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As we approach that age where everyone is getting engaged and then naturally married our weekends become booked quite quickly. The save the date magnets start coming in the mail so that every day you are reminded about how much money you need to save to enjoy a weekend of fun. For the next couple of years we should all just bank on our vacation days, bonuses and any extra cash we have going towards our friends weddings. Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE GOING TO WEDDINGS. Like love them. Just not so much the cost. So this past weekend one of my oldest friends got married. I had the honor of being in the wedding. This was my first experience of being in a wedding and let me tell you, I can’t wait to do it again. Being in a wedding is expensive though like let’s be honest from the hair to the nails to dress to the shoes and each time you’re in a wedding you have to get all the same stuff over and over again. It’s crazy! These are the things, however, that you can’t control unless you want to get attack by a scary creature also known as bridezilla. So if you have a lot of weddings coming up in the near future here are some things you can control and how to actually save some money at a wedding. The first thing I saved money on was my nails. I got them done at a place near work where they were running a special. Mani/Pedi for $35…can’t beat it. If I had gotten them done at the hotel spa I would have paid closer to $100. Overall savings- $65. If you are going to a wedding chances are you will know another couple […]

Day 95: So for the past two days I have brought lunch to work. I try to bring my lunch at least two times a week but I tend to eat out when I’m really busy at work. We usually eat out on Fridays and occasionally I’ll forget my lunch and have to go out. We never get anything too fancy so I’ll usually spend anywhere between $5 and $10. So since I have brought lunch the past two days and successfully not bought a cup of coffee on the way into work…I am putting $20 away into the fund (go me!). Let’s say for the next 95 days I bring lunch every day to work. Let’s say an average lunch costs $7 and I eat out about three times a week. For the next 14 weeks if I brought lunch every week I would save $294! (Here’s the math for those of you who need it 3*$7=21: $21*14=$294). That doesn’t seem like a lot but $300 will just about cover my flight to New Zealand while I’m there. Therefore I will be brown bagging my lunch until I leave for Australia. Couple tips I have learned since the switch: Make your lunch the night before otherwise you are just grabbing whatever you can reach in the fridge in the morning and it’s not always the best option. Make extra food at dinner so you can just wrap up the leftovers and take them for lunch. Bring in boxes of snacks and have a snack drawer at work. Also helps with those afternoon hunger strikes and chocolate cravings. Make a list before you go to the grocery store and never shop on an empty stomach. That way you will always buy just the right amount and be less likely to […]

Any of you DINC’s catch the World Cup Semi-Final between Germany and Brazil? What an absolute blowout! For those of you who don’t watch soccer or sports period, Germany won 7-1. What is even more impressive is the fact that Germany scored 5 goals in the first 30 minutes! 7 goals in soccer is equivalent to about 80 points in football (not Futbol, haha). Here at DINC we are obsessed with numbers, returns, and money; so naturally we looked into the odds of Germany winning by 6 goals. Any guesses what the odds were? 2 to 1, 10 to 1, 500 to 1?!? Not even close to any of those it was 20,000 to 1! That is ridiculous, if you bet $100 that Germany would win by 6 goals, you would have walked away with a cool $2,000,000! Not a bad day at the office, and you could stash that away for your future and be set. Unfortunately for you (and ourselves), we didn’t do that and we are now $2,000,000 poorer than we could have been. Can you imagine $2 million for retirement? THE EASY LIFE. Since neither you nor I have the prowess to gamble like that, I think it’s best to start saving money ourselves. So start a DINC account and get going on your way to that $2 million mark! In the meantime, there is another game on today; Netherlands vs. Argentina. I’m leaning toward Argentina winning by 6 (I’m just kidding, don’t actually put $100 on that; put it in your DINC account).

MINT is an online financial tool that allows you to put all your finances into one place. I was referred to the site from a friend and while being skeptical at first, I decided to do the research and give it a try.  I was amazed at how easy and secure the site was. It took only minutes to sign up and quickly linked all my bank accounts, credit cards, student loans, mortgage, and investments together in one place. When you log in all you need is your username and password for each of the sites you use and it easily links itself. By the time I had set everything up all I saw was red. Not a good sign mind you. As I began to investigate I saw exactly where and what I was spending my money on. Here is where I overspent this month…groceries, alcohol, shopping, and restaurants—the typical indulgences. Although I think the whole site is beneficial the most important part is the budget section. I went through and determined what I needed/wanted to spend part of my paycheck on each month. I then pick an appropriate budget based on my needs and wants for each different category. I wanted to take my student loans, gym membership, and rent/mortgage for into account for each month. Since those are some more stable payments, I could then evaluate how much money I had left over and allocate that to groceries, alcohol/entertainment, and dining out. I wanted to make sure I had enough money left over for utilities, emergencies, and potential necessary purchases (our washer broke last month so we needed money for that). I can now see where I need to reduce spending and where my funds go each month. Due to the simplicity of this site, I don’t […]

As college students return home and high school students are released for summer vacation it is almost officially summer. With that said the air begins to smell like barbecues and bonfires. With these parties come expenses.  It is time for us DINC’s to be smart with the way we spend our money today in order to save for the future. As Kid Rock Sings “And we were trying different things, we were saving funny things” or something like that. Us DINC’s should follow Kid Rocks song and save in different ways. As you begin to plan that summer vacation with your friends from college, high school, work or that person you met yesterday at a bar and thought was cute think north rather than south. The Adirondacks are a cheap alternative than renting a house in the south on the ocean or at a tourist destination. The Adirondacks are filled with free activities like hiking, canoeing, swimming, and touring the 1932 and 1980 Olympic stadiums. Barbecues are always fun on a nice summer night. To limit yourself from extra expenses, stick to the basics, hot dogs and hamburgers. Try to avoid the more expensive barbecues with steak and fish. Everyone loves ice cream on a hot summer night. The best way to save money is to buy ice cream in large quantities that will last a while instead of going out for ice cream every night. If you are going to go out for ice cream then try and carpool with friends to save money. The last tip for the summer season: be prepared. No matter where you are going this summer try and save money by bringing what you need. If you are on your way to the beach bring the essentials like sunscreen, drinks, snacks etc. The more […]