I'm going to try to keep my March goals simple again, so I can actually get something done. It's not surprising that we need a little bit more to hang onto emotionally, to control on our own, of our own will... beyond all of the uncertainty and flimsiness of everything else going on around us now. So here goes - one financial goal, two writing goals and one fitness goal... We'll see how I do!
>Absorb $500 of my $1,000 business school tuition deposit in March expenses (by reductions in food, gifts, and clothing)
>Finish all content for my brother's advice-journal gift
>Do 30 min of Wii Fit 5 days/wk and Do 1 hr of Wii 2 days/wk
>Write 2 more pages of my story.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Nonfiction Kick Continues...
This month was....
Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Subtitle: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness
This was certainly interesting, and I found myself referencing some of the basic principles in conversation quite a bit in the past month. The basic concept as I already wrote about HERE is that of libertarian paternalism – the authors support freedom, but recognize that you can keep freedoms intact and still subtly encourage people to make better decisions by choosing defaults in a paternalistic way and ensuring that information is readily available and positioned carefully to support better decisions. I really enjoyed reading it, but some of the examples of nudges were pretty far-fetched: attaching pictures of houses next to your retirement savings (a shack for a 2% savings rate and a nice urban condo for 10% savings rate) just seem farcical.
The Organic Foods Sourcebook by Elaine Marie Lipson
It’s very easy to slip into thinking of organic as one more privileged principle of the much-accessoried yuppiedom I have uncomfortably begun inhabiting. On Saturdays, we go to Costco, on Sundays we read the Times, in our grocery cart, the strawberries and raisin bran have to be Organic. Reading the original hippie handbook was a reminder to myself of the health-oriented causes of the panic around pesticides and a government with no incentive to support people over multinational corporations. Reading it now, interdependency shone as the most important theme and principle behind the organic movement. You can’t tinker with one thing without unknowingly affecting others. And it also produced a question which I’ve now begun researching answers to – how long before I could feasibly eliminate or radically reduce the pesticide residues in my own body. There is a transitional period in organic farming – land must have been farmed with organic methods for three years before its produce can be certified organic. But what is that same transitional period for humans? If I converted to an all-organic diet now, how long would it be before my breast milk wouldn’t contaminate my children? Three years, or ten years? Or is it even possible? The notion of interdependency in general also rings true on some other events going on in the news right now... hmm, what could I be referring to?
Nudge by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein
Subtitle: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth and Happiness
This was certainly interesting, and I found myself referencing some of the basic principles in conversation quite a bit in the past month. The basic concept as I already wrote about HERE is that of libertarian paternalism – the authors support freedom, but recognize that you can keep freedoms intact and still subtly encourage people to make better decisions by choosing defaults in a paternalistic way and ensuring that information is readily available and positioned carefully to support better decisions. I really enjoyed reading it, but some of the examples of nudges were pretty far-fetched: attaching pictures of houses next to your retirement savings (a shack for a 2% savings rate and a nice urban condo for 10% savings rate) just seem farcical.
The Organic Foods Sourcebook by Elaine Marie Lipson
It’s very easy to slip into thinking of organic as one more privileged principle of the much-accessoried yuppiedom I have uncomfortably begun inhabiting. On Saturdays, we go to Costco, on Sundays we read the Times, in our grocery cart, the strawberries and raisin bran have to be Organic. Reading the original hippie handbook was a reminder to myself of the health-oriented causes of the panic around pesticides and a government with no incentive to support people over multinational corporations. Reading it now, interdependency shone as the most important theme and principle behind the organic movement. You can’t tinker with one thing without unknowingly affecting others. And it also produced a question which I’ve now begun researching answers to – how long before I could feasibly eliminate or radically reduce the pesticide residues in my own body. There is a transitional period in organic farming – land must have been farmed with organic methods for three years before its produce can be certified organic. But what is that same transitional period for humans? If I converted to an all-organic diet now, how long would it be before my breast milk wouldn’t contaminate my children? Three years, or ten years? Or is it even possible? The notion of interdependency in general also rings true on some other events going on in the news right now... hmm, what could I be referring to?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
February Goals Recap
I actually managed to keep my goals this month! After this weekend visiting Boston coming up, I'm on track to go overbudget.... BUT at least I'm making some progress on my other goals:
Carpool to work at least 3x per week
- Check! For three weeks, I carpooled 4 times a week! And this week, I only made it once. But I will be out of town for two days, so not sure that counts...
