الاثنين، 26 أغسطس 2019
BBMC Mortgage Rates Reviews: Today’s Best Analysis
BBMC Mortgage has worked alongside homebuyers across the country for just under ten years, yet in that short time, it’s earned a positive reputation as a national online lender.
The company offers a standard selection of home loan products, including conventional fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, along with government-backed programs like FHA, VA, and USDA. BBMC’s commitment to moderate-to low-income borrowers and homebuyers with limited credit histories makes it unique among its competitors. If you’re looking for a fully online home financing experience, BBMC has the financing options and streamlined interface you’re looking for.
BBMC was formally accredited by the Better Business Bureau in 2012, earning an A+ BBB rating for its customer-focused approach to home lending. Despite its strong performance, the company will soon be taken over by new management as part of an ongoing merger. Synergy One Lending acquired BBMC in 2018, which is an owned subsidiary of the Mutual of Omaha Bank.
This acquisition has caused a good deal of disruption to the company’s website, which will sometimes redirect users to Mutual of Omaha Bank. Overall, this business activity is not expected to impact BBMC’s product offerings or its origination process significantly.
BBMC Mortgage Facts
- Recently acquired by Synergy One Lending, an owned subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha Bank
- Offers a standard variety of conventional and government-backed mortgages, including fixed- and adjustable-rate, jumbo, FHA, VA, and USDA loans
- Website can be confusing to navigate due to BBMC’s ongoing merger
- Facilitates FHA loans with down payments as low as 3.5 percent
- Formally accredited by the Better Business Bureau in 2012, with a BBB score of A+
- Provides inadequate information on credit score requirements, down payment minimums, and debt-to-income standards on its website
Overview
BBMC Mortgage was founded in 2009 as a division of Bridgeview Bank Group, serving as its national home lending firm for almost 10 years. In 2018, BBMC reached a merger agreement with Synergy One Lending, an owned subsidiary of Mutual of Omaha Bank, and has begun transitioning its services and assets over the past year. BBMC is a mortgage banker that helps borrowers find affordable mortgage and refinance rates across all 50 states.
Current BBMC Mortgage Rates
BBMC Loan Specifics
BBMC offers a standard selection of conventional fixed and adjustable-rate mortgages, along with several government-backed programs, including FHA, VA, and USDA loans. This lender does not provide any specialty home loans for first-time homeowners, nor does it provide any discount programs. However, BBMC does excel in its commitment to help moderate-to-low income borrowers find affordable financing solutions and competitive interest rates.
Fixed-Rate Loans
This mortgage type is heavily geared toward homebuyers who plan to commit to a single property long term. Eligible borrowers can lock in consistent interest rates and monthly payments for the full life of the loan, which can be negotiated as 15 or 30 years.
Although fixed-rate loans typically feature higher interest rates than their adjustable-rate counterparts, they provide maximum stability. Fixed-rate mortgages will not fluctuate even during large-scale downturns in the housing market.
Adjustable-Rate Loans
In contrast to fixed-rate mortgages, this variable lending option features low starting rates that will automatically adjust after an initial rate-locked period. Borrowers can select a fixed-rate term of five, seven, or 10 years, during which their interest rates and monthly payments will not fluctuate.
Once the initial term has elapsed, adjustable-rate loans will adjust according to market performance. This makes it a solid choice for homebuyers looking to invest in property over the short term. This mortgage type is great for borrowers who plan to move within five years or who expect a significant income boost.
Jumbo Loans
This specialty loan helps homebuyers purchase properties that exceed the maximum conforming limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which currently stands around $484,350. This loan limit tends to vary between states and can range from $453,100 to $679,650 depending on the home’s precise location.
Due to the high loan amounts, jumbo mortgages typically feature strict eligibility guidelines. Lenders will heavily scrutinize your credit score, credit history, income, and employment status before moving forward with the origination process.
FHA Loans
Unlike conventional mortgages, this government-back program has low down payment minimums and flexible credit score requirements. FHA loans are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They were designed to help first-time homebuyers and borrowers with less-than-perfect credit histories obtain affordable home loans.
Qualified applicants can put as little as 3.5 percent down and are allowed to use gift funds toward upfront costs and closing fees. This mortgage program is particularly suited to low-to-moderate income borrowers and those without a robust credit history.
