At the age of 16, Michael Rubin said there are only two kinds of business people: Those who take risks, and those who are rational.
What was he?
At 16, is it risky to own a snow-ski business in Pennsylvania’s sweltering summers while owing creditors more than $200,000?
At 21, is it rational to own a business worth $1 million, and $50 million a couple of years later?
According to Rubin, being $200,000 in debt was “a near-to-death” encounter.
Somehow, someway, he managed to pacify his creditors with the $37,000 he borrowed from his father. Then, honoring his Dad’s terms of the deal, he enrolled in college.
Six weeks later, he dropped out of Villanova University. Too boring, he said, answering the calls of his businesses.
Working smart had inspired Rubin since he was a kid.
At the age of eight, according to Enrepreneur.com, he was walking door-to-door selling vegetable seeds to his West Philadelphia neighbors. At 12, he’d opened Mike’s Ski Shop in the basement of his parents’ home.
At 14, he was operating a chain of ski shops, businesses, and a discount ski equipment retail shop (hence, the debt).
At 19, he had merged his burgeoning ski business, KPR Sports (named with his parents’ initials), with then publicly-traded athletic shoe company Ryka to form Global Sports Inc. (later GSI Commerce).
At 26, GSI was generating more than $130 million a year.
At 38, Rubin had sold GSI Commerce to eBay for $2.4 billion.
Rubin then bought and merged Fanatics (a licensed apparel retailer), Rue La La (a fashion flash site seller), and Shop Runner (a retail benefits program) and molded them into Kynetic, a billion-dollar e-commerce company.
Rubin is 47 now, and according to Forbes, his net worth is $3 billion.
Reasons Retiring to an RV is a Great Choice
If you live in Cypress, TX and have already just retired or retirement is right around the corner, you may be struggling with deciding where you want to retire. The quick and easy solution is to consider retiring to an RV. Spending your retirement in an RV means you go visit all those places you promised yourself you would visit after retiring, you can visit the grandkids anytime and you park your home near a beach during the winter. If you have been thinking about retiring to an RV, but aren’t sure if it’s good choice, InsureUs has put together a few of the benefits that come with RV living.
Save Money
One of the best benefits of retiring to an RV is that you will save money. There are campgrounds throughout the United States that offer special discounts to seniors and for those who choose to park in the campground during the off-season. You will no longer need to pay a high mortgage or expensive rent, you’ll need to ensure the RV, but you can drop your homeowner’s insurance and most campgrounds offer free WiFi and activities, so you’ll save money on bills as well as entertainment.
Downsizing
Retiring to an RV means you can significantly reduce the amount of stuff you have. Living in a traditional home means you typically have much more stuff than you really need, for instance, do you really need six skillets? Living in an RV means you can eliminate the clutter in your home and your life. It may take a minute to get used to living with only what you need, but in time, your life will be much happier. The less clutter there is your life, the freer you will feel, which means you will have the desire to get out, be adventurous and enjoy your retirement.
Make New Friends
All that traveling means you will be interacting with more people and if you tend to park in a campground that is senior-oriented, you will be amazed at how many people you meet that enjoy the same things as you. Many campgrounds offer a “get together” for their residents as well, which means you’ll have even more opportunities to develop lasting friendships with people.
These are only a few of the benefits that come with RV retiring. If you aren’t sure if it’s the best lifestyle for you, consider renting an RV for a few weeks to give it a try.
Residents of Cypress, TX that are interested in learning more about insuring their RV should contact InsureUs.
Frequent flyer plans can save on travel
It’s easy to sign up for and use airline frequent flyer miles, but whether you will save money on travel depends, in part, on how much you travel.
A good rule of thumb is if you are expecting to make some major trips (or lots of small trips) in the next 18 months, frequent flyer miles might be the ticket to free air fare. But if you are not going to travel regularly, the miles might not do much good. Those miles (or points) usually expire over time.
Here is a primer on signing up for frequent flyer programs:
* Decide which airlines have a hub near you. These will be the airlines you will probably use most.
* Go to the airline’s website and sign up for its frequent flyer program.
* Book your next trip through the airline and give them your frequent flyer program number.
* When you have enough points, book a flight through the airline and the points will be credited to the cost of the ticket if you choose to use them.
You can also add up more points by using credit cards associated with the program. For example, American Airlines has two cards associated with their program and, with a substantial purchase on the card, you can get thousands of points. You can also get points for dining and shopping. Most programs offer a shopping portal to stores such as Target. If you are planning to buy something from Target, use the airline shopping portal and you get points.
One point is equal to about 1.3 to 1.4 cents, depending on the program.
