tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-75184131756056752432012-01-26T08:52:17.179-05:00Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.comBlogger451100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-58059124743817111352007-02-23T10:48:00.000-05:002007-02-23T10:57:04.612-05:00

This week, I've been checking all my online finance stuff, since I will have intermittent access. While I was doing my bill pay and such, I set up my donation checks. This sounds silly, but I am super excited about finally being able to donate.I'll be supporting 4 "charities", which are Modest Needs, AVDA, American Cancer Society, and some friends of mine who are doing volunteer work in Kenya (

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-10421643446359646552007-02-21T15:14:00.000-05:002007-02-21T15:18:46.472-05:00

FYI - I am preparing to start my new job this Monday, so posting will be very light (i.e. nonexistent). Also, until I get my internet hooked up at home (I have been mooching at work), I won't be able to post. Please bookmark my site and check back often. I'm going to try to set up my RSS feed, but we'll see.Toodles, Clink

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com41tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-70017329351536415742007-02-16T11:36:00.000-05:002007-02-16T11:52:57.435-05:00

I have a dilemma and I'd like some feedback/suggestions as to what to do about it.Here's the situation:I have ~$7500 in debt to the credit mofos at 0% interest.I am about to have $7500 on a car loan at ~10% interest.Currently, I am saving my credit mofo money in a temporary EFund, but when the due date is up, I'll pay off the entire card. However, I question paying off the credit mofos when

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com24tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-77933819015756799772007-02-14T12:18:00.000-05:002007-02-14T12:53:07.762-05:00

This is a somewhat continuation of a discussion going on in this post's comment section.There has been some serious debate around the pf blogosphere regarding the subject of savings versus paying down debt (I talked about it before). On one hand, people suggest paying down the debt if the interest is higher than what you can gain with investments/savings or if it makes you feel better; on the

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-71698035558618193192007-02-14T10:10:00.000-05:002007-02-14T10:13:49.884-05:00

Trent over at the Simple Dollar ran a 31 day series in which he writes how to examine every aspect of your financial life. It wrapped up a few weeks ago, but I thought it was worthwhile to post. Plus, it's a reminder for me.Here's the wrap-up.Clink

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-22643521488689552562007-02-13T10:38:00.000-05:002007-02-13T11:10:43.631-05:00

Here are some things I'm thinking about WRT the budget:(While these are in no particular order, the more pertinent stuff is on top.) 1. 10% giving - I may bump this down to 5% depending on what I want to do with the rest of the budget, but we'll see.2. Full 401k investment - I think my new/old company matches up to 5 or 6%, so I'll contribute that.3. Fully fund Roth IRA - I also want to move it

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-53782873445805309742007-02-13T08:53:00.000-05:002007-02-12T13:41:15.519-05:00

It's up over at 2million. He's (I'm assuming) got a great Carni'val parade theme going on. I entered my Get oodles of money, but work for a company you don't like post.

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-16320836419977357262007-02-10T12:45:00.000-05:002007-02-12T13:04:02.983-05:00

So, I thought long and hard about this issue. And I decided to say no. It was extremely hard (like, really, really hard), but I thought about what Miguel was saying about working towards my career and being on the right path, etc. etc. (I'm going somewhere with this, you'll see.) and I decided it wasn't right. I would just have to bust my ass to maximize my current job and its opportunities

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-54509983215601438362007-02-09T13:37:00.000-05:002007-02-09T14:24:02.657-05:00

OMG, they offered me $52,000! Let me tell y'all, I am SO torn. Can I be bought for that much money (which to me is a lot)? There are some things about the job that I did not like, such as the start time (6AM) and the time off (only 6 holidays per year [if they fall on working days], 5 sick days, 1 week's vacay - which sounds normal, but not when you despised the job). These things I cannot

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-16545527705540077982007-02-08T09:02:00.000-05:002007-02-13T16:38:27.351-05:00

Just the other day, my former boss called me and offered me a position. The bump (OK, huge leap) in pay would be very nice - to the tune of at least a $10k raise (to be on the conservative side). This would push my current salary of $27K up to over $40K. I would be able to fulfill my short term financial goals of paying off the credit mofos, building up a great E-fund, fully contributing to my

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-68729792391975114012007-02-06T11:28:00.000-05:002007-02-06T09:32:35.176-05:00

I don't give to charity and it's been bugging me lately. For a long time, I've considered that I did not have the money to give. Y'all know how it is, the usual thoughts go like this: "How can I give away 10% when I have to pay my bills?" When I was in college, I would volunteer for things. But, now that I'm in the real world, I haven't donated my time nor my money.This has to change. There

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-23146020670782119242007-01-31T11:01:00.000-05:002007-01-31T14:17:30.985-05:00

