Decluttering My Finances

Posted on November 7, 2012 | Leave a comment

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Have you ever looked at something completely within your control and thought, “Ugh, this is just stressing me out?”

I’ve definitely reached that point with my finances.  I currently have 6 credit cards, 4 checking accounts, 3 savings accounts, 3 investment accounts, and 3 retirement accounts.

It all added up so fast.  When I first learned how to budget, I also learned how to chase savings account interest rates.  Recently, I switched jobs and opened joint accounts with my fiance… and now it’s out of control!  And I don’t think it’s just me… I’m pretty sure this happens to everyone.  We’re a nation of collectors!

When you’re super excited about something whether it’s shoes, a hobby, or even personal finance, it can be easy to get carried away.  Fortunately, I’m beginning to realize how inefficient and tiring it is to keep track of it all.  (Wouldn’t want to forget where all my net worth is at, you know?)  Don’t know if I’m drawing this conclusion because of all the blog posts out there on minimalism, but I finally realize that I have control over all of this!

So by the end of this month, I’m vowing to close 25% of my accounts.  I’ve wanted to close at least one of my credit cards and two of my Chase banking accounts for some time and at this point I just need to do it.  I’ve also been lost about what to do with my old 401(K) account.  Should I roll it over into my current 401(K), roll to my Roth, or leave it where it is? I keep reading conflicting opinions on it and I’m just not sure what makes the most sense for me yet.

Anyway, I think this is going to be good.  I can feel it!  It’ll be nice not having those extra cards in my wallet or various online logins to remember.  :)

How are you doing with your finances?  Are you making any changes or reaching any goals this month?  I’d love to hear.

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Date Nights Are Different After College… or are they?

Posted on November 5, 2012 | 1 Comment

Guess who paid for a sophisticated date night with a gift card, then followed up with free fries from McDonald’s using a McD’s monopoly game piece…

We did!

All dressed up!

I texted that much to my little sister (who is in college) and she said that it was sad and she didn’t want to be an adult with bills.  Wait, do I hear you agreeing?

… you see, I totally disagree!  We NEVER go out on date nights due to a difference of opinion.  I pine for romance and an occasion to wear all the 5″ heels I’ve acquired over the years.  He prefers to save cash for occasions that we want to go out drinking with friends (which generally involves watching sports at a bar).  Result?  Our usual date night either involves a trip to Taco Bell or a costly night out with friends.  We struggle to find middle-ground all the time… what would you do?

So, after a little bit of thinking, I thought this might be a good compromise… I cashed in a bonus at work for a gift card to a restaurant he has been wanting to visit.  We made the experience go even farther by using it for drinks and appetizers at happy hour instead of the $30+/pp the same restaurant typically charges for a dinner entree.  Then post-happy-hour, I gave into my unhealthy cravings and dragged him over to McDonald’s so I could cash in a coupon for free fries that expires tomorrow (which he finally consented to :) ). What’s cool is that he was totally on board with dressing up for the whole thing, which I thought was both exciting and sexy!

I regret nothing!

Date night cost us $20 (instead of $50) total due to an extra round of drinks and a generous tip to our server.  If my beau and I were still in college, I imagine we’d be high five-ing each other for spending well done.   We are saving for our wedding without any help from family or friends, so I have to ask the question: were we cheap or were we practical?

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October 2012 Net Worth (Up $5,089)

Posted on November 1, 2012 | 1 Comment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy November, everyone!  Hope you all had a good Halloween.  We picked up a new hobby in the month of October so instead of passing out candy or partying in the city, we spent the evening rock climbing at an indoor gym.  I guess everyone was out doing other Halloween things so we had it mostly to ourselves which was pretty cool.

Any baseball fans out there?  I admit, I didn’t watch until this year (– I generally find sports boring until I know the rules  –) but our pals are HUGE Giants fans so we ended up watching several games leading up to and during the world series.  Taco Bell was running a “Steal a base, steal a taco” promotion during the World Series, and thanks to Angel Pagan, I had two free Doritos Locos Tacos to munch on while I was pulling this net worth update together.  We have an unnatural love of Taco Bell in our house so it was pretty much the greatest promo ever :)

FREE Vegetarian Doritos Locos Tacos. Yum!

