So Cal Savvy

Update!

2009-06-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

I know I’ve been absent for quite some time, but I’m happy to say my first semester teaching went great! So great, in fact, that they offered me a full time position starting in the fall. Yippee! For the first time in my life, I’ll make a salary with- get this- benefits! Whoo-hoo!

Obviously, my financial goals are in need of a sprucing. Here’s a synopsis of my progress since last December:

2008 Roth IRA 3K- Met goal (although I had to steal from my other coffers)
15K New Car Fund- was: 24.5% Now: 23.65% (but hey, I made my ROTH IRA contribution for 2008)
14K Emergency Fund- was: 19% Now: 22.33%
100K DP Home Fund- was: 11.8% now: 23.83%
New: 2009 Roth IRA 3K: 10.04%

My paycheck working part-time was more like a stipend, but I feel with my new and improved paycheck that will start in the fall, that I’ll be able to make my ROTH IRA contribution (while contributing to a 403b) and hopefully increase my emergency fund substantially!

I’ve decided not to resume writing on this blog; however, I do hope to continue to update my PF progress. I feel it helps my be accountable to my goals, and keeps me focused.

But that’s enough about me- I want to thank all the full-time PF blogger for keeping up with their own blogs. I continue to enjoy reading them everyday, and I give everyone mad props for juggling full time work and continuing to publish quality content on their blog each and every day. Good job!

Going Underground

2008-12-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

With my new job 80% of the work is prepping for the class (with 10% grading work and 10% giving lectures).

Sooooo…

Sorry to say, but… I’ll probably not be updating my blog like I have been.

What have your utilities done for YOU lately?

2008-12-09T06:35:00.000-08:00

Considering I live in an area where we have not yet had to turn off our A/C, we pay a good chunk of money to our power company. So, I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that they were giving us $75 in free CFL light bulbs! Free!

While I’m always up for free things, I had put this offer off thinking that it would be complicated or time consuming. Then I got a reminder notice last week with a checklist for me to assess the type of lighting we have in our apartment. From that list, it recommended the appropriate type of light bulb. It had all sort of light bulbs- little ones that look like fake candles- to ones that look, well, like a regular light bulb. They even had flood lights and insect lights.

All I had to do to get my $75 worth of lights was to log on to my electricity account and denote how many of each blub I wanted. Shipping and handling was covered by my power company and they should arrive in six weeks!

How neat is that!?!

December update

2008-12-08T06:33:00.000-08:00

In all my excitement of getting my new job last week; I didn’t assess how my financial situation changed over this last month!

As a whole, my net worth is back into the negative three digits- whoo hoo! I haven’t been here since before the September crash! As expected my retirement savings dwindled, but at least it shrank due to external force- rather than through some error on my part.

My key savings accounts I’ve been tracking have once again inched ahead.

2008 Roth IRA 3K- was: 60.3% now: 61%
15K New Car Fund- was: 24.3% now: 24.5%
14K Emergency Fund- was: 18.8% now: 19%
100K DP Home Fund- was: 11.7% now: 11.8%

It’s pretty apparent I will not reach my financial goals for 2008, but then again, being unemployed for a year has a way of hampering personal financial goals. If anything, these small financial advancements are a testament that we, as a married couple, can stay solvent on one salary and even save a little. This year could have been a financial disaster for us, but instead, it focused us on doing what we really want to do and to not spend extravagantly.

That- that is something to be thankful for!

Gainfully employed!

2008-12-05T07:50:00.000-08:00

Yes, it’s true! I’ve got a part-time teaching instructor position!!!!

Whoo-hooo!!!!

e-Hope

2008-12-01T07:45:00.000-08:00

After eleven months of unemployment, hundreds of emails to department heads and hr people, and lots of deep sighs an email appeared:

“I have a vitae on file for you as someone who is interested in part-time teaching. I'm looking for an instructor for Spring to teach … Are you interested in teaching this spring, or is your plate already full?”

Is my plate full? HA!
Am I interested in teaching in the Spring- you bettcha!

AND…. (drum roll please)… the interview is on Wednesday!

I’m going to spend the next couple days getting ready- I really want this job! I’ll post an update after the interview!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T06:15:00.000-08:00

I hope that you are blessed today to be spending time with loved ones!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Scams

2008-11-26T06:12:00.000-08:00

Ahh.. ‘tis the season of more online shopping and more online scams! Here’s an example of one I got earlier this week and my comments are in (parentheses).

PayPal investigation of an unauthorized activity claim: #PP-587-442-704‏ (nice and scary-huh?)
From:
service@intl.paypal.com (who knew paypal had an international division- oh wait…they already are!)

You may not know this sender.Mark as safe Mark as unsafe
Sent:
Mon 11/24/08 3:32 PM
To:
*******@hotmail.com
Dear *******@hotmail.com, (not using my name= big tip off!)

We recently noticed that a transaction may have been made without yourknowledge or consent. We are currently investigating the followingtransaction: -----------------------------------Details of Disputed Transaction -----------------------------------

Seller's name: Hagio-HostSeller's

email: yawvaar@gmail.comSeller's

transaction ID: 7YW39066PT6017814

Transaction date: Nov 25, 2008

Transaction amount: -$80.94 USD (80 bucks! Oh no!)

Your transaction ID: 30L88064FF065545B Case number: PP-587-442-704

To see the details of this case, log in to your PayPal account by following the link below and go to the Resolution Center. (yeah, I’ll click on it and get what type of virus?)https://www.paypal.com/login?......7YW39066PT6017814?=disputeTRANSACTION

The seller has been asked to provide information about this transaction.During this time the funds are not available in your account, but if theunauthorized activity claim is decided in your favor, we will fully refundyou for the amount of the transaction.Sincerely,Account Review Department

Please do not reply to this email. This mailbox is not monitored and youwill not receive a response. For assistance, log in to your PayPal accountand click the Help link in the top right corner of any PayPal page.BC:PP-587-442-704:R1:USD80.94:11/25/2008:30L88064FF065545B (nice touch!)

Wow… well of course I logged into paypal the traditional way and low-and-behold no funny transactions! Althought, I can see why emails like this could trip up the elderly or the unfamiliar with technology.

Just one more thing to watch out for!

Gift Card Troubles

2008-11-25T12:59:00.000-08:00

I still had almost $100 on a gift card to Macy’s leftover from wedding gifts, so back in October I bought a suitcase since my old one took one too many abuses from airline personnel and gave up the ghost. It wasn’t the cutest suitcase, but it was functional and with tax it came in just under the gift card amount. I was pleased and looked forward to getting it.

Then, two weeks later in early November, I got an email that they ran out of my suitcase.

Fabulous.

The problem was that when I made that purchase- I had cut up the gift card.

So, I called customer service and explained everything. After twenty minutes on the phone a representative said that they would send me a new card in the mail within two weeks.

Now, over two weeks later, I still don’t have the gift card.

So I called again. I got a new customer service person who said the last person didn’t properly put in the request for the new gift card. Another twenty minutes went by and she has assured me it will come in the next two weeks.

Anyone want to bet that I’ll actually get it in two weeks?

Mentha award

2008-11-24T07:16:00.000-08:00

This month’s Money magazine profiled and compared the top money management websites.

The top honors went to:
Mint.com!

(GO mint, mint, GO mint, mint)

Followed by:
A tie between Quicken and the moneycenter at yodlee
and
Wesabe.com trailing in last place….

Marriage (and credit score) on the rocks?

2008-11-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

This month’s Money magazine had an interesting article highlighting a lawsuit against credit companies that use information from certain vendors you’ve visited to determine if they can reduce or cancel your line of credit.