So you want to know how to invest when you're broke, huh?Say you're making $25,000 a year and know that (along with feeding yourself, paying for gas, rent, etc.) you need to start thinking about your future. It pays to do that, because even small amounts add up surprisingly fast if you invest on a regular basis.Couple points to the article:1. If you're making only a little bit of money (up to

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-48974774760599847622007-01-29T13:27:00.000-05:002007-01-30T15:35:37.591-05:00

Normally, this is the conventional advice when buying items in bulk or large quantities. The reason is that, usually, you save more per ounce/package. Case in point: It's generally cheaper to buy a 24 pack of toilet paper than a 4 pack of toilet paper.There is a problem with doing this, though. First, if you were only going to buy a small amount because that's all you needed, buying the bigger

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-52384419833910960992007-01-25T09:00:00.000-05:002007-01-25T09:55:15.052-05:00

I sent this in an e-mail to Single Ma the other day:I'm studying anthropology (to be read as a career with NO money - anecdote: my professor always tells us that if we want to make money in Anthropology, we should marry lawyers!). I eventually want to get into Public Health (to be read as a career with A LITTLE money) and work for the UN/W.H.O. or the CDC/NIH. But, I'm still figuring it out.It's

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-85612591955357124172007-01-23T10:30:00.000-05:002007-01-25T09:43:35.928-05:00

Apparently, I'm a bad millionaire in training.Saw this on Single Ma's blog recently:Make sure that your lifestyle does not expand to fit your income when times are good because we have no idea what’s just around the corner. (Link)I read this and it makes me sigh because my gf and I don't do this and it's terribly unfortunate. We finally get into a position to pay off some bills and something

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-88903630952371724052007-01-18T11:33:00.000-05:002007-01-18T11:55:56.978-05:00

Now, y'all should know better. But for reinforcement, look no further than this quote:People are still trying to keep up with the Joneses, but they don't know how much in debt the Joneses are. - From 6 ways to be a grown-up about debt. (The article details a couple that is drowning in debt and what people, in general, should do to change their thinking when it comes to money.)This is SO true.

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-5957866888259051002007-01-17T13:25:00.001-05:002007-01-19T14:24:50.750-05:00

Premier General Finance, Inc. offers several business and personal financing options. From their website:Premier General Finance was created in 2004 to assist business owners, investors, and startup entrepreneurs in developing the most effective and productive solutions for obtaining lines of credit and funding.On the business side of things, they can assist a company to obtain working capital

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-60136554940329341952007-01-16T15:07:00.000-05:002007-01-16T15:46:13.188-05:00

This article is about keeping your sanity when you work a second job. Sometimes, for whatever reason, a person chooses to work a second job. Be it because they can't make ends meet or they're trying to get ahead on bills or savings. I have seen people push this online, particularly in the PF blogosphere, as a means of getting extra money. Moonlighting at a second job is a great idea to bring

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-67599666664553944192007-01-12T11:59:00.000-05:002007-01-12T12:02:54.543-05:00

As a follow up to this post, I have decided to just pay the minimums on the 0% accts and save what I would be paying into my current savings acct. I will put it into a sep savings acct (just for the cc money), but I haven't set it up just yet. I contemplated sending it over to ING, but that's only at 4.5% and it takes a few days to get it (both a pos and a neg). This way, I'll earn more interest

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-11676995371099612882007-01-12T11:45:00.000-05:002007-01-12T12:01:58.457-05:00

Amanda, over at Young and Broke, just posted about making your savings automatic (as does just about everyone else in the pf blogosphere). I just set up an automatic transfer recently for $7 per week (I would have done it $1 per day and obsessively checked the balance everyday, but, alas, not an option), so that I'm at least saving the equivalent of $1 per day. I know that it's not much, but it's

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-14355899872468845112007-01-12T10:39:00.000-05:002007-01-12T10:47:52.945-05:00

Y'all see that fabulous networth widget on the right? I am SO embarrassed. Well, my goal is the get the line going up. Definitely for January's numbers it will, but it will take a nosedive when my student loan disbursement comes out (maybe Feb's update). It will get added to the loan balance and a large portion of the money is allocated already, so it won't be reflected as much in the assests

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-258502246797190562007-01-12T09:34:00.000-05:002007-01-12T09:51:07.054-05:00

Surviving (and thriving) on $12,000 a year. This MSN article details what a 48yo returnee college student is doing to survive and thrive on $12K per year. There are several things I find interesting about her story. First, I think it's great that she is taking responsibility for her choices - in other words, she chose to leave her marriage and she chose to go to college and she chose to,

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-36730667018910271842007-01-08T11:25:00.000-05:002007-01-10T16:09:03.722-05:00