October was a *tough* month for us because we were so loose with our wallets, so I was very confused to see my net worth go up.  (We went to the San Diego Zoo, hit up the Sequoia National Forest, and I treated myself to a lot of new clothes and a Ramit Sethi course which was pricier than I expected!)  I’m still confused actually, but here goes the breakdown:

Cash:  This category is always in flux, and it includes the money in all of my checking and non-emergency fund savings accounts.  I just got my bi-weekly paycheck last Friday and that’s why this is a little higher.  I think I want to make a separate, non-EF savings account for buying clothes and stuff, but I just have too many accounts as is.
Emergency Fund:  It’s been so long since I actually added any money to this, but I added an extra $400 this month.  I also just moved it from Discover Bank (which I was really fond of) to Barclays US which has a slightly sweeter 1.00% savings interest rate.  Assuming the interest rate holds, I’ll make an extra $150 annually just for parking my money here which isn’t great, but it’s pretty good as far as options go.
401k’s and Roth IRAs:   Had good gains in these categories too.  I automate my contributions to both of these, so the gain is largely what I personally contributed but it still counts, right?  I think I’m two-thirds of the way to maxing out my Roth contribution limit for the year, so I might see about doing that before I put any more money into savings.  Otherwise, I’m contributing about 10% of my paychecks every month to the 401k.  Gosh, I’m having such a hard time figuring out what to do with my 401k at my old employer, so I’m definitely open to enlightenment from the blogosphere.
Investment:  Good and bad this month.  I have 3 investment accounts.
On the first, I realized I’ve averaged a 38% overall return since I started investing in 2009. Can you believe it?!  On average it turned out to be 29.2% return each year which totally beats the pants off my 1% savings account interest rate.
For my second account, I purchased stocks in my former employer who was just bought out by a bigger company… so they liquidated these stocks for me at a loss on what I paid.  Oh well, at least that money is coming back to me.
My third account has been a bust.  I’ve been investing in individual stocks here and not making much progress.  I finally took the plunge two weeks ago and bought a single share of Apple for ($646) figuring that Christmas sales would drive the price up.  I’ve already lost $60 on this stock because the price has been dropping ever since my purchase.  Note to self, automate in life cycle funds and ETFs… don’t think you can come out ahead with individual stocks!

29.2% Annualized Return on Investment!

Auto Worth:  This is probably where a lot of my net worth was added and is the most confusing part for me.  My auto worth went up about $1000.  Granted, I had some body work done (paid for by the guy who hit my car), but I didn’t think the improved appearance would affect the auto price that much.  Hmm… I keep toying with the idea of selling it while the paint and detailing are perfection.  The hybrid engine is starting to require a lot more maintenance and I’m nervous about what unpredicted auto expenses lie ahead of me.
Gift Cards:  This is my favorite category!  We have these things called “Bravo!” awards at work where you can gift someone cash for doing a good job.  Happily, several people gifted me!  I picked $80 in Express gift cards (because my wardrobe needs a makeover), $75 to either Home Goods and Bed Bath & Beyond (I was thinking this would be Christmas gifts To boyf and me From boyf and me), and $25 to the Outback Steakhouse family of restaurants because I desperately want to go on a date but the boy is always claiming they’re too expensive.  Now he can’t complain because I’m treating! :)

The reason I put gift cards in my net worth is because they’re truly like cash.  Think: if someone gives you a $20 Starbucks gift card, you could go blow it all over the next week, or you could save it in your wallet for those times when you really want that pick me up.  It’s “free money”, true, but it also has real value and you could probably sell it to a friend or on E-Bay if you needed to.  That’s what I’m trying to remember about my Home Goods gift cards.  I could spend them tomorrow on an impulse purchase, but it would be even better if I saved it to get something that I really need.

