May 10, 2010
Since I have such major savings targets, I’ve morphed into a bit of a tightwad. (More than usual, yes.) And with the $5K/5K Challenge on now, I’m even more motivated to avoid unnecessary spending.
My iPhone cover is giving up the ghost.
I’m considering checking to see if they’ll do a partial replacement or just going without for a while because this cost $30 when I bought the iSkin revo two years ago. The visor is essential because if I’m using the phone without, there’s a 90% chance I’ll touch the screen and mute/hang up/do something else unintentionally. I’d rather not spend anything I don’t absolutely have to until I’ve regained some savings ground. Rechecking the site, the whole thing costs $20 now. Miiight be worth it.
I know I said I’d stop buying clothes, but does that include underthings?
I rather need a small round of replacements. Or is that a want? Hmm. Either way, I don’t want to spend the money. A single good quality bra that doesn’t fall apart is between $60-70. Or at least all my regular bras that cost less than $20 are in tatters. Just don’t want to spend that kind of money.
The netbook of my dreams starts at $1300.
It makes the $250 “sale” look like an incredible bargain. Again, holding back the credit card.
Shoes.
I hate shoe shopping. But I’ve about worn a hole into the soles of my Kate & Kelly flats because I walk everydangwhere to, at, and from work. I liked walking before but I dread it now that I’m in the company of people who think nothing of trotting (aka demon speedwalking) nearly 2 miles one way to catch their transportation. And then think I should come with them for business dinners. At this rate, I’m just going to have to wear sneakers with business trousers and that just looks wrong.
Another attempt at the Holy Grail bag, partial Fail.
I DID spend $38 on a new bag from Etsy. The order might have gone in on April, but I gotta pay the bill whenever the credit card comes due.
My beloved expensive leather bag that’s butter-soft, got all the pockets I need, and eminently waterproof weighs in at more than three pounds. After it’s loaded up, it’s unmanageably heavy and has been causing serious back and neck pain. I’ve picked out a new lightweight shoulder/cross body bag to get me through until I find a winter option. I hate having too many bags but it doesn’t make sense to destroy my body for the sake of money.
Since these are discretionary purchases, opting to wait is not cheating. What are you saying “not yet” to these days?
March 5, 2010
A common side effect of nomadism is that you’ve got to have online management down to a science. And that’s not usually a problem since I switched to Paperless Statements and Online Bill Payments eons ago. It is a problem when accounts just don’t show up at all!
My Chase Business checking, which I’ll admit was opened 60% for the account bonus and 40% for the actual account, disappeared from the Accounts page and I couldn’t say when I last saw it. This occurred to me when I was triple-checking my documents in preparation for dealing with income taxes. There was a small payment made through that account and for the life of me, I couldn’t find the electronic record of the transaction or the account.
Two phone calls and 20 minutes later, I discovered that instead of imposing monthly inactivity fees, Chase just closes these accounts without activity after 45 days!
Well then. I suppose it’s better than having to argue my way out of another fee (for my failure to read fine print, it seems), but no mention was made of this when I first opened the account and I had specifically asked about any inactivity or minimum balance penalties.
This isn’t a major imposition for me since I got my opening bonus and didn’t end up needing the account as much as I thought, but be careful!
Read your fine print, and make sure you know what’s going to happen to your bank accounts, credit cards, and other financial accounts when they’re over or under utilized.
I’m not the only one this has happened to, ChiTown of Windy City Blues lost her checking account as well.
October 30, 2009
I have no problems with making sure that my purely personal friendships jive well when money’s involved; I pay my way and assist friends in need within reason, we’re honest with each other about our limits, and it generally works out pretty well. I have no problem with keeping my business money separate from personal money in a corporate environment, and generally dining out with the office has always been fairly straightforward: the office paid. But what of the gray area in between? Specifically, when you’re networking and not interviewing with or working for the person you’re dining with?
From a purely business perspective, my friend/mentor advised me not to quibble over who paid the bill when I dined out with an older, successful, networking acquaintance. “He can most certainly afford it, he invited you, and he can always write it off,” she asserts. These points were all true, at the time. The person in question is both gracious and helpful whenever possible leads come up, and has since taken the initiative to point me and my resume at highly placed persons who were interviewing for desirable positions. [At which point it’s up to me so that there isn’t impropriety or influence on my behalf which I would never ask for or expect.]