VA Loans
Eligible military veterans and service members can take advantage of this no money down home loan program, which is federally insured by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.
VA loans benefit from lower-than-average interest rates, monthly payment amounts, closing fees, and credit score requirements. To qualify, applicants must provide documentation concerning their military service. This 100 percent financing option is unique, as it does not require borrowers to secure mortgage insurance, regardless of how little they put down upfront.
USDA Loans
This government-backed mortgage type is tailored to moderate-to-low income borrowers who are interested in purchasing property in a rural or suburban area. Homebuyers who are unable to meet the qualification guidelines for conventional mortgages are encouraged to apply for a USDA loan. These home loans come with a 0 percent down payment option and flexible credit score requirements.
The United States Department of Agriculture launched this program to encourage homeownership in underdeveloped regions of the country. They created strict income limits to ensure low-income borrowers have priority access.
BBMC Mortgage Customer Experience
BBMC Mortgage is a nation-wide online lender with the stated focus of providing affordable interest rates to low-income borrowers, who may not be able to qualify for conventional loan programs. The company does not operate any physical branches, instead offering an entirely online loan application and origination process that is quick and easy.
Homebuyers interested in working with BBMC can contact a lending agent by phone, email, or by filling out a web form on the company’s website. If you’ve decided to partner with BBMC for your home financing needs, be sure to check out the company’s online pre-qualification feature, though personal information like name, address, phone number, and Social Security is required.
BBMC’s website is filled with useful resources that can help you come to a complete understanding of the mortgage process, including FAQ pages, timely articles, mortgage calculators, and a step-by-step guide to the application process. Borrowers can use the website to compare rates, browse home loan programs, or apply for a mortgage directly.
Unlike most lenders, BBMC is quite upfront about the impact of credit score and down payment amounts and lists many useful tips to help you during the negotiation process. Unfortunately, the company’s recent acquisition activity has made browsing its website a bit confusing, as many of the links will redirect you to Mutual of Omaha Mortgage’s website.
While most of the home loan products are identical, this website integration may disrupt your research and application efforts.
BBMC Lender Reputation
Although BBMC Mortgage will soon become a part of Synergy One Lending, the company built a markedly positive reputation during its short nine years of business. The BBB formally accredited BBMC in 2012 and awarded the company an A+ BBB rating. On the other hand, BBMC’s profile currently displays a 2.5-star customer review score with a total of 41 complaints filed against it.
- Information collected on Feb. 18, 2019
BBMC Mortgage Qualifications
|
Loan Type |
Rate Type |
Down Payment Minimum |
|
Fixed-Rate Loans |
Fixed |
10 – 20% |
|
Adjustable-Rate Loans |
Variable |
10 – 20% |
|
Jumbo Loans |
Fixed or Variable |
10 – 20% |
|
FHA Loans |
Fixed or Variable |
3.5% |
|
VA Loans |
Fixed or Variable |
0% |
|
USDA Loans |
Fixed |
0% |
BBMC Mortgage’s home loans feature a range of different eligibility guidelines, though there are a few areas of overlap that you should consider. For example, the company’s conventional fixed- and adjustable-rate mortgages have identical qualification criteria, as both require down payments of at least 10 to 20 percent.
Additionally, homebuyers must enroll in mortgage insurance for any down payment amount below 20 percent, which may lead to higher than expected monthly payments. Borrowers who are unable to make a large down payment should consider one of BBMC’s government-backed programs, as an FHA loan can be secured with as little as 3.5 percent down.
One limitation of shopping with this lender is the lack of specific credit score qualifications listed on the company’s website. BBMC’s rate estimates mention a score of 780+, which is well above industry standard. According to FICO, the average credit score sits at around 740, though some lenders are more than willing to work with borrowers who fall below this mark.
Luckily, eligible homebuyers can qualify for an FHA loan with credit scores as low as 500. As a result, their quoted interest rate will likely be well above average due to the associated financial risks. It is unclear whether BBMC considers non-traditional credit history when determining program eligibility or interest rates.
