I have been away for the weekend and I will be in training all next week so I'll have less time to post. But in the same vein as "Stop buying stuff you cannot afford", I bring you this parody of debt consolidation services in the meantime...enjoy!
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Thursday, February 23, 2006
How to beat high energy costs
Since we are on the "budget plan" my gas company reevaluates my usage every four months and fiddles with my monthly charge (some budget, huh?)
In October our gas bill went from around $130 to our new rate of $151. We tried to keep our heat off for all of October (almost made it) and we kept the thermostat lower than ever before.
Our efforts have paid off since our new amount, as of March, will be $103! I know that natural gas prices have decreased a bit, but we decreased our usage majorly this year. And we have the hat-head to prove it.
This will be a $48 savings per month for four months, but I will keep an eye on it. Now that we have some savings built up I'm not so sure I'm loving the "budget" plan since it really is never a set monthly amount for a full year. If the balance keeps tipping in our favor I will probably switch back to just paying what we owe each month. Or move to California.
In October our gas bill went from around $130 to our new rate of $151. We tried to keep our heat off for all of October (almost made it) and we kept the thermostat lower than ever before.
Our efforts have paid off since our new amount, as of March, will be $103! I know that natural gas prices have decreased a bit, but we decreased our usage majorly this year. And we have the hat-head to prove it.
This will be a $48 savings per month for four months, but I will keep an eye on it. Now that we have some savings built up I'm not so sure I'm loving the "budget" plan since it really is never a set monthly amount for a full year. If the balance keeps tipping in our favor I will probably switch back to just paying what we owe each month. Or move to California.
Stop Buying Stuff You Cannot Afford
I found this via It's Your Money and really I just wanted to play with YouTube and give you all that multimedia experience!
It really *is* that simple even though it never feels like it ;)
[UPDATE: It seems that SNL skit was taken off YouTube.com for copyright violations. It's understandable, but given that it is an obvious, but important message, delivered with humor...I'd hoped it would still be available there for a long while. Like zillions of other SNL skits. oh well. Maybe it's still available via Salon]
It really *is* that simple even though it never feels like it ;)
[UPDATE: It seems that SNL skit was taken off YouTube.com for copyright violations. It's understandable, but given that it is an obvious, but important message, delivered with humor...I'd hoped it would still be available there for a long while. Like zillions of other SNL skits. oh well. Maybe it's still available via Salon]
3 Day Free Access to IBD100
Investor's Business Daily is providing 3 days of free access to the "IBD 100 List of Top Rated Stocks" [thanks, mom!]
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Save-o-Meter Update
First let me say thanks to everyone for "partying" with me yesterday, next time I should totally bring cupcakes!
Some invoices got paid recently so LaLa was able to make another contribution to our emergency fund bringing us to about 78% of our goal. It's pretty exciting to see the end of the goal clearly in reach and the deposit slip for $2200 was downright sexy! I am anxious to meet this goal asap so we can get back to saving for retirement (after our brief hiatus).
The flip side of all this is that our cash flow is crazy tight until mid-March. With all this aggressive saving and a few unexpected expenses we've had to keep a very close eye on the bank account, but the temporary pinch seems worth it to meet our other savings goals. We've gone out to eat only once in the last 5-6 weeks (for a social occasion) and last night was the first night we got any sort of takeout in about the same time period (Ok, I'll fess up...we used a BK coupon and fed both of us for $5.33 not too bad a deal if you're already on the slippery slope of a fast food evening LOL). Anyway the cash flow management should be interesting over the next 3 weeks.
Some invoices got paid recently so LaLa was able to make another contribution to our emergency fund bringing us to about 78% of our goal. It's pretty exciting to see the end of the goal clearly in reach and the deposit slip for $2200 was downright sexy! I am anxious to meet this goal asap so we can get back to saving for retirement (after our brief hiatus).
The flip side of all this is that our cash flow is crazy tight until mid-March. With all this aggressive saving and a few unexpected expenses we've had to keep a very close eye on the bank account, but the temporary pinch seems worth it to meet our other savings goals. We've gone out to eat only once in the last 5-6 weeks (for a social occasion) and last night was the first night we got any sort of takeout in about the same time period (Ok, I'll fess up...we used a BK coupon and fed both of us for $5.33 not too bad a deal if you're already on the slippery slope of a fast food evening LOL). Anyway the cash flow management should be interesting over the next 3 weeks.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
One Year Ago
A year ago today I made my first post (2005...The Year of Finances) so I guess that means this is my bloggiversary or blog birthday or some such thing. I haven't accomplished everything I set out to last year (still closing in on that emergency fund and I haven't checked my credit report yet) but I've made some decent progress since I had my "Aha!" moment at the very beginning of 2005.
I started blogging because I wanted a more emotional record of what I was attempting than Quicken could give me. I thought that by making my intentions somewhat public that I'd hold myself more accountable (it works for me). And I also wanted to break the silence that many women seem to have when it comes to talk about money.
A brief look back on the year...
Aha! (A prequel)
It was a few days into 2005 when my 2004 bonus check arrived with my paystub. As I looked at the after tax amount my heart sunk because it was nowhere near enough to pay off the $14,000 in credit card debt that we had incurred. I'll spare you the gory details but what really sunk in was that I alone had the power to make sure I never received a windfall like that again...and felt disappointed. Things were gonna change and change fast.