These vendors include:
Bars
Massage parlors
Billiard halls
Night clubs
Marriage counselors

Wow- basically this discriminates against young singles or those who are already in great emotional distress! I can see why a sudden increase in these vendors may precede a monetary crisis in one’s life, but I also see most of these vendors as the staples of young single people’s lives.

To discriminate against them using these criterions is just bad business practices. What do you think?

Go Kmart?

2008-11-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

Since my first spotting of Christmas commericals on TV weeks ago, it seems like every big box store is eagerly thrusting their “deals” upon viewers everywhere. So I wasn’t surprised to see Kmart following suit. However, their ad was different. It was a wife going out to buy Christmas gifts and her husband nervously suggesting not to spend to much. She suavely replies, “don’t worry, I’m putting it on layaway.”

Even Kmart’s home page extols the virtues of layaway.

It seems easy enough:
Pick your item, pay a small down payment, make additional payments every two weeks, and then take home your item once it’s paid for.

It ensures that you get your item as opposed to trying to save up for it and then trying to buy the item the day before Christmas. It also seems better than charging something you can’t afford on a credit card and having a horrible reckoning day in January.

However, I’ve never done this before. Has anyone else done it? What was your experience like?

Score!

2008-11-18T07:10:00.000-08:00

My parent’s came down recently and they brought with them the last box of wedding planning leftovers. The week before the wedding I had a whole room full of boxes, binders, vases, and other wonderful things in their spare bedroom. Now, three months post-wedding, I’ve received the last remnants of the wedding planning.

I was sifting through all the stuff deciding what to throw away and what could be parlayed into another craft project, when I discovered all my bridal shower cards! It was so nice to read each one’s sentiments and re-look at so many cute greeting cards.

Then I pulled out my aunt’s card. It felt suspiciously full.
I opened it carefully and found… a $100 gift card to Pottery Barn!

This was way better than finding $5 in an old coat pocket- one hundred bucks! Who-hooo!

The (not so) free party

2008-11-17T11:01:00.000-08:00

Last week Hubby’s work gave us free tickets to a ball!
I was so excited! Doesn’t that sound so grown-up?
“Sorry darling, I can’t chat- I’m getting ready for the ball tonight.”

I wore a dress I already owned, but to make it feel new again I bought all new accessories:
$25 shoes
$15 clutch
$12 for a necklace and earring set

It’s all stuff I’ll use again and all stuff I like, but it had me wondering: is it justifiable to spend $52 to go to a free event?

Lots of festivities!

2008-11-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

Wow.. this has been the week of holiday gift prep!

While I’ve exhausted my ideas for savvy presents, here are a couple more ideas for keeping holiday expenses down. I have a large extended family (each of my parents were the third child of five) plus my husband’s family makes for three (or more) Holiday gatherings per year!

Here’s how each family keep the fun going economically:

Grandpa’s birthday party- normally held a week before Christmas in celebration of my (now deceased) great- maternal grandpa’s birthday. It doubles as our Christmas celebration and we hold a giant 30+ person gift game.

The rules:
You must be 13 to play.
Bring a gift that cost about $30 and wrap it.
All people are assembled and gifts are piled in the middle.
Two hats are volunteered and one person takes it upon themselves to write out football teams and the cities the team is located in. The team names go in one hat and the team cities go in another. Everyone who is playing draws a team name.
A designated drawer draws out one team city out of the hat (normally this goes to an eager tween who can’t play, but wants to be involved)
When your team’s city is called you get to select a gift.
If you are the first person to go: you must select from the gift pile. You open it up and show everyone what it is.
If you are not the first person to go: you may select a wrapped gift or steal a gift from a person who has already gone.
There are three steals per round, and a round is over when someone opens a new wrapped present.
If you are stolen from you can not steal back your gift (you can, however, steal your spouse’s gift and your spouse can go steal the gift back for you!).
Everyone has a chance to play.
At the very end, the person who was first to go can choose to steal a gift if they have not been stolen from and they choose to go again. This keeps it fair in case the first person gets stuck with a sucky gift.

No one brings any other presents for any other adults. Young, non-gift-game-playing children may or may not get gifts, but it isn’t expected.

The family gifts- my Dad’s side of the family buys gifts for each family. Every family gets a similar gift and the gifts are of less than $20 in value.
Ex: My Hallmark crazy aunt gives every family an ornament, my aunt and uncle who went to Hawaii brought back every family a bag of macadamia nuts, or my aunt who can cook- canned peaches for every family. This means you only have to get seven of one gift for seven families, instead of 34 different presents! Cheaper and easier!

The in-law way- just get together. Bring food or even better a dessert! I’ll get my mother and father-in-law something, but I have a no-presents rule with my brother-in-law. These gifts, however, will be given in private- not at the large (40+ people) family party. Since most of the family is Jewish (practicing or not) the gift giving isn’t really emphasized. It's still fun, and a whole lot cheaper!

Chic DIY presents

2008-11-13T06:32:00.000-08:00

The last couple days I’ve been focusing on quality gifts at prices that won’t undo your holiday budget. A lot of these ideas are off of Design*Sponge (go Derek and Lauren!) and I encourage you to look at their DIY section to see if other ideas pique your interest!

Here are a couple ideas for people who want to make gifts with their own hands:

Tassel Earrings
For one stop by Michael's crafts and a few bucks you can make multiples of these chic earrings for all your girlfriends!

Eco-friendly notebook
With a handful of materials and even fewer steps, these notebooks are eco(nomically) friendly!

Family Portraits
More interesting than a standard portrait, these modern silhouettes are part traditional and part modern.

Felt Coasters
Make these in the colors of the gift recipient’s living room and they’ll know you were thinking of them!

Stenciled trivets
These require a steady hand to cut out, but the graphic could be anything you like. Try the person’s initial, a sweet saying, or a decal in the likeness of their pet!

Cake stands
I love this idea! At one point, I thought I’d do these for my wedding- but I didn’t… Still imagine these made with some garage sale milk glass… so sweet!

Crafting X-mas gifts for non-crafters

2008-11-12T06:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, I highlighted my strategies for buying holiday gifts in an economical way. Now I’d like to highlight some ideas for making meaningful gifts. For all those anti-crafty people who would like to tune out now: these are all gifts that you can make online! No scissor or glue required!

Three gifts to give from non-crafty people:

1. Family Calendar
Make a calendar that has all your personal holidays on there- yes it will have Valentine ’s Day and Halloween, but it can also have all your friend’s and family’s birthdays and anniversaries! It will save your friends and family the chore of transferring all those events from the ’08 calendar to ’09. VistaPrint is nice because you can choose from their stock photography or if you have your own photos (say photos of all the grandkids) choose a photo printer retailer.
Suggested vendors: Vista Print or any photo printing retailer (like Shutterfly or SnapFish)

2. Personalized items
Maybe you want a personalized stationary set, an engraved necklace, or monogrammed bed sheets. My first stop would be Alchemy at Etsy. You can write a description of what you’d like and what you’d like to pay and then crafters will bid on the project! You can also brows individual sellers sites through etsy and convo them asking them to make a personalized project for you. I’ve never been turned down, and I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Etsy vendors. Also, depending on what you want- just Google it. Don’t let your imagination be limited!

3. Make an investment for a gift recipient
Go to Treasury Direct and buy US savings bonds for them. You’ll buy them at a discounted rate and in a couple years they’ll be worth more to the individual than what you bought them for.

Or want to give the grandkids money, but not the kind they can use at the videogame store? Set up a 529 plan for them and help their parents save for their college years. You can set up a 529 plan through any brokerage house (Vanguard, Fidelity, etc.)

Fund someone’s ROTH IRA. If you know someone who is eligible for a ROTH IRA, but hasn’t funded it (i.e. college students or young working but struggling people), you can do it for them. Since the ROTH IRA limits ($5K if aged 49 and under) are under the amount of money you can give tax free to someone ($12K in 2008) there won’t be any surprises on your tax forms come April.