Sell our old dresser on Craigs List
Check! Amazingly, someone finally took an interest in our vintage, antique, well-treasured, missing-a-knob dresser. Sold for $125! And now we can actually see the floor in our spare room!
Send Valentines to friends
Check! I sent only three Valentines, but they were all hand-written long notes that I think meant something special to the three gals that received them.
Reach out / make a date to hang out with someone new
Check! The Guy and I made a date to have dinner with a colleague from work and his wife... and they were so fun, we laughed our heads off all night, and went back to their home post-dinner to try out some hookah he had brought back from Turkey. Unexpected, and way cool.
Write two NEW pages of my story.
Half-check. I made some progress on my story and got just enough confidence to keep going on it. I want to carry this one over to next month, so I can actually dedicate more time to getting it in a presentable place. The Guy always complains because I never let him read my writing... not my fiction, not this blog, not my college thesis... so I am going to try to get it into a state where I will actually be comfortable handing it over...
Nothing like setting small goals to get that feeling of accomplishment someway or another...
Carpool to work at least 3x per week
- Check! For three weeks, I carpooled 4 times a week! And this week, I only made it once. But I will be out of town for two days, so not sure that counts...
Sell our old dresser on Craigs List
Check! Amazingly, someone finally took an interest in our vintage, antique, well-treasured, missing-a-knob dresser. Sold for $125! And now we can actually see the floor in our spare room!
Send Valentines to friends
Check! I sent only three Valentines, but they were all hand-written long notes that I think meant something special to the three gals that received them.
Reach out / make a date to hang out with someone new
Check! The Guy and I made a date to have dinner with a colleague from work and his wife... and they were so fun, we laughed our heads off all night, and went back to their home post-dinner to try out some hookah he had brought back from Turkey. Unexpected, and way cool.
Write two NEW pages of my story.
Half-check. I made some progress on my story and got just enough confidence to keep going on it. I want to carry this one over to next month, so I can actually dedicate more time to getting it in a presentable place. The Guy always complains because I never let him read my writing... not my fiction, not this blog, not my college thesis... so I am going to try to get it into a state where I will actually be comfortable handing it over...
Nothing like setting small goals to get that feeling of accomplishment someway or another...
Monday, February 23, 2009
Wigadoo my Spring Break, Please!
I love the idea of this website: Wigadoo is an online pledging site, only in the UK right now, although I think you can use some aspects from the US. The intent is essentially to reduce some of the risk of planning big (spendy) trips or outings with friends, because folks have pledged a certain amount to chip in, in advance. It also helps people think through the costs up front, so you don’t have the common phenomenon of folks signing up for plans only to reneg later when they realize they can’t really afford it. It really gets to the psychology of how people think about money, too – there’s not a moment I hate more than divvying up the restaurant check at the end of the evening. Because money is not a very friendly operation – it magnifies what’s mine, what’s yours, what I have, what you have (or don’t.) People like to reduce the process to absolute routine: plug this and pay that, no emotional wavering involved, or “I’ll get the appetizer ‘cause you spotted me money for parking two weeks ago.” It takes the emotional accounting out and turns it into just, accounting. I like that.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
My EFC Pronouncement is Back...
This is my first time dealing with the whole FAFSA / loan process arrangement, so I’m still puzzling through what my EFC (Estimated Family Contribution) will actually mean in reality. My Estimated Family Contribution – ie. what the government has determined I can afford to give towards my education - turns out to be $22,508. Which I’m assuming means that I should be prepared to seek at least that much in loans. Gulp.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
On Privatizing Marriage...