Credit Card Debt
When I started "The Year of Finances" we had $14k in credit card debt. Shortly thereafter I started blogging and it was down to $11k. I had the credit cards paid off by March, but used a card to borrow money to fully fund my 2004 Roth and that took another few months to pay off. It's been $0 since then because we pay the credit card off every month.
Savings
A year ago I had no non-retirement savings. Our emergency fund is now at $7800 (as of today) and we have about $700 set aside already earmarked for vacations, big ticket house items, and gifts. We are regularly saving tax-deferred retirement, tax-free retirement and regular taxable amounts and we continually strive to save a larger portion of our income.
Roth IRA
I had opened a Roth IRA with $2000 several years ago and had not contributed since because I was favoring the tax deductions of maximizing my 401(k) contribution. Last year I got "Roth Religion" in time and I was able to max out both the 2004 and (just recently) the 2005 investing $7000 total in my Roth over the last year.
I'm not out here blogging as some paragon of financial stability. I'm attempting to use this blog to share successes as well as missteps in a search for community. I want to learn from others, cheer on the struggles of those in debt, make some friends, and I hope that I have a few useful things to share now and then.
I still have a long road to travel to get where I want to be...I have far too much junk in the nether regions of my house, I have a backlog of posts that seems endless, and I still struggle with the feeling of "enough".
But it's still been a great year and I thank every one of you that drops by. And yes, I get like this on MY birthday too ;)
[Coincidentally I seem to have picked an auspicious date to begin since this also happens to be Consumerism Commentary's bloggiversary...the 6th to be exact! Congratulations, Flexo!]
I started blogging because I wanted a more emotional record of what I was attempting than Quicken could give me. I thought that by making my intentions somewhat public that I'd hold myself more accountable (it works for me). And I also wanted to break the silence that many women seem to have when it comes to talk about money.
A brief look back on the year...
Aha! (A prequel)
It was a few days into 2005 when my 2004 bonus check arrived with my paystub. As I looked at the after tax amount my heart sunk because it was nowhere near enough to pay off the $14,000 in credit card debt that we had incurred. I'll spare you the gory details but what really sunk in was that I alone had the power to make sure I never received a windfall like that again...and felt disappointed. Things were gonna change and change fast.
Credit Card Debt
When I started "The Year of Finances" we had $14k in credit card debt. Shortly thereafter I started blogging and it was down to $11k. I had the credit cards paid off by March, but used a card to borrow money to fully fund my 2004 Roth and that took another few months to pay off. It's been $0 since then because we pay the credit card off every month.
Savings
A year ago I had no non-retirement savings. Our emergency fund is now at $7800 (as of today) and we have about $700 set aside already earmarked for vacations, big ticket house items, and gifts. We are regularly saving tax-deferred retirement, tax-free retirement and regular taxable amounts and we continually strive to save a larger portion of our income.
Roth IRA
I had opened a Roth IRA with $2000 several years ago and had not contributed since because I was favoring the tax deductions of maximizing my 401(k) contribution. Last year I got "Roth Religion" in time and I was able to max out both the 2004 and (just recently) the 2005 investing $7000 total in my Roth over the last year.
I'm not out here blogging as some paragon of financial stability. I'm attempting to use this blog to share successes as well as missteps in a search for community. I want to learn from others, cheer on the struggles of those in debt, make some friends, and I hope that I have a few useful things to share now and then.
I still have a long road to travel to get where I want to be...I have far too much junk in the nether regions of my house, I have a backlog of posts that seems endless, and I still struggle with the feeling of "enough".
But it's still been a great year and I thank every one of you that drops by. And yes, I get like this on MY birthday too ;)
[Coincidentally I seem to have picked an auspicious date to begin since this also happens to be Consumerism Commentary's bloggiversary...the 6th to be exact! Congratulations, Flexo!]
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Discover 5% Cashback Promo
For some strange reason I was mailed an extra Discover card which prompted me to call customer service. I had a great experience talking to the rep who quickly fixed things on their end (so I did not have to "activate" my new card since I had no need of it and it wasn't ORANGE) and she got around to alerting me to the current 5% Cashback Bonus program Discover is running until 3/31. You have to enroll to get the benefit and then you are eligible for 5% cash back on the following health related purchases:
CVS/Pharmacy
Rite Aid
Walgreens
GNC
Jenny Craig
Bally
LensCrafters
Doctors and Dentist visits (including chiropractors, optometrists, et al)
Bonus spending is capped at $1500 (therefore $75 cash back). I enrolled even though I double I'll be purchasing these types of items or services before 3/31 (I don't think my chiropractor takes Discover...)
She indicated that Discover would continue to run periodic 5% cash back bonus programs on certain types of purchases and to check back often to enroll either by calling or visiting their website. I'm not sure it's enough to make me use the card much more, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
CVS/Pharmacy
Rite Aid
Walgreens
GNC
Jenny Craig
Bally
LensCrafters
Doctors and Dentist visits (including chiropractors, optometrists, et al)
Bonus spending is capped at $1500 (therefore $75 cash back). I enrolled even though I double I'll be purchasing these types of items or services before 3/31 (I don't think my chiropractor takes Discover...)