The most common types of college scholarships
In 2018’s college graduation class, nearly 70 percent of students took out student loans, and their average debt was close to $30,000 each, according to Student Loan Hero.
In addition, 14 percent of their parents also took out an average of $35,600 in Parent PLUS loans to help support them.
With those alarming figures in mind, if you don’t want debt, scholarships are a must.
Academics should start the scholarship hunt. Academic scholarships usually have larger payouts and can even cover the entire amount of tuition for a four-year degree. These require not just a high GPA, but also participation in extracurricular activities.
According to the MarketWatch, about six percent of all high school athletes will compete at the college level and there is $3 billion in aid available across Division I and II schools. Gymnastics, fencing, and ice hockey have the lowest ratio of high school athletes to college scholarships, while volleyball has the highest. Football, the sport with the highest total number of scholarships available at 25,918, ranks fourth on the list.
Service-based awards can be a great way to get extra money.
Local churches, civic groups, and businesses often offer this kind of scholarship to students active in their communities. If your child frequently donates their time doing something like tutoring or spending time with the elderly, there is likely a scholarship somewhere to reward them for their service.
Even if it’s not cash, the Federal Work-Study Program can help students pay for college by providing a part-time job during college.
The simple life: Minimalists shun excess
Recently, a woman showed up in the conference room of a Midwestern bank wearing a T-shirt. She was 93 years old and had driven an old stick-shift car to the meeting.
She was a minimalist, and her net worth was $2.4 million.
Minimalism gets a lot of attention today. It’s all about living with less. Minimal or no debt. No unnecessary expenses. No excess stuff.
Pick an item you own. Any item. Have you used it in the last three months? If not, will you in the next three?
Look around your home. Do you really need that extra square footage? How much money could you save without heating and cooling it?
Minimalism is a theory rooted in the value of experiences over possessions. Quality over quantity may be a cliche, but it is a tenet in minimalism.
To live a minimalist life, you don’t have to get rid of everything you own but the essentials. By asking yourself, “Does this thing bring meaning to my life?”, you can pick and choose what’s right for you.
Getting rid of a few needless possessions, for example, in exchange for a hobby.
According to moneyunder30.com, living by a few minimalist philosophies can do wonders for an individual’s or couple’s finances.
Use one credit card (preferably one that offers rewards). Have one checking account, and one savings account for cash emergencies.
Don’t try to live up to another minimalist’s standards, advises medium.com. Respond to your own emotions, desires, needs, and goals. Educate yourself about minimalism. Do what serves you, rid yourself of what doesn’t. Allow yourself to evolve and to make changes. Once you know what you want, it’s easier to be a minimalist.
Four different money pros for different needs
Sometimes navigating financial issues seems impossible. Here are four situations that might require a money pro.
In debt and in trouble
This problem requires credit counselors. They can help build a plan to get out of debt, give information about bankruptcy, or even completely manage money, giving clients an allowance to live on, according to creditcards.com.
Find one at National Foundation for Credit Counseling or Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies.
When you need help managing assets
A Certified Financial Planner (CFP) can help manage assets built up over the years or from windfalls. They offer advice on insurance and investments for retirement, and help plan financial goals. Search for a CFP in your area and find one you trust.
Just ready to retire? Now what?
A retirement planner, usually a CFP specializing in retirement, can give you an idea of the money you will need in retirement and ideas on how to manage it.
It’s a good idea to consult a retirement planner about 10 years before you retire, but you can get good advice even on the verge of retirement.
Check out FPAnet.org for suggestions.
Can’t make ends meet
A budget counselor helps those who maybe don’t need a full-scale debt repayment plan. Budget counselors are best for those who make enough money but can’t seem to live within their means. They might have some credit card debt, which may even be manageable, but they are building debt.
Online college courses: Path to degrees, low debt
Today’s students have excellent options for their pathway to higher education. They include traditional and community colleges, online courses, or combinations of all three. In fact, even high-profile colleges and universities are offering online programs today.
According to Stetson.edu, each online-course student usually engages in class material and activities on his or her schedule. This freedom allows students to complete work and family commitments with more flexibility. All online-course lectures, emails, explanations, and discussion boards, among others, are available around the clock.
Additionally, online programs can dramatically decrease or even eliminate the costs associated with college. With student loan debt now exceeding the entire nation’s credit card debt, any chance to cut the cost of college today is worth considering.
Also, contrary to current public opinion, online college programs can be every bit as rigorous as any form of higher education.
According to educationcorner.com, the advantages of initiating one’s pursuits of higher education at a community college include the flexibility, increased quality of teaching, cost of courses, and the capacity to transfer degrees earned to time-honored institutions of higher learning.
Moreover, community colleges are dramatically changing the landscape of higher education by offering students more options in seeking their degree.
