Blog - Page 5 of 25 - MikedUp Blog

What you Absolutely Need in Homeowners Insurance

June 19, 2019 No Comments

When we set out to buy our home, we knew we needed homeowners insurance (because our lender told us so). But we had no idea what level of coverage we needed or what coverage was vital and what we could do without. I could navigate the hurdles of changing interest rates when we refinanced our mortgage, but when it came to coverage, I was lost. So today I’m stoked to share this post – homeowners insurance coverage explained. With the ease of a sharp knife cutting through warm butter, I’ve made financial mistakes surrounding our mortgage… Like paying the mortgage twice in December (by accident) and waking up to a “Bank Overdraft” alert after paying our mortgage (among other things). And because I’m still learning in the homeowners insurance department, I’ve enlisted the help of some of my friends at Consumers Advocate to help us all better […]

Finance, Family

I Remove Collision Insurance – We Get in a Collision

June 17, 2019 No Comments

I Removed Collision Insurance - We Get in a Collision #Saving #AutoInsurance #Budget #Accident

File this under the “full disclosure” section of MikedUp Blog… Last week I wrote all about the awesome financial benefits we’d have by removing collision auto insurance from our decade-old vehicles. “It’ll be great,” I said. “We’ll save hundreds… or thousands if we can stay in these cars for a few more years.” And in my defense, I wasn’t wrong on that point. But there’s that word: ‘if’ Well, it just so happens that one of our vehicles was in a collision… Precisely 3 weeks after I wrote the initial post and subsequently stopped the collision insurance. And as it turns out, there aren’t a ton of savings via lower premiums in 3 weeks. So the benefits of removing collision insurance on that car were about, roughly, close-to… $0. And zero cents. Ok, now that those numbers are out of the way – here’s the […]

Fitness, Family, Personal Development

“I Want to Build a Home Gym… In My Garage… Right Now”

June 12, 2019 No Comments

In today’s post, I’ll discuss the vitally important organizations that are dueling piano bars, my love for fitness and working out, throw in some quality GIFs, but mainly this post is a well-calculated and analytical ploy to a readership of 1. I’ll be passively-aggressively forwarding this link to my wife as my opening and closing argument for why we should need to build a home gym in our garage. You with me? Or, like the masses, do you think I’m a 6 out of 10 on the ‘crazy spectrum’ as well? Let us know in the comments! The Desire to Build a Home Gym Doesn’t Crop up out of Nowhere – Here’s my Origin Story… Have you ever been to a dueling piano bar? I’ve been to 2 and each time I’ve come away with sore cheeks (smiling) and no voice (singing […]

Finance, Personal Development

Proven Side Hustle Ideas For Us Who Have No Free Time

June 10, 2019 No Comments

2 Things… We’ve published our share of side hustle ideas on the blog before (side hustle take 2 – side hustle take 3) and I’ve tried my own hand at earning some extra cash on the side. But after a short while, I’d abandon most side hustles as they’d leave me with less time available and little money in my pocket. I’d get stressed about using the time and not receiving immediate compensation (or very little compensation), identify that [insert side hustle here] didn’t fit within my 23 Proven Routines or Philosophies for a healthier life, and abandon ship. But I can honestly say, I’ve never seen as complete a list of side hustle ideas (that exists below) until now. I’m starting to think that maybe I just hadn’t seen all that’s out there for us side hustlers to see… And, if I’m being honest, this blog […]

Finance

Eliminate Collision Auto Insurance – Boost the Budget!