She indicated that Discover would continue to run periodic 5% cash back bonus programs on certain types of purchases and to check back often to enroll either by calling or visiting their website. I'm not sure it's enough to make me use the card much more, but it's worth keeping an eye on.
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Tips on Buying Refurbished
Purchasing refurbished items can be a great way to lower costs, but it pays to be careful. SmartMoney has some tips for buying refurbished merchandise.
MyMoneyBlog's Carnival of Mistakes
Jonathan put out the call for our financial mistakes and has built quite an interesting little "reverse carnival" showcasing our combined blunders. Whether you read them as a cautionary tale or just want to enjoy a little schadenfreude you're bound to get something good out of it.
If you don't then all our woe has been for naught ;)
If you don't then all our woe has been for naught ;)
Save-O-Meter News
It's payday today so I was able to transfer money around and bump the meters up:
2005 Roth
I transferred $750 into my 2005 Roth IRA completing my maximum allowed contribution of $4000. GOAL MET! ...ahead of schedule (originally 4/15) I'll be leaving this meter up for a little while because it gives me warm fuzzies. Next month I will start a 2006 Roth-o-Meter.
Emergency Fund
I transferred $400 in to bring the progress up to 56%. LaLa says she has some money for the fund too, but amount is TBD by Friday...I can't wait (yes that qualifies me as a money nerd)
2006 Networth Goal (New!)
I have added a meter to measure my progress toward my goal of increasing my networth from $211,000 to $275,000 by year end. This is a bit of a stretch, but I'm going for it. One month in and I'm roughly on target...stay tuned! I chose orange because orange is like...the best. color. ever.
2005 Roth
I transferred $750 into my 2005 Roth IRA completing my maximum allowed contribution of $4000. GOAL MET! ...ahead of schedule (originally 4/15) I'll be leaving this meter up for a little while because it gives me warm fuzzies. Next month I will start a 2006 Roth-o-Meter.
Emergency Fund
I transferred $400 in to bring the progress up to 56%. LaLa says she has some money for the fund too, but amount is TBD by Friday...I can't wait (yes that qualifies me as a money nerd)
2006 Networth Goal (New!)
I have added a meter to measure my progress toward my goal of increasing my networth from $211,000 to $275,000 by year end. This is a bit of a stretch, but I'm going for it. One month in and I'm roughly on target...stay tuned! I chose orange because orange is like...the best. color. ever.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
I *HEART* Comments
Since it is Valentine's day I thought it would be appropriate to send out a Valentine to everyone who has ever left a comment. I love getting comments and I enjoy knowing what you, dear internet, are thinking. So don't be shy! Even if you think you don't have much to add or if you just want to say "hi" please do so...it makes my day :)
Special Valentine's Shout-out to
Thank you and Happy Valentine's Day! To those who have not yet commented, join the party!
Special Valentine's Shout-out to
- Jonathan...my first real commenter! And yes, you *were* right ;)
- My Mac using commenters: Claire, Uncle Foobar, and this Anonymous (anyone else?)
- MadameX uses a Mac, but she's also my most prolific commenter so she gets her own bullet
- Even hedged, who got up in my basket because he thought my post was giving bad investment advice :)
- And really...everyone who has ever commented...you all are the best!
Thank you and Happy Valentine's Day! To those who have not yet commented, join the party!
Upromise Promo
I am sure FatWallet is all over this, but I still thought I'd mention it. I just received a promotional email from Upromise announcing...
Now, I don't really know why they are sending out email now that the promo is half over, but if you eat a lot of refined carbs or are addicted to cake, this could be the deal for you ;)
"Purchase any 5 Duncan Hines® Mix or Frosting, Log Cabin® Syrup, Mrs. Butterworth's® Syrup, Lender's® Bagels, Swanson® Frozen Dinners, Hungry-Man® Frozen Dinners, or Celeste® Frozen Pizza in a single shopping order between 2/5/06 and 2/19/06, and receive $5 in your Upromise account.*"
Now, I don't really know why they are sending out email now that the promo is half over, but if you eat a lot of refined carbs or are addicted to cake, this could be the deal for you ;)
eSmartTax Review: Don't Bother
A few weeks ago I posted my price comparisons for tax preparing and filing options. This is primarily of interest to those with an AGI above $50k as there are plenty of free options for the rest of you folks :)
I was excited to find an option that would only cost me $9.95 total to prepare and e-file both my federal and state returns. The only requirement was that I completed my returns prior to February 15th.
The main problem with eSmartTax is that I could rarely move to the next page in my preparation process due to a server side timeout. What that indicates is that they do not have a powerful enough setup to handle the demand and the result is a service that is all but inaccessible. I tried the service before January 31st, I tried it in the middle of a weekday afternoon and I tried it late at night. I always had difficulties with pages timing out. I was able to get most of my information in on one lucky attempt but have been unable to fill in some gaps now that all my documents have arrived and after multiple attempts I am giving up and will choose another method.
Even if their servers were humming along I found other issues with eSmartTax that would prevent me from recommending it. The company that runs eSmartTax apparently got it's start providing electronic versions of forms inside applications like Microsoft Word...and it shows! The interface struck me as such a mid-90's approach and very dated. If I wanted to just fill out tax forms, I'd do it on paper....with a pencil! To me, the power of tax software is an ability to guide a lay person through the filling out of the forms through questions and a clean interface. If you are very comfortable with tax forms, eSMartTax's forms may not be a problem but for the average person I thought this poor interface was not worth the few dollars potentially saved.
