So I promised to post back on all of the things that I didn't do to try to save $1000 in 30 days (or how I ended up saving only $185). I might dip back into these at a later date... but for now, I'm keeping them on the shelf. Hopefully some of you can find something here that works... or I would encourage you to dip back into the original posts at IWTYTBR.
Things I Didn't Do:
> Enlist the help of friends to help support your savings. – the Guy hears enough about my various savings schemes as is...
> Save money on cell phone bill – I did use billshrink.com and found two offers/plans from other carriers that could save me around $40 a year. For that much money, it’s not really worth my time and patience to pick up the phone and talk to customer retention people, but next year when I move and have to deal with it, I’m going to dig up this resource.
> Fuel Hedging - Now that prices are coming down, I'm less motivated to squirrel away money for smaller expenses like this. I would rather handle it with flexible budgeting.
> Cancel Discretionary Subscriptions – I did cancel my Netflix subscription about 6 months ago, and I haven’t really regretted it at all. The only subscription I have now is my Sunday times, and I get more enjoyment out of that on Sunday mornings than anything. I noticed that the monthly charge is $27, which is expensive, and has definitely creeped back up from the promotional price I opted in at. So I may cancel out and buy newstand in coming months if I need to tighten further. I'm so on the fence...
> No Christmas Gifts this Year. I would like to do this this year. Christmas gifts are so guilt-ridden and awkward sometimes. I would rather do something else to show people that I care about them. But I can’t seem to actually do this one. I want to at least moderate my gift giving this year…. But giving smaller gifts seems even lamer than giving no gifts somehow. I think the best thing is when everyone is on the same page though, which I think we are.
> Cancel any large purchases temporarily – I don’t think I really had any on the docket, but I like the tip of putting a calendar reminder 30 days out, to make sure you really do need whatever decently large purchase you might be considering. I live by calendar reminders so that system might work.
> Self-persuasion…. This one was kind of lost on me frankly. Sorry, Ramit.
> Only Buy new things when replacing something old (also take issue with this guy… I mean, some old things DON’T need to be replaced…
> Minimize interest by paying a little extra off your loan each month (no loans and I pay credit cards off in full)
> Change the Date of Christmas to avoid paying high premiums for airfare, etc (Next year for sure). Or, I may even consider coming home less next year. I hate to say it... but I'm getting older, I have the Guy's side of the family that I could visit instead, or maybe just stay at home awhile. I am coming to realize that I really don't enjoy those extra days in my childhood bed... and I might be able to satisfy the family obligation elsewhere.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Save $1000 (or $185) in 30 Days.
Recently I started reading the blog “I Will Teach You to Be Reach” who recently sponsored a challenge to save $1000 in 30 days. I didn't save anywhere near that amount, but I did record all of the tips and tried to implement many of them. The summary is below, noting which things I actually did and how much I'm thinking I could have saved. The basic idea is that hopefully you can find at least a few things, and hey, maybe you’ll save $100 instead of a $1000. Every bit counts… My calculation: $185 savings. I'll post again on all of the things I didn't do.
Things I Did:
> Packed my lunch for a week. I did this, but beyond this one tip, I would say the underlying idea is to create a system to help reduce food costs at work. Whether you only allow yourself two lunches in the work cafeteria or maybe there’s a set amount per week, it’s easy to exceed what you would budget on these types of expenses because they’re more blind.
($12 savings)
> Sell something on EBAY. Okay, I tried. But it didn’t sell. I think I might stick with good ‘ole Craigslist from now on. Same principle.
($0 savings)
> Create one no-spending day each week. I love this idea. Mine’s going to be each Monday.
($20 savings - probably a generous estimate)
> Buy Generic for Stuff you don’t care about. I do think this is very smart. I already do so with some things, but I know I can go further.
($8 savings)
> Invite People over to one’s house instead of going out (we do this all the time).
($20 savings)
> Use free rewards from credit cards etc (I do already, for holiday gifts!)