Give a charitable donation in their name. Any large charitable organization (to see how much of your donation goes to the cause see: charity navigator) will be able to handle this for you. Creative ideas include: giving a water buffalo or honeybees ( Heifer ), a tree (Arbor Day), or start a business in the developing world ( by making a loan at Kiva ).

The gifting season

2008-11-11T06:49:00.000-08:00

Didn’t you know? It’s Christmas season (or at least that’s what retailers would like you to think)!On my birthday, last Thursday, November 6th, I saw my first Christmas shopping commercial. Also, on the same day, my local shopping mall had erected the giant silver 20-foot menorah.

Ah.. yes.. it’s dipped below 78 degrees and SoCal is envisioning a profitable Holiday season...

Now here’s the shocking part: I do (kind of) agree with them. It is time to think about holiday gifts, but only because you want to make and give sentimental well-priced gifts.

If you tend to be a person who just rolled their eyes at my “make ... holiday gifts” statement, then I suggest that now is the time to start looking for good deals on the gifts you want to buy for people.

Here are my suggestions for getting what you want at the price you want:

1) Make a list of all the people you want to give gifts to.
There are people in your life that you’ll want to gifts to every year. I like to keep a running list throughout the year with these people's names on it. Whenever someone expresses that they like something- I simply write it next to their name. Then I’ve got plenty of gift ideas when a special event comes along.

I also like to get three general gifts. I like to find either: candles, nice towels, simple jewelry or stationary that I can give if any surprises come my way. I actually plan for these gifts in case a gift doesn’t ship in time or someone extra shows up at a function and has a gift for me. These are gifts that are cheap for my wallet, but helpful for my heart because I know I won’t feel badly if something unexpected happens. I never buy more than three extra gifts and I always keep these receipts and return unused items in January.

2) Decide what you want to spend.
You can decide this on a per-gift basis or per event basis. For example, you may want to spend $20 per gift or $200 for all Christmas gifts.

3) Research!
Websites like PriceGrabber or NextTag can give you ideas on where you may want to buy the gift, and help you research if the gift you want to give is in your price range. I also like Amazon to look up reviews for individual products.

4) Shopping time!
Check out when the retailer you’re buying from is having sales or free shipping offers. Also make sure to buy all your gifts from each retailer at one time to save on shipping or time invested in going to that store.

If you are going to buy gifts in stores make sure that you go at a time where you can spend the time parking and shopping by yourself at leisure. You want to be in a good mood, well feed, have a water bottle, and all your self-control in check. Retailers will have special “deals” on stuff you don’t need. But you’ll want them- so stick to your list and don’t give in!

Splurging- without emptying your wallet

2008-11-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

MSN shopping had an article posted today called: Wardrobe Economics: Save or Splurge. The idea was that with a tighter economy you’ll have to make some spending choices, and the article presented some guidelines for where to cut corners.

It had the following recommendations: Save on evening dresses (you’ll probably only wear them once), hosiery (all hosiery runs, why pay more?) and activewear (remember: you are going to go sweat in them).

However, it said to splurge on jeans. When I say splurge they recommend jeans in the $100-$200 range. Now I’ve spent $60 on jeans before and they’ve lasted me almost a decade. I’ve also had jeans that cost much less that have lasted 5+ years. I’ve also tried on those designer jeans and had little success with them fitting. So, I personally wouldn't spend that much for jeans.

It also suggests splurging on handbags- to the tune of over $200! With handbag trends changing every season, why would anyone (who is trying to save money) spend so much on a purse? There are good-enough quality bags at much lower prices points, and I don’t see why someone who is trying to save money in the short run would need to buy an investment-grade leather carryall.

I guess what I don’t like about articles like this is that they are really just mouthpieces for advertisers. I tend to buy good quality pieces that I can use through the years, but a $300 sweater and a $60 sweater will both fade and lose their shape after years of wearing. I also like buying trendy pieces, but only at trend store prices. Shoppers should splurge only if they are able to and only on an item that they know they personally will value. Also, a spurge doesn't have to mean that you spend more than three digits.

The moral of this article should really be: Any reasonably good shopper can find good quality at sensible price points. No matter what the item is.

Financial update

2008-11-07T06:47:00.000-08:00

The good news:
1) I reduced my student loan by $71 even after paying interest
2) I focused on my ROTH IRA this month and gained almost a 2% increase in it.
3) Since I made extra payments on my student loan and increased my cash holdings my NetWorth increased to only: -$1307!

The not-so-fabulous news:
1) ING rates have taken a dive with interest rates. It’s currently paying only 2.75%, but with the new rate cut that is also likely to decrease. So my accounts that I didn’t contribute to, didn’t have much interest. So my New Car, my Emergency, and my Home Down Payment funds didn’t budge.

Like many of you, I’ve found this past month both exciting and sickening. However, the things I could control (my spending, paying down debt, and where I’m putting my cash) have gone well. Being in control of those things- that’s satisfying in an uncontrollable world.

Bittersweet Birthday

2008-11-06T06:41:00.000-08:00

It’s true.
It’s official.
As of 7pm tonight, I enter the last year of my mid-twenties.

While many of my friends freaked out when they turned 25, it had been no big deal for me. However, that was last year. Last year I was recently graduated, employed and newly engaged. Everything was fabulous!

Now, unemployed and desperately awaiting my phone to ring for interviews- it makes me feel, well- uncertain.

This year, to me, 26 feels old. While I’m excited to be celebrating with friends and family, my emotions are mixed this year. This birthday, I don’t feel like I’m doing what I wanted to be doing at 26, and that’s hard.

However, I feel like my life is on a tipping point. I feel like this year, this year I’m going to be employed and full of joy. There is so much hope in this next year: jobs have just recently posted openings, I’m going to host our first big party at our apartment, and I’ve got two friends getting married! There is so much possibility this year, and I hope I can experience it all!

My birthday wishes:
1) A job.
2) A less volatile year. I’d like 26 to be fun and challenging, but a whole lot less stressful than 25 was.

Burned

2008-11-05T06:36:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I was flying back home on Horizon. I was sleeping comfortably when the stewardesses wheeled the beverage cart right next to me. I lazily opened my eyes and saw that they were working on the rows in front of us, so I had more time to nap.

Then- all of a sudden- there was a burning hot sensation on my leg!

In one swift movement I was awake and unbuckled my seat belt to find that a stewardess had spilled hot coffee all over my lap! My husband said she had poured it out of the carafe and had set it on the cart. Then she hit it with her elbow.

She was most apologetic, and all the stewardesses rush me with paper towels, dry and wet. I was fine. It had been hot, but thankfully, not burning hot. I was fine and I told everyone so.

Then the guilty party said she’d be back to "comp. me". My ears perked up! Compensation? Cool! So... I’m thinking: how are they going to compensate me? The price of dry cleaning? A free flight? What?

Later in the flight she brings me over a form to get compensated. I scan it and it is clear that spilling a drink on a customer is the smallest infraction with piddlely compensation.

My choices:
1,000 air miles (but we don’t have the Horizon mileage plan, so that was out)
An e-certificate for $25 to Hornizon.com
A $5 giftcard to Starbucks
Or, get this-
A teddy bear

Maybe I had gotten my hopes too high, but I kinda thought these were pathetic options. I mean, “sorry we spilled hot coffee on you, would you like $5 to get a new one?” Pretty sad.

Of course, before she said anything, I hadn’t even thought of being compensated. I’ve been a waitress, and while I never spilled a drink on anyone, I know accidents happen. However, this level of compensation still seems a bit weak to me.
What do you think?

Vote 2008!

