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One of the primary things that any investor or trader does before investing in Bitcoins is learning about the Bitcoin Wallet. In this article, we will help you with tips to store bitcoin. We will also look at addressing some important questions on wallets like-
The topic of mental health is no stranger to this blog. For our family, the debt freedom journey has been very much so a mental journey but it has been nothing like the mental journey we’ve been through the past few months. (And we were homeless at one point.) I knew if it was impacting me so significantly, it had to be having a huge impact nationwide. So, I decided to take a look at COVID-19 and mental health.
There are a lot of things that can come up when you are urged to spend most of your time indoors. For many people, depression is one of the first things that starts to set in. In general, humans are social. Most folks look forward to human interaction. So, without it, it is easy to start to get depressed.
For individuals with pre-existing mental health disorders, the threat of a mental breakdown during this time is even higher. Add the struggles of the COVID-19 era into that, and you have the perfect recipe for personal disaster.
“We’re talking about a population that struggles with being housed, being able to feed themselves, being able to take care of medical issues, having enough of an income,” Dr. Fumi Mitsuishi told Healthline.
I struggle with anxiety and depression anyway (typically seasonal), but this entire ordeal has had me out of sorts. I’ve noted more mood changes recently and definitely more low/sad points. It hasn’t been a fun time and my life hasn’t changed that much.
There were a number of things I was looking forward to that were canceled (two stand-up shows, one concert, two trips). We also weren’t able to celebrate our first wedding anniversary the way we would’ve liked. Also, because we are stuck in a 500 square-foot studio apartment, we spend a lot of time right on top of each other.
But, we have a lot to be thankful for. We’re able to get by financially and we are both in good health. However, it is so easy to slip into depression or even fall back into bad habits with everything going on in the world.
No one should let COVID-19 and mental health take over their lives. If you need help, there are resources available to you.
Remember, your own mental health and well-being is the most important thing. This will pass with time and you will come out on the other side stronger. Readers, how are you dealing with COVID-19 and mental health?
Jobless claims in the United States have reached more than 6.5 million as of last week due to layoffs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, many people are falling behind on their bills, despite the stimulus package. In our home, our monthly income has been sliced in half, leaving us picking and choosing what bills get paid now.
If you’ve been keeping up-to-date with our financial journey, you know we just recently established our $1,000 emergency fund (again). Well, due to my husband’s layoff, we needed to use a chunk of that to cover expenses of moving his tools and covering bills. After doing that in March, we are re-evaluating how we are going to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic financially.
Initially, I was just going to maintain all of my payments across the board, but that leaves us essentially paycheck-to-paycheck (which is a little iffy in the current environment). However, after seeing our EF drained, I reconsidered that and decided to take a break from 2 larger monthly payments just to refund our emergency savings. Having cash saved and on-hand right now would provide our household with some peace of mind.
That being said, my student loan is under forbearance until September and my car company is giving me a three-month break from payments. This will allow us to bank $768 each month for the next three months, which will be a nice emergency savings fund.
For us, having that buffer cash on hand is going to be key in keeping us financially stress-free during this time. Believe me, the last thing you want to do is to be stuck in the house with your spouse fighting about money. You may be thinking, “well, we HAVE to make payments on the credit card, car, etc.” That may not be entirely true.
Many companies are offering breaks on payments or lower payments in order to help individuals impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. Call and discuss your options with each business. Get your bills as low as possible.
If your available cash still doesn’t cover what’s due, consider what you need. Tiffany Aliche, aka the Budgetnista, told NPR in an interview, “then I would ask myself, is this something that I must pay for because I have to maintain my health and my safety? That comes first and foremost.”
So, if it doesn’t pertain to your health and safety right now and you don’t have it, take a breath. It is important to remember what you do and do not control at a time like this.
This photo will be us for a while: at home. Unfortunately, many of our plans have been put on hold, postponed, or canceled for the next few months. It is not yet clear whether some events will be refunded or not (I wish!).
We’ve put plans to visit home (Charlotte) on hold indefinitely. Hopefully, by mid-May, we can decide on a solid date to re-plan that trip. On top of that, just about everything else has been postponed or canceled in some form. This will likely help save us money and, in the long run, staying home will too.
I’ve thankfully been able to continue working because I’ve worked remotely for more than five years. That isn’t to say being indoors isn’t driving us a little crazy! We have been able to find ways to stay busy though.
I, for one, have been cooking a LOT. We recently discovered Sam the Cooking Guy on YouTube and his videos have me looking in my pantry to see what I have and what I can make. Here’s one of his quarantine recipes…
When we aren’t doing those two things, I’m fully reaping the benefits of some of our subscription services. Amazon has a plethora of free Audible books, Kindle reads, and things to watch right now. I’ve listened to about six books in the past week and a half (ha!).
No matter what you do to keep busy, it is important to stay inside and stay healthy. Remember, you have options when it comes to your finances. The most important thing is your health. Stay well.
The crypto-currencies are digital gold. The Blockchain will be the main tool in the finance sector from 2020, according to experts. Such data storage and data transmission technology is already becoming the mainstream in financial applications. Many affirm that money will flow through blockchains in the very near future, something that was also recently highlighted in the framework of the Moneyconf event by the new director for Spain of Circle, José María Cobian. [Read more…]
Over the past month or so, the world has gotten pretty crazy. Most people aren’t leaving their homes and tens of thousands of people have died due to the coronavirus outbreak. Because of stay-at-home orders and businesses suffering, many people have also been laid off. This includes my husband. So, needless to say, there are some changes happening to our debt freedom journey (again).