Anyway that’s it for me.  Hopefully November will slow some things down for me, and I’m really looking forward to the extra hour we’ll get from daylight savings time this Sunday.  I’m also trying to think of either a money or diet challenge for the month.  Something like “No-spend November” (for $$ spent on eating out) or “No-sugar November”. haha.  It’s gimmicky but it could also be motivating.  We’ll see if I can come up with anything  :)

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September 2012 Net Worth (where I don’t include my new co-signed debt)

Posted on September 24, 2012 | 1 Comment

It’s been a very rough and interesting few months in the G.B. budget.  Actually, lack of budget (shame on us!).  Since my last net worth update:

  • future husband and I signed on to our first shared credit card and realized we don’t know how to share expenses, especially food expenses
  • future husband and I opened up two bank accounts together (one for the wedding and one for shared bills)… and realized it’s a lot more work than keeping separate accounts
  • future husband and I started dividing expenses by % income instead of equally; I’m saving less but he’s finally able to breathe
  • I co-signed onto $9,600 of student loan debt for my sister which will become $21300 of paid debt by the time it is done! So scary!
  • purchased my wedding dress… for $99!
  • spent $1,500 for 1:1 personal training… so worth it
  • paid almost $6,000 in wedding expenses so far for our destination wedding
  • had 4 different direct supervisors in 4 months because of a lot of volatility in my work environment (aka craziness!)

Consequently, I’ve been disorganized and not on top of my net worth tracking game.  At first I was surprised by the lack of wealth accumulation since my last update in April, but then I realized that a lot of my free money is going towards my wedding fund.  The rest of the money seems to be getting whittled away on frivolous stuff like frequently eating out or else on my wedding musts like getting in shape or upgrading my skin care routine.

As far as combining accounts (somewhat) by having a shared checking, savings, and credit card, there has been only 1 instance of tears + “well we shouldn’t be getting married then” but a slew of heated disagreements.  I think this is going to be a  lot harder than we thought.  We’re also eating out a lot more because we have two contrasting diets (Paleo vs. Vegetarian) and our grocery staples and personal pallets are completely different right now.  There’s always one person under the impression that there is “nothing to eat”.

I’m constantly left wondering how other couples do this.  Do they struggle just as much as we are?  Does it come easy?  How do they get past all this and working on the same financial goals?

… although I did achieve one huge win… he finally got over his fear of online savings and checking accounts and opened one himself.  Actually, he completely closed his Bank of America account which I haven’t done yet!  So proud that he’s understanding how to make his money work for him :)

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FWD: The One Tax Graph You Really Need to Know

Posted on September 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

Total Tax Burden on Americans, via Ezra Klein – Washington Post

A friend passed this on to me and I thought it was worth sharing. It’s so important to try and keep yourself educated with so much mud-slinging and flawed infographics going around!

THE TAKE HOME POINTS: The total tax burden graph shows (on average) how much people in each wage group pays in taxes when you consider ALL taxes (including federal, state and local income taxes, payroll taxes, corporate taxes, and state sales tax).  It demonstrates several relevant points including (1) no one escapes taxes and (2) the top 1% does NOT have a greater tax burden than most middle-class families.

It’s a supplement to this graph (below) which shows that low income families feel the most strain from state/local taxes while federal taxes hit the highest earners the hardest.  So the next time you hear a politician arguing thatX number of Americans are or aren’t paying taxes, you can understand why their stats sound so egregious… because it has probably been skewed to accommodate a certain viewpoint!

 

Anyway, I thought Ezra put a great and informative article together.  You can find it here to read the whole thing: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/09/19/heres-why-the-47-percent-argument-is-an-abuse-of-tax-data/

If you’ve read it, what do you think?

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The Hunger Games

Posted on May 16, 2012 | 4 Comments

I spent the last week devouring this whole trilogy.  Several late nights reading the pages from under the bedsheets plus several days sneaking a quick read at work.  Completely worth it.