2008-11-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

Really, nothing I could say could be more important than this:

Remember to vote!

Freaky Friday

2008-11-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

I’ve been waiting for a call about an application I put in, so whenever I see SoCal area codes I flip out!

So I was soo excited when a SoCal area code popped onto my phone on Friday!

The conversation went like this:

“Hello”
“Hello, is (asked for me by my maiden name) there?”
“This is she.” I grumbled- I was w-a-y let down. It was obviously not for an interview, all my applications are in my married name.

Then the phone called got weirder.

“I’m calling from (something) dental and I’m wondering what you’re going to do about this $85 charge.”

“What charge?” I said totally flabbergasted. I went to a dentist office months ago, but this wasn’t a dentist I had seen.

She goes on I tell me about the services I supposedly had in two cities which I’ve never been to before!

I tell her I’ve never been to those offices- let alone those cities. She says that if I don’t pay them she’ll send them to a collection agency. I tell her that I’m not going to pay for services I never sought.

She asks me if I’ve ever gone by two other last names- one of which is my new married name and the other was Ludbeck (or something like that). I told her just this and she said “fine” and hung up on me.

SO I’m freaking out! I’m thinking: Is some collection agency going to come after me for fraudulent charges? What would I do about that? Or was someone else just using names and happened to use mine? Was it someone phishing for my information and I gave too much??!?!?

I checked my credit score and it was still the same, and I had no unusual charges on my credit cards. I placed a fraud alert on my credit and I’ll request a copy of my credit report when I get the offer in the mail. But beyond that- what do I do?

Nothing? Do I just sit and wait for something to happen? GRrrrr…. What would you do?

So you need a costume tonight...

2008-10-31T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a bunch of cheap DIY ideas if you've put off getting a Halloween costume until this very moment! Enjoy and have a safe night trick-or-treating!

The next not-so-random years

2008-10-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

I just finished A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel and there was one part that captured my attention:

First was a table that read:
Era III- January 1982 - March 2000: the age of exuberance
S&P 500= 18.3%
Bonds 13.5%
Inflation rate= 3.3%

Then this quote:

“During our third era, the age of exuberance, the boomers matured, peace
reigned, and a non-inflationary prosperity set in. It was a golden age for
stockholders and bondholders. Never before had they earned such generous
returns.”

I’ve always been optimistic that small investments over time will produce good results for my husband and me. However, seeing this information, am I just a product of my upbringing?

Literally all the formative years of my life, my first eighteen years, are encapsulated during this age of exuberance.

This age of exuberance was preceded by two other ages: the first was good and the second was bad. Adding the third phase into the mix and we are due to have another 10-20 years of bad times. In other words, the fourth age isn’t going to be pretty.

Given this information, how does the idealist adolescent in me reconcile poor returns that will dominate the young adult years of my life?

it was an itsy-bitsy-teenie-weenie yellow pokka dot...

2008-10-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Fun money quote of the day:

“a firm’s income statement may be likened to a bikini- what it reveals is
interesting, but what it conceals is vital”

~ in A Random Walk Down Wall Street by Burton Malkiel

The chicken or the egg (or evolution)?

2008-10-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about a phenomenon that pointed out “that investors who made written plans by the time they were 40 years of age wound up with 5 times as much money by age 65 as those who didn’t have written plans” (Fortune Magazine, 1999). However, I felt that this occurrence was due to another factor: A person’s own willingness to be actively involved in their finances.

This made me think about an article in Money magazine (August 26, 2008) that rubbed me the wrong way. It was an article highlighting Law professor Lauren Willis and her belief that you can’t teach financial literacy. Excerpt:

Question: What's so bad about financial education?

Answer: It doesn't work. Sellers of financial products spend billions drowning out
well-meaning messages to consumers from nonprofits or government
agencies.
Also, financial products are always changing - credit and insurance
products have changed dramatically in the past 20 years - making it hard for
educators to keep up.
…
Teaching them is a waste of money. Studies show that sending people to either high school personal-finance classes or adult retirement seminars does not result in better financial behavior.

Anyone else have the hair on their neck standing up? This article got a lot of bad press, and negative reactions all around.

I kinda dismissed this article thinking: look at me! I’m learning financial literacy! I can do it, and so can everyone else!

However, months later, it’s still (obviously) rumbling around in my head.

I have to wonder if this too has a chicken and egg conundrum. Perhaps financial literacy can’t be taught to those who have no interest in it, or shouldn’t be taught to those who want to learn get-rich-quick schemes. Financial literacy can be taught, but only to those who want to learn about the basics.

In Psychology, we call this a third-variable or latent variable problem. When a statement holds up as true, but not because of the statement itself, but rather because of some extraneous factor.
Let me give you an example: Shark attacks and ice cream sales go hand-in-hand. When shark attacks increase, so do ice cream sales. This is a true statement. However, it’s pretty apparent that shark attacks do not cause people to crave ice cream (help, help me! I’ve been bitten- and I need Ben and Jerry’s!).

No, instead it is the temperature of the weather that increases both attacks and sales. When the weather is hot more people are likely to go to the beach (and therefore increase their chances of being attacked by a shark) and more people desire a cold, frosty treat when the mercury rises.

(Another puzzle for you: violent crime and church attendance go hand-in-hand. When there is more crime, more people attend church. This is a true statement, but why?)

I bet what Law professor Lauren Willis said was true. In general, you can’t teach financial literacy. Increased knowledge about finances leads to worse financial behaviors. However, it’s not the knowledge itself that is the problem, instead it is the demographic: the general public. The general public may not have a true interest in the subject or possibly they only want to do the cool, over-hyped, get-rich-quick schemes.

There is a demographic that is the exception to this rule. This exception is the personal finance community, a group of people who have taken on just this task, and are probably a lot better at it than the general public. Which is, of course, Money magazine’s target demographic.

The chicken or the egg (or an almighty creator)?

2008-10-27T11:39:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading Live It Up Without Outliving Your Money! by Paul Merriman which was a great read! It nicely explains why asset allocation is so important and gives step-by-step explanations on how to increase your portfolio performance.

However, like in many books, I see supporting evidence such as this: a study in Fortune magazine found that “investors who made written plans by the time they were 40 years of age wound up with five times as much money by age 65 as those who didn’t have written plans.”

I know he’s trying to underscore the importance of having a written plan, but we seem to have a chicken and egg problem here. Does writing down a financial plan guarantee more returns? No, probably not. If a person does nothing with their finances beyond writing a financial plan they are not going to see an amazing gain in their portfolio.

Or is it that people who are likely to pay attention to their finances (and thus make a written plan) make more money than someone who doesn’t? Probably so.

feeling a bit better

2008-10-24T11:24:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! I’ve been knocked out by a nasty sinus infection, but I should be clear-headed by Monday. So, until then, have a nice weekend!

Carnival of Money Stories: Edition #81

2008-10-21T04:00:00.000-07:00

Welcome to this week's edition of Carnival of Money Stories, I’m SoCal Savvy and I’m very excited to be hosting this event!

I am pleased to welcome all new readers to SoCal Savvy. I’m newly married and out-of-work. On one income I’m making our bucks stretch and still enjoying everything Southern California has to offer us. I want to save a buck, but also enjoy life as a twenty-something in the city. It’s a process, but I want to share what I’ve learned and get feedback from others!

If you like this carnival, please - help me, yourselves and the carnival by:

Subscribing to this feed
Submitting the carnival to sites like PF Buzz, Reddit, Digg, Stumble Upon, or Technorati
OR
Linking back to the carnival.

