Resolutions for 2014

2014 will be full of changes for my family! Adjusting to new things can be tough, especially large-scale things like where we live, work, and volunteer, and who shares our life with us. Instead of nailing down a bunch of quantifiable goals, I've decided to change things up. I have had long lists of resolutions for previous years, but 2014 bodes to be both simpler and fuller in several ways. So my new year's resolutions are less numerous, but larger in scale.

CC by BazaarBizarreSF (Flickr)

A Follow-up on Paying Off My Student Loans

To recap:
I took out federal student loans to pay for grad school.
I saved up over time to pay them off before interest kicked in (or so I'd planned, and then the laws changed and interest started accruing on the second year of loans while I was still in school).
I asked FedLoan for a payoff amount. They gave me a number.
I paid off all of my loans in one big chunk, a couple of weeks before I graduated. That felt awesome.

CC Gwyneth Anne Bronwynne Jones (Flickr)

And now, 6 months later, the final chapter.

Paying Off My Student Loans Before Graduation

Subtitled: 3 years of scrimping was worth it. Jury still out on the extremely busy schedule.

Audio accompaniment: Omigod You Guys

Tax Refunds and Snowballing, part 2

I forgot about state taxes! I mean, I didn't FORGET... I filed mine. Ours. (California Registered Domestic Partners, filing jointly at the state level. It was complicated.) And we got a refund from that, too! It just hit my account.

Tax Refunds and Snowballing

Some financial updates (remember when I used to do those all the time?) as we count down toward tax filing deadlines:

1. Married taxes are harder than single taxes.
2. Registered Domestic Partnership (CA) taxes are harder than married taxes. (*grumble grumble equality grumble even Turbo Tax costs more grumble grumble file amended return GRUMBLE*)
3. Nonetheless, there's a benefit -- I got the largest refund of my working life this year, even after splitting it halfsies with my wife!

And it more than funded the rest of our emergency savings goal. Hooray!

Get a bank fee waived just by asking customer service.

Confession time: Despite my so-far-perfect record of paying my credit card bill on time and thus avoiding interest fees, I had a little trouble this month. Strangely, it was because I was SO good at paying my bill. But I contacted my bank, Chase, and traded on my good customer history, and (like Trent suggests) they quickly waived the charge for me. Details below.

Goals check-in: July

This is late 'cause I am swamped at the end of the semester. Sooo much work to do for 271A and the internship, church is having some administrative reorganizing, and we're about two and a half months out from the wedding. Ack!



Read 100 books in 2012.

Got up to #73. Slowly. Instead of my usual pleasure reading, I have been scanning a LOT of children's picturebooks for my internship and for 271A. I guess I can count the full-length graphic novels. I also had a few books that I just didn't finish! (One got taken back to the library; one is... somewhere around the apartment.) Currently working on Stephen King's Cell, which I had a vague idea was the story that got made into this hostage/sniper movie (not the Jennifer Lopez one), but apparently it's closer to zombie apocalypse.

Exercise for 90 minutes per week.
Nope. I walk about half an hour a day during my commute, but that's just necessity. I've been glued to the computer this summer with homework.

Goals check-in: May

Read 100 books in 2012.

Up to #59. I've had some re-reads this month, and I FORGOT two different books while out volunteering, so I haven't finished them yet. 

Exercise for 90 minutes per week.
This ain't happening. My back protests at the inactivity. (It also complains about activity, which is its own problem.) I would like to walk more during the evenings now that sunset happens later.

Grad school is expensive.

Oof. I just paid a bill for summer tuition.


SJSU Web Online Payments
Current Date: 05/25/2012


Payments Received                                                        Amount
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACH                                                                            $1,966.00

Halfway there!

Recovering from early credit card debt

This post is a part of Women's Money Week 2012. For more posts about overcoming consumer debt, see Debt Roundup.

This is a guest post by my sweetie; she graciously agreed to provide an alternate viewpoint for the topic of Debt.


When Remy and I first started talking about money matters, I was surprised at how incensed she felt about the credit culture here in the States. It made me realize that here was someone who, without experiencing credit card debt first hand, knew how I felt and what I hated about it, too. That was refreshing. But, in talking to her about the differences -- culturally, philosophically, personally -- we have in our views about money, it was clear that my past experiences color the rest of my interaction with money. They also have affected our relationship as we’ve started living together and making plans to get married in the fall. Today I’m sharing a bit about my financial history and what I’ve learned from struggling with debt early in my life.

Student loans: my plan to graduate debt-free from grad school

This post is a part of Women's Money Week 2012. For more posts about living with and without debt, see Debt Roundup. Also, stay tuned for my other half's view on the matter, later today.