The series had significantly more depth than I expected.  It’s target audience is young adults, so the sentences are simple and the storyline is easy to follow… halfway into the 2nd book I finally figured out the complexity of the characters and their dystopian world.  I was rooting for and detesting the characters with such an intensity that I couldn’t help fuming openly to innocent passersby.  I couldn’t put it down.  I enjoyed the final book the most, and would definitely recommend the whole series to someone who hasn’t read it.  It was $17 I didn’t budget for this month, but it totally fed my soul.

It’s probably time for me to start assimilating back into society again :) … So, what have you been reading lately?

 

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Inexpensive Mother’s Day Gift Ideas

Posted on May 9, 2012 | 2 Comments

My mom is difficult to shop for.  She’s in the “I’d rather you don’t buy me anything” crowd, which is tough when you’re trying to show your appreciation for the lady!  I think it stems from years of being the family finance planner and searching for the most cost-effective ways to afford the life we had.  Couponing… deal-hunting… saving… I have her to thank for teaching me a lot of solid, wealth-building strategies.

So when it comes to Christmas, birthdays, and Mother’s Day, my sisters and I are usually stuck on what to get for someone who dislikes needless spending and the typical gifts that most mothers seem to love.  Just in case you’re in the same boat, here are some of our affordable, tried-and-true  gifts that our mom actually seems to enjoy.

Budget-Savvy Mama Loves:

1.  Groupons or LivingSocial vouchers
She knows it’s a deal which is part of the fun.  When I found a LivingSocial discount to her favorite thai restaurant, she bought four more and preached, “Never be embarassed about using a coupon!”
2.  Gift cards to stores she is guaranteed to shop at
It sounds weird, but my budget-savvy mama loves gift cards to her fave consignment store and Costco.  Other mamas might prefer craft store, clothing store, or spa gift certificates.
3.  When everyone goes to _____ with her (<– fill in the blank!)
My mom’s only request every year is that the whole family goes to her church with her… and sometimes that we hold her hand during the service.  She loves showing us off to her church friends, and on Mother’s Day, we keep any complaints to ourselves!
4.  When someone else cooks and does the dishes
This goes for breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner.  Any time we offer to make a meal, we also clean up afterwards.
5.  When the whole family does a thorough house cleaning
You’ll either give mom a day of rest, or else save her some time on the chores.  If you’re planning on doing this (or hiring a cleaning service as some do), don’t forget to dust the window blinds, clean the baseboards, vacuum the stairs, and wipe all the mirrors!
6.  Home-made mother’s day cards
Mom always has that bulk stock of greeting cards that she got from Costco, so if you’re not using one of those, it’s best to make your own.  A colored marker, a little glue, signatures from family and maybe some of the soccer carpool kids and you’re golden.

Budget Savvy Mama Dislikes:

1.  Expensive, self-indulgent gifts
Oh, we’ve tried this one plenty of times on things we knew she wouldn’t buy herself, but often these get returned, re-gifted, or put away in the closet for “safe-keeping”.  Decades later, I think we’ve learned our lesson: function over fashion.
2.  Fine dining
Mama will ALWAYS let us treat her to her favorite pho restaurant, but offer to pay for a pricier restaurant, and she starts to get antsy.  Sure my mom enjoys it… it’s just that she’d enjoy it more if she knew we weren’t spending a lot of money!
3.  More jewelry
Mama has recently found a love of jewelry, but it’s best if you don’t make jewelry decisions for her.  She loves the process of figuring out what she wants and if she’s ready to part with the money to make it happen.  Get jewelry without consulting her and she’s likely to complain or never use it.
4.  Clothes or purses she didn’t pick out
See above!  Just as we didn’t always love our mom choosing our clothes for us, the same works in reverse.  Plus, she’s always sharing how she is wearing designer clothes from her second hand shop.  Let her revel in her glory :)

Are any of your mom’s as cost-conscious or picky as mine?  What are you planning on doing for her this Sunday?