There were many submissions to the carnival this week, but many were not "money stories" or "money experiences" as specified by the carnival guidelines. (If you’ve never hosted a carnival you wouldn’t believe how many self-promoting ads and much spam there is!) Here are the submissions that made the cut:

Editor's Picks
Being creative pays off big time for The Personal Financier

Personal Finance Analyst provides five funny ideas on what to do with your gas guzzler. However: I’m not sure I’d want my mother-in-law to live in my driveway….

If you had revealed your deepest, darkest financial secret to Broke Grad Student you could have won a computer!

Credit
The Stylist Tycoon proves that you can reverse credit card fees.

Ask Mr. Credit Card poses a scenario where you are asked to help your son by co-signing the loan, and the possible bleak result.

Debt
Soon to be Debt Free writes what happens when you wrestle with inner demons- and lawn mowers.

Taxes
Ever wonder if those politicians really know what their talking about? The Wandering Tax Pro gives them an earful.

Market Crisis
Advice from an old classmate of Joe Manausa

Maintaining an even keel in a topsy-turvy market, simple advice from Uncommon Cents.

Investing
Which investor do you see yourself in? Money and Such reviews how three investor friends have responded to the roller coaster stock market.

Asset allocation can be a retirement saver in this fictional scenario put forth by No Debt Plan

A needless run on the bank as viewed by Cash Money Life.

The topic of risk is explored by Investing School.

A reminder that we could all learn from our mistakes was presented by Stock Market Investing For Beginners

The Investor’s Journal.Com takes a look back his first stock purchase… ahhh… the naïve days…

Wealth
Now if only I lived next door to Oprah… Actorlicious provides 10 tips to gaining wealth.

Real Estate
To List or Not To List? BeThisWay ponders the question.

Wow-weee, Not the Jet Set finds a good surprise on a mortgage statement.

The bleak reality of neighborhood foreclosures by Funny about Money

Hopefully not too many people are indulging in the unintended consequence described by Kirby on Finance.

Serendipity is brutally honest with what it is like to be in foreclosure.

Other
Don’t we all fear getting ripped off by the mechanic? Just this happens to Debt Prison and he’s steaming mad at them!

What would happen to your goals if your expected bonus didn’t come? Budgets are $exy reevaluates.

A good deal for the East Coast commuting contingency presented by BluePrint for Financial Prosperity.

Harvesting Dollars didn’t get the pink slip, but wonders about those who did.

The most magical mailbox belongs to Almost Frugal as she got over five hundred euro in checks and a 6% interest rate on her French ING account! (My own California mailbox is quite jealous!)

Constructive complaining can be lucrative as Two Pennies Earned shows.

Another pet peeve of mine- pressure driven sales! Living Almost Large has a bad experience with a rude HVAC serviceman.

Financial Wellness Project loses money on free books because it is so easy to do so.

Until Debt Do Us Part reminds us that we all must take care of ourselves when tackling tough issues.

Saving even $14 is a big deal for Free Money Finance

MoneyNing shows that money philosophies can be handed down from father to son.

Thanks to everyone for submitting such great work! Tune in next week to blog host The Financial Wellness Project for the 82nd Carnival of Money Stories.

~SoCal Savvy

localvations

2008-10-20T11:28:00.000-07:00

By Friday I was itching to get out of this house!

After skimming the rates in Vegas, we decided it would still be wwwwaaaayyyy to expensive to go there. Instead, I got a call from a friend who lives near the beach and we were off to a localvation (local vacation) in Orange County.

We spent most of Saturday kayaking around Newport Harbor spotting not only sea lions and pelicans, but the houses of the rich and famous. After working up an appetite we stopped by a grocery store to get goodies for a matinee movie. Then it was time to pick up a pager for P.F. Changs and some shopping (I only got a pair of leggings to replace the pair I had ripped last winter). After a decadent dinner of asian steak, kung pow chicken, prawn lo mein, lettuce wraps, and Szechwan style asparagus, we knew it was time for Cold Stone! We made some quarts and were home in time to see Sarah Palin on SNL.

Sunday we spent ogling open houses and getting our butts whopped at tennis (no, literally, I took one high speed tennis ball to my left check and I still can’t sit properly!).

Over all, it was a good time in the fresh air. However, because we stayed with friends and our friends happen to be the majesty-of-coupon-uses we spent less than $90 for both of us to have a fabulous beach weekend.

Kayaking: $30
Cookies: $3
Matinee tickets: $14
Leggings: $11
P.F. Changs: $25 for dinner and drinks (love the buy-one-get-one-free)
Cold Stone: $6
----------------

Total: $89

How about you? What great localvations do you like to do?

Hosting the 81st Carnival of Money Stories

2008-10-17T08:19:00.000-07:00

I’m hosting the 81st Carnival of Money Stories which will début on the 21st of October! It’s my first time hosting a carnival and I’m a) excited and b) not sure what to expect. Any advice?

I’m hoping that lots of people submit their blogs, and if you have a story you’d like to share please submit it at the Carnival of Money Stories site!

The Rewards of Charging $770B

2008-10-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

Assuming that Paulson’s had to pull out the plastic instead of charging this financial rescue plan to taxpayers, what does $770 billion get you in rewards? Assuming Paulson has excellent credit, no annual fee, but wants some perks for giving them his business; here are some offers he could take:

Blue Cash AMEX
He has a whole year to party interest free before having to pony up (or to resign), but let’s say he wants some cold, hard, cash rewards. Since this is not an “everyday purchase” i.e. gas, supermarket, or the like, he will only get 1.5% cash back on his purchase. That is $11.55 billion in chump change to play around with. However, that reward is given as a credit on the AMEX bill; therefore Paulson owes only $758,450,000,000. At that point even if he paid $10 billion a month it would still take him over 10 years to pay it off.

Miles by Discover Card
Let’s say Paulson could care less about getting cash back. He doesn’t need a discount, heck- he needs a vacation after all this stress!

With this card he could get 1 mile for every dollar spent, and every 5,000 miles gets a $50 travel credit towards his travel purchases. Using Airtreks I made an amazing around the world trip (New York - San Francisco - Honolulu - Papeete (Tahiti) - Sydney - Bali (Denpasar) - Jakarta - Singapore - Bangkok - Hong Kong - Taipei - Hong Kong - Shanghai - Tokyo - Seoul - Beijing - Delhi - Bombay / Mumbai - Nairobi - Johannesburg - Cairo - Athens - Rome - Barcelona - Madrid - Paris - Budapest - Vienna - Frankfurt - London - Amsterdam - Paris - London - Reykjavik - New York - Montreal - Miami - Mexico City - San Jose - Caracas - Quito - Lima - Santiago - Buenos Aires - Sao Paulo - Rio de Janeiro - Lima - Los Angeles - Vancouver - Seattle - Chicago - New York) that costs about $17,542. Paulson and 438,946 of his closest friends could take this trip for free!

Or, if this isn’t exciting enough, he could mimic American space tourist Richard Garriott and dock with the International Space Station. For a cool $20 million he could only bring 384 friends along with his rewards bucks. However, he will have to start paying back the whole $770 billion after only six months and it would take him over 11 years to do so.

However, this is all assuming that $770 billion isn’t over his credit limit, if it is, he goes into the default rate- a whooping 30.99%. If he paid $20 billion a month it would take him almost 17 years to pay off.

Chase Free Cash Rewards Visa Card
Let’s say that Paulson’s a shopper. He could get 1 point for every eligible dollar purchase. If we assume these are eligible dollars, with this card he could get a $25 gift card to a leading national merchant for every $2,500 he spent. This sound like it could be enough gift cards to stuff every Christmas stocking in the US, but hold on there’s a catch! There’s a maximum point accumulation on net purchases which is 60,000 points per calendar year. That means he could only get $600 worth of gift cards per year.

So sad, but just what could he get? Why it’s a Compaq Presario CQ50-210US 15.4" Widescreen Notebook Computer With AMD Athlon™ X2 QL-62 Dual-Core Processor from Office Depot!