Just finished “Nudge” – a libertarian tome on how to help people make better choices without restricting their freedom. One of their nudges was the proposal of privatizing marriage.
This would essentially turn what we know as marriage today into simply a civil union. Instead of getting a marriage license from the state, you would get a piece of paper licensing a civil union. Any contract beyond that would be dealt by another institution – the church. I presume that the majority of protestant churches would go on pronouncing folks man and wife as per usual. And your church would decide whether or not you can marry under their auspices, and certainly a whole marketplace of religious houses already exist so that practically any two people who desired would no longer have an obstacle.
What this would do would essentially eliminate the debate on gay marriage – the government would no longer be involved in or associated with the notion of “marriage” at all. They would have nullified the argument not by granting homosexual marriage rights, but by moving everyone down to the civil union level. No distinction between the benefits of being married and the benefits of having a civil union. It seems like human rights activists would have to be appeased by this – if all benefits are present, and all are equal, how can you take issue with that arrangement – no matter what you call it?
But if you simply find-and-replace “marriage” with “civil union,” are there any other ramificiations? Are marriages less consequential somehow without government sanction? i.e. Would we see any social changes that would affect our society for better or worse? Certainly, we could expect the amount of marriages overall to increase, accounting for all of the people who could now marry as a result. Would heterosexual marriages also increase? Would it all seem like “less of a big deal” such that we’d have high school sweethearts rushing out to get married, ahem a civil union, with the deep underlying knowledge, that they may have multiple marriages in their lifetime, creating a new social norm that makes it even less sacred than it already is? Would good friends across the globe apply for civil unions for the government benefits alone? Would our society be less stable if people saw not having a civil union with someone as “leaving money on the table.” Or is that argument inane simply because, nothing’s stopping anyone from doing that now, other than the fact that it says marriage instead of civil union on the document.
Or is the concept of privatizing marriage too idealized? When we privatized healthcare with the HMO system, government was still very much entangled, via a world of lobbyists vying for favorable legislation. What sort of additional “marriage markets” would crop up for various couples, and how would the government still be involved with the industry if not the endorsement of marriages.
I did find another interesting 2007 OpEd which brings in a lot of the history of marriage, but didn’t help me resolve any of these thoughts…. I’m intrigued by these libertarian folks…
This would essentially turn what we know as marriage today into simply a civil union. Instead of getting a marriage license from the state, you would get a piece of paper licensing a civil union. Any contract beyond that would be dealt by another institution – the church. I presume that the majority of protestant churches would go on pronouncing folks man and wife as per usual. And your church would decide whether or not you can marry under their auspices, and certainly a whole marketplace of religious houses already exist so that practically any two people who desired would no longer have an obstacle.
What this would do would essentially eliminate the debate on gay marriage – the government would no longer be involved in or associated with the notion of “marriage” at all. They would have nullified the argument not by granting homosexual marriage rights, but by moving everyone down to the civil union level. No distinction between the benefits of being married and the benefits of having a civil union. It seems like human rights activists would have to be appeased by this – if all benefits are present, and all are equal, how can you take issue with that arrangement – no matter what you call it?
But if you simply find-and-replace “marriage” with “civil union,” are there any other ramificiations? Are marriages less consequential somehow without government sanction? i.e. Would we see any social changes that would affect our society for better or worse? Certainly, we could expect the amount of marriages overall to increase, accounting for all of the people who could now marry as a result. Would heterosexual marriages also increase? Would it all seem like “less of a big deal” such that we’d have high school sweethearts rushing out to get married, ahem a civil union, with the deep underlying knowledge, that they may have multiple marriages in their lifetime, creating a new social norm that makes it even less sacred than it already is? Would good friends across the globe apply for civil unions for the government benefits alone? Would our society be less stable if people saw not having a civil union with someone as “leaving money on the table.” Or is that argument inane simply because, nothing’s stopping anyone from doing that now, other than the fact that it says marriage instead of civil union on the document.