June 9, 2019 No Comments

So I did something crazy last week… I was having a conversation with our insurance agent and just went off on a tangent about collision auto insurance. “What do we save to eliminate it?” I asked him. “Well, Mike. If you don’t have collision coverage, and you get into an accident, you’ll have to pay 100% of the repair costs…” Continue reading below to see why that above statement, although true, didn’t phase me in the least. Because I went ahead and eliminated collision auto insurance for both of our vehicles… Then I had to think of a bullet-proof pitch to sell Monica on the idea. Here’s that pitch: Let’s start with discussing the benefits of collision auto insurance. This should be pretty straightforward: If you wreck your car and you are at fault, collision coverage will pay for the cost of your vehicle repairs after […]

Finance, Personal Development

4 Ways Mindfulness Can Help You Reach Your Money Goals

June 5, 2019 No Comments

Mindfulness has been shown to positively impact many aspects of our lives, from physical and emotional well being all the way to career success. But, when it comes to your own personal finances, it can be to easy to overlook the benefits of mindfulness practices. Today, we’ll help you understand exactly how meditation and mindfulness can yield those positive benefits. As someone who’s been on the bad side of burnout, stress, and a near mental breakdown, I’ve seen first-hand how this daily practice can drastically change your condition and outlook. So if you’re someone who hasn’t tried meditation or doesn’t quite know where to start, let this post serve as yet more evidence in favor of understanding your thoughts and mental outlook. My friend Bernz is here to clue us in. Take it away, Bernz… (Photo courtesy of Justin Montemarano) Unless you […]

Family

When playgrounds fight back

June 2, 2019 No Comments

You know when you’ve got a perfect Sunday in the spring. “The birds are back in town” – and may or may not wake your wife up just a bit too early. Hey, the windows were open because there’s no topping a cool, crisp, freshness during the night. The temperature dips around the mid-50s in the early morning then climbs to a steady 73-75 at mid-day. There isn’t 1 visible cloud in the entire sky, and the plants are finally starting to buy the fact that it’s springtime (we’re in Ohio and day-to-day temperature fluctuations can be astronomical this time of year – flowers, freezing, flowers,…). Monica and I knew this was one such Sunday. Most of the weekend chores were done on Saturday so we had some spare time. Secondly, we were in that solid window before dinner and right after Clara’s afternoon nap. Timing was right. It also […]

Business, Family, Finance, Personal Development

When the Status Quo Can’t Make you Wildly Wealthy but This Can…

May 29, 2019 No Comments

In a sweet Inception-like game, I wrote this post which was originally published on The Money Mix. It’s all about how we’ve used small business loans to advance our business and personal finances, and it’s packed with actionable intel. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below! “One hundred fifty thousand on the build-out, two hundred seventy-five on the business, and another couple hundred on the goodwill…” It was like a sick and twisted math problem, circa 1st grade, just adding up all the small business loans we had taken out. Was I stressed and burnt out, and (in an honest moment) just a little terrified…? I was. But, at the same moment, I would also admit to feeling as professionally “alive” as I had ever felt in the past. There we were, a married couple in our early thirties and now business partners. […]

Personal Development, Business, Family, Finance

How to Make a Full-Time Income Working From Home

May 27, 2019 No Comments

About a month ago, we published a post about The 10 Best Work from Home Jobs for Stay at Home Parents in 2019. While many readers received some great ideas and enjoyed the post, there is a whole world of possibilities out there. So, when The Money Mix approached me with this post to syndicate here, I was originally skeptical. But then I read through the post and saw that there were many differences in what they determine are the 10 Best Work from Home Jobs compared with what we had previously published. If you found something in the first post that is helping you to earn a little extra income – Awesome! But either way – here are 10 more great options, each with an actionable and detailed explanation of how to get started earning yourself a work from home income. Good luck! This article […]

Fitness, Family, Finance

Heads-Up! Early Retirement Can Be Bad for Your Health

May 26, 2019 No Comments

Whether you put in your 40 years with the company or are on the 10-year saving spree leading to FIRE (Financial Independence/Retire Early) – you would be wise to glance past the finish line and consider some basic facts. It pains me to write this, but – early retirement can be bad for your health… I mean, really bad… (Photo courtesy of MKulp Photography) After years of hard work, early mornings, and late nights of working toward your career goals – that pot at the end of the rainbow can be one of the most dangerous ruses of your lifetime. In fact, retirement ranks in at #10 in terms of the average individuals most stressful life events (Source). Let’s start with the bad news. Studies from these Harvard, US News and World Report, and Medical Daily articles all discuss some part of the frightening reality that early retirement has […]