While the introductory offer period is a year, when it wears off Paulson will be hit with the standard 19.99% rate. Paying $13 billion a month it will take him over 21 years to make the balance hit $0.

While Paulson can’t really charge this debt, and the rewards of this financial rescue plan are different than those stated above; I have to wonder- will we as a nation have this debt paid off in 10, 11, 17, or 20 years?

Savvy or Foolhardy?

2008-10-15T07:21:00.000-07:00

Poll outcomes:
I put a poll concerning the financial rescue plan up last week and here are the outcomes:

Are you happy that the House passed the financial bailout bill?
Yes- 50%
No- 25%
I don’t know yet- 25%

I have to wonder- if I reposted this poll in a year how will people feel about the financial rescue plan at that time? Will history books denote this as a savvy move or a foolhardy risk?

What is risky?

2008-10-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

I’ve been reading Live It Up Without Outliving Your Money! by Paul Merriman and he had a handy little test for determining if you have taken on to much risk. Simply ask yourself the following questions: yes or no?

Have I lost sleep over my investments?
Do I feel compelled to watch the financial news?
Do I feel compelled to check fund prices daily?
Does financial new make me worry about my future?

If you answered "yes" to all of the above it's time to look at your investments!

On one hand I like this test because it is parsimonious. On the other hand, if a person doesn’t particularly understand finances and asked themselves these questions it might incite panic in times such as these. What do you think? How do you try to assess your own financial risk level?

Planet Money

2008-10-13T12:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was talking to a friend who was panicked about her money situation. Basically, all the talking heads had scared the be-gee-zzers out of her and she was wondering how to open a mattress. She was completely befuddled by my belief that this larger financial mess would change.

She then asked me, “How did this all start?”

My mind crazily flashed sound bites: mortgage mess, Fanny Mae, Freddie Mac, US trade balance imbalances, greed, too much leverage, loose credit, etc, etc.

However, the best answer I could form was: “People made stupid decisions and this mess is the repercussions of those choices.” Which, needless to say, was not very informative nor comforting for my friend.

So I wanted to find some point reference where the tangles of decisions were once wrapped smartly together to form a solid financial system. A time where all we saw was this sturdy fiscal rope which we thought was tied to a immoveable anchor holding our economy in place.

So I turned to NPR. (I know, I know, this paints a real picture of who the person is that types this blog, but I wanted a source that would give me more than sound bites and had discrete information that builds on itself over time.)

Enter Planet Money, NPR’s aptly timed new radio show about this financial crisis. Only about a month old, it started at a time where most reporters spent 15 seconds on the failing bank of the day before moving onto their human interest piece. These radio shows, which I’ve been listening to as podcasts, were explaining not only which bank was failing- but why.

After listening to about half the shows, I’m not sure I could come up with a better answer for my friend. I think that my new knowledge points to many reasons for this financial crisis. We were all looking at that same rope- except it wasn’t tether to an anchor, or anything else really. The rope was just out of sight, obscured by the water trailing shreds of rope that was slowly uncoiling as our economic yacht sailed on.

Whether you’re muddled up by conflicting advice or just scared about this financial crisis, Planet Money is a good way of grounding your fears with objective knowledge about our current situation.

Bye, bye FICO?

2008-10-09T07:46:00.000-07:00

I was watching On The Money a couple of weeks ago and they had a segment on the new credit rating system- Vantage. VantageScore is created by Experian, Equifax and TransUnion whereas FICO is put out by Fair Isaac Corporation. While it claims to work similarly to FICO it uses a mixed number/letter scale and is suppose to be better for people who have little credit history.

While I understand that the credit agencies would like to make some money, the whole thing sounds rather complicated and redundant. Has anyone gotten their VantageScore? Was it an easy process and easy to understand your score? Did you the additional benefit as compared to your FICO?

For more information on VantageScore check out: the BankRate article, the official website, SoundMoney blog, and a Liz Pulliam Weston article.

An extra helping of credit

2008-10-08T17:03:00.000-07:00

It’s been a rocky couple of weeks for the financial markets and I’ve seen tons of talking heads saying, “Credit Crunch” like hungry children demanding a breakfast cereal. Consequently, I’ve been watching my credit card limits to see if they would shrink like the pundits predicted.

So, I was fairly flabbergasted when both my husband and I got notices that our credit limits have been extended. Extended- as in they are giving us more credit.

These are on two separate individual credit cards by different companies. Now the cynical side of me thinks that these companies are hoping something bad is going to befall us and hope that we use their card.

However, on the brighter side, this is great for our credit scores since we pay off our balances every month.

Has this happened to anyone else? Has anyone else been offered more credit? Or happen to have a theory of why I have been?

LILA

2008-10-08T11:26:00.000-07:00

Even as an out-of-work instructor I still like hearing about things that could be helpful for future students that I will be helping in the future. I was listening to a great story on Marketplace Money about adult education savings accounts called LILA. Has anyone actually heard of these before- or better yet- used them? If so, I’d love to hear how they worked out for you!

You can listen to the story here. Or go here to find out more information on The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning.

The Carnies are taking over!

2008-10-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know another carnival! This time it was the 79th edition of the Carnival of Money Stories hosted by Living Almost Large. Featured was my story about saving money on car insurance- and I don’t suggest that you have to follow that talking gecko!

Also good were:

It’s a tear jerker- Do you appreciate what you have? posted at Gather Little by Little.

Ask for discounts, my hubby is good at this, and apparently so is A Good Money Day! posted at SimplyForties.

Haha.. everyone loves a limerick- Dear “Everyday Working Class” Sarah posted at Mad Kane’s Political Madness

A book I also love was reviewed at Actorlicious

Painfully relevant job seeking advice- Looking for a Job? Here are 4 Steps to Find a Great One posted at ProsperingServant.com.

A common scene and relatable experience: Credit Card Companies Peddling On My College Campus posted at Trees Full of Money.

173rd edition of Carnival of Personal Finance

2008-10-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

It’s up: 173rd edition of Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Girls Just Wanna Have Funds! I think this is the first time my blog has been mentioned in a real personal finance category. Yes, my blogs are normally relegated to the “Other” category (even if I select something different). However, this time I’m in the Economy section- whoo who! Check out my blog and some of my favorites from the Carnival!

LivingAlmostLarge presents what happens when people willingly want to Walk away from foreclosures

The Passive Dad presents Free Creative Ideas to Help Friends Facing Foreclosure or Bankruptcy

Orange Dealing with Money presents good basic advice on Women and Retirement.

The gold medal for explaining Mint goes to: Blueprint for Financial Prosperity: Mint.com Review: Beautiful Money Management Tool

As an educator I found this blog especially interesting: Free College Education Exists by Destroy Debt

Looking at the alternative costs of the fiscal rescue plan: Free From Broke presents New Economic Stimulus Package - The $700 Billion Bailout

Cute but real suggestions during past hard times: Miss Thrifty presents Make Do And Mend: ‘Vogue’ for the Credit Crunch Bunch

As a psychology major I also loved: Greener Pastures presents The Psychology of Money - Neuropsychologists Study Spending Patterns at Auctions

I’ve always wondered how to do this: Ask Mr Credit Card presents How To Dispute An Item On Your Credit Report

Something that was on my “to-blog list” but Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck got there first! “Does anybody really believe that financial education is harmful? Apparently.”

It passed!

2008-10-03T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yes, the house bailout plan just passed!

I know not everyone is excited about this bill passing, but to me it just seems like the best thing we can do to prevent a disaster in the near future. When the first version of the bill didn’t pass the House my immediate thoughts were, “Come on people- work together! Stop being so selfish!”

