Posted on: February 27, 2009 by Matt
Another week has finally come to an end. I am working a swing shift at work today to cover our phones for a while due to a company event this afternoon. I suppose working late and handling incoming issues is not that big of a deal and they are going to let me take my family out to dinner for the trouble. I think I will be taking the kids out to play racquetball with my extra couple hours this morning and I am looking forward to it.
As usual for Friday – here are some links to articles that caught my eye this week:
Posted on: February 26, 2009 by Matt
My father’s political views are conservative to say the least. To qualify my statement:
- All Heinz products are banned from the house. I believe this is due to John Kerry’s marriage to Teresa Simões-Ferreira Heinz but am not sure.
- Ben & Jerry’s ice cream is fondly referred to as “Communist ice cream”. It will not pass his lips and having it in the house for anyone else is heavily frowned upon.
- I really do not want to start (trying to stay somewhat PG) getting into his opinion of Senator Bernie Sanders. The term “Pinko Communist Scumbag” was the start of a rant once though.
Oddly enough after growing up with my father I somehow turned out to have liberal points of view on most topics. I generally vote Democratic or Independent and I am generally pleased with the direction our country is going under new leadership. Sure it is not perfect but I believe we are in a much better place now than we were under the previous administration. About the only aspect of my life where I try to act conservatively is with my finances. I like to save and have money in my checking account mostly for security purposes. I have burned myself before with my finances and I am working very hard to not do so again.
So – why am I telling you all this? Well, mostly because I am curious. I have noticed my personal email has always had an influx (mostly my father’s doing) of conservative propaganda, slanderous political cartoons and right wing manifestos that all attack the left in some way. However – I do not get similar emails from my liberal friends and relatives.
Has anyone else noticed this? Am I missing something? Are there liberal attacks on the conservative camps that I have been missing along the way? Have any of you readers noticed any political slander in your mailboxes?
Posted on: February 25, 2009 by Matt
This week seems to have been busy and feels like it should be over already (yet it is only Wednesday). I think that the end of the month budget / finance crunch in the house along with working late both nights this week has me a little on edge. In addition the anticipation of starting a new month and setting my financial plans for March this weekend sounds fun to me. I suppose it is one of those deals where time drags by when you are looking forward to something (like Christmas morning for kids or a long awaited and planned vacation).
I am optimistically looking forward to March and accomplishing a few things that have been lingering. Some of the upcoming March items I am excited about include:
A Doctor’s Visit: Ok, maybe not so much excited but long over due. I have not seen a doctor for a checkup / physical since well, high school.- Longer Warmer Days: Which means more fun outside and less consumption of heating oil. I am hopeful that we can knock a couple hundred dollars a month out of our household expenses during the spring and summer months. I will take any savings I have and apply to paying down debt and increasing my savings.
- Bigger Expense Checks: I put money up front for my gym membership this month. The deal was to pay the first three months in advance and they will waive the $60 enrollment. The options were $110 for one month (due to enrollment) or $150 for three, I think I made a good choice. I could not submit the entire cost because my boss has offered me $50 per month for the gym provided I make it at least three days a week. So far I have gone close to double that.
So all said – probably not a lot going on in March but I am pretty much done with February and ready to move forward.
Tags: Budget, Debt Reduction, Expenses, Planning, Savings Filed Under: Budget, Debt, Debt Reduction, Expenses, Extra Income, Goals, Health, Planning
Posted on: February 24, 2009 by Matt
I believe that in The Total Money Makeover Dave Ramsey notes that in most relationships there is a more practical saving type and a more free spirited spender. He then moves forward to explain how he and his wife work a balance of the two in their relationship. In my current relationship I am most definitely the saver and I frequently struggle with balancing out my girlfriend’s free spirited views.
I frequently want to cut back on various expenses, avoid shopping trips (as fun as they are), buy the generic groceries and sock money away into savings. My girlfriend and her children tend to enjoy having a little extra money around the house and love being able to go out to dinner more frequently, get new things and my girlfriend in particular is particular about certain brands for certain grocery items.