($125 savings)
Things I Did:
> Packed my lunch for a week. I did this, but beyond this one tip, I would say the underlying idea is to create a system to help reduce food costs at work. Whether you only allow yourself two lunches in the work cafeteria or maybe there’s a set amount per week, it’s easy to exceed what you would budget on these types of expenses because they’re more blind.
($12 savings)
> Sell something on EBAY. Okay, I tried. But it didn’t sell. I think I might stick with good ‘ole Craigslist from now on. Same principle.
($0 savings)
> Create one no-spending day each week. I love this idea. Mine’s going to be each Monday.
($20 savings - probably a generous estimate)
> Buy Generic for Stuff you don’t care about. I do think this is very smart. I already do so with some things, but I know I can go further.
($8 savings)
> Invite People over to one’s house instead of going out (we do this all the time).
($20 savings)
> Use free rewards from credit cards etc (I do already, for holiday gifts!)
($125 savings)
Friday, December 5, 2008
Improving My Credit Score...
It seems like every other story on NPR these past few weeks have been about how the economy and credit crunch is affecting the colloquial “Main Street.” And the way I’ve been hearing it, it all comes down to one thing…. Your Credit Score. It seems like that one little number is really the difference between how you’re impacted by any of this.
I posted my score here before: 748 (which is only considered “Good”)
To take it up to “Great” and getting beyond the 78th percentile before I really need a loan would be ideal.
A few actions I’ll be taking to help do what I can to improve my credit score:
--> Scheduling my credit card payments monthly so I never turn anything in late.
--> Close my one dormant retail credit card I opened when I was 17.
--> Keep my balance low. Keep charging one tank of gas a month on the two cards that aren’t my primary card.
I posted my score here before: 748 (which is only considered “Good”)
To take it up to “Great” and getting beyond the 78th percentile before I really need a loan would be ideal.
A few actions I’ll be taking to help do what I can to improve my credit score:
--> Scheduling my credit card payments monthly so I never turn anything in late.
--> Close my one dormant retail credit card I opened when I was 17.
--> Keep my balance low. Keep charging one tank of gas a month on the two cards that aren’t my primary card.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Evaluating My Portfolio of Assets
So, I did it... I took the plunge and upped my automatic savings by another $100. I decided I would increase my cash-value life insurance contributions so that I can hopefully cover this no problem, even when I'm in grad school. I think I may even be able to do more... but I want to wait it out and see.
The one blessing of not having a lot of money in these times, as I told my advisor yesterday, is not having to worry so much about the right balance of your portfolio. When you only have a little teensy bit in the market, there’s just not that much nuance you can introduce. But for the future, I do want to re-evaluate my entire portfolio of assets and get a sober assessment of the right balance. I recently found a quick list of resources to help you do just that on your own.
Step 1: Break down all of your assets into three major categories; stocks, bonds and cash.
Step 2: Use Morningstar’s free Instant X-Ray tool (Morningstar.com/goto/instantxray) to display the assets in a pie chart.
Step 3: Decide your target allocation and shift from investments you’re overweighted in to those you’re light on.
Rinse and repeat annually. I think the categorization will be enlightening for me for instance, because often, even when I have my money in many different places, they all might fall into the same category.
The one blessing of not having a lot of money in these times, as I told my advisor yesterday, is not having to worry so much about the right balance of your portfolio. When you only have a little teensy bit in the market, there’s just not that much nuance you can introduce. But for the future, I do want to re-evaluate my entire portfolio of assets and get a sober assessment of the right balance. I recently found a quick list of resources to help you do just that on your own.
Step 1: Break down all of your assets into three major categories; stocks, bonds and cash.
Step 2: Use Morningstar’s free Instant X-Ray tool (Morningstar.com/goto/instantxray) to display the assets in a pie chart.
Step 3: Decide your target allocation and shift from investments you’re overweighted in to those you’re light on.