Another downside is that BBMC does not mention anything about loan-to-value criteria or debt-to-income standards, which may force borrowers to apply to find out more formally. Information on this lender’s government-backed programs can be found on the corresponding agency’s website, so be sure to do a good deal of research before applying.
BBMC Mortgage is best suited to moderate-to-low income borrowers and those that may not be eligible for traditional home loans from other lenders. The impact of the company’s acquisition by the Mutual of Omaha Bank is still to be determined. It is likely the merger will not significantly change its products or its approach to online lending.
BBMC Phone Number & Additional Details
Homepage URL: https://www.mybbmc.com/
Company Phone: 1-800-247-2837
Headquarters Address: 100 W. 22nd St. Suite 101, Lombard, IL 60148
The post BBMC Mortgage Rates Reviews: Today’s Best Analysis appeared first on Good Financial Cents®.
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It’s National Dog Day — Here Are Ways to Make Pet Ownership Less Pricy
News flash: Today is National Dog Day!
If this esteemed holiday escaped your notice as you were setting out the water bowl and kibble this morning, you might consider picking up a bag of treats on your way home. We all know the price of forgetting important dates and anniversaries with loved ones, and frankly, there’s no more wounding side eye than canine side eye.
While you’re celebrating your love for the four-legged friend in your life, you might be thinking about how rewarding dog ownership is. How fulfilling. How endearing. How sweet.
And how expensive.
But there are legit ways to save money on your dog — or cat, bird, fish, snake or emotional support ferret. Here are a few.
Quick and Easy Ways to Save Money on Your Pet
1. Join Pet Store Loyalty Clubs
Signing up with programs like PetSmart’s Treats loyalty program and Pet Supermarket’s VIP Rewards can pay off in the form of deals and discounts on items like food and services like pet washes. If you prefer to shop local, independent pet stores offer their own frequent customer rewards.
2. Use Discounted Gift Cards
You can buy discounted gift cards on a number of websites. Most carry cards for more than one pet supply chain.
For example, you’ll find Petco on ABC Gift Cards.
3. Watch for Pet Food Sales
Every pet owner — and pet — has their preferred food brand, and the high-quality ones aren’t cheap.
But even the best pet foods go on sale, so why not stock up when it costs less?
You can find weekly ads for pet supply retailers online. You can also link your email address to your customer loyalty card to get sales alerts.
Check out this handy list for even more ways to save money on your pet.
Get Smart about Pet Insurance
Unexpected vet bills can be the most expensive part of having a pet in the family.
Pet insurance for dogs, cats and even birds can keep the costs of pet care reasonable. While the monthly premiums are an additional expense on top of food, toys, treats and grooming, pet insurance is worth it for medical emergencies, especially serious illnesses or injuries.
Like all insurance, it’s a gamble. You will likely spend more over the course of your animal’s life on monthly premiums than the cost of regular veterinary care if your pet is healthy.
But if your best friend is dealt a bad hand, it’s reassuring to know you have insurance to take care of the problems.
Here’s how to choose the best insurance for your pet.
Thinking of Adopting? Read On
If National Dog Day has you thinking (again) that you really do want to bring a pet into your home, it’s worth considering which breeds are generally the healthiest, and therefore less likely to run up big vet bills.
You can, of course, work to keep your dog healthy by feeding it a well-balanced diet with a top-rated food, giving it plenty of exercise, socializing and playing with it regularly and keeping up on vet visits, vaccinations and medications.
To further reduce potential medical costs for your dog, you can adopt a breed that is specifically known for having fewer medical problems during its life. (Just keep in mind that there is never a guarantee.)
Check out our rundown of dog breeds known for having low medical costs throughout their lives.
Turn Your Love of Dogs into a Money-Making Venture
Don’t just save money on your own pet. Make money by loving on all the pets!
You can start a dog-walking side gig by offering your services to friends and family who don’t have the summers off. They may jump at the chance for someone to take their beloved pups out for a walk on long work days.
You can also sign up for Rover. The online network connects dog walkers and sitters to local dog owners through its 4.9-star-rated app, so you don’t have to staple flyers on every utility pole across town.
Rover says top sitters earn an average $450 per month.
Rover dog-sitter requirements vary by location. In general, you must:
- Be 18 years or older.
- Pass a background check.
- Have access to the Rover app (iOS or Android).