But what happens when the acquaintance morphs into a semi-friendship? When you’re meeting to catch up and tell stories, it’s no longer 100% business. I feel like that development then brings with it the obligation to offer to, and even insist on, paying sometimes. It’s only fair. I don’t want my acquaintance/now friend to think that I simply expect a great meal at his expense; that’s certainly not the case.
I’m aware that insisting on footing the bill when he has selected the restaurant, when he is more than financially comfortable [yes, finances have come up in the conversation in a career-related turn], and/or when I am unemployed seems to smack more of irrational pride than sense. But I’m unemployed, not destitute, and it hardly seems right to assume that I shouldn’t pay simply because I don’t have access to a corporate account. That seems like a recipe for brewing resentment; the line of reasoning that “you have more money than I, so let’s use your resources, thanks!” doesn’t sit well with me. Neither party’s resources should determine who pays. It can certainly influence the selection of the experience, but I think fair means that both parties take it in turn to pay.
How does the financial relationship change when your business relationship acquires shades of the personal? How should it?
[Disclosure: This post is also published at the Carnival of Personal Finance.]
October 10, 2009
By which I mean: I’m getting my money back via refunds and such.
The Epson is working out wonderfully, so the tiny Canon i-70 from my college days has been retired. I’m considering eBaying it, as well as an old 35 mm point and shoot Lexio camera also from college days. Of course, that means I’d have to overcome my aversion to eBay that marks me an internet troglodyte. It’s really time to get over that.
Happily, returning the ink for the printer to Staples was easy as (eating) cake: I’ve now got a $25 Staples cash card to go with a $6 ink cartridge recycling credit. Perhaps this can go toward a new external hard drive for a friend. I just need a good sale + rebate to combine with the cash + credit.
Chegg processed refunds on the two textbooks they failed to send me, and the third book finally arrived so we’re set on that front.
A failed rebate postcard goes back out tomorrow with proof that my purchase was indeed valid. Perhaps they’ll pay up this time around.
August 21, 2009
What’s better than not spending?
Making up for past stupid spending!
I pled my rheumatically, unemployed case with the hotel, and the woman I spoke with was kind enough to cut me some slack. Some $40 slack! I was polite, acknowledged that the ball had been dropped on my end entirely, but asked for a bit of consideration due to extenuating circumstances, and she obliged.
July 27, 2009
Good mornin’ all!
Most people have been up and about for hours, East Coast or West Coast, but this is my first morning post-freedom without any travel plans pending. That means a) waking up early and saying, “nope, goin’ back to sleep” and b) having a short list of errands to run before sitting around and reading comic books from Con. Ahhh yes, summer vacation!
……
Or, ahhhh, unemployment! Hmph, that’s not nearly as appealing.
As usual after a travel day, I couldn’t sleep at a decent hour last night, so I had to stay up reading, cleaning and then eating random snacks. *smh* Stale donuts really aren’t so bad, especially if they fulfill a craving. 🙂
So here’s the short list:
1. Return the rental car.
2. Finally complete the Cal Jobs thing.
3. Mail off porting life insurance paperwork.
4. Discover where that mysterious retirement contribution on July 21st came from. [Might there also be a mystery check?? One may hope.]
5. Catch up on blogs, try to retrain my mind to write again.
6. Calculate total damages to travel fund.
7. Ship shoes for return to Endless.com. Thank goodness for generous return policies!
8. Search for jobs online.
Anything else?
Oh yes, and churn up the gift money for a friend’s wedding present. I think I’m going to take the Thank You points premium hit and “pay” 7000 points for a $50 gift card. Worth it to me not to take that cash out of pocket after the spendiness of Comic Con, and I haven’t been able to make up my mind about what to redeem for in over 18 months anyway.
July 14, 2009
I may still be in NY right now, but I’ve been keeping up with tidbits of news about California, namely, the financial situation.
While discussing this with my friend, she asked who would be affected by the IOU situation and I wasn’t really sure. My assumption was that state contractors and vendors would be, and that state employees would find their work hours affected as well as delayed paychecks. I’d forgotten that income tax returns would be IOUed as well, and Jonathan of My Money Blog, has received one of his very own.
That makes me wonder if unemployment will be protected from this issue, and for how long? If we’re broke, we’re broke. And I’ll have to make some interesting changes to my projected budget for the next few months if nothing turns up on the job front!