Or is the concept of privatizing marriage too idealized? When we privatized healthcare with the HMO system, government was still very much entangled, via a world of lobbyists vying for favorable legislation. What sort of additional “marriage markets” would crop up for various couples, and how would the government still be involved with the industry if not the endorsement of marriages.
I did find another interesting 2007 OpEd which brings in a lot of the history of marriage, but didn’t help me resolve any of these thoughts…. I’m intrigued by these libertarian folks…
Friday, February 20, 2009
Thank You for Nothing, Citi...
Received very cryptic letter from Citi today.
“Dear Suzy:
As of March 15, 2009, we are changing some of the terms and conditions that will affect your ability to earn and redeem ThankYou Points. They listed about a million conditions under which I could lose the points I’d already accrued, but the first one was the big one: “ThankYou Network may be revised in a manner that may affect your ability to use the ThankYou Points you have already accumulated.” i.e. we can “revise” the program to eliminate what you’ve earned, pretty much whenever we feel like it.”
I immediately went on to the ThankYou Network website and ordered a $50 giftcard to Banana Republic with my 6,000 points. And will check in one more time to cash out before this curious March 15th deadline. And then we’ll see what happens after that…
When I’m not satisfied with any other service or company, I just end the relationship. And yet with credit cards, I fear doing anything that will impact my credit score, and I would think closing this account would. So I will just deal, charge a tank of gas on it a month, and spend more on my other cards that give me better rewards.
“Dear Suzy:
As of March 15, 2009, we are changing some of the terms and conditions that will affect your ability to earn and redeem ThankYou Points. They listed about a million conditions under which I could lose the points I’d already accrued, but the first one was the big one: “ThankYou Network may be revised in a manner that may affect your ability to use the ThankYou Points you have already accumulated.” i.e. we can “revise” the program to eliminate what you’ve earned, pretty much whenever we feel like it.”
I immediately went on to the ThankYou Network website and ordered a $50 giftcard to Banana Republic with my 6,000 points. And will check in one more time to cash out before this curious March 15th deadline. And then we’ll see what happens after that…
When I’m not satisfied with any other service or company, I just end the relationship. And yet with credit cards, I fear doing anything that will impact my credit score, and I would think closing this account would. So I will just deal, charge a tank of gas on it a month, and spend more on my other cards that give me better rewards.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
A Few Good Reads...
A few non-financial notables I’ve been perusing lately….
Bottlenotes
This website is still getting off the ground, so there’s not a lot of activity, and some of it is simply promotional at this point, but I think this has potential to be a real community for those so inclined. Just filling out the introductory survey was moving for me – from radial button answers to ranking grape and sensory preferences in wine – to open-ended questions like When did you first taste wine? and When did you first love wine? they really sparked my memory and capacity for nostalgia. Something wine itself does. They also help you identify great promising new wines by price range, which is helpful when you’ve graduated from the two-buck-chuck at Trader Joe’s but are still budget-conscious.
Beanstock’d
The mission of the website is intended to incorporate ecologically sensitive information and green-propaganda into the delivery of pop culture gossip and news. Sort of like a Green E! channel. The combination is sometimes clumsy. But like all gossip networks, it’s sort of addicting prose. And as I don’t currently read anything else of that nature, I can somehow justify having it in my Google Reader.
TED
I feel a little embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of TED before a few weeks ago when a friend of mine sent me the link and recommended a few. The premise: tap amazing talent to give the talk of their lives in 20 minutes. In some cases that really means a talk about their life, and in others, it means a talk on the subject that fuels their life, and literally the best and most inspiring talk they have given and will ever give. Such a bold challenge for the boldest of characters living in this age inevitably produces inspiring little pockets of 20 minutes. My favorite so far in getting through the archives has been hearing Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, talk about genius.