Here’s how it works: You’ll create an online sitter profile where you’ll answer questions about your experience with puppers and your schedule availability.
You can choose to offer a variety of services, including dog walking, overnight boarding at your home or theirs, and daycare. Boarding is the app’s most popular service, so offering it can get you more gigs. You set your own rates. (Rover keeps a small percentage as a service fee.)
Dog owners will reach out to you. Accept which gigs you want, then start snugglin’ pups. As soon as you complete a service, you’ll be paid within two days.
And if you don’t want to just stick to dog walking, you can expand your services and become a full-blown pet sitter.
Molly Moorhead is a senior editor at The Penny Hoarder.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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Questions About FAFSA, Lunch Containers, Robocalls, Philosophy, Comic Sans, and More!
What’s inside? Here are the questions answered in today’s reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question.
1. College and parental assets
2. Best containers for simple lunches
3. Playing the lottery
4. Envelope budgeting without cash
5. Workplace ending 401(k) program
6. Planning ahead for upcoming move
7. Recommended squirt bottle for shower
8. Annoyed by robocalls
9. Time management, philosophy, and money
10. Coworker uses Comic Sans
11. Old magazine conundrum
12. Good audio for sleep?
Last week’s mailbag was kind of a downer, with several heavy questions about families and lives in disarray. As a counterbalance, this week’s mailbag is intentionally filled with some lighter questions about more positive situations, product suggestions, and a couple of really lighthearted things near the end. In the future, I’ll aim to make sure mailbags are more balanced.
On with the questions!
Q1: College and parental assets
My daughter is 12. My wife and I have a lot of money in various investment accounts and are wondering already about college. We have been saving in a 529 for her to pay for some of her college but we want her to be responsible for some of it too. However, we are pretty certain that our investments will make her ineligible for student aid. What should we do going forward?
– Mark
It depends upon what kind of student aid you’re hoping to get. If you want your daughter to be eligible for grants and other need-based financial aid, you’re going to have to move that money into assets that aren’t considered in the FAFSA, like retirement accounts and your primary home.
On the other hand, if you’re hoping that your daughter will be responsible for her part through merit-based scholarships and student loans and you plan on co-signing on those loans, your income level largely won’t matter. You’ll still have to fill out the FAFSA, but your financial aid awards will be very loan-heavy rather than grant-heavy.
The question is whether the difference is worth it to you. Do you want to tie up your investment funds in a home or in retirement accounts? If that’s not a problem for you, then doing this will definitely improve your daughter’s chances of getting grants, which will reduce the amount of actual post-college debt she has. If it is a problem for you, leaving the money where it is won’t prevent your daughter from going to school or put you in a financial pickle.
Without a much clearer financial picture, I can’t even begin to guess which choice would leave you and your daughter collectively in a better financial position ten years from now, and even if I did, there would be a lot of guesswork and predicting the future involved.
Q2: Best containers for simple lunches
What do you suggest for containers for simple lunches, usually a sandwich and some carrots and an apple and maybe some chips, and once in a while some leftovers? I have a little reusable lunchbox and I have a leftover container that I use for leftovers but I just use baggies for the others and that seems wasteful.
– Daisy
Pretty much any reusable sandwich sized container will work for a sandwich, and two more can hold your carrots and chips. Assuming you’re not wanting to carry anything that needs to be completely watertight (meaning it’s holding liquid and might wind up upside down), pretty much any container of that size will do. The items you’ll find at the dollar store will be perfect for this.
If you intend to just start using reusable containers for everything, I strongly suggest just getting a lot of the same type so that there are no issues with matching lids to containers and you know everything works. Just get a bunch of these in two different sizes, or else go to the dollar store and get a bunch of identical containers in an appropriate size. Don’t mix up the container types or you’ll just have headaches.
Personally, we’ve started to spend more on containers in order to get ones that have tight fitting lids and are microwave, dishwasher, and freezer safe and very, very reusable. We’re trying to gradually migrate all of our containers to the same model for lid consistency, and we’ve decided on Rubbermaid Brilliance.
