices in your life?

If you’re like me, you probably improve in one area for a while and then regress.  Then, you try to pick up the slack in another area only to regress again.  It’s a vicious cycle.

And, dammit, it’s down right annoying and frustrating.  Why is it that we can work our butts off to lose 10 pounds for a weeks on end … only to put it all back on over a holiday weekend with the family?

It’s questions like this that plague us with over fitness levels.  But, it’s not just our physical health that suffers.  We need to be making healthy choices in other areas of our lives like our finances, the food we put into our bodies, and even the fun we have that allows us to escape our work lives.

This is why I’m glad I had the privilege to speak with Amy from Life Zemplified.  She’s dealt with these issues in her own life and has empowered others in making healthy choices on a daily basis.

Amy was kind enough to answer some of my questions and I’m sharing those with you below.  As you will see, Amy has a real passion for this and it comes across in her answers.  She shows us how making healthy choices in four key areas in our lives will help us maintain a healthy equilibrium.

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As many of you know by now, I received an invitation to participate in the 2017 Hershey Color Run and received a free registration. It was a tremendous honor for me to run in an event representing Run The Money.  I am very blessed to have the opportunity.

With that said, I hesitated to actually go and run it. A number of things factored into it.  The seasoned runner in me hated that the race wasn’t timed.  I get why they do it, but it just bothered me.

Another reason for my hesitation was that my parents were in town with us to take us to Hershey Park. They gave us season passes to take our son and they wanted to come with us this time.  We stayed at the Hershey Lodge from Friday to Saturday.  It actually worked out that the Color Run folks contacted me because we were going to be there anyway!

And, finally, I didn’t want my brand new Brooks Ravenna 8 shoes getting messed up with the powder they throw at you. I was worried about my iPhone and headphones as well.

In spite of my initial reservations, I am so glad I did it. Participating in the 2017 Hershey Color Run was easily one of the highlights of my running career. I mean that wholeheartedly.

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Paying off debt is one of those subjects in personal finance and money matters that never seems to get old.  We’ve covered it a few times on Run The Money — both with my story and the stories of others like reader Jody.

I think seeing or reading about others paying off debt has to do with people believing it’s possible for them after seeing somebody else do it first.  Kind of like the sub 4-minute mile.  Until Roger Bannister broke the 4-minute mark in 1954.  Then, other runners saw it as attainable and reached it themselves.

Let me tell you.  Paying off debt — no matter how large — is possible.

Enter Danielle from the personal finance blog, The Pennies We Saved.  She and her husband are in the process of paying off debt totaling $73,000.  So far, they’ve paid off over $48,000.  Not too bad!

She was kind enough to share her story with us and how she changed her life to get her finances under control.  Take it away, Danielle!

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