Rinse and repeat annually. I think the categorization will be enlightening for me for instance, because often, even when I have my money in many different places, they all might fall into the same category.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Meeting with my Financial Advisor Today
I'm meeting with my financial advisor today – long overdue considering the progress I’ve made since our last meeting (a. became a personal finance blogger, b. applied to business school, c. moved in with the Guy, etc. etc.)
I completed the two update worksheets – one which had all of my income statistics and also what I hoped to be making in three years which was a lovely exercise in “who knows” now that the ceiling has come crumbling down. And the other was my monthly budget. I remember being handed this at our initial meeting and thinking it was pretty preposterous. How was I supposed to know how much I spent on all of this stuff? How naïve and not-yet-anal I was! I flew through it more or less with ease, applying a few ranges where appropriate, and was happy to see how close I was matching their categories with mine… I came up with only having a $38 surplus from my income to my expenses. We all know how quickly $38 can be sprinkled throughout multiple categories, so I’m sure that’s where it actually goes.
But it did make me think. Could I contribute $38 more to my Roth? Could I up my cash savings $38? Or more? I know it will only work when I increase something that I don’t already see. So I might just ask my friends at Northwestern Mutual to increase something without telling me. More later to report on the meeting....
I completed the two update worksheets – one which had all of my income statistics and also what I hoped to be making in three years which was a lovely exercise in “who knows” now that the ceiling has come crumbling down. And the other was my monthly budget. I remember being handed this at our initial meeting and thinking it was pretty preposterous. How was I supposed to know how much I spent on all of this stuff? How naïve and not-yet-anal I was! I flew through it more or less with ease, applying a few ranges where appropriate, and was happy to see how close I was matching their categories with mine… I came up with only having a $38 surplus from my income to my expenses. We all know how quickly $38 can be sprinkled throughout multiple categories, so I’m sure that’s where it actually goes.
But it did make me think. Could I contribute $38 more to my Roth? Could I up my cash savings $38? Or more? I know it will only work when I increase something that I don’t already see. So I might just ask my friends at Northwestern Mutual to increase something without telling me. More later to report on the meeting....
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
November Book Reccommendations
I have to admit that I haven’t been very good at updating the sidebar on What I’m Currently Reading. I picked up and rather quickly put down Oliver Stone’s USA because I hadn’t yet seen many of the films referenced. I will hopefully be picking that up when that task is completed! What I have been reading instead:
The Straight Man by Richard Russo
I was lead to believe (by an overly chipper member of our HR dept at work) that this was a funny book. It was funny only in the wryest sense, in which you feel bemused but somehow more depressed for the characters. Coming from an HR recommendation, that just made my reading of the book rather weird. Other than that, it picked up in the second half and was definitely an easy read if nothing else. The one line that stuck with me which I thought was salient: “I’m not a ______ (fill in the blank: sadist, misogynist, whatever), but I can play that role.” There are so many times we pick up the end of a joke or deliver a line knowing that we’re playing a role, more than we’re being true to our own characters. Such an interesting behavior.
The Good Book by Peter J. Gomes
This has been a truly seminal read for me. Growing up in a conservative (Southern Baptist) family, I have had a hard time reconciling what I do see as my own true faith, with my now fairly-liberal political and social views. How can I have faith in the same God of my childhood upbringing and also believe something so heretically different from what my parents/grandparents/minister/ believe about the world. This book takes an intellectual look at what it means to read the Bible and how much the Bible has been misused to mean whatever the cultural consensus prefers. Using examples like prohibition/temperance, slavery, women’s rights, anti-Semitism, abortion, and other cultural battles, Gomes outlines exactly what the Bible does say that could be related to these topics and gives examples of how these passages have been interpreted (for better, or more often for worse). The cultural construction of spirituality is a subject I’ve always been interested in, and this was a really enlightening and truly NEW understanding of some of these issues and how people can construct very different worldviews while still believing in the God of the Bible. I highly recommend it.