Q3: Playing the lottery
My grandpa has bought a lottery ticket twice a week since at least the 1980s. I was figuring up how much money he had spent on lottery tickets since 1985 and if he bought a $1 ticket twice a week for those 34 years, he’d have $3,500, and if he invested that money each year in pretty much anything, he’d easily have $10,000. I brought this up to him and he had a great answer. He said that he didn’t play the lottery as any kind of investment, but as something fun to look forward to. He got to chat with the cashier at the gas station where he always bought his ticket. He got to daydream about having a chance to win enough money to change his life and help his kids and grandkids. He got to look up the numbers each Sunday and Wednesday morning and see if he won. And he actually did win a couple of thousand several years ago, so that actually took care of most of the $3,500. While I think playing the lottery is a waste of money, that actually is a pretty good answer and I wanted to share it with you.
– Brian
This is a good story, and it makes the point that lottery tickets fall into the same category as the short-lasting treats that we buy for ourselves. Is this really any different than spending $5 on a coffee at a kiosk, or buying a pack of gum in the checkout? You’re basically spending money for a burst of pleasure and then it’s gone.
In the end, that’s what this guy’s grandpa is doing, too. He’s spending a few bucks a week on a burst of pleasure, and then it’s gone.
The important thing is to realize that it’s not the lottery ticket or the coffee itself that’s problematic, it’s that we often get into routines of relying on those bursts of pleasure in a continuous cycle, like a treadmill. We’re wired that way for survival (this is why food tastes good), but when you’re spending money to stay on that treadmill, you’re asking for financial trouble. The best approach is to make sure that a lot of those bursts of pleasure are free ones so that the whole thing doesn’t become a road to financial ruin.
It sounds like your grandpa has enjoyed those lottery tickets. Sure, he might have been better off seeking out free bursts of pleasure, but this one’s not that bad in the big scheme of things. It only becomes problematic if the amount he’s spending starts to escalate.
Q4: Envelope budgeting without cash
Love the idea of envelope budgeting but I just use my debit card for everything. How can envelope system work without cash?
– Erika
You can basically do the same thing by making up a handful of small sheets for each category that you would have an envelope for.
Let’s say that you were going to do the “envelope” system and you had one envelope for rent, one envelope for car expenses, one for utilities, one for food, and one for fun. (This is hypothetical.) If you were doing the full envelope system, you’d put a certain amount of cash in each, then pull cash only from that envelope if you had an expense for that purpose. So, if you needed to pay rent, the cash comes from the rent envelope.
If you’re not using cash, the money stays in your checking account and instead of an envelope for each category, you have a sheet. On each sheet, you start off the month with a total – you might write, say, “Food, Total: $400.” Whenever you want to spend money on food, you look at that food page and ask yourself how much you can spend right now. If you decide to spend $50 at the store on food, you write “Groceries, -$50” and then next to that you’d write your new total, which would be $350 if this was your first food expense of the month.
Basically, each “envelope” transforms into a tally of spending in each category. You just have to work on the habit of not spending money unless you’ve written it down on one of those sheets first.
Q5: Workplace ending 401(k) program
It was recently announced that our workplace will be ending the 401(k) program at the end of the year. I consider such a plan to be a nice workplace benefit. How much value should I assign to this if I were to negotiate a raise or move to another employer? I’m going to start a Roth IRA next year but this just feels like a salary cut.
– Jon
If your workplace wasn’t matching any of your contributions and your total contributions each year are less than what you could contribute to a Roth IRA (around $100 a week), it’s not going to make much of a financial impact.
Where it might really matter is if you were contributing more than $100 a week to the 401(k) plan or, even more than that, if the employer was offering matching funds. Obviously, the value of any matching funds is a direct loss, but there’s also a small loss if you no longer have a place for some of your intended retirement savings.
This would not be a “quit my job” change, but it would slightly negatively shade my current job, and I would definitely consider any loss in matching funds as equivalent to a loss in salary. As someone who was actually using the 401(k), I would definitely bring it up the next time you ask for a raise. If your boss doesn’t take this into account, it can be another reason – but shouldn’t be the only reason, by far – to consider shopping around for another job.
Q6: Planning ahead for upcoming move
I am planning on moving from Minneapolis to Chicago in November. I will be moving to a similarly sized apartment so I plan on taking a lot of my stuff along. I have a friend coming to help me move. What can I start doing now to keep costs low?