This is a quick update to this post on how to handle couples finances.I broached the idea of having a talk about how to handle the joint finances with the gf and it went well! We will be moving back together in March. I suggested that we figure out what our personal financial goals (of all sorts) are so that we can come to an agreement as to what we want to do together. I am glad that it went

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-34996949665244234032007-01-04T12:23:00.000-05:002007-01-26T10:35:06.179-05:00

Single Ma's recent Net Worth Post prompted me to calculate my net worth. I downloaded this format from Microsoft Office online, but I could have easily made up a spreadsheet in Excel.The cash and the credit card numbers are accurate as of 1/4/07, but the other balances are conservative guesstimates (basically, if I can check it online, it's good.). As I get a more accurate handle on balances, the

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-1785913510118901132007-01-03T09:40:00.000-05:002007-01-04T15:15:21.880-05:00

I mentioned in my previous post how I have had some personal issues with my relationship recently. As a result of this, we separated all of our finances. Now that we are coming out of our troubles and merging as a couple again, I am not sure what to do about our finances. I have several questions - how do people who keep separate finances save/pay bills together? I understand having multiple

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-26097738667289970212006-12-28T10:06:00.000-05:002006-12-28T12:03:43.392-05:00

Debt Hater has a post up of the Top 10 Financial Lessons she's learned this year (although she only has 5-10 so far) and a few resonated with me.9. You MUST have a plan to get out of debt.This is SO true. You can pay pay pay money to the credit mofos all you want, but if you don't know how you are going to get OUT of debt, then you're just wasting money. I don't know the exact numbers, but if you

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-81519159628024480682006-12-19T10:34:00.000-05:002006-12-19T10:36:38.374-05:00

This week's Festival of Frugality is up over at The MomAdvice blog.

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-81455543730687384552006-12-19T10:11:00.000-05:002006-12-19T10:39:20.058-05:00

I bought these shoes at Walmart a few months ago and I LOVE them. Unforch, they are already falling apart. This doesn't surprise me - it is Walmart, after all. But, now I have a problem. I have to find another pair that are great quality, but not too expensive. Target doesn't carry anything similar, otherwise I'd go with them as their quality is pretty good for the low price. So, now I have to

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-67022265814025737872006-12-15T07:53:00.000-05:002006-12-15T09:11:53.547-05:00

Woot! "Financial crisis" avoided!OK, so it's not really a crisis, but I avoided spending money on frivolous things when I wanted to. Here's the setup: A friend of mine bought a bunch of us tickets for a cruise(!). So, what does any self-respecting femme do? Panics about WTF she is going to wear! Normally, this is not a problem as I have a standard few outfits that I can pull together in a pinch;

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-47379412546142734682006-12-13T10:01:00.000-05:002006-12-13T12:38:24.541-05:00

Flipping through the radio stations this morning, I happened upon a discussion regarding money (on our #1 pop station, no less). A caller was talking about how she and her husband came up from making a combined $22K/year to amassing over $1million in net worth. I came in on the tail end of her call, so I didn't get all of the details. The emcee was properly impressed, but then he asked what the

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-57084819391836358462006-12-11T10:58:00.000-05:002006-12-19T10:34:05.676-05:00

This is a cautionary tale, folks. I went to the movies this weekend and I was robbed! Normally, I go to the cheap theater that plays second-run movies a few months after their initial release. I can have a date where my total cost for two tickets, popcorn and a drink is $10.Well, my gf wanted to see Santa Clause 3 during the holiday season. So, I had some extra money and decided to do

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-23603576045140933372006-12-07T10:27:00.000-05:002006-12-07T15:23:28.674-05:00

I know it's a bit early for New Year's Resolutions, but while it's on my mind...I have approximately $9,400 in credit card debt spread over 4 cards that I want to get rid of. (I also have some student loan debt slowly accumulating, but I'm still in grad school, so that is not a priority for me right now.) Let's focus on the shizz that is costing me some serious change.Scooter: $430.00 at 24%Chase

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-65492179411808535072006-12-05T10:37:00.000-05:002006-12-05T10:43:08.552-05:00

Whew! Third Festival this week!Festival of Frugality is up over at Frugal Duchess. Great job hosting!*****The 56th Carnival of the Green is up over at Urban Eco. Great job Urban Eco!I submitted my rodent post.*****The Festival of Under 30 Finance is up!Thanks to Student of Finance for Hosting!Big Hello to everyone stopping by! My blog is new, so there's not a lot of content, but come back

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-30930048689914360812006-12-05T09:19:00.000-05:002007-01-17T08:35:19.861-05:00