Bottlenotes
This website is still getting off the ground, so there’s not a lot of activity, and some of it is simply promotional at this point, but I think this has potential to be a real community for those so inclined. Just filling out the introductory survey was moving for me – from radial button answers to ranking grape and sensory preferences in wine – to open-ended questions like When did you first taste wine? and When did you first love wine? they really sparked my memory and capacity for nostalgia. Something wine itself does. They also help you identify great promising new wines by price range, which is helpful when you’ve graduated from the two-buck-chuck at Trader Joe’s but are still budget-conscious.
Beanstock’d
The mission of the website is intended to incorporate ecologically sensitive information and green-propaganda into the delivery of pop culture gossip and news. Sort of like a Green E! channel. The combination is sometimes clumsy. But like all gossip networks, it’s sort of addicting prose. And as I don’t currently read anything else of that nature, I can somehow justify having it in my Google Reader.
TED
I feel a little embarrassed to admit that I had never heard of TED before a few weeks ago when a friend of mine sent me the link and recommended a few. The premise: tap amazing talent to give the talk of their lives in 20 minutes. In some cases that really means a talk about their life, and in others, it means a talk on the subject that fuels their life, and literally the best and most inspiring talk they have given and will ever give. Such a bold challenge for the boldest of characters living in this age inevitably produces inspiring little pockets of 20 minutes. My favorite so far in getting through the archives has been hearing Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat Pray Love, talk about genius.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Big Financial Blunders
When I think back on what I would consider my big financial blunders since graduating from college, they don’t seem so bad. When I tried to think about them, I actually only came up with two:
+ Last minute flight a few years ago to DC to visit a friend on a whim $550
+ Falling prey to the super-expensive “spa-like” dentist and having two fillings there $800
In the long run, lessons learned, and not that big of a deal. Both are somewhat justifiable in the name of friendship and health, despite the upcharge.
Which reminds me that it’s often the smaller things – not the big things, that really tend to get you off kilter financially – just eating out too much, shopping too much, little by little. Like this month… having already gotten through 80% of my discretionary spending in 50% of the days. Sigh. What are your past financial blunders, recalled?
+ Last minute flight a few years ago to DC to visit a friend on a whim $550
+ Falling prey to the super-expensive “spa-like” dentist and having two fillings there $800
In the long run, lessons learned, and not that big of a deal. Both are somewhat justifiable in the name of friendship and health, despite the upcharge.
Which reminds me that it’s often the smaller things – not the big things, that really tend to get you off kilter financially – just eating out too much, shopping too much, little by little. Like this month… having already gotten through 80% of my discretionary spending in 50% of the days. Sigh. What are your past financial blunders, recalled?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Starting Salary Figures Can be Deceiving
Some new Payscale research just emerged about post-MBA salaries. According to Business Week, who released the findings along with a handy table comparing schools, a lot of MBA programs highlight starting salaries, which are only one part of the picture. Equally, if not more important, is the salary range throughout your lifetime. They try to give you a sense of the ROI of your investment in going back to school. It’s a little deceiving as it only includes base salary (not stocks/options/benefits you could receive), but it’s still interesting to compare. For the two schools I’m deciding between it seems like Harvard is a better bet on every metric… but money’s not the ONLY motivator for me, clearly.
Harvard
Starting Salary (medians): $134,000
5 Years Out: $150,000
10 Years Out: $184,000
15 Years Out: $227,000
20 Years Out: $230,000
Stanford
Starting Salary: $128,000
5 Years Out: $139,000
10 Years Out: $148,000
15 Years Out: $179,000
20 Years Out: $202,000
Harvard
Starting Salary (medians): $134,000
5 Years Out: $150,000
10 Years Out: $184,000
15 Years Out: $227,000
20 Years Out: $230,000
Stanford
Starting Salary: $128,000
5 Years Out: $139,000
10 Years Out: $148,000
15 Years Out: $179,000
20 Years Out: $202,000
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Valentine's Day Under $20
This year the Guy and I planned the perfect romantic weekend:
+ Museum Talk on Elizabeth Peyton’s new exhibit: “Live Forever” (which just moved from NY to Minneapolis) – FREE, $4 for parking, footed by me
+ A white tablecloth Valentine’s Evening at Whitecastle – $13.40, footed by the Guy Mmm slyders!