In the final analysis, it is up to each person to figure out how much time he or she will have to devote to earning a degree, what type of degree program is desired, and how much money can be spent. At the same time, it is possible to take some courses online and others in person. Some individual classes may include both elements of interaction.
Should you refinance your mortgage?
With mortgages still at historically low rates, many people consider refinancing to save money. But is it a good idea? Maybe, maybe not.
Refinancing involves a number of moving parts and some understanding of amortization, so make sure to do your homework. Lenders vary on how long you have to wait to refinance, but you can sometimes do so within a year of purchase.
First, remember that refinancing involves closing costs, which can run into the thousands. So before anything else, calculate how long it will take you to recoup that amount and whether you’ll stay in the house that long.
Do the long-term math. If you are 10 years into a mortgage and refinance for 30, you could very well wind up paying many thousands more over the lifetime of the loan. This is of course a personal decision; sometimes it’s worth it to free up the cash on a month-to-month basis. Just understand the numbers.
Some homeowners refinance and increase their monthly payments — on purpose. You might consider refinancing from a 30-year loan to a 15-year loan to pay off the balance sooner. It’s often surprising how little it takes per month to make this happen.
Another good reason to refinance is if you’re in an adjustable rate mortgage and want to refinance into a fixed rate. This often occurs when rates are rising and you want to avoid the higher costs; if rates are low, it might not be worth the trouble.
Other folks refinance in order to pay off other debt, like credit cards or student loans, or to pay for a renovation project. Again, it’s time to do the math and consider the scenario. Although credit cards usually involve high interest rates, there isn’t much to lose if you default; transferring that debt to your mortgage, however, puts your house on the line.
Sell or rehab? The homeowner’s dilemma
If you are debating on whether to sell or renovate, first ask yourself some questions and then do some math.
First the questions:
- Do you love or hate your home? If you hate it, will remodeling really make you love it or just hate it less? If you’ll just hate it less, sell.
- Do you love the neighborhood or hate it? If you hate it, remodeling won’t help. Sell.
- Do you want more improvements than are reasonable for the neighborhood? Carpet, kitchen, bath, and landscape all recoup costs. But if you want fixtures and amenities that will make your home cost way more than others in the neighborhood, consider moving. You probably won’t recoup the costs at your eventual sale.
If you decide to remodel, calculate how much a renovation or rehab project will cost. Or should cost.
Whether you’re debating on hiring vs DIY or deciding between competing contractors, it’s a good idea to understand what you get for the money as well as what constitutes a fair price.
A few rules of thumb can help, so here are some tips on how to estimate your rehab costs:
Be wary of finding overall estimates online and assuming they work for you. The cost of materials and labor vary by region of the country, so make sure you’re comparing like with like.
Know the cost of materials. This is one of the easiest things you can do to prepare. Create a file and visit your local home stores to find the prices of lumber, windows, flooring, paint, and the like.
Understand the time involved. Have a basic idea of how long it should take to replace a roof or install a window so you can better understand the contractor’s quote. (An entire roof can be done in a day or two, while an uncomplicated window install can be done in a half hour.)
Accessories add up. Remember to budget for things like cabinet knobs, door hinges, trim, and the like.
Think in terms of function, not space. If you’re undertaking a larger project and are the one drawing up a Scope of Work, it’s more accurate to calculate by category of professional. A plumber will take care of your kitchen sink as well as your bathtub, for example. This also helps with the flow of a project, as each of these contractors does their work at different stages.
Can I Have More Than One Boat Insured Simultaneously?
Cypress, TX – The Home Base Of InsureUS
We do like things big here in Texas but one thing that can stay slight is the amount of time spent worrying about insurance. When you are out on the water you just want to relax you don’t want to think about what’s covered by your insurance and what isn’t. If you’re fortunate enough to own more than one boat, you can insure more than one boat at the same time.
Though many homeowners insurance policies cover minimal damage to your boat, you want to have more extensive coverage.
If you have one boat docked and you’re using another boat there is a layup provision provided in the state of Texas which will suspend the insurance coverage when the boat is not in use. Speaking with an agent is the best idea as they will know the nuances of what is covered and what isn’t as well as what is beneficial and what is not.
There are various stipulations for boat insurance if the boat is used in ocean water. Again, speaking with your agent will clarify things for you and the more detailed you could be about how you’re going to use your boat the better. In this way, your agent will be able to craft a policy that will cover you and your needs.
Located in Cypress, TX 77429, you can come in today and speak with us about all your insurance needs. If you’d rather call, our telephone number is 281-640-8888. The agents at InsureUS want you to feel secure in your insurance agency choice. Just let us know how we can make this experience more beneficial to you and more customer-friendly today.
