The Realities of Family Finance

Well it is time to talk about who has the last say in our financial decisions. Even though I am officially listed as the CFO of the Borruso household my recommendations tend to get overruled by our CEO. Just to remind you that my 21 month old daughter is our CEO. Here is how our Auto budget was decided.

I built my dream car into this years budget. A brand new Mustang.











But my CEO felt that Financially it wasn't feasible also that it might be more difficult for her to chauffeured around. So here I am in front of my 2001 Ford Focus, well at least it is in the Ford Family.















So where did all those extra funds in our budget go? Well they went to purchase her a fleet of vehicles for her use.















And to add insult to injury she has a cushy captains chair that she chauffeured around in the backseat of my wifes new car.















I am sure that most of you reading this post are in the same situation. Well I plan to try again to build it into my budget. So keep reading and I will add updates as to how I am reducing expenses and saving for the car I want.

The CEO in charge of our Finances

Last year my family and I spent a wonderful day at a boat show and boy did I fall in love with the idea of getting a boat. Now the weather is warmer and we are spending more time at the beach it seems like the perfect time to get one. Prices of boats and gas are down and you can finance it over 20 years. Then reality hit I was overruled by my CEO!

Let me give you a brief description of my CEO, she is 21 months old, under 3 feet and weighs 25lbs. She has decided that she would rather have a swing set and so there goes my boat. She also has overruled me and my wife on what TV shows we watch and if we get to sleep through the night. I have a strange feeling that a lot of my readers have their own CEO at home if not 2 or 3. So the next best thing is I can dream. Check out the attached clip.

I'm On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) - Album Version

Saving Money for your Financial Future

Most people focus on how much money they earn or make. The difference being that when you go to work you earn money and when you invest you are looking to make money. At the end of the day it doesn't matter how much money you make if you spend it all. Whether on bills or comfort items but wouldn't you like to live a better lifestyle or your current one cheaper? In today's economy more and more people are looking for ways to save more money and to reduce their expenses. Here a re few ways that should help you.

Save on Property Taxes
For you homeowners your property taxes can be a big part of your monthly expenses and with house values dropping your property taxes aren't going down. What do you do about that? Grieve them.

Up to 60% of taxable property in the U.S. is assessed at a value that's higher than it should be, according to the National Taxpayer's Union. And that means the property is taxed at a higher rate as well. Additionally, the American Homeowner's Association references a Consumer's Report article that up to 40% of property appraisals have clerical errors in them.

Did you know that less than half of homeowners ever try to appeal. Many homeowners don't fight back because they either don't understand the process, or feel that the amount of research and paperwork won't be worth the time. Try calling your local grievance lawyer and you could see a significant savings. You can find one who will only charge you if you win, now you can't beat that.

Credit Card Interest Rates
Call your Credit Card company and see if they are willing to lower the rate. Keep an eye on your mail because if they raise your rate FDIC Consumer Protection law gives you 15 day grace period to opt out of that increase. They will probably close the account but you will still be paying the lower rate. This doesn't always work if your rate increase was due to a late payment.

Paying Down Credit Cards
Do you find yourself having a few cards to pay down and you send them all $100 a month? The best way to reduce your debt quicker is to pay the highest interest rate card first. For example if you have 3 cards 14%, 12% and 10% instead of paying $100 to each you should make the minimum monthly payment to the 10% & 12% card and pay what remains of that $300 to the 14% card. Once that is paid of you start paying down the next highest card.

Well those are few tips for you. I know there are many out there and I want to hear about your tips so email them to me at JBorruso.Finance@gmail.com . I look forward to hearing from you.

So it begins

Well Hello, I am new to the world of blogging but not new to the world of Finance. Most of us if not all of us have been to a friends party or BBQ and asked what we do for work. I usually respond to that question that I am in Finance which is usually then followed by a conversation of what is going on with the market and economy. So I finally decided to create my own blog to get my knowledge, advice and viewpoints out there. So please take some time to check back in and see what I have to say. The whole point behind this blog is so that we can all prosper financially in good times or bad times.