And finally, any tax-filing site that hides their customer service contact information under the site map is bozo-tastic in my book. That's just a deal-breaker.
I was excited to find an option that would only cost me $9.95 total to prepare and e-file both my federal and state returns. The only requirement was that I completed my returns prior to February 15th.
The main problem with eSmartTax is that I could rarely move to the next page in my preparation process due to a server side timeout. What that indicates is that they do not have a powerful enough setup to handle the demand and the result is a service that is all but inaccessible. I tried the service before January 31st, I tried it in the middle of a weekday afternoon and I tried it late at night. I always had difficulties with pages timing out. I was able to get most of my information in on one lucky attempt but have been unable to fill in some gaps now that all my documents have arrived and after multiple attempts I am giving up and will choose another method.
Even if their servers were humming along I found other issues with eSmartTax that would prevent me from recommending it. The company that runs eSmartTax apparently got it's start providing electronic versions of forms inside applications like Microsoft Word...and it shows! The interface struck me as such a mid-90's approach and very dated. If I wanted to just fill out tax forms, I'd do it on paper....with a pencil! To me, the power of tax software is an ability to guide a lay person through the filling out of the forms through questions and a clean interface. If you are very comfortable with tax forms, eSMartTax's forms may not be a problem but for the average person I thought this poor interface was not worth the few dollars potentially saved.
And finally, any tax-filing site that hides their customer service contact information under the site map is bozo-tastic in my book. That's just a deal-breaker.
Festival of Frugality #10
It's Tuesday so that means there is another Festival of Frugality for your reading pleasure. The 10th edition is expertly hosted by BostonGal'sOpenWallet and is complete with clipart, alliteration, and holiday references!I also realized that due to illness (did I get that cold from JLP? LOL) and some rather rude real life intrusions last week I neglected to point out the Festival of Frugality #9 which was back at it's home base at Blueprint for Financial Prosperity.
My Financial Bloopers
I have had the hardest time starting this post because I feel I have made so many mistakes along the way where do I begin? I decided to concentrate on the mistakes that I made because I was procrastinating, not paying attention and/or in denial (and I still had to narrow it down!). I follow up each blooper with the lessons I think I learned that apply to me personally. Each person is unique, so my version of the lesson may not be what you take away. Feel free to comment below!
Iomega Stock
A little over 10 years ago I spent $3000 to purchase 500 shares of IOM at $6. I knew nothing about investing and I probably didn't have $3000 to spare either. But I loved their products at the time and I took a naive plunge. This wouldn't have been so bad if I had actually watched the stock. It was my only investment and I really didn't latch on to a good way of monitoring it. I just *ignored* it. Completely. For six years.
I suddenly "remembered" I had the stock when I was looking to buy a house. Luckily I was able to sell for just about $6 and get my money back out, but in the mean time the stock went way up. I have no idea when I would have chosen to sell had I been watching the stock, but I am SURE I would have sold at some point in there and made SOME money (Zip and Jaz quickly lost their lustre once CD burners started showing up). The worst part is I probably was carrying credit card debt during this time. Double Whammy!
Rollover Procrastination
When I left my first tech job in 1999 I just left my money in their 401(k) plan. And once again I sort of "forgot" about it (you sense a theme, do you?). While I was ignoring my first portfolio, not only did I change addresses without notifying them, but my former employer changed 401(k) custodians to Putnam, making even more of a mess of which I remained blissfully(?) unaware. Due to those changes, I didn't get statements, had no idea how to access my account online or otherwise...and I made no move to fix that.
In 2002 I had another obvious opportunity to consolidate when my employer went out of business. I rolled my at-the-time-current 401(k) into a new rollover IRA at Calvert and I even went so far as to aquire the form I'd need to reclaim my first 401(k). I was unemployed for a year, it's not like I didn't have the time to fill out the paperwork. To this day I have no idea why I procrastinated that task.
I finally snagged this money almost a year ago and opened up my new Fidelity rollover IRA. When I looked at my holdings I realized that when they moved my account to putnam they used an out of date allocation scheme...ugh. It's hard to calculate what part of the loss was just the tech bubble and what part was neglect but I lost about a quarter of my portfolio. Ouch.
Not Living Below My Means and Saving
This is really the kicker. Though I have been saving at least some money for retirement since the mid-90's other than that we have been living AT or slightly ABOVE our means...usually carrying balances on credit cards. I did this my entire adult life up until last year. Every time we would feel like we were about to get ahead financially something would happen to keep us in the hole.
An example is that we had finally saved up about $10k in a very short time in order to buy a house. We were able to find a home that was in the popular neighborhood we liked. It needed a fair amount of work so it was affordably priced. Prices were rising fast so we felt a little pressured to buy quickly or be priced out of where we wanted to live (as had already happened with our current rental neighborhood). With our combined income of ~ $140k our mortgage payments and impending improvement costs were well within our reach. We used our meager savings and creative loans to set up the purchase of the house - a 2 month process. The week before our closing, LaLa was laid off from the company we both worked for and we found ourselves on the raw end of the tech bubble with a market glutted with web designers and our income slashed by more than 40%. Through our original loan we were able to complete the planned major work (the kitchen was not usable when we bought...literally) but without other significant savings to weather that economic downturn we've been struggling to dig ourselves out of a hole since. (It got even worse the following year, but I won't go into that here!)