This photo depicts how we are feeling about being stuck in the house (but seriously).
Besides going a little stir crazy being inside, there has also been a profound financial impact on our family, and many others. We are lucky enough to have one of us still working and we are able to get by on that, thankfully. However, my husband being out of work again is going to put a little damper on our bet freedom progress.
We will only be able to make minimum payments over the next few months. I have also chosen to take a forbearance on my student loans during this time to help ease financial stress in our home.
But, that’s honestly okay. We are both healthy, able to pay our bills, and staying at home a little more may help us save a bit, eh?
One small financial win we had in March is we paid off an account, which will free up about $106 per month. For now, we will bank that extra cash to re-establish some additional emergency savings.
Thankfully, the impact on us is minimal compared to how others are being affected. We will recover from this fairly easily, even though it will put a damper on any big debt payoff progress.
I think the biggest thing to remember for everyone right now is you aren’t going through this alone. Everyone in the world is dealing with this. Hopefully, when all is said and done, it will bring the people of the world a little closer together.
Readers, how have your finances been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak? How are you dealing with it?
If you need financial help at this time, the government is putting together programs to assist individuals with recovering from the pandemic. Read more about the CARES Act on SavingAdvice.com.
As more people shop online, price matching and comparing prices seems a little easier. But what happens when an item goes on sale after you’ve purchased it? Paribus will help you get a refund and put that money back into your pocket.
Sound too good to be true? I thought so too. In the one week that I used Paribus, I shopped online exclusively. Before I get into the nitty gritty, I’ll tell you how much I saved…a whopping $12. Now, this may not seem like much to you, but my Paribus review isn’t just about the money that I’ve saved.
So what exactly is Paribus? Paribus is a website and app that monitors your purchases through your email and alerts you when an item that you bought drops in price. In return, they will file a price adjustment on your behalf and give you a refund.
This means the app can be a real way to save money if you primarily shop online. But is it worth it if you don’t? Let’s discuss the upsides first.
What are some pros for Paribus?
Free To Use
Paribus is free to use. They don’t charge you to sign up. So, there is no financial cost to having the app on your smartphone.
Ease Of Use
I was pleased to see how easy Paribus was to use. Both the sign up process was easy and the apps interface was smooth and intuitive. All I did was enter in my email. In less than 5 minutes I was ready to save money! The great thing about Paribus is that it basically does all of the work for you.
If you are someone that hates checking for deals, Paribus could become your new best friend. Once it is installed, you don’t have to worry about checking around and trying to find rock bottom prices. Instead, Paribus will check everything on your behalf, and you’ll still the see the savings. Cool, right?
Savings
In my one week of using Paribus, I saved $12. I knew I would be testing out the service for my Paribus review, so I saved all of my purchases for test week. So, I bought an electric hand mixer, a new rocking chair, and a semi-expensive coat to prepare for next winter. I also bought a few household items, as well as pantry staples.
In all, I paid around $250 and saved $12. Considering the fact that I only gave the app a week to work, I’m satisfied with the savings. If I let it continue to monitor my purchases, I should see more savings in the future.
Works Well With Retailers
Besides a slight mishap with Amazon, I was able to use Paribus with just about every retailer! Here are all the stores Paribus works with. The stores are subject to change.
Despite being easy to use and a proven money saver, Paribus does have some downsides that merit mentioning.
Availability
Paribus is not currently available on Android. I’m an avid Android user. When I first went searching for the Paribus app, I couldn’t find it. Thinking I made a mistake, I did some research online. I found that an app had been released for Android, but was removed by the time I tried to use it.
This is one of the biggest cons in my Paribus review, mainly because I use my phone a lot. I like the idea of having it on my phone and getting notifications when I’ve saved money. The good thing is that I can easily use this app on my computer. If you are an iPhone user, you can get the app for free on the app store.
Sign Up Options
If you are wary of giving someone access to your email, Paribus may not be the app for you. The app monitors your receipts by using your email. It then scans the receipts you receive and keeps the items stored so it can know when they drop in price.
Giving Paribus access to my email didn’t bother me at all, but I understand there are some people that are more private about their information, which is why I’m adding this as a con for my Paribus review.
So there you have it, my Paribus review! Overall, I think Paribus is an easy way to save some cash on purchases that you make online. As long as you are comfortable sharing your information and can work around the fees, you will enjoy this app!
If you want to sign up for Paribus please use this link. It will help us keep bringing you amazing content on this site. 🙂
Many of us struggle with saving money. If you are one that cannot seem to save money a 52-week challenge can be just the thing to teach you the discipline to be a better saver. But what is the 52 week money challenge and how can it save you a ton of money?
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When I was pregnant with my first child people would always ask if we knew what we were having. “We are having a little girl!” I would say excitedly. “Oh gosh! Bless your heart! Good luck, she’s going to break the bank.” This is what people would say to us all the time. And as a new parent it’s pretty scary because you don’t know anything. This is something I definitely did not hear when I was pregnant with my son or the twins. But are girls really more expensive than boys? [Read more…]
I know, I know.
This is a little late since we’re almost into October, but I wanted to catch you up on our numbers for the summer.
So this week I’m bringing you a quick recap of our numbers for June and July, and next week, I’ll catch you up on how much debt we paid off in August when we downsized and moved into our dream house!
[Read more…]