+ Dessert: coffee cake and a bottle of wine at home, while watching the NBA slam dunk competition and Garden State
+ Joint Donation to the Dana Farber in Lieu of gifts - $150, split evenly between us
Total Spending: $84/person - but mostly for a good cause! The rest was under $20, and completely memorable...
Friday, February 13, 2009
A Sad Commentary
So my company is impacted by the recent peanut butter recall (we do not actually have products to recall, but people think we do… that whole “better safe than sorry” mentality). Plus consumers don’t have time to check the company websites of every product they pull off the shelf. So our consumer insights group commissioned a quick study on the matter and one of the findings was that more people are aware of the peanut butter recall (87%) than the worsened state of the economy (84%)!
Wow, which really just goes to show you how oblivious people are and how little people like to think about money!
"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like 10% unemployment"
… er, I mean, unrequited love – sorry Charlie Brown.
Wow, which really just goes to show you how oblivious people are and how little people like to think about money!
"Nothing takes the taste out of peanut butter quite like 10% unemployment"
… er, I mean, unrequited love – sorry Charlie Brown.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
My Tax Refund Savings Stimulus Plan
The good news is in: $1696 Federal and $444 State for a total of $2140. Same as last year, but still feels like an unexpected relief. $1000 will go toward my Business School deposit, $500 to maxing out my Roth IRA (stretch goal, done!), and the rest to beefing up my emergency fund. Yay!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Financial Freedom and HandCuffs
I've been reading every drop about the billions in the stimulus packages and listening to all of the NPR stories on the economic crisis, the credit crisis, the housing crisis, ad nauseum, and I don't think I could hear an original thought about it at this point. But then I brushed across this quote in an old Moleskine, and it seemed extremely salient...
“The ideas that liberate one generation become the shackles of the next”
– Sir Isaiah Berlin
“The ideas that liberate one generation become the shackles of the next”
– Sir Isaiah Berlin
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
"In Case of Emergency" but not THE "Emergency Fund"
How much money is the right amount to have immediately available to you, in case of emergency?
With all of these big b-school expenses on the horizon, I’ve had that question on my mind lately. Like many of you I’m sure, I funnel a great deal of my savings into my ING account, which is not very accessible, purposefully so. I have two other accounts – Bank of America and my corporate federal credit union. My BOA account is the main one I use for direct deposit, paying credit cards and bills, etc., and I feel like I’ve kept it more or less at the right level – I have enough cushion that I’m not worrying about overdraft fees without wasting any interest potential. But the credit union account is essentially just a rainy day account – it’s helped when I wanted to take out a big lump sum for a vacation or a necessary shopping spree without interrupting my BOA cycle, and ensuring I’m always able to pay every credit card bill in full. But how much is too much to have in that account? Should I just move it over to the emergency fund – out of reach? Or should I keep some of those funds handy now that I have more unexpected expenses coming up? Right now, it’s at $1150.
I know it’s almost impossible to come up with that magic number yet, but I don’t feel like I’ve gotten there yet on this one… Does anyone have any principles / rules of thumb they use for how much “in case of emergency” (but not the emergency fund) money to have on hand?”