Buying the house in and of itself was not a financial mistake (it was actually a decent investment) but an example of how I always thought I was making sound financial decisions (a mortgage we can afford on one salary! Highly appreciating area!) but without solid savings to fall back on, I only understood half the picture. Since I wasn't really prepared financially for the unexpected I was always left feeling like I could never get ahead. This has been going on my entire adult life until about a year ago when I finally looked at our $14,000 credit card debt and had an "Aha!" moment.
Anyway that's a rambly bit of shadenfraude for you to enjoy...
Iomega Stock
A little over 10 years ago I spent $3000 to purchase 500 shares of IOM at $6. I knew nothing about investing and I probably didn't have $3000 to spare either. But I loved their products at the time and I took a naive plunge. This wouldn't have been so bad if I had actually watched the stock. It was my only investment and I really didn't latch on to a good way of monitoring it. I just *ignored* it. Completely. For six years.
I suddenly "remembered" I had the stock when I was looking to buy a house. Luckily I was able to sell for just about $6 and get my money back out, but in the mean time the stock went way up. I have no idea when I would have chosen to sell had I been watching the stock, but I am SURE I would have sold at some point in there and made SOME money (Zip and Jaz quickly lost their lustre once CD burners started showing up). The worst part is I probably was carrying credit card debt during this time. Double Whammy!
Lessons Learned:
- I should invest - outside of retirement funds - only after saving an emergency fund and having no other debt other than my mortgage. (Current target is Q4 this year)
- I should learn how to evaluate stock based on company financials (not solely my enthusiasm for a company)
- I should have a clear plan for each stock I buy (buy and hold for a year, long term, etc)
- No matter what my plan for a certain stock, I should always be aware of it's performance so I can be flexible
Rollover Procrastination
When I left my first tech job in 1999 I just left my money in their 401(k) plan. And once again I sort of "forgot" about it (you sense a theme, do you?). While I was ignoring my first portfolio, not only did I change addresses without notifying them, but my former employer changed 401(k) custodians to Putnam, making even more of a mess of which I remained blissfully(?) unaware. Due to those changes, I didn't get statements, had no idea how to access my account online or otherwise...and I made no move to fix that.
In 2002 I had another obvious opportunity to consolidate when my employer went out of business. I rolled my at-the-time-current 401(k) into a new rollover IRA at Calvert and I even went so far as to aquire the form I'd need to reclaim my first 401(k). I was unemployed for a year, it's not like I didn't have the time to fill out the paperwork. To this day I have no idea why I procrastinated that task.
I finally snagged this money almost a year ago and opened up my new Fidelity rollover IRA. When I looked at my holdings I realized that when they moved my account to putnam they used an out of date allocation scheme...ugh. It's hard to calculate what part of the loss was just the tech bubble and what part was neglect but I lost about a quarter of my portfolio. Ouch.
Lessons Learned:
- I need to always stay in control and aware of my own money
- Procrastination has potentially cost me significant money, I gotta stop!
Not Living Below My Means and Saving
This is really the kicker. Though I have been saving at least some money for retirement since the mid-90's other than that we have been living AT or slightly ABOVE our means...usually carrying balances on credit cards. I did this my entire adult life up until last year. Every time we would feel like we were about to get ahead financially something would happen to keep us in the hole.
An example is that we had finally saved up about $10k in a very short time in order to buy a house. We were able to find a home that was in the popular neighborhood we liked. It needed a fair amount of work so it was affordably priced. Prices were rising fast so we felt a little pressured to buy quickly or be priced out of where we wanted to live (as had already happened with our current rental neighborhood). With our combined income of ~ $140k our mortgage payments and impending improvement costs were well within our reach. We used our meager savings and creative loans to set up the purchase of the house - a 2 month process. The week before our closing, LaLa was laid off from the company we both worked for and we found ourselves on the raw end of the tech bubble with a market glutted with web designers and our income slashed by more than 40%. Through our original loan we were able to complete the planned major work (the kitchen was not usable when we bought...literally) but without other significant savings to weather that economic downturn we've been struggling to dig ourselves out of a hole since. (It got even worse the following year, but I won't go into that here!)
Buying the house in and of itself was not a financial mistake (it was actually a decent investment) but an example of how I always thought I was making sound financial decisions (a mortgage we can afford on one salary! Highly appreciating area!) but without solid savings to fall back on, I only understood half the picture. Since I wasn't really prepared financially for the unexpected I was always left feeling like I could never get ahead. This has been going on my entire adult life until about a year ago when I finally looked at our $14,000 credit card debt and had an "Aha!" moment.
Lessons Learned:
- It is entirely within my power to stop the feeling of "never getting ahead", I simply had to make a choice to do it
- I now choose to have a liquid "emergency fund" to help us weather the unexpected
- One of the fastest ways for us to accumulate savings is to reduce expenses and continually live below our means
- Living below our means isn't onerous, but it does take perseverance and it's sort of fun
- In order to live below our means, we must understand both inflows and outflows and make conscious choices with our mutual goals in mind. (And never again allow ignorance or denial to dictate our spending)
Anyway that's a rambly bit of shadenfraude for you to enjoy...