Despite our differences we have been moving in the right direction and are learning how to balance each other out. It has not been easy but so far we have found some of the more helpful tools include:
- Communication: I have said it before but talking things out before, during and after really allows us to grow together – not just financially either.
- A common budget: We both write out our individual budgets to accommodate our own bills however a joint budget shows our common household income and expenses. Sticking to the budgets is another story but at least we keep them in mind.
- Keeping food in the house (and ready): If we have food in the house we tend to splurge less on dining out. Seems like common sense but we frequently will not have something defrosted or lack an essential part of a meal.
- Stock up when items are on sale: Another obvious item but again over looked. When we see items on sale that we consume regularly we try to bulk up on them.
- Budget based on lowest income possible: This is one of my personal tricks. I have a salary structure that includes a monthly bonus / commission in my second paycheck of the month. I normally plan on only having my base salary. This leaves any extra from my bonus for paying down extra debt or putting into savings.
All these tips might seem pretty basic but it really pays off to remember them. When dealing with your finances always keep in mind that if you do not get away from the basics then you will not have to go back to them!
Tags: Budget, Budgeting, Debt, Debt Reduction, Expenses, Relationships, Savings Filed Under: Budget, Debt, Debt Reduction, Expenses, Planning, Relationships, Savings
Posted on: February 23, 2009 by Matt
Last week The Simple Dollar wrote a great post titled Ten Vital Tactics for Making the “Money Talk” Work. However I believe there is one item missing from the list that I find constantly either gets me into or out of trouble (depending on whether or not I remember to practice it): being proactive in financial communication with your partner.
I have been finding more and more that the uncomfortable money arguments lose quite a bit of the edge when we bring them to the table before an issue arises. We tend to discuss items more openly and to accuse each other less of financial mistakes if we can discuss the “problem” before the stress of a tight financial situation settles in.
Most recently I would have benefited from proactive communication with an update regarding our current month budget. I struggle with discussing pretty much everything and placing boundaries on situations. When a topic may be uncomfortable to discuss I usually attempt to skirt the issue. The short version of the situation goes:
- My girlfriend had over extended herself at the beginning of the month. She noted that she was already over budget but she was not going to change her plans (to purchase a storage bin for her son’s room) and I was basically going to have to pick up the slack.
- She was proactive about letting me know her status: Despite the relative injustice of me being stuck with “the slack” at least I knew where she was at. My expectations had been set. I may not have agreed with the approach or her decision but at least I knew.
- The month continued normally: I covered the food and a few other household items as well as my portion of the bills. She covered her portion of the bills (as she had budgeted for them).
- The end of the month approached: The budget and funds available started to tighten up a bit. I started to keep a close eye on my checkbook and looking for areas to avoid spending. I did not provide a status update to my girlfriend.
- My girlfriend requested a new charger for her digital camera: We thought her digital camera charger to be lost in the move as we had not seen it in a couple months. She asked if I had ordered one yet and I said we could not until next month. She was pretty irritated – not so much as having to wait but that I failed to communicate our financial situation to her prior to making decisions.
- I found the charger: I took a little bit of time and looked once more (in the drawers I was told the charger was not in) and found it. This solved one problem but did not lessen the effects of my lack of communication.
All said and done – I could have avoided a nasty interaction with my girlfriend regarding money if I had been up front and honest before we hit the end of the month stretch. The “Surprise! We have no money left for the month!” does not work so well. From my experience a few additional items to remember when discussing finances in a relationship include:
- Discuss problem areas before a financial crisis: Crisis may be an overstatement in some cases but anything that may cause a blow up can be considered a crisis.
- Set healthy boundaries: While in a relationship you still have to remember that everyone needs a little bit of space. If you let people push you into situations you are not comfortable with then they will. If you voice you are not comfortable and establish the boundary you can head off some future problems. In my case – I should have voiced my discomfort with “picking up the slack” for the rest of the month.
- Set priorities and expectations: For each purchase / budget line item work together to set a priority level and set proper expectations with each other. If we had laid out all the non-essential purchases coming up, discussed importance and set time lines we would have avoided most of our disagreement.
While all these items may seem like basics they are apparently difficult for some people (like myself) and it servers me well to take time to remember how and when to communicate with my girlfriend.
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