With all of these big b-school expenses on the horizon, I’ve had that question on my mind lately. Like many of you I’m sure, I funnel a great deal of my savings into my ING account, which is not very accessible, purposefully so. I have two other accounts – Bank of America and my corporate federal credit union. My BOA account is the main one I use for direct deposit, paying credit cards and bills, etc., and I feel like I’ve kept it more or less at the right level – I have enough cushion that I’m not worrying about overdraft fees without wasting any interest potential. But the credit union account is essentially just a rainy day account – it’s helped when I wanted to take out a big lump sum for a vacation or a necessary shopping spree without interrupting my BOA cycle, and ensuring I’m always able to pay every credit card bill in full. But how much is too much to have in that account? Should I just move it over to the emergency fund – out of reach? Or should I keep some of those funds handy now that I have more unexpected expenses coming up? Right now, it’s at $1150.
I know it’s almost impossible to come up with that magic number yet, but I don’t feel like I’ve gotten there yet on this one… Does anyone have any principles / rules of thumb they use for how much “in case of emergency” (but not the emergency fund) money to have on hand?”
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Good News and Bad...
The Guy has a great opportunity coming up at work to get more sales training in another office – so he will be living in another city – right now, we don’t know which – for a month. Living in a hotel with a corporate card for a month!!! I have to say it will be really strange to be living alone again for that long, and I know it will be lonely. But there is a silver lining… next month can be my haven of frugality. I know I will be able to save a LOT. I love the Guy and all, but he’s just not as savings-conscious as I am, and so I often fall prey to his takeout or restaurant requests, because I want to make sure I’m not smothering him with my pf philosophies.
Which is ideal because March is when my initial $1,000 tuition deposit is due for school. So my goal is to absorb $500 of that hit in my March expenses. It will be a challenge, but by cutting down on food costs and entertainment, I think it may be achievable.
Which is ideal because March is when my initial $1,000 tuition deposit is due for school. So my goal is to absorb $500 of that hit in my March expenses. It will be a challenge, but by cutting down on food costs and entertainment, I think it may be achievable.
Friday, February 6, 2009
Some Serious Meal Planning - Mini Chicken Pot Pies
The Guy and I have been getting to that there-is-nothing-in-the-fridge moment a little too often this past month, and I really can’t help but think it’s because we didn’t really plan ahead much. So, before we went to the grocery store, we made a list and did some serious meal planning. And I discovered a great “second or third night” of meal-planning to deal with all of the leftovers. Mini Chicken Pot Pies!!! These are super yummy and by my calculations – only 500 calories per ramekin of mini pot pie.
Ingredients:
Two 4-oz. chicken breasts – baked the day before
Handful of leftover green beans (or really any other veg you have on hand)
That perennial bag of baby carrots in the fridge
Puff Pastry
2/3 cup Light Sour Cream (or Crème Fraiche if you have that kind of refrigerator)
A little more than half an Onion
1 ¼ cup chicken broth
4 ramekins/souffle dishes/small bowls
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 450. Sautee onion, carrots, green beans on med-high for 8 min. Add chicken broth, turn down the heat and simmer for another 8 min. until some of the liquid is absorbed. Add the sour cream and chicken. Add filling into puff pastry soufflé cups or ramekins and cover with additional pastry. Brush a tiny bit of the sour cream on the tops of the filling. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until everything is warmed through. Enjoy.
Ingredients:
Two 4-oz. chicken breasts – baked the day before
Handful of leftover green beans (or really any other veg you have on hand)
That perennial bag of baby carrots in the fridge
Puff Pastry
2/3 cup Light Sour Cream (or Crème Fraiche if you have that kind of refrigerator)
A little more than half an Onion
1 ¼ cup chicken broth
4 ramekins/souffle dishes/small bowls
Recipe:
Preheat oven to 450. Sautee onion, carrots, green beans on med-high for 8 min. Add chicken broth, turn down the heat and simmer for another 8 min. until some of the liquid is absorbed. Add the sour cream and chicken. Add filling into puff pastry soufflé cups or ramekins and cover with additional pastry. Brush a tiny bit of the sour cream on the tops of the filling. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until everything is warmed through. Enjoy.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
How to Plan for Pre-School Expenses
So, as I’m getting more and more excited about school and getting buried in the difficult decision about which coast I’m going to head towards, I’m also realizing that there will be a LOT of expenses even before I grab up the loans and go into debt. I guess I could throw up my hands and say “Oh well, it’s all going to be negative pretty soon anyway,” but I am promising myself that I WON’T have that mentality. I have plenty of negative networth role models out there that have maintained responsible personal finance
I’m also dealing with the not exactly unexpected, but still rather unpredictable expenses associated with enrolling - $25 processing fee for financial aid with the CSS profile, $1,000 deposit due in March, $350 flights out for admit weekend, $300 for hotels at two weekends, required pre-reading and courses, and probably tons of other stuff I’m not thinking of!