(Keep up with more of my brainstorming ideas on Pinterest.com/budgetswetrust!)

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How I use YouTube to Save Money

Posted on May 7, 2012 | 5 Comments

When I was younger, I used to spend countless hours on Youtube looking up such nonsense as the Numa Numa kid, Evolution of Dance, and cuteness like Charlie Bit My Finger :) .   I didn’t realize it then, but Youtube was exploding into a culture and even sub-cultures!  What’s so awesome about this website is the wealth of videos catered to any interest.

Take me for example.  Some of my interests are exercise, new gadgets, looking pretty, and DIY projects.  I may search YouTube for a new workout, weigh the pros and cons of the iPhone versus the Droid Razr, decide if I need the InStyler or if I can get the same results from tools I already own , or try to figure out how to make cool wall hangings with materials I already have at home.  Searches like these have translated into real money savings for me!

Interest: Makeup

Kandee Johnson has a “Plastic Surgery with Makeup” series where she teaches everything from hiding a double chin to faking a nose job.  Money saving potential?  If you can achieve the look you want with makeup, you won’t need to spend on plastic surgery!

Interest:  Automobile

There are easily hundreds of videos on YouTube showing you how to do repairs and fixes on your own car to keep it running like new.  I used a video on how to replace a car headlight bulb just this weekend! Money saving potential?  You no longer have to pay for “labor” on a simple repair if it’s something you can do yourself

Interest: Exercise

Ready for a change to your workout routine?  Get workout ideas from fitness enthusiasts or even celebrity trainers for free! Money saving potential?  Skip paying for a gym membership or exercise DVDs if you’re self-motivated enough to use these instead.

Interest: Self-help

My younger sister is a master at using YouTube on any self-help topic you can think of.  She teaches herself new hairstyles, new recipes, and ways to cut/sew old clothes into something new or trendy… but what impressed me the most is when she taught herself how to play popular songs on the piano without any lessons!  I asked her how she did it, and she said she was teaching herself how to play via YouTube.  Money saving potential:  The sky’s the limit!

 

Let me know what you think!  I’m pretty sure everyone has a story about how watching a YouTube video saved them some money.  Feel free to share your story!

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Friday Finds: A layoff, parking that pays, and blogs that inspire me

Posted on May 4, 2012 | 6 Comments

I was chatting with one of my girlfriends tonight when she told me her company was laying her off.  She’s on retainer for two months, and if the company doesn’t re-hire her in that time, she’ll also receive two months of severance.  It’s unfortunate timing because she just bought her first townhouse and the news came just three days before her first mortgage payment!

We started talking about her finances and how the news has changed the way she’s spending now.  Obviously, she’s tightening up her purse strings by reeling in spending, but she admitted that she only lives off two-thirds of her income as it is.  Moving forward, she’ll try to live off only half while hustling for a new job.  Back when she decided to buy a house, she knew she wanted to have a roommate to help decrease the burden of the mortgage.  I’m so proud of her!

Then she said something that shocked/impressed me even more… she rents out her townhouse parking space to her roommate for an extra $50/month.  Am I the only one who hasn’t thought of doing this?  She lives in the city so parking is at a higher premium than in the ‘burbs, but it works out because she doesn’t have any issue finding street parking.  What a super easy side hustle to help her along! :)    I’m learning new personal finance tips everyday!

So I’d like to raise my pretend glass and give a toast to her and all the other interesting men and women that have helped inspire or teach me something new this week!  Check it… these were some of my favorite blog posts this week:

Blonde On a Budget inspires me daily.  Last week, she shared her story of being financially maxed out with no money to paying off $16,000 of debt in a year.  This week, she shared her dream for changing the world… and we can help make it happen!

Budgets are Sexy is the first personal finance blog I ever followed regularly.  I remember seeing his net worth updates and wondering what they meant.  Four years later, I’m tabulating my own net worth updates.   I looked back at his very first net worth update and we’re both starting from roughly the same spot… but now he’s up to $315, 258.43 without  measuring the value of his reputation in the community.  His monthly posts inspire me and I hope to have as much success in the future.