However, I know not everyone feels this way, so I created a poll on the top left of my blog asking people whether they are happy about the bailout plan or not. What are your thoughts on this newly passed financial plan? Add your comment below and make sure to vote in my poll on this issue!

Sad September Slump

2008-10-02T11:22:00.000-07:00

Well…. I knew I’d be starting October back in the four digit red, but it wasn’t fun seeing my lowest net worth yet: -$1,730. Basically my ROTH IRA portfolio has a grand one year return of: -25.9%.

Oouch!

However, I can’t control that, so I’m moving on to other brighter aspects of my financial picture. It was nice to see where things did progress, and I increased my savings in the following accounts:

2008 Roth IRA 3K went from 58.4% to 58.7%
15K New Car Fund went from 24.1% to 24.3%
14 K Emergency Fund went from 18.7% to 18.8%
100K Home DP Fund went from 11.6% to 11.7%

I also reduced my student loan balance by $30 even after accounting for the interest I paid. We were also fairly smart with money this month, and were generally under budget as a couple.

So I made progress in the areas of finance I directly control, I just need to remember that this slump is just a slump. The larger economy will turn around, but until then I think I better be ready for a few more months in the four digit red.

78th Carnival of Money Stories

2008-10-01T07:05:00.000-07:00

My blog on Murphy was featured in 78th Carnival of Money Stories hosted by Funny About Money! I always love getting the little email that says you’ve been accepted and that I can read some of the best of the week’s postings all in one spot!

So here are my favorites of the favorite:

Proof that it can be done:
Dividends4Life figures out a way to make blog income grow.

Free Money Finance's movie theater manager jumps into The Great Debate over Sneaking Popcorn into Movie Theaters, and the readers’ debate grows hotter.

While I’m not in total agreement with her title, this well-written strong mama article is fun to read!

Who doesn’t love a cute family story?
The Life Less Traveled features a Family Downsizes Life to a Camper, the Open Road, and Adventures Rich in Simple Pleasures.

Short. Simple. Who doesn’t like a good limerick?
Madeleine Begun KaneMad Kane’s Humor Blog Wall Street Woes

I’ve got the "LALALA!" feeling and so does The Digerati LifeFinancial Crisis in the Media: Is the Economic Crisis Overhyped?

Another example of why big business isn’t always smart is exhibited by GraceGraceful Retirement Are We Sure Our Banks Know What They Are Doing?

Kelly at Almost Frugal highlights reality with Three Life Lessons Learned Last Week.

I am young, and I’m buying stocks on sale

2008-09-30T11:56:00.000-07:00

A 777 point loss in Dow yesterday is enough to make anyone hyperventilate; especially since this is the first real financial downturn I’ve seen as an adult!

However, it’s times like these when the big picture- the ugly whole reality of the stock market crashing down- is so overwhelmingly scary that it is best not to fixate on the whole picture. Instead, focus on yourself and your own personal financial picture. This is how I’m coping.

So, here is a list of financial things I can control:

1. I can stop unnecessary spending.

2. I can shop around for purchases I need to make in order to get the best deal (like on car insurance).

3. I can rest knowing that all my cash is FDIC insured, because I have checked my accounts on the FDIC website (you can too, go here).

4. I can keep my short term dreams safely financed by having the money in extremely low risk accounts like CDs and high-yield savings accounts (Go ING!).

5. I can understand where my money has gone in the past, and where my cash needs to go in the future because I map my finances through Mint.

6. I can get a 7% return (without any risk!) by paying off my student loan.

7. I can curl up with a book about the history of Wall Street (currently reading: A Random Walk Down Wall Street) and have the intellectual reassurance that bear markets happen routinely and that they routinely bounce back.

Together these things keep me grounded and keep me from making rash decisions concerning my stock portfolio. It may do little to dampen the emotional distress of seeing my retirement portfolio dip 20%, but it can keep me muttering: I am young, and I’m buying stocks on sale (and I love a sale!). I am young, and I’m buying stocks on sale. I am young, and I’m buying stocks on sale. I am young…

Top Financial Expert Reveals Portfolio!

2008-09-29T07:37:00.000-07:00

Kevin is very busy with answering the press’s questions. See there is a book coming out about his success as a financial guru, and he is sharing his portfolio with the world!

His Portfolio:
60% in Vanguard Total Stock Market Index
30% in Vanguard Total International Stock Index
10% in Vanguard Total Bond Market Index

With this portfolio he beat the S&P 500 by over three percentage points, and 95% of money managers to boot. Oh, by the way, he’s ten-years-old and started investing years ago- in the second grade!

I guess this is what happens when your dad is a certified financial planner, who is writing a book "How a 2nd grader beat Wall Street". On one hand it’s outlandish, but on the other- shouldn’t we all be so lucky? His father, Alan, says in an interview with Paul and Don on Sound Investing that since Kevin is a kid, he actually is better at following basic financial advice than most grown ups!

For example, his son doesn’t check his portfolio every day, he isn’t emotionally attached to his investments, and he doesn’t listen to the Jones brag about their new hot stock tips. He also understands that there are two basic rules of investing: 1) Don't put all your eggs in one basket 2) Don't play a loser's game (i.e. don’t pay a lot of fees).

These simplicistic, almost kindergarten-level lessons have enabled him to start a nest egg that will most surely grow into a comfortable college fund, first house fund, and retirement fund in the coming years. Anyone else think he’ll be replacing John Bogle?

If you’d like to listen to the whole interview on Sound Investing, you can download it here. Also, I’d recommend checking out the Marketwatch article that highlights his and other lazy portfolios performance.

How I saved $680 dollars this year!

2008-09-26T07:49:00.000-07:00

I’m starting to take advantage of my newlywed status and I thought I’d start with my car insurance. Since my coverage is up in October anyways, I thought I’d shop for new coverage for both of us. It's one of those tips to save money that I always see in blogs, but I always think it is not really worth the time and effort. However, being unemployed means I have time to do things like this, so I did.

I have an old full size car and my hubby has a nice zippy commuter car. We both wanted Bodily Injury Liability of 25K person/50K accident, Property Damage Liability of 25K, Medical Payments of 1K, Uninsured motorist bodily injury of 25K person/50K accident, Comprehensive deductibles of $500, and he needed Collision for his car with a $1000 deductible (my car isn’t worth enough money to get Collision).

Boy that’s an ugly string of information- isn’t it?
Whew!
Well, after I typed that information into eight different carriers this is what we came up with:

Premiums for six months for both of us:

Progressive-$893.8
Esurance-$782.5
Geico-$737
State Farm-Couldn’t get the site to work, and after five tries I gave up.
All State-$1,038.99
AAA-$699
California Casualty-$862.5
21st Century-$741

I thought there would be a difference, but Oh-My-Gosh a $339.99 difference! Talk about a way to save money! That’s a savings of almost $680 for this upcoming year; all for about an hour worth of time in front of the computer. $680 an hour- now that’s a well-paying job!

I had no idea that this would be such a smart thing to check out! Have other people had similar experiences with their car insurance quotes?

Free Ice Cream!

2008-09-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

The old adage is that you can’t get something for nothing…
… but well, this promotion is darn close to negating that phrase!

See Cold Stone Creamery is having their free scoop night TONIGHT!

Cold Stone has teamed up with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and is giving out free pre-made creations! The creations highlight their new ice cream flavors and any donations given go directly to make wishes for children with life threatening illness come true. This is a great cheap, fun activity of the week!

The hubby and I are going to stroll downtown and get some ice cream tonight- how romantic! We’ll probably donate a buck or so, but the whole evening will have low costs and high hedonic value. If that’s not a savvy plan- I don’t know what is!

http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/promotions.html

More Martha!