– Gerald
First of all, start hunting for large, sturdy cardboard boxes. Ask at local stores for extra shipping boxes – ask at several stores now, then hit some more in a month or so. This will keep you from buying boxes when it gets close to moving time.
Start packing stuff now, especially stuff you won’t actively need in the next two months. Use found materials as you go as packing materials – if you come across bubble wrap and cheap packing paper and other things, use that for packing as you go along. Again, this will save you on last minute purchases.
Depending on how many larger pieces of furniture you’re moving, a simple U-Haul truck will probably handle the move for you. I strongly recommend getting it the day before you move and loading it in advance so you can get an early start the next day or you have some breathing room to handle an issue. Give yourself more time than you need. Have your friend drive the truck, or you can drive the truck while your friend drives your car behind it.
Those strategies will save you a ton over various other approaches to moving. The more that you can do yourself, and the more moving supplies you can come up with for free, the cheaper the whole thing will be.
Also, thank your friend profusely, cover all of your friend’s food and drink during this process, and give that friend a nice thank you gift for this effort.
Q7: Recommended squirt bottle for shower
You’ve mentioned a couple of times that you use a squirt bottle for liquid soap in the shower to keep yourself from overuse. Thought about that this morning when I saw a bunch of excess soap going down the drain when I squirted some on my hand! Got a bottle recommendation?
– Adrian
I use two of these. One holds liquid soap, the other holds the shampoo-conditioner mix that I use. Whenever I buy a new big bottle of liquid soap or shampoo at the store, I just refill this pump dispenser. Works like a champ. I use a single squirt at a time and rarely waste any at all.
I will mention that I have a friend that swears by this mounted dispenser that has three different dispensers in one unit. You mount it on your shower wall and then just push a button of the right type to dispense soap, shampoo, or conditioner. I am very hesitant to switch to this because if I’m not literally screwing this to the side of the shower, I wouldn’t trust it to bear the weight of the soap, shampoo, and conditioner it would hold.
I think both will work fine, but I prefer the standalone bottles. Get three if you use a separate shampoo and conditioner.
Q8: Annoyed by robocalls
Do you have any tips for dealing with annoying robocalls? Both me and my mom get these calls from random numbers that say that our Social Security number has been terminated and there is a warrant out for our arrest, which is obviously nonsense, but I’m so sick of getting the calls. How do you get them to stop?
– Thomas
The best advice I can give is to talk to your phone provider. I’m assuming this is occurring on your cell phone, so call your cell phone provider and ask if they have any tools that can help with this.
If they don’t have any tools, the best thing you can do is just spend some time ignoring any calls that aren’t from known numbers. Make sure that you have everyone you know or who might call you in your contacts list and when there’s a call that’s not a known contact, just ignore it.
It’s very annoying, but there is no simple solution. Eventually, however, they’ll stop wasting time calling you if you’re not answering because it’s a small but real waste of their resources.
Q9: Time management, philosophy, and money
I find it interesting that you write about things like time management and philosophy on a personal finance site. The connection seems thin at best to me. I’d love to see a post talking about it.
– Eric
I don’t think there’s a full post in this subject, but there are certainly a few paragraphs.
For starters, I think about frugality in terms of managing all of the resources we have in life, not just money. Frugality means getting the most benefit out of something based on the amount of resources you invest in it. That means your money, obviously, but also your time, your energy, your health, your skills, and your focus, among other things. Having good habits for managing each of those often means that you are more efficient at applying them and, over time, it feels like you have more of them to spend.
For example, if I’m more focused during my workday, I’m done with my work much earlier in the day, which means that I have time to make a healthy, homemade meal for my family, which is much cheaper than ordering takeout or delivery (and healthier, too). I’m spending more focus and less time on my workday, which means that I have more time later in the day for other things. When I have more time available, I can do things like make dinner, which eats more time but costs much less money and hones my kitchen skills. I think all of that comes together in making a good life – it’s about finding the right balance of using all of those resources you have to maximum effect. In the modern world, I think the average person struggles with their “money” resource the most, but there is a lot of struggle with time and attention, too, and they’re all related.
