About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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November 11, 2009
Happily, no jet lag, but definitely a little discombobulation after returning home late. The suitcase remains unpacked which is distinctly odd – opening mail and unloading the suitcase are usually the first things I do when I get home.
Some ramblings for y’all ’til I get it together ….
Audio
Had Ramit on in the background for 45 seconds.
Water Bill
48% decrease. What happened?
Piperlime
These shoes came in, but the day after 7 hours of travel and fat feet is not the time to try on new shoes. I mostly ordered them to check for fit (they have free shipping and free returns), and for the $25 off next purchase coupon.
Returns pile
I went to the trouble of buying a pack of AAA batteries in NY for my mouse. That I left at home in CA. And then found out that I actually just needed a single AA. Back to Walgreens later today.
Cobra/Open Enrollment
This is a whole other post – but turns out I still get to participate in O.E. this November. Oh goody! New rates! Oh wait. …
Netbook lust
I was woefully out of touch this past week because my regular laptop [which I love!] is just too heavy to schlock around the city. The longing for a netbook is pushing me to consider …. dun-dun-duuunnnn…. BLACK FRIDAY!
Feel free to weigh in on that last topic, folks, recommendations, warnings, etc. No enabling necessary! I have set the boundary: it has to be under $200.
November 9, 2009
Aren’t these tomatoes beautiful? Eight ounces of mini mozzarella balls cost the same as a 8-oz chunk of the cheese that I’d normally buy; I’m glad I went with these little dollops instead. They were much easier to serve, just peel open the jar and plop – place gently – on the sliced tomatoes. A dash of olive oil and a few dashes of balsamic vinegar finished the plating nicely.
This salad was served with a side of buttered crumpets that I have no photos of because, er, I devoured them. They were awfully pretty, toasted, but you’ll just have to take my word for it. Sorry!
November 6, 2009
The flats-finding mission: When my last pair of flats destroyed my feet, the objective was simple: a pair of basic black flats, comfortable, fashionable, flexible for most events, $40 and under.
Thanks to Chelsea Bea‘s online shopping ninja-ry, we put together The Deal.
DSW.com
+ Free shipping for orders over $35 [FALLSHP, no stated exp. date]
+ $5 off $49 or more [OCTPKG, code implies it’s good until end of Oct]
+ 30% off any single purchase of $35 or more [code expired, via RetailMeNot.com]
+ ebates.com (4% cash back)
= 29% savings after DSW sale prices
This is what they looked like online:
A) Mia Hepburn Reptile Flats
B) Seychelles Frayed Ballet Flats
And this is how they fit:
A) The reptile flats were hands-down soft and comfortable, but that very squishiness may be cause for concern. Will it be sturdy enough to last? The shoe is stamped “leather upper” but the part around the heel is less leather and more … cardboard? I can’t really tell. It’s really soft, again, but seems more papery. I have to pick up something from my shoe repair/tailor shop, I can ask the shoe guy to take a look and give me his opinion. (listed $39.95, paid 27.97 after all discounts.)
B) The ballet flats were very cute, and interesting, and did not squish my toes at all. The downside was that the sole was hard as concrete, and the upper was just about as forgiving. Though I knew size 6 was probably a little generous when I ordered, this brand’s 6 definitely does not fit me, at least not in this style. Too hard, too roomy, and my heel slid out too easily. These guys are getting dropped off back at the next DSW I pass by. (listed $29.94, paid 29.57 after all discounts. To be fair, it was because of adding this shoe to the order that I got the free shipping [$7.95] and the extra $5 off to cover all taxes.)
November 4, 2009
The guest post on Money Tips from Poker at Bargaineering gave me a different perspective on the conversation we’re having at Fabulously Broke about personal spending limits.
As a once and former overachieving student, I like rules. Not because they’re limiting and I like to obey, but because they offer a benchmark to measure performance and the opportunity to go you one better, much like the Stretch goal is to the SMART goal. You’ve got to set the original goal first before you can beat it. [Note: I like my rules best. Who doesn’t?]
That’s why I kept moving my savings goals up as soon as I reached them – it’s boring not to have something to reach for. That’s not to say my rules don’t know how to limbo, they totally do. And have. And probably will again. It’s ok, as long as I don’t completely shatter the major ones.
When talking about the upper spending limits we set and why, it seems we all have a personal comfort level up to which we can spend. Spend more than that and we’re big squirmy excuse-making babies trying to justify the price tags. Or maybe that’s just me ……
But I don’t know anyone who has a mathematical reason for why this can cost up to $100, but that can only cost $15. The general levels rise and fall according to the feeling that one set of pricing is ok and the other is not, but why not set rules with a basis in fact? Mathematical rules? Ones that are rational? I’m talking about the bankroll management from the article.