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Saturday Cheers
I am feeling warm and fuzzy after reading several inspiring posts this week. So I am totally cribbing off 43Things and I'm cheering their efforts. Here goes:
I already mentioned it, but NoCreditNeeded is done with debt!
Him of MakeLoveNotDebt was able to consolidate credit card debt onto a new card with a 0% balance transfer promo rate, which means he can kiss his 20.99% Citibank card goodbye
SeattleSimplicity got money and extra goodies out of Amex when she threatened to close her account
I already mentioned it, but NoCreditNeeded is done with debt!
Him of MakeLoveNotDebt was able to consolidate credit card debt onto a new card with a 0% balance transfer promo rate, which means he can kiss his 20.99% Citibank card goodbye
SeattleSimplicity got money and extra goodies out of Amex when she threatened to close her account
Friday, February 10, 2006
Deficit Grows, Economists Yawn
"In the last month of 2005, the U.S. trade deficit hit $65.7 billion, a 1.5% increase over November and the third highest monthly deficit on record, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday." [via SmartMoney]
Oh great. But according to the article, most economists don't really care anymore...um, neato?
Oh great. But according to the article, most economists don't really care anymore...um, neato?
Generation "Debt"
MSNBC has an article on how 'Generation Debt' is Going Deep Into the Red. The increases in the cost of housing and a college education have far outpaced income increases while the typical job market for college graduates is shrinking in favor of an expanding sector that typically pays minimum wage. This leaves our youth facing the prime of their lives with crushing debt. It also leaves them unlikely to ever match their parents' standard of living.
Sounds pretty gloomy. This situation isn't anyone's "fault" but I have to wonder what effect that boomer parents have had in all this. As a generation they've experienced some huge shifts in the financial landscape, and that has to play a part.
Don't despair though. I do think there are many folks out there who aren't sticking their head in the sand, but meeting and beating that level of debt head on (cheers to our younger PF bloggers decimating debt!). The article's final page has several suggestions for grabbing hold of the financial reins including creating a budget, setting financial goals, saving for retirement and other helpful basics.
One of the things that I think is hard for people is to understand the long term financial impact of justifying what can amount to overspending on their children. What parent wants to deny their child? Parents want their kids to have "everything" but without an understanding of long term goals and needs, spending in the present can get out of hand. The article suggests:
points out why this is critical:
If you've been keeping up with personal finance lately, there wasn't much that was new in this article, but it's a good hard look at the combined effect that certain trends are having on our youth and our shared future. It's not just that youth are all spendy spendy with the credit card (though that may be part of the problem, but it's certainly NOT just our youth...is it?) so let's just stop blaming and make sure this doesn't come crashing down on all our heads (too gloomy?)
I think the key is to make yourself aware and educate yourself on your situation and don't slip into denial and then...just START. Do any one of those things on the list just to get going. Starting is the best thing you can choose to do.
Sounds pretty gloomy. This situation isn't anyone's "fault" but I have to wonder what effect that boomer parents have had in all this. As a generation they've experienced some huge shifts in the financial landscape, and that has to play a part.
Don't despair though. I do think there are many folks out there who aren't sticking their head in the sand, but meeting and beating that level of debt head on (cheers to our younger PF bloggers decimating debt!). The article's final page has several suggestions for grabbing hold of the financial reins including creating a budget, setting financial goals, saving for retirement and other helpful basics.
One of the things that I think is hard for people is to understand the long term financial impact of justifying what can amount to overspending on their children. What parent wants to deny their child? Parents want their kids to have "everything" but without an understanding of long term goals and needs, spending in the present can get out of hand. The article suggests:
It's important for people to not feel powerless. Whether it's from paying off your debt to changing public policy. Another suggestion in the article is for young adults to get involved in the political landscape to address some of these problems. Tamara Draut, author of Strapped: Why America’s 20- and 30-Somethings Can’t Get Ahead
Put your future over your children’s present. Many young families are lavishing more money on their kids when they should be thinking long-term first, said Manning. “They justify the money they spend on their youngsters, such as buying an expensive house in a good school district as worth it for their future, but in reality they would be better served if there was enough money to send them to college.”
points out why this is critical:“We’re the first Americans to start our lives with five-figure debt and start our careers in an Darwinian new economy. Congress has decimated college financial aid and let the minimum wage fall to historic lows. If we continue to tune out and check out of the political process, our future will be all but stolen from us.”
If you've been keeping up with personal finance lately, there wasn't much that was new in this article, but it's a good hard look at the combined effect that certain trends are having on our youth and our shared future. It's not just that youth are all spendy spendy with the credit card (though that may be part of the problem, but it's certainly NOT just our youth...is it?) so let's just stop blaming and make sure this doesn't come crashing down on all our heads (too gloomy?)
