“From the end spring new beginnings.” -Pliny the elder. As spring finally (and I mean finally) begins to make an appearance, everyone seems to be in higher spirits filled with endless possibilities. Spring means summer is right around the corner and those dreadful winter days are just a dark memory. With all the positive bright energy circulating in your life, take a minute to reflect the importance of spring. Spring represents growth and new beginnings; a chance for you to come out of your winter blues and spring into action. Now is a perfect time for you to reevaluate where you are in your finances no matter where you are in your career. A recent article on Yahoo Finance stated that people in their twenties should be expected to save $7 million dollars for their retirement. This article pretty much hit the nail on the head of what Dollar Investment Club is all about. Just by looking at the math, you can see that you actually LOSE OUT ON MONEY by starting to save for retirement at a later age. It makes more sense to start saving money now so you can allow your investment to COMPOUND OVER TIME. Time is your greatest friend in your financial planning and it is imperative that you take the time to understand this NOW. (Want to read more: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/a-20-year-old-will-need-to-save–7-million-for-retirement-184050231.html) In taking this feeling of empowerment that comes with spring, take charge of your finances and know exactly where and what your goals are for your future. Dollar Investment Club can apply to all individuals: whether you are just starting your financial planning or you have already been saving for years (highly unlikely but I commend those of you who have). Let’s break it down so that no seedling gets left behind. Stages of […]

Everyday we see the increase in technology from voice activation to finger tip sensors. It’s almost scary to think of the future and what electronics our kids will be asking for on Christmas. With all these new advancements we make there comes a price tag. I updated to a 5S i-Phone a couple of weeks ago (I know finally, right? Things been out like a year already). The lady selling me the phone was trying to convince me to wait and buy the 6th. The 6th i-Phone will have all new features and capabilities and by the time the 7th comes we will have holographic screens. This is some crazy futuristic stuff coming into our daily lives. So in order to keep up with the growing trends and still be able to put food on the table here are five helpful tips. Netflix/Hulu/Amazon/etc.-Whichever ways you choose to watch your TV shows or movies make sure you are buying one subscription. The best part about having an account with one of these companies is that you can put multiple devices on one account. So hop on your parents account and enjoy free streaming. You’re welcome. Unplug. Whenever you aren’t using your computer, cell phone charges, TVs, or anything else you have plugged into the walls at all times…unplug them. When you leave things plugged in you are still using energy or standby power. Not only will you electric bill go down each month but you will also be helping the environment. Skype/Text for free. There are plenty of different services out there that allow you to call and text for free. For example, HeyWire and TextNow allow you to text to anyone in the U.S. for free! Stop paying overages for data use with your i-Messaging and get these Apps today. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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).