 I am in my second semester of a Master's degree program in library and information science. My plan to date has been to graduate in 2013 (either at the end of the Spring or Summer terms), and then to repay all of my student loans within the 6 months after graduation, before the interest kicks in. It's an ambitious goal, I've been told. Plenty of people have student loan debt! And the interest is so low... why not take the full 15 or 20 years to pay it off with the minimum payments? You'd free up so much money!

That's only very occasionally a temptation. After all, the amount that I'd pay in interest alone if I only paid the minimum each month is astounding. This online minimum payment calculator at Bankrate.com says (with my rough number estimates) that I'd be paying the minimum amount for more than 30 YEARS and I'd pay back the amount of the loan PLUS nearly half that amount in interest! I think not.

Saving 50% of my income

This post is a part of Women's Money Week 2012. For more posts about saving and living on less than you earn, see Saving and Investing Roundup.

Out of all of my 2012 goals, the biggest one is probably saving and/or donating a combined 50% of my take-home income. Imagine dividing your income in half. Could you make ends meet if you only brought home that much on payday? It's certainly not the easiest thing I've ever done, but it's probably the best time of my life to do such a thing. My job is stable and my expenses are low; I've got myself and the cats to take care of, and my sweetie contributes as she can to the upkeep of our household.

Here are a few ways I reduce expenses so that I can meet my savings goals.

Relationships & Money: talking about important stuff

This post is a part of Women's Money Week 2012. For more posts about relationships and money, see Relationships and Money Roundup.

Today you’ll hear from my sweetie, who has experienced our relationship from the other side, and has a few things to say about how she and I deal with the topic of money.

One of the key differences in my relationship with Remy versus others (and for the sake of comparison, I’ll stick to my most immediate previous relationship) when it comes to money is that in my past relationships, I’ve been the one who holds the higher paycheck, the better pay rate, and the better head for finances.  With her, the economic situation is reversed; I’m on slightly lower footing. But our basic understanding around money has not lent itself to ease of discussion about money. So much of our experiences and ideas around money come from our upbringings (mine was low-middle/working class) and our viewpoints are heavily influenced by those early experiences.

Savings Goals update

My biggest financial goal in 2012 is to save or donate a combined 50% of my take-home income. The savings are split among a handful of smaller goals. I keep these tickers going for inspiration, but here's a little more detail about each one.

Easy Investments for Beginners (or Lazy People)

I'll tell you right out: I am NOT interested in playing the stock market. I don't have the nerves for it. I don't have the math skills to enjoy it. I don't have the money to have it really pay off. And I SURE as heck don't have the time.

However, one of my goals on the 101 things in 1001 days list is to invest in the stock market. I know it's good for my future to beat the inflation rate, at least. But where do I start with only a small amount to invest? How do I know what stocks to pick? How do I know when to buy more of something that's going to be the next Microsoft, or sell that Bear Stearns look-alike (I had to look that up, but it's not pretty) before it takes a dive? And what if I get it wrong? What if I get it RIGHT, even? What is that going to cost me in fees and in time?

Be weird.

I have to confess that I've never really followed the Moses of personal finance. You know, that dude that everyone blogs about. The one they credit with their financial turnaround.

Dave Ramsey.

I mean, I understand the concept of "baby steps" and the "$1000 emergency fund", and at least half a dozen other principles I've seen referenced in my daily reading material. I've just never picked up one of Ramsey's books.

But I ran across a new reference today at Grand Per Month, in a post by Melissa of Mom's Plans and Fiscal Phoenix. Mr. Ramsey has said (and it's been repeated in bumper-sticker and window-decal format, if you feel the need), "Debt is normal. Be weird."

Well, heck. I LOVE being weird. And I've never been much good at being normal, it's got to be said. All the way back to toddlerhood, if you ask my parents. (Please don't ask my parents.) And I recognized myself and my anti-credit-based-economy soapbox in that slogan.

Debt is normal. Be weird.

Not having a credit card (as I didn't until 2010) is weird. Not having credit card DEBT (which I didn't, and don't) is weird. Not owning a car (never have; probably won't in the near future) is weird. Not having a big expensive wedding (which we won't) is weird. Not spending lots of money on coffee, gas, and TV is REALLY weird. And that doesn't even touch thrift-store shopping, coupon-clipping, or my other favored forms of minimizing materialism. All weird.

Guess what? I'M WEIRD.

But I'm not buried under debt.

Why save? 'cause I'm stubborn.

Over at Squirrelers, the main reason for saving is so you don't end up "old and broke". Reasonable! Not knowing where your next mortgage or rent payment is coming from, worrying that an illness or injury will overwhelm your savings, becoming the stereotypical fixed-income senior facing a meal of cat food -- these things are scary! Fear is a big motivator for lots of things, like making healthier lifestyle choices after a medical scare, or over-preparing for a presentation so you don't embarrass yourself in front of your boss. Fear is what keeps many of us heading to the office each morning for many years.

