Monthly Archives: November 2013

MoneyAhoy.com – October Update

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Derek Chamberlain

MoneyAhoy.com – October Update

I’ve returned with the latest MoneyAhoy article update.  Here I’ll discuss posts that I published for the month of October.  This should catch you up on the progress that I’ve been making over there.  Some of these are great reads, check them out:

• Progressive Snapshot Review – This is a review article where I discuss how you can save up to 30% on your car insurance by signing up for Progressive’s Snapshot program.  It is a little electronic device that you plug into your car’s dataport.  It tracks your speed, miles driven, and how many times you slam on the brakes to calculate your savings.
• Book Review – A Random Walk Down Wall Street – This is a great book that I highly recommend you check out.  It covers just about any stock picking strategy under the sun and shows why you’ll be best off by investing in low fee market index funds.  Definitely put it on your reading list if you’re looking to start or improve on your investing.
• The Money Saving Master Table – Here I compile all of my actionable money saving articles in one table that you can sort based on difficulty to implement, savings, time to complete, and savings per hour.  It can really help you focus on where you should be saving.
• Saving Money versus Making Money – Here I discuss whether it is more important to save money or make money.
• Give Yourself a Haircut – A post on how you can give yourself a haircut using clippers to save ~$100 a year.  A good money saving practice for the adventurous.
• Book Review – I Will Teach You to Be Rich – A second book review for the month of October.  I really enjoyed this book as well.  It’s a little more suited towards beginners of personal finance, but the second half gets more down into the details.  I highly recommend it!
• Free Book Giveaway – FlexScore – The first giveaway I hosted on the MoneyAhoy.com website.  The giveaway was marginally successful (gave away five out of ten books).  It was fun to learn how to use rafflecopter.
• How to Get Paid for Your Hobby – Here I discuss how you can enjoy your hobby and get paid for it at the same time.  A pretty cool read.

So, there you have it – eight articles in total for October.  I hope you check some of them out – I’m sure you’ll find something helpful.

MoneyAhoy.com – September Update

Posted on November 13, 2013 by Derek Chamberlain

MoneyAhoy.com – September Update

Back again with another MoneyAhoy progress update.  This time I’ll be talking about posts that I made in September.  Again, I’m catching up on my backlog here as I’ve fallen several months behind on posting these updates.  Here are the articles I created for the month of September:

• Quit World of Warcraft Today – This posts talks about how my son and I quit World of Warcraft and now save $30 a month in subscription fees.
• The Best Dividend Paying Stocks – August 2013 Recap – Here I cover the performance of some of the recommended stocks from the Best Dividend series in August.  I show that over the past month they outperformed the S&P by ~4%!  Not too bad, huh?
• Yard Sale Deals – August 2013 – This month for yard sale deals again we saved more than $300!  I finally found a great sub-woofer, and we also got a boat load of young reader books for my son.  Did I mention that I love yard sales?
• Life Insurance and Short Term Disability Insurance Recap – This post brings a lot of the work I put in to save on life insurance and short term disability insurance.  All in all, we ended up saving nearly $1,500 a year by getting rid of extra insurance that we did not really need.  I highly recommend checking this article out, as it applies to almost everyone.
• Yard Sale Arbitrage – Vera Bradley Purses – Here I cover a simple money making idea of buying Vera Bradley purses at yard sales for ~$3 and reselling them on ebay for ~$15-$25.  It works well, and you can generate ~300% return on your money by doing this.  The only problem is that I haven’t figured out yet how to scale it up to make a fortune.
• Car Downsizing – How I Got a Free Corolla – Here I cover the long process of finding a used car that will actual pay for itself through its increased fuel efficiency.  Switching from a Camry to a Corolla will actually save me more than $1,000 a year!

There you have it!  Only six articles for September, but they were some really great ones.  I ended up making some changes and putting things in place to save more than $2,500 a year.  So, I’m not complaining 🙂

MoneyAhoy.com – August Update

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Derek Chamberlain

MoneyAhoy.com – August Update

Here we are again with the next update to MoneyAhoy progress.  I’m trying to crank out a bunch of these updates since I haven’t had the chance to update things for a couple of months here.  Here’s a brief rundown of the posts for August at MoneyAhoy:

•  Best Dividend Paying Stocks – Part-2 – In this next part of the Best Dividend Paying Stocks series, we explore the risk spectrum and where dividend paying stocks fall.
• Best Dividend Paying Stocks – Part-3 – In the final part of the Best Dividend Paying Stocks series, I explore actual methods for identifying the best dividend paying stocks to purchase.  I also give some concrete examples to pick.
• Save Money on Cable – How To Watch Cable TV for Free By Switching to Online TV – This article has been one of the most popular over at MoneyAhoy.com.  This covers some cable alternatives available on the internet that one can use to watch cable TV shows.
• How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? – This article details some of my thoughts on determining just how much life insurance you need depending on your own personal situation.  Definitely one to check out if you haven’t already.
• Ensure You’re Not Over Insured – Here I go into detailed calculations to show you how to determine the specific amount of life insurance that you need depending on your situation.  I was surprised to find that I was vastly over-insured for my current situation – maybe you’ll find the same for yourself.
• Selling a Blog or Business – When is the Right Time? – Here I cover Jim Wang’s story of the blog he developed called www.Bargaineering.com that he sold for $3.5 million!  It’s a great read if you haven’t heard the story before.
• Do You Need Short Term Disability Insurance? – This article covers which types of folks need to purchase short term disability insurance.  My wife had this, and we came to the conclusion that it was entirely unnecessary for our situation.
• Book Review – The Art of the Start – A book review for the book I had to read for MBA class entitled The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki.

So, that’s a pretty good list of posts for August.  Traffic at MoneyAhoy.com is starting to increase with all the article available there.  I’m pleased with that 🙂  See you soon for the September update.

MoneyAhoy.com – July Update

Posted on November 12, 2013 by Derek Chamberlain

MoneyAhoy.com – July Update

Wow – it’s been a super long time since I’ve updated things here.  Let me give a brief update of the posts for July with a short description of each one.  There were eight in total for July:

•  How to Setup a Blog for Fun and Profit – I run down the different types of blogs, blog services, and created a special video that shows you how to setup your own blog with custom hosting in less than 5 minutes.
• Yard Sale Deals – 7/6/13 – I cover some awesome deals that I found at various yard sales.  All in all I saved $366!
• Does High Deductible Car or Home Insurance Actually Save you Money? – This article covers the in’s and out’s of high deductible insurance versus low deductible insurance.  You’ll be surprised to find that high deductible car insurance can actually cost you more in the long run…
• Teaching Your Kids How to Make Money – I discuss an example of how I helped my kids run a lemonade stand as a way to teach them how to make money and achieve their goals.
• Debt: Instant Gratification With a Hangover – Here I discuss how debt is for folks with zero patience.  There is almost always a bad aftertaste…
• The Quest to Save on Car and Home Insurance – This article recalls how I was able to save $475 a year by switching my car and home insurance from State Farm to Progressive.
• Quick Money Saving Tips for Car and Home Insurance Savings – This post covers some tips I learned on my journey to save on car and home insurance premiums.
• Best Dividend Paying Stocks – Part-1 – What is a dividend and where does it come from?  Read this article to find out!

Well, that’s about it for the July update.  As you can see, I was pretty busy coming up with some great ways to save money.  Head on over to MoneyAhoy.com for more money saving, making money, and investment ideas!