Thus, I’ll occasionally write about time management practices that work for me, like using a task manager, and about focus practices that work for me, like meditation and writing in a journal and making checklists. Those things vastly improve my usage of non-money resources so that I can be much more thoughtful about my money use.
All of this is pointless, of course, if you don’t have a purpose behind it. Why am I not just playing video games all day long? Why do I want to retire early? The “why” of all of this is the philosophical part. Not only does it tie into motivation for our actions, it also delves into the broader purpose and reasoning for the things that we do. Why do I choose to save for the long term rather than spending it all in the short term? Why don’t I sell all of my possessions and live in a van? In many ways, those questions are pure philosophy, and everyone is going to have their own answer, but I’ve found that the better you understand your own answer to those big “why” questions, the more it impacts the choices and decisions you make every day. Knowing that there are real reasons for why I’m saving for the long term, and knowing those reasons with depth, makes it easier to make strong personal finance choices every day.
So, when you see articles about time management on here, or about things like meditation, or when I get very philosophical, these are the kinds of things that I’m driving at. It’s all about using the resources we have in life to do things that truly mean something to all of us, and there’s no easy path to get there. It’s a journey I’m on – it’s a journey we’re all on.
Q10: Coworker uses Comic Sans
I have an older coworker who uses Comic Sans font in all of his emails and documents. I know that he does it to seem friendly and approachable, but it comes off as unprofessional especially when emailing customers and several people in the office make fun of it. Is there a tactful way to talk to him about this? He’s a great guy and I know he’s sincere and I don’t want to hurt his feelings.
– Mary
I think the best way to approach this is to suggest the idea of having a “best practices” document about things to do when talking to customers. One of the items could be an appropriate professional font choice for customer emails and include some recommended fonts (or even choose a standard font for your organization). That way, your coworker is nudged into switching to a different font for customer mail and there’s a good likelihood he’ll just start using it on all emails. (My approach is usually to just send plain text emails anyway, so the recipient can use whatever font they want to display it, and it’s easier for some accessibility issues.)
As for the office joking, as long as it isn’t cruel, I wouldn’t worry about it. The humor is likely more oriented toward the sometimes-less-than-respectable nature of Comic Sans in a professional environment than toward your coworker. If the jokes are mostly limited to the font, don’t sweat it; if it’s bleeding into more general insults about the person, then there’s a bigger problem.
I think the best approach here is to just go with establishing a standard for customer and perhaps in-house communication, and that includes font selection. This just makes the business as a whole look more professional and should solve this issue entirely.
Q11: Old magazine conundrum
I have a ton of cooking magazines that I’ve saved but I haven’t touched in years but when I think about tossing them I get worried that I’m going to toss some recipes that I really want to make.
– Adrian
This was part of a much longer email on subjects that probably weren’t a good fit for the mailbag, but I thought this was worth responding to.
If you have a ton of old magazines, just set aside a day to deal with some of them. Grab a big pile of them, sit down, look at the table of contents of each one, and ask yourself if you’ll ever have any reason to look at any of this again. If you can’t immediately say yes, toss it. If you do immediately say yes, tear out the pages for that specific article, put them aside, and toss the rest.
If you have a bunch of saved pages at the end, just get a three hole punch and put them all in a three ring binder. That way, your huge magazine collection boils down to a small binder of stuff that’s actually relevant to you.
Q12: Good audio for sleep?
Recently moved and I’m now in a very quiet neighborhood. Used to live in a noisy area with cars driving by all night and occasional sirens and stuff. Now it’s too quiet and I can’t sleep so I’m reading The Simple Dollar at 2 AM.
– Derek
My suggestion is to find some audio that’s similar to the neighborhood where you used to live. For example, you might find this hour-long track of ambient city noise to be useful. Turn it up to an appropriate volume on a speaker across the room as you’re going to bed, or play it on your phone next to your head. Here’s a similar two hour track.
If you have Spotify, you might try playing this compilation in a repeat loop as you sleep.
What I would do is that I would do this for several nights, and then lower the volume by a couple of percent the next night, then leave it at that new volume for several nights, then lower it again, and again, and again, so that you gradually adjust to the new quieter sounds of your neighborhood. It’s the radical shift in sound that’s probably making the change difficult.
Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. I’ll attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours.
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