I think the key is to make yourself aware and educate yourself on your situation and don't slip into denial and then...just START. Do any one of those things on the list just to get going. Starting is the best thing you can choose to do.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
6 Meals From a Costco Chicken
If you have a Costco membership you probably already know about the chickens. A hot, plump, juicy, rotisseried bird for about $5 that has a lot of rapturous fans. Including me. LaLa and I can typically squeeze about 5-6 meals out of one chicken using a few simple recipes. Now that we are attempting to concentrate our shopping during a month, this includes a montly Costco trip. So the 6 meal Costco Chicken is becoming a welcome monthly ritual.We're not the only ones using a pre-cooked chicken to jump-start our meals and we're still scouting for more recipes. But below are our favorite uses of the chicken and I hope to post more in the future. These recipes feed the two of us, and the chicken is typically one of many ingredients (or else it wouldn't last, right?). You will obviously have to adjust for your own portion needs, etc ;)
The key to this not being an a$-ache is to get all the chicken off the bone asap (we usually do this right after the "first meal") and preferrably shred it right away and store it in a container in the fridge already shredded. These meals then are very easy to make...trust me, I'm lazy!
First Meal...Hunk o' Chicken
When we bring the bird home, we carve one side of the breast off and split it between the two of us. If we can't eat it within 2 hours of bringing it home, it's best to refrigerate it for safety and eat it cold. Of course we eat something else in addition to the chicken...either a vegetable or a salad to round out the meal.
Clutter2Cash's Chicken Quesadillas
We usually have this about 3 times per chicken. Typically we will have at least one tortilla's worth a piece and occasionally we'll split another. The key here is to get out all your ingredients before you start. Most ingredients are not precisely measured, so do it to your taste. This recipe is per tortilla:
- 1 Tortilla (we use Manny's white flour)
- 1 handful of "mexican mix" pre-shredded cheese
- a few ounces of shredded chicken (enough to lightly cover one half the tortilla)
- about a teaspoon of shredded cilantro
- Chipotle powder
- Ancho powder
- Frank's Red Hot
- 1 half a piece of cooked crumbled bacon [optional, but totally worth it]
- Pre-heat a large cast iron skillet, flat griddle pan or similar on medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place the tortilla on it for a few seconds, then flip. Keep an eye on the heat and the tortilla as you build the quesadilla, you don't want the tortilla getting too crispy.
- Spread the cheese over the entire tortilla and sprinkle both chipotle and ancho powders to taste (chipotle is spicy, ancho is milder) over the cheese. I typically do a generous dusting of both.
- Spread the shredded chicken evenly over half the tortilla. Spread the crumbled bacon over the chicken.
- Add Frank's Red Hot (Tabasco won't cut it folks) to taste (I do several zig-zagged splashes across the entire tortilla and top the chicken with cilantro before folding the bare cheese side over to cover the chicken side. Press flat with a spatula. If cheese is not completely melted or tortilla hasn't started to slightly crisp, cook a very short while longer, flipping if necessary.
- Cut into thirds or quarters (like pie wedges) and serve with salsa, sour cream, guacamole etc...or even plain!
- Variation: add sliced avocado before closing (super yummy)
Clutter2Cash's Sesame Noodles with Shredded Chicken
We can usually serve this twice in addition to the 3 quesadillas meal which usually brings our total to 6. Sometimes we use too much chicken on the quesadillas and only have enough for one sesame noodles meal. My version is really a slightly tweaked version of Rachel Ray's but also serves two:
- 1 tablespoon smooth peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2-1 tsp of chili garlic sauce (to taste)
- A few ounces of noodles per person (Rachel uses 1/3 pound thin spaghetti, cooked to al dente, drained and cooled - I use a serving of bean thread noodles each or soba noodles if I have them)
- [optionally add: small amount of brown sugar to taste, small amount of rice or apple cide vinegar to taste]
- Shredded Cilantro (Coriander) for garnish [optional: use 1 chopped scallion instead]
- Cook noodles as per directions and when done run under cold water to stop cooking.
- Whisk peanut butter, sesame oil, garlic sauce and any of the other optional ingredients in a large bowl until mixed and smooth.
- Add noodles and toss to coat. Either add shredded chicken and toss or top served noodles with shredded chicken (whatever your preference). Garnish and serve.
What other ways do you use up a chicken? Share your recipes below and join the fun...
Hybrid
It's probably not that frugal, what with hay for the mules and the occasional carrot and apple. And I bet it doesn't technically qualify for a tax credit. But if you want the shirt...you can grab one at the Feed Store [from Mule Design]
Congratulations to No Credit Needed!
NoCreditNeeded announced on monday that he is done paying off their $11k+ debt and he did it in 10 months! What a great achievement and it's so exciting to watch people achieve their goals. I remember when I finally wiped out our debt last year and what a relief it was to be done with it.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Open Wallet Meme
Though I haven't had much time to post this past week I have been keeping up with what the cool kids have been up to. Cap started it all by showing us his and he's inspired several of us to join the fun by opening our wallets to show what's inside.
Why is this "fun"? Because we are voyeuristic money geeks with an impish streak - oh wait...maybe that's just me....
I carry my wallet in my left front pocket so I strive to keep it slim. I cleaned it out before the holidays (mostly to remove business travel related items). So here is what is currently in my wallet:
- Drivers license
- Citi Dividend MasterCard
- Discover Card (to take advantage of their periodic 5% reward promos)
- AAA Card (used more for discounts than roadside maintenance these days)
- ATM Card
- Health Insurance Card
- Auto Policy Wallet Card
- UnumProvident Employee Assistance Card
- LaLa's Business Card (I always carry at least one)
- Business Card of my prom date whom I saw at reunion and is a great guy (I need to email him!)