The Latest Non-Required Reading Anthology Edited by Dave Eggers
This time the guest editor was Judy Blume and some of the front matter they’ve compiled is truly hysterical. I haven’t gotten to any of the stories yet (I’m sharing this read with the Guy so I’m waiting for him to finish). But the opening bits were just classic. My favorite was seeing the Best Facebook Groups and seeing some of mine in there! Yes, I’m a member of the Facebook Group “I judge you when you use poor grammar.”
The Straight Man by Richard Russo
I was lead to believe (by an overly chipper member of our HR dept at work) that this was a funny book. It was funny only in the wryest sense, in which you feel bemused but somehow more depressed for the characters. Coming from an HR recommendation, that just made my reading of the book rather weird. Other than that, it picked up in the second half and was definitely an easy read if nothing else. The one line that stuck with me which I thought was salient: “I’m not a ______ (fill in the blank: sadist, misogynist, whatever), but I can play that role.” There are so many times we pick up the end of a joke or deliver a line knowing that we’re playing a role, more than we’re being true to our own characters. Such an interesting behavior.
The Good Book by Peter J. Gomes
This has been a truly seminal read for me. Growing up in a conservative (Southern Baptist) family, I have had a hard time reconciling what I do see as my own true faith, with my now fairly-liberal political and social views. How can I have faith in the same God of my childhood upbringing and also believe something so heretically different from what my parents/grandparents/minister/ believe about the world. This book takes an intellectual look at what it means to read the Bible and how much the Bible has been misused to mean whatever the cultural consensus prefers. Using examples like prohibition/temperance, slavery, women’s rights, anti-Semitism, abortion, and other cultural battles, Gomes outlines exactly what the Bible does say that could be related to these topics and gives examples of how these passages have been interpreted (for better, or more often for worse). The cultural construction of spirituality is a subject I’ve always been interested in, and this was a really enlightening and truly NEW understanding of some of these issues and how people can construct very different worldviews while still believing in the God of the Bible. I highly recommend it.
The Latest Non-Required Reading Anthology Edited by Dave Eggers
This time the guest editor was Judy Blume and some of the front matter they’ve compiled is truly hysterical. I haven’t gotten to any of the stories yet (I’m sharing this read with the Guy so I’m waiting for him to finish). But the opening bits were just classic. My favorite was seeing the Best Facebook Groups and seeing some of mine in there! Yes, I’m a member of the Facebook Group “I judge you when you use poor grammar.”
Monday, December 1, 2008
November Goals Wrap-Up
A little ahead of things since I already posted my December goals, but I won't let myself get away with a recap on last month. With my Argentina wiping out most of my month altogether, I had only three goals. How’d I do?
Devote 1 solid hour of weekend time to reading and organizing current projects.
I made good strides but I want to keep this going into December, to get serious about my writing especially.
Read the Wall Street Journal everyday.
Complete fail. I read the WSJ three days entirely: 11/1, 11/6, 11/25
Create a Detailed Holiday Gift Plan
Check! And so far, I’m sticking to it!
Limit “Employee Badge spending” to $40
Sorta-kinda. For the things I normally spend money on (food/coffee), I actually limited my spending to $16. But I put a $50 dry cleaning bill on my badge, for an overage of $26 over my goal. I will still be monitoring this next month though.
Devote 1 solid hour of weekend time to reading and organizing current projects.
I made good strides but I want to keep this going into December, to get serious about my writing especially.
Read the Wall Street Journal everyday.
Complete fail. I read the WSJ three days entirely: 11/1, 11/6, 11/25
Create a Detailed Holiday Gift Plan
Check! And so far, I’m sticking to it!
Limit “Employee Badge spending” to $40
Sorta-kinda. For the things I normally spend money on (food/coffee), I actually limited my spending to $16. But I put a $50 dry cleaning bill on my badge, for an overage of $26 over my goal. I will still be monitoring this next month though.
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