While this blog is really new and I haven't made any money off of it, I do have another blog that I earn money with (sorry, no linkage, this blog is anon.)I figured that I would list places that have actually paid me for my blog (in descending monetary order):Payperpost Greenfield Onlinemoney4blogsBlogsvertizeBlogging AdsBrand InstituteIncidentally, I am not getting paid for this, but if you

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-51322608230891976062006-12-05T08:33:00.000-05:002006-12-05T08:46:12.661-05:00

USA Today has been running a new series on young people and their debt. I've only been following rather loosely (Hat tip to Boston Gal for the heads-up.), but this gal caught my eye.Savings is a challenge as twentysomething deals with student debt, return to school, profiles Kimberly Hallbach. She's got a small mountain of school loans, car loan, and credit card debt. Even so, she's got a good

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-11223651654811452822006-12-04T15:39:00.000-05:002006-12-04T15:43:30.526-05:00

Not really of the day or even the week, but I ran across it today, so, therefore, it's the quote of the day.Here's the backstory:5. I Quit Letting People Talk Me Into Making Financial MistakesThis one is the most difficult because peer pressure is a bitch. Every day people will insist that you ‘work so hard’ and that you should ‘treat yourself!’ It’s even worse if you have children because the

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-49063430733063146682006-12-04T08:17:00.000-05:002006-12-04T08:27:34.352-05:00

One of the financial philosophies that I subscribe to is Mary Hunt's Debt-Proof Living. I read her book, Debt-Proof Living: The Complete Guide to Living Financially Free, at least once every year.I don't follow her formula (10% giving, 10% saving, 80% all else), but that doesn't mean that it's bad or I'm a naughty PF blogger. What's important is the message she's sending out. Reading the book

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-60289158314937500482006-12-01T11:25:00.000-05:002006-12-04T13:25:36.068-05:00

If you have a gerbil, a hamster, or any other rodent (kids don't count!) and they like to chew, chew, chew, don't buy those expensive cardboard tubes at the store. For that matter, don't buy those wood chewing sticks either. Give them your empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls to chew on. If you really love your pet, leave a little bit of tp on the roll. The shreds make up a nice, soft

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-84224947252369901622006-12-01T08:31:00.000-05:002006-12-04T16:40:58.874-05:00

Everyone has a coin stash of some sort, even if it's just the ashtray or a bowl in the house (that's mine). It's where you put the little extra change that you get. Eventually, they add up to some good money, right?Well, I'm starting a new, irregular series of tips that will be priced according to their worth. They'll be put into the coin jar on the sidebar. My rating system is pretty

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-8023879608498767632006-12-01T08:13:00.000-05:002006-12-01T09:35:47.890-05:00

Go check out the new Money Makover!Profiled are Michele and Miguel Suarez from Florida - WOOT! The article does not go into much detail regardin how much they have saved overall, but it talks about all of their investments, including real estate, what to do with each. Interestingly, the planner suggests that they:Put away LESS for retirement: This will allow them to fund prepaid tuition plans

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-33275712270313770562006-11-30T17:34:00.000-05:002006-11-30T15:06:33.996-05:00

I am adding a list of books and other things from Amazon on the left sidebar. The bottom one hasn't been optimized for my website yet, but give it some time.Please click on the link and purchase the book through me, as I get a percentage of the price. However, if you don't want to buy, no worries. Take this, then, as a recommendation to check out these books at your local library.

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-3980911428688428952006-11-30T13:08:00.000-05:002006-11-30T12:38:50.954-05:00

Continuing on the holiday theme, Debt Hater has a great, thought-provoking post on trying to stop the merry-go-round of gift-giving (check my comments). Essentially, her family has gotten much bigger and the gift-giving has kept up with it. She asks what to do to stop it.Here's what I said:On getting off the merry-go-roundI'm not subjected to guilt. I just don't buy people stuff. If they raise

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-46734173763174507002006-11-29T10:00:00.000-05:002006-11-29T12:04:31.595-05:00

Unless you live under a rock, you know the Holidays are upon us.Overall, I'm not a big spender, so I don't drop a lot of money on gifts or anything, but I spend more than I normally do and it's all in a matter of weeks. Additionally, I get HUGE gift-giving anxiety and that is one reason why I wait so long to buy gifts. I usually end up buying gift cards, but there's not much thought in that and

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-53026609740924428942006-11-28T17:23:00.000-05:002007-01-11T11:53:03.733-05:00

What up Folks!?!?!It's a new blog in the Personal Finance Community.I haven't quite figured out what my shtick will be, but be warned: It's gonna be the shizz!LMAO @ me!Clink

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7518413175605675243.post-37504010423164976662006-11-28T16:18:00.001-05:002006-11-28T17:23:04.502-05:00

Testing

Clinkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12374369862473291815noreply@blogger.com0