For now, I’m trying to keep spending down in every other area I can control, knowing that lots more is going to pop up. I also added a budget line item called “Unexpected”. Any other budgeting techniques for unexpected expenses??
I’m also dealing with the not exactly unexpected, but still rather unpredictable expenses associated with enrolling - $25 processing fee for financial aid with the CSS profile, $1,000 deposit due in March, $350 flights out for admit weekend, $300 for hotels at two weekends, required pre-reading and courses, and probably tons of other stuff I’m not thinking of!
For now, I’m trying to keep spending down in every other area I can control, knowing that lots more is going to pop up. I also added a budget line item called “Unexpected”. Any other budgeting techniques for unexpected expenses??
Monday, February 2, 2009
Writing my Financial Commandments
So my brother is graduating from college next year, and I’m hoping to give him a nice bound journal of advice… mostly financial, since that’s the only advice you’re really looking for at that point in your life. I’m planning to write it all out by hand, so it’s more sentimental and heart-felt, and I have a lot of different categories that I’ve started to brain-dump ideas in. But I also want to kick it off with a Financial Top-Ten List, sort of an exercise in Financial Commandments. Here’s what I have so far… any disagreements, anything to add?
1. Automatic Deductions – You’ll never miss it!
2. Be hyper-conscious of spending
3. Use the Sub-Accounts for Saving with ING (you can reward yourself – save for things you want, not just things you need.)
4. Max out a Roth IRA!
5. Dental care is expensive. Invest in a Sonicare toothbrush.
6. Learn to cook a few easy dishes you love. It’ll save you $1000’s in expensive takeout.
7. Pay off your credit card balances immediately.
8. Judge yourself against your own standards, not the groups you happen to identify with.
9. Plan ahead.
10. Know what you value.
1. Automatic Deductions – You’ll never miss it!
2. Be hyper-conscious of spending
3. Use the Sub-Accounts for Saving with ING (you can reward yourself – save for things you want, not just things you need.)
4. Max out a Roth IRA!
5. Dental care is expensive. Invest in a Sonicare toothbrush.
6. Learn to cook a few easy dishes you love. It’ll save you $1000’s in expensive takeout.
7. Pay off your credit card balances immediately.
8. Judge yourself against your own standards, not the groups you happen to identify with.
9. Plan ahead.
10. Know what you value.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Superbowl Goals
Woop, woop... I hate football, but I do love the superbowl. Something about being lazy with friends in front of the TV and tons of guilty-pleasure snacks...
But I suppose I also need to make some February goals... which I realized I can actually spread out by week:
ALL FEB = Carpool to work at least 3x per week
Wk 1 = Sell our old dresser on Craigs List
Wk 2 = Send Valentines to friends
Wk 3 = Reach out / make a date to hang out with someone new
Wk 4 = Write two NEW pages of my story.
But I suppose I also need to make some February goals... which I realized I can actually spread out by week:
ALL FEB = Carpool to work at least 3x per week
Wk 1 = Sell our old dresser on Craigs List
Wk 2 = Send Valentines to friends
Wk 3 = Reach out / make a date to hang out with someone new
Wk 4 = Write two NEW pages of my story.
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