I love the idea of setting your levels of spending by multiples of your available cash. In the article, the example is between 30-50 multiples of the bankroll. I’d like to steal that formula as is, but it doesn’t quite work out because my expense budget is vastly smaller than my entire bankroll. I’m protective of my savings, the multiple would be something insane like 300.
In our cases, that formula could translate into a percentage of the clothing budget. If you’re planning to save $100/month for clothing, perhaps each season gets 25%, or a weighted percentage because coats on sale tend to cost much more than bathing suits on sale. By a ratio of 5 to 1, in fact. If I were doing this, Winter would get 40%, and the other 3 seasons get 20%. That’s not precisely fair, but it’s probably more true to shopping reality than people realize. Breaking that down:
Winter: $480
Spring: $240
Summer: $240
Fall: $240
Right off the bat that tells you not to spend $400 before tax on a winter coat unless that’s the only thing you’re going to buy.
Of course, seasonality is only one way to break that down. You could just take that whole annual budget of $1200 and allocate 80% for staples like jeans, daily wear shoes, accessories, etc.; 20% for specialty items.
Truthfully much of this is hypothetical for me because I don’t yet have a clothing budget. I’m definitely still just saying “$100 is too much for jeans, I’ll pay up to $40 for them” and “No summer dress can cost more than $20.” As soon as my budget changes, though, I think it’d be great to implement a set of rational rules that I didn’t just make up as I encounter sales.
November 3, 2009
I got a free Nintendo DS Lite (2nd gen)!! A friend bought himself a brand new DS, we were chatting about the pricematch he got on it thanks to his new Google phone the other day, and out of the blue, he offered to mail his old one to me. It’s darling. White, shiny, little, probably fits in a jacket pocket.
This pretty much requires that I spend money. Oops. I won’t be rushing out to buy everything immediately because I didn’t budget anything for fun accessories and don’t have time to play it anyway but this is the wish list:
First, a screen protector: The Hori Protector runs about $10.
Second, a protective skin: Perhaps Depths by Lawrence Yang?
Loose Leaf by Derek Prospero?
Sugar Head In The Sky by Brandi Milne?
The Enamored Whale by Alberto Cerriteno?
Third, A Game! I have no idea what game I want yet. I’m just pretty much elated to have a little gaming device of my very own for the first time. We shared a Gameboy when I was a kid, but all the games were pretty much my brother’s, so I played on sufferance.
I liked Professor Layton when I tried it on one friend’s DS, was completely bored by Cooking Mama when I tried it on another. Should I go with a puzzle game? I hear there’s a form of Bejeweled coming out sometime, or perhaps an RPG? The World Ends with You could keep me occupied for-ev-er. Ooh or! I could maybe get My Japanese Coach!
Whatever I choose, it’ll have to wait until I’ve saved up enough Swagbucks to redeem for Amazon gift certificates. And I only have 89 SB right now so… this could be a while. S’ok, I’m happy enough for now. 🙂
October 31, 2009
| Retirement Savings |
Total: $34,001 (34,951)
|
| Emergency Savings |
Total: $36,741 (36,887) |
| Short Term Goals |
Car Maintenance: $2,223
Insurance: $2,439
Travel/Con: $550
Taxes: $3,590
Moving: $2,894
Total: $11,696 (12,863) |
| Long Term Goals |
House Down Payment: $102 |
| Investments |
TradeKing: $1,095
Prosper-ish Loan: $12,630
Personal Loan: $1,500
Savings Bond: $362 (current accrued value)
Total: $ 15,587 (15,586) |
| Total Assets |
Illiquid: $34,001
Semi-Liquid: $15,587
Liquid: $36,741
Expense Acct: $7,156
Goals Savings: $11,696
Total: $ 105,181 (107,893) |
| Debt and Liabilities |
AmEx: $653
Chase: $1,580
Rent: $1,360
Total: $3,593 (4,014) |
| Net Worth |
$101,588 (103,879) |
A few thoughts …..
Once again we have problems with Yodlee “updating” their site which means problems. This time, the drop down menu that should allow me to update account passwords won’t actually drop down. Those accounts’ll just have to remain inaccessible for now.
Wonky math. Somewhere in the emergency funds, we’ve got math gone wrong and I can’t figure it out. Last month, I was down $76. This month, $146. A difference of $222 total when the only outbound transaction from those accounts is a single $500 borrow when I needed to open a Chase account for a bonus offer. I’m starting to wonder if I just made a clerical error at some point?
Losing steam. I’m sliding dangerously close to the other side of the 6 figure mark. I apparently both miscalculated the bare bones scenario upon layoff, and have been traveling a LOT more than planned. The solution? Find a full time J-O-B! But also finish my classes with high marks because I’ve paid a good chunk of change for them. Which, of course, leads me to Item the Next:
Big things next month! Midterms, a trip to the Big Apple, a trip to the Big Island, hosting a Carnival, and final exams!
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.]