Fear, though, is the mind-killer. (Thank you, Frank Herbert, and many who have repeated his words.) Having fear as a primary motivator causes you to think small, to avoid risks in order to be safe. Some fear is healthy, but fear alone is not enough.

Why ELSE should you save? Or do anything, for that matter? You should have a goal. You need something positive to reach for, as well as something negative to run from. Many comments on the Squirrelers post mentioned a desire for freedom at the top of their list. Freedom to travel, freedom to not work for others, freedom to buy what they want and not just what they need -- all of these are motivators as well.

Personally, I save for a number of reasons:

-It's next on the list.
I've got my basic needs taken care of. (It took a couple of years after college to sort that all out... I don't recommend doing it that way.) I don't have any debt. What's next? Emergency and retirement savings! This hierarchy of personal finance needs says it should be a priority. My expenses are small right now, and I'm still pretty young, so I know I'd better start saving ASAP before life circumstances cost more.

-I hate owing anyone money.
Being beholden is an icky feeling. Even when it's to a company and not an individual, debt is something I don't want held over my head. If I have money saved up, I am my own person.

-I don't want to pay any more than I have to.
This is why I buy stuff on sale -- and also why I save up first. Paying cash for things -- or paying off my card in full at the end of the month -- is my rude gesture to banks and other big-business types. They're not getting more money out of me!

-Freedom to stay home.
I don't want to travel. I'm a homebody. I'm kinda boring, actually. My idea of an excellent vacation is sleeping in, getting laundry done, maybe finishing up a storage project. Getting a little sunshine on my face, walking around the park to the farmers' market, stopping by the library on the way home and picking up a DVD to watch with my sweetie while we cuddle up with the cats. (With mugs of herbal tea. So there.) But I want to be able to do that when I feel like it! I want to be able to take some time off work without worrying about the bills. I don't want to have to rush off to a second job instead of having dinner with a friend or taking a Saturday afternoon nap. (I do that now, what with combining work, school, and choir practice. I know I can manage it for a few more years. I don't want to HAVE to do it in order to live.)

-Options for the future.
I'm saving for a nice wedding and a career that I enjoy. I'm saving for vet bills and legal fees and medical bills. I'm saving for FLEXIBILITY, for choice, for power over my life. If we raise kids, I want to spend time with them. Maybe work a four-day week while they're little. Make sure they have everything they need and a few things they want. I want to be able to retire from the full-time workforce at some point and spend daytime hours volunteering at things I love that don't pay -- snuggling babies, petting cats, reading to kids, feeding people, encouraging young readers and writers, and supporting libraries. I want to do that before I'm old.

Savings enable me to dream about not being shackled to a 40-hour-a-week job and still being able to afford a quality life. So I'm starting now. What about you? Why do you save?

Ahead of Schedule on Cyber Monday

Continuing in my tradition of finishing things long before they are due (why can't I apply this to school papers?), I am now 100% done with Christmas shopping.

First, like Santa, I made a list. Last year I used this spreadsheet from Lifehacker, and it worked so well that I added a new sheet (copying over the formulas from Gift List, and then changing the name of the sheet referenced for the Gift Info formulas) and brought it back this year. I wrote down all the people that I wanted to give gifts to (and also tossed in the three birthdays during December and January -- I refuse to make a holiday gift do double duty) and ideas for what to get them.

I also set a budget. Your budget is up to you -- what you can afford and what you think is appropriate. As a student with many savings goals, I found it best to minimize spending, so I discussed having a small Christmas with my sweetie a couple months ago. We'll still travel to see my family, but we skipped decorating our place this year. (The apartment really doesn't have room for a tree, anyway.) It's also understood that we'll give each other one or two smaller gifts, and nothing extravagant. This is a tradeoff for having the wedding we want next year -- and living debt-free in general.

The next step was to select gifts for each person. There are two basic approaches -- knowing exactly what to get someone and searching for the best price, or seeing what is out there and deciding whether a good deal would also make a good gift. I looked at my family's gift lists, which was easy because my cousin created a database that catalogues each person's wishes and who (if anyone) has signed up to give that gift, and keeps that information hidden from the recipient (but visible to others so there's no overlap) until after delivery. As I come across things I covet during the year, I add them to my eGiveIt list (making sure to update before my birthday and before the holidays). Others on my list had Amazon wishlists (like this one I'm shamelessly plugging for my Read Aloud program). I subtly (and not so subtly -- some of them were tough to hint to!) quizzed friends who don't have such a list. And I looked at a lot of the holiday promotional emails -- more than I usually would -- to see what was on sale. Although I'm in the demographic that doesn't take kindly to stores pushing Christmas decorations and carols before Thanksgiving, I'm up for a deep discount any time of year!

You've still got time, and the sales have just begun. Next weekend is actually a great time to shop, because retailers will have an excess of stock that wasn't sold on Black Friday. Why not make a plan and get your own list out of the way?