- Fortune Cookie Fortune that reads: "You are about to receive a big compliment" [in bed...har har] a slightly humorous memento of good laughs (and yummy PF Chang's food) on my last project -- I totally forgot I had that in there.
When I go on business trips I will carry only one card for personal use (just in case) like the Citi Dividend and I will carry at least one card I only use for business expenses (typically American Express Delta Gold). During projects it's also common for me to carry some sort of loyalty card for a yummy nearby eatery (like Slope's!)
Other things that I have, that most people carry in their wallets and I don't:
- Library Card - LaLa carries it in her wallet. I have the member number saved in firefox so I just request books, then we almost always go to pick them up together. Sometimes I just borrow it.
- Grocery/Pharmacy Cards - whatever you call those things with the bar codes that get you discounts...we have all the keychain versions on a small keychain in the car. When we are shopping it's never farther away than the parking lot
- Finagle-a-Bagel loyalty card - also in the car. yum. and if you don't have one, why must you hate freedom?
- Dental Insurance Card - the dentist has a copy on file so I don't need to carry it
New Home Valuation Tool
The Travelgnome let me know that Zillow.com, a new home valuation site, launched today. He saw the article on CNNMoney and passed it along. Apparently Zillow in it's beta state was completely unprepared for the onslaught of traffic and was offline most of the day. This was frustrating just because I was dying to check them out. But I forgive them (been there...it's not pleasant) and they do seem to be stable now.
Zillow aims to empower buyers, sellers and homeowners in the realm of real estate...and they are starting by providing a robust and flexible tool for home valuation. Aside from the implications for buying and selling real estate, if you are a homeowner trying to track your networth, this is sexy stuff.
No more wading through sites that solely treat you as a sales lead for real estate agents or mortgages...and no more huge meaningless range from HomeValueBot. Zillow formulates your initial "Zestimate" based on comps (comparable recent home sales) but they allow you to leverage your unique knowledge of your property to "tweak" the value. You can further qualify your results by adding certain home improvements and even noting things that would reduce the value of your home (say, if you needed a new roof). And you can even choose your own comps...since of course you know your neighborhood best.
According to the CNN article they also factor in variables that affect the entire market (such as current interest rates) so you have a pretty good shot at a decent valuation if your data is accurate and they have good data coverage for your area.
I am really excited that someone is finally attempting to do what Domania promised when they launched in 2000. I worked for Domania back then and we had built a promising valuation tool that was recently taken offline that I miss every time I have been forced to settle for HomeValueBot. I think Zillow is my new crush.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
January Networth Update
I've updated my January networth over on NetworthIQ:
The updated networth represents a 2.4% increase over last month. And at least for now, I appear to be on track for my 2006 year end target of $275,000.
The updated networth represents a 2.4% increase over last month. And at least for now, I appear to be on track for my 2006 year end target of $275,000.
Recipe: Clutter2Cash's Kale & Kielbasa Soup
So far we have received kale with each organic vegetable delivery. Luckily I have found a recipe for kale that LaLa actually likes. It's based on my mother's delicious Kale & Sausage Soup recipe but I tweaked it for no good reason other than I can't even leave a damn fine recipe alone (honestly we were short on some ingredients). I also tried to keep dirty pots to a minimum because I'm a lazy cook! You can substitute any good quality smoked sausage or even try making your own to make this recipe cost even less to make.
While I'm sure there are many less expensive recipes to cook (potato soup anyone?) this is still a very affordable meal to make - we get two meals out of it - and it's a great hearty winter soup. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I fear we ate it too fast ;) Enjoy!
Clutter2Cash's Kale & Kielbasa Soup (Serves 4)
28oz beef broth (I chose Swanson Organic Beef)
2 medium potatoes
8" Harrington's Kielbasa
1 bunch kale - cut off stalks & shredded fine
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large cloves garlic minced or put through a press
1/8 tsp. white pepper
Salt
Frank's Red Hot sauce
1. Cut kielbasa lengthwise in half, then in half lengthwise again. Slice each of the 4 long pieces into 1/4" wide pie shaped slices. Cook the kielbasa pieces in dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat until the fat has rendered and the pieces are browned. Drain and discard the fat, blot the kielbasa in paper towels and set aside.
2. Add olive oil to cooking pot and saute garlic over medium heat until fragrant and soft ~ 2 mins
3. Cut up potatoes with skin on (the smaller the pieces, the faster they'll cook) and add broth and potatoes to pot when garlic is done. Bring pot to a boil and cook until pototoes are soft.
4. Mash potatoes in broth while still over flame and/or use a stick blender to break the potatoes down and fully blend into the broth.
5. Add kale, kielbasa, vinegar and pepper to the pot and cook at a simmer until kale is tender @ 15 mins. (you might add some water or more broth here if the beef broth has really cooked down)
6. Add salt and Frank's to taste (I give it 10 good shakes for spicy vinegar goodness)
While I'm sure there are many less expensive recipes to cook (potato soup anyone?) this is still a very affordable meal to make - we get two meals out of it - and it's a great hearty winter soup. I wish I had taken a picture of it, but I fear we ate it too fast ;) Enjoy!
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