Bog of Debt had my favorite read of the week… she’d received  great advice in the past that actually applies to everything, including finances!  We learned that it’s not  about the numbers… it’s about giving it everything you’ve got!

Thanks for the inspiration!  :)

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April 2012 Net Worth (Up $16,202!)

Posted on May 2, 2012 | 3 Comments

It’s the start of a new month which means that my net worth update is finally here!  I decided to track net worth as part of a strategy to evaluate my financial health and determine how it’s changing over time.  It’s a “before” and “after” picture by all accounts, which is why net worth updates are also known as financial snapshots :)

Doesn’t it look like I did awesome this month?  haha.  Actually, it’s a little bit misleading and here’s why.  I did my March 2012 net worth update by hand.  I manually calculated my various assets in a spreadsheet and figured it was about right.  A week later, I re-joined Mint.com for like the 4th time– we have a love-hate relationship — and I realized, that there were a ton of assets I forgot I had… like… a whole retirement account!  In the future, I’ll probably look at rolling over my old job’s retirement account so that it’s simpler to keep track of.  Here’s a breakdown of the other changes in the last month.

1.  Cash (-29%)
I decided that if I want to be serious about saving for my wedding, I need to pay myself first.  So I moved some of my cash over to a high-yield savings account so that it continues to grow interest until I’m ready to use it.  Even though it looks like my cash decreased, I really haven’t lost any value here.

2.  Emergency Fund (0%)
I think $15,000 is a sufficient size emergency fund to cover my expenses in the event of an emergency or job loss.  It should last me 8 months for my current expenses or 5 months if both my fiance and I fall on hard times, so I’ve decided not to contribute any more money to this particular expense.  Yes, it could stand to be larger, but then I remembered that my Roth IRA contributions are also a built in, penalty-free emergency fund if I ever need it! Do you think my approach here is okay?

3.  Retirement (+63%)
I did  find a retirement account I forgot to include in my last update, but I love my retirement accounts because they’re all automated for direct transfer.  Most of the time, this money doesn’t even make it to my bank account so it’s easy to forget that I have it.  These net worth updates will help remind me to check this nest egg periodically because it will be real value for me for retirement (or even an emergency).

4.  ETFs and Stocks (+65%)
I had a nice surprise this month, my first ever stock holding doubled in value!  Well, it had actually lost me $1000 for several months, but now it’s $250 in net gain.  I’m thinking about cashing out and adding this to my wedding savings fund, but I can’t seem to decide.

5.  Auto Worth (+6%)
This one is a toughy.  I think I estimated my car’s value incorrectly the first time around.  It had some minor hail damage driving across the country but insurance repaired everything.  I don’t know if having that body work done decreases my car’s value (i.e. it was in an accident) or increases it (… it got a brand new paint job and looks like a million bucks).

7.  Wedding (NEW!)
I moved some money around in my bank accounts and decided to put EVERYTHING that I could spare towards the wedding.  My wedding goal is $10,000.  It’s really important that I start saving here right away because as soon as we choose our resort destination, we’re going to start needing money for deposits.  I haven’t put together a wedding budget yet, but I hope the total cost to us will be at $10,000 or lower.

8.  Credit cards (new debt)
It looks like I spent a lot here (and I did) but I just bought two plane tickets for $600 each, and I’m expecting my fiance to reimburse me for his ticket.  As long as I’ve had credit, I’ve never carried a balance, so I’m hoping to pay off this debt in this payment cycle so I don’t get hit with any interest charges.

… and this sums it up!  I know I could have done MUCH better than above so during the month of May, I’m dedicating myself to watching my spending even more.  I’ll start small like trying not to buy lunch as often, and hopefully go bigger by planning my errands better so I don’t waste gas.

So, how did you all do this month?  Did you have any surprises or areas you plan on improving?

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