The national unemployment rate is hovering around 7% (certain communities are twice that); retirement accounts lost half their value in the last calendar year; this is a confirmed recession - I have even heard Great Depression 2.0. Credit Crunch, Mortgage Meltdown, whatever you call it, there is no debating that no one can afford to waste money, right now.
One of the biggest wastes of money, when you live in a city (such as Boston) with a public transportation system, is to take cabs. Especially, when you have already paid for a monthly pass for unlimited subway and/or bus rides. Any traveling in Boston between 6am and midnight can be done (at least part way) via the T.
Granted, there are occassions when a taxi makes more sense than the public transportation option (e.g., catching a flight). But, honestly, how often is timing that strict?
Yes, having to make connections can double the travel time. The convenience of hailing a cab is not in question. Bring a book.
Don't put you ... more »
Posted: February 4, 2009 2:59 pm | 1 comment
Tags: money, personal finance, taxi
All of the money that we spend is for: things we need or things we want. Over the years, certain things (like a cell phone) have migrated to the "need" category, and an argument could probably be made that these are not really necessities and if we had to go without, we could. I will leave that argument to someone else.
While there is flexibility when it comes to needs, in the end, money is still expended. Wants, however, can be denied. That may be an extreme solution, though, and depending on the type of want, another option can often be found.
So, I would never suggest that expenses can be controlled by simply eliminating the things we want. Certainly, there are things that we want, be it a coffee or a movie, that, individually, do not adversely affect our personal economies, but that if removed completely, would be seen as a sacrifice in our standard of living.
This is where I come down on the "want to" vs. "need to" argument in personal finance - What is often overlooked is th ... more »
Posted: February 14, 2009 4:49 pm | 2 comments
Tags: finance, money, needs, savings, wants
My aunt passed away this week. It is uncomfortable for people to think of preparing for death, but since there is no escaping it, for the people left behind, a little preparation can make the "now what?" planning easier.
My aunt knew this. In her file cabinet we found life insurance documents with a hand-written note in her unique mix of upper and lower case letters. She wrote to my uncle, "Call this number, in case of death, to find out how much you will get." We all had a laugh at the forethought and its bluntness.
As we think of what happens now to my Uncle Tony, who is 81 years old, we have to be practical about finances. In addition to the questions: Can he live alone? Can anyone stay with him? What does he want? We also have to ask: What is his income? What are the expenses? What is the house worth?
When you actually list out all the expenses you have yourself, it can be a sobering reality. But, having to do it for someone else is even more so.
Posted: February 28, 2009 9:29 am | 0 comments
Tags: finances, money
Smoking, drinking, gambling: lose/lose situations.
Aside from the impact to one’s health and strained family relations, vices like these have one sure thing in common—they cost money.
Smoking is an $80 billion a year business. Americans spend $90 billion on alcohol each year, and, between casinos and state lotteries, nearly $50 billion a year on gambling.
No one is born a smoker, drinker or gambler so the surest way to not spend the money required for these activities is to not start.
For an idea of how much a person can spend (or SAVE) check out these calculators:
http://www.collegedrinkingprevention.gov/CollegeStudents/calculator/calc...
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/PED/PED_10_cigCostCalc.asp
Posted: March 7, 2009 3:02 pm | 0 comments
Tags: money, personal finance, savings, vices
In this recession, credit cards have been maligned to the point that people are proud that they have broken free and now operate on a cash-only basis. But, credit cards themselves are not inherently bad. In fact, to some extent they are necessary in order to get credit in the first place. Credit itself is an assessment of someone’s financial responsibility. In order to show that you are worthy of being issued credit on a future purchase (a home’s mortgage, a car payment, even student loans) you have to demonstrate reliability with previous/current payments, especially payments on credit. Having good credit means that you are a good credit risk, and that is important because it means a lower interest rate.
The problem right now is NOT credit cards, so the answer is NOT to not use credit cards. The answer IS to use credit cards responsibly.
Using credit cards responsibly means:
Making your payments ON TIME every month.
Paying IN FULL every month.
NOT carrying a high credit li ... more »
Posted: March 21, 2009 10:52 pm | 5 comments
Tags: credit, finance, money
Word of the day: Amortization.
Before those student loans come due, it is REALLY important to understand what amortization is and how it works. Before I explain that, though, let me give you an example so that you know WHY you should care.
Would you be surprised to know that a $200 payment on your student loan only reduces your total amount owed by $10? The remaining $190 goes to interest. Over the course of a ten year student loan, the amount paid in interest equals thousands of dollars. Why should you care? Because you DON’T have to pay it all.
Instead of each payment having the same share go toward interest and the same share go toward the principle (the amount borrowed), an amortized loan has the bulk of the interest up front, the amount of which gradually decreases over time. The amount applied to the principle increases over time. So, the lesson is: the longer it takes to pay-off your loan, the more money goes to interest.
Obviously, the way to save money by not paying ... more »
Posted: March 29, 2009 8:08 pm | 4 comments
Tags: interest, money, savings, student loans
I've heard a lot of the same response from editors of magazines and newspapers when I've been applying to jobs. "We're not hiring part-time or full-time right now, but we're always looking for submissions so send us your resume and writing samples."
So, there's always the option to freelance, which I never really thought about until now. I don't know a lot about it, but essentially you do work for a variety of outlets, get paid for them, and work from home. A downside is you won't get benefits, but at least you're getting paid!
And, I've also heard that even if an outlet isn't paying you to submit, submit as much as you can just to get your name published. The more clips you have from a wide variety of publications, the better experience you have.
So start writing, designing, drawing, developing, etc and start getting your name printed!
Posted: April 15, 2009 2:15 pm | 2 comments
Tags: design, freelance, money, writing
You knew it was coming... my blog about taxes.
Here is where I weigh in on the issue - taxes are a 'necessary evil.' I want things like public schools, police patrols, and safe drinking water, and I am willing to pay for these things through taxes. In fact, I might even pay a bit more if it meant fixing the pot-holes, and I don't even have a car.
The main problem with taxes is that the money goes into a black hole where we don't necessarily see the benefits in our day-to-day lives. One of the best satires of this is courtesy of The Onion:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnX-D4kkPOQ
Now, since this is a Financial Tip post, I had better get my tip in here. When it comes to taxes, my main tip is: FILE THEM EARLY. Really, once you have all your ducks in a row, it only takes an hour.
You should file early for two reasons. First, most likely you are getting money back. Seems obvious enough, but still many people who have overpaid their taxes are waiting to file. Second, whether you f ... more »
Posted: April 15, 2009 4:31 pm | 0 comments
Tags: finance, money, taxes
I recently received a BJ's membership and thought I would share the benefits and drawbacks involved in buying in bulk.
The pros:
Savings. Buying in bulk means a wholesale discount. It isn't always significant and depends largely on the type of item purchased. But, this remains a main reason people shop at BJ's, Costco, Sam's Club, etc.
Quantity. As 'bulk' would imply, you get a larger size than is available at a grocery store. Quantity refers to larger sizes, but also to multi-packs. Either way, you don't run out as often.
The cons:
Storage. Buying larger quantities isn't always convenient if you don't have the space. People in apartments, for example, are at a disadvantage when it comes to where to put all those extra rolls of toilet paper.
Spoilage. Purchasing a larger quantity of specific food items can easily result in spoilage if it isn't consumed in a timely manner. Single people or even families of 2 or 3 can find themselves throwing out food because they couldn't fini ... more »
Posted: April 22, 2009 3:50 pm | 0 comments
Tags: money, personal finance, savings
If you were one of those who gasped at my freecycle and couchsurfing posts, just stop reading now - below is another idea that brings strangers together. Oooo, scary :)
Introducing Time Trading (or time banking), a way for people to have their needs met for FREE.
Think of it as bartering for the 21st century, where members trade services, rather than pay for them. Anything from knitting lessons to help with ebay, a ride to the airport or a bike tune-up can be found on the local time trade website: www.timetradecircle.org.
Using a web-based 'accounting' system, members post their services offered and requested. Once a match is made, the member who received the service logs into the bank account and pays the other member in hours. New members start with a 5 hour credit so they can begin participating right away.
Although based on the concept of reciprocity, time trading does not have to be between just 2 people. In fact, by involving members of the entire community, the Time Tra ... more »
Posted: April 26, 2009 5:28 pm | 2 comments
Tags: bartering, free, money, savings, time, trade
OK, so I can finally post pictures now!
This picture is of my host family, my roommate and I.
Tip # 3 is about money.
If you plan on traveling outside of the country PLEASE make sure you have a bank that doesn't charge you an obscene amount of money per transaction at any ATM that isn't that bank on top of what THAT atm charges. Every time I needed to take out money I was charged about $8. Travelers cheques are ok but if you are traveling to a developed country like Peru they may not have much value. So I went broke pretty fast and am now trying to work as much as possible to pay back the money I had to borrow from my parents after I ran out of money so fast. I was surprised at how fast my money went down there because it was worth 3 times more in Peru than in the US but my bank got me. Make sure yours doesn't get you!
Posted: October 5, 2009 9:18 pm | 1 comment
Tags: money, travel