2008-09-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of people read my blog about Blogging Rules that I saw on Martha. I wanted to update people who may not know that Martha Stewart has her own blog! I know, I know- it's not about personal finance. However, I like going there to get cheap craft activities and meal ideas. Reviewing these idea are a great way to have fun and save some money in tough economic times!

Responsibility First

2008-09-24T07:00:00.000-07:00

To continue my series about people near (or in) retirement and their experiences with money; I interviewed ReggieMama- a self-employed mother of two grown boys.

Before she was ever a mother or an entrepreneur, she was a young nun teaching in New England. She made a bold move in her twenties to leave most of her family (and the convent) and moved to California with only $50 in her pocket. While she has been bold with her major life choices, none of them were influenced by greed. She emphasizes that personal responsibility coupled with a desire to care for her family has been the driving forces that have set her up for a comfortable retirement in the upcoming years.

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view money?
ReggieMama: I didn’t give money much thought. I had enough for rent and other basics. At the time I was teaching and making next to no money, but I loved what I was doing so I was happy. I wouldn’t have turned down a lot of money, but I would never have based my profession on it.

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view wealth?
ReggieMama: I never thought about wealth.

SCS: How do you think of money now?
ReggieMama: I think of money now as a colossal pain in the ass.

Oddly enough I’ve always earned a lot of money over the course of my career (I didn’t stay in teaching), but I think the reason is because I’ve enjoyed so many aspects of my work.

Raising a family forces a person to plan, save, invest, and worry about money. However, it has never meant more to me than providing for my family and it still doesn’t. As I near retirement age, it annoys me that I have to think about it even more, but it’s part of life, and we’ve never wanted to stick our kids with taking care of us or have them worried about us in our old age.

SCS: How do you think of wealth now?
ReggieMama: Real wealth has nothing to do with money. The pursuit of monetary wealth in this country has caused too many people to sacrifice their principles at the expense of others and it’s contributed to the financial mess we’re in now.

SCS: What events in your life shaped your current beliefs about personal finances?
ReggieMama: The families we grow up in play a part in shaping our beliefs about money, and I saw a lot of goofy things growing up that helped me recognize what’s important and what isn’t.

Taking care of others has always been important to me and that is only possible if we are taking responsibility for ourselves first.

171st Carnival of Personal Finance

2008-09-23T07:51:00.000-07:00

Yesterday ushered in fall and with it came the 171st Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Sound Money Matters. My blog highlighting blogging tips from Martha Stewart’s show was featured!

My other favorite blogs that were highlighted include:

Retiring at 29 by My Dollar Plan Not likely to happen to me, but still inspirational in an extremely jealous sort of way.

Love the simplicity on Free From Broke

Reitred at 47 has in interesting way of looking at products through price ratios

Cash on the barrelhead is another Mint lover like me!

Distilled Rose has dove into a place I’d like to once I get a job- being a lender at Prosper

Since I don’t have an investment advisor I saw Funny About Money’s post about emails with their adviser as oddly interesting.

JoshuaBest also praises ING in his Ladder approach to emergency accounts

Nip, Tuck, and Free Money

2008-09-22T06:27:00.000-07:00

As we say here in SoCal- I’ve had some work done.

No, no knife work needed- all the work done was on this blog. Just a little refreshing lift- nothing major. I think it still has the same feel as the old blog, just a little spiffier!

The most noticeable change would be that I’ve gone to a three column format. This has allowed me to feature some links to ING Direct! I've been a customer of ING Direct for years, and I love sharing a good banking experience with my friends. Now, after I've told the world about my bad banking experience, I want to tell them about my favorite bank- ING Direct!

If you’ve been looking for a high yield savings account from an FDIC backed bank- my preferred bank is ING Direct. They make it incredibly easy to open and manage your accounts. Check out GetRichSlowly’s blog on the same topic . They have a high yield savings account (currently at 3%) called an Orange Savings account.

ING Direct is an especially good option if you currently have more than the FDIC limits ($100K in a personal account) in your bank and you're looking for a place to move your money in order to keep it safe from bankruptcy and takeovers. If you would like to join, simply follow the links below to open your account and get a little freebie for doing so!

Here’s the deal: If you’re a new customer and you open an account with at least $250, ING will deposit a $25 bonus in your new account and a $10 thank-you-bonus in my Orange Savings Account. Just click a link below to get started! (These links are only valid through 10/21/2008.)

Orange Savings Accounts:

Link 1

Link 2

*If these links don’t work- someone else got to them before you did! Just email me (chellyuop@hotmail.com) and I’ll send you a fresh link.

A quick background on the ING Orange Savings accounts:
Great rate - no minimum balance required.
No fees - all your money goes to work for you.
No changing banks - the Orange Savings Account is linked to your checking account.
24-hour access to your account - you're always ready for opportunities.
FDIC-insured - your money is safe and secure.

Hey... this seems familiar....

2008-09-19T10:56:00.000-07:00

I was reading a great blog by GetRichSlowly yesterday which talked about how we are influenced by a large inescapable amount of advertising. When I taught a class in critical thinking, I spent a good deal of time on advertising.

Studies show that one exposure to a brand name product isn’t likely to produce a change in shopping behavior; repeated exposure makes us consumers more likely to recognize a product. Guess what happens when we see that product in a store? We tend to like it because we think it feels familiar and then we normally buy it.

While reading GetRichSlowly’s blog I was wondering how much marketing serum I’m drinking a day. I know TV is the biggest producer of advertising, but what I’m interested in is magazines. While I only subscribe to a few magazines, I had the insane curiosity to find out how much of what I’m subscribing to is ads.

So I went through a stack of recent magazines and I cut out the articles I was interested in. While I realize that this is only something a semi-crazy person would do, what I was left with was the amount of ads compared to the amount of articles. As the photo above shows, I’ve been reading probably 40% content and 60% ads! This is something that I pay to have come to my door every month!

What was funny was that my Money magazine had almost as many ads as my women's lifestyle magazines. Let me repeat that: my financial magazine had almost as many ads as the magazines I get that are explicitly devoted to shopping for clothes and home décor!

*Sigh*

I agree with GetRichSlowly. It’s impossible to cut out all advertising- heck, I’ve come to realize that I enjoy getting these stacks of advertisements in the mail every month! While all of his tips for resisting advertising on his blog are good (resist the urge and take back your brain), I’d like to add my own: When you are shopping think critically about what you are buying.

Being a critical thinker while shopping means that you truthfully ask yourself: What are my underlying reasons for wanting to buy this item? If you make shopping a mindless activity that you participate in, you’ll end up buying items that you don’t need. While you may not be able or willing to reduce your exposure to marketing; if you get into the habit of being an alert, savvy shopper it will save you money for years to come.

Martha + technology = a good thing!

2008-09-18T07:05:00.000-07:00

Normally I read books to find information that I post on my blog, however lately I’ve been finding blogging fodder in the most unexpected places. First the Today Show and now Martha!

Martha Stewart’s daily show, Martha, ran a whole hour devoted to blogs! While the whole show was phenomenal, the part that I think even non-domestic types will find interesting was the segment with Perez Hilton’s top three blogging tips:

1. Find a Niche
Basically there are many personal finance blogs out there. If you’re thinking of starting your own PF blog try and make it different than everything else that is out there. I choose to focus on my educational pursuits and my local. Other people may focus on a different layout, reducing their debts, or saving for a big ticket item. Whatever it is be passionate about it and you’ll get fulfillment from it.

2. Be Prepared To Put In Long Hours
Research, editing, and publishing these are the least amount of work you will do. Most top bloggers spend even more time making connections and working on ads. Your blog is only whatever you are disciplined enough to put into it.

3. Don't Be Afraid to Network
Ask people for help or exposure (Honestly, I’ve been way to afraid to try this!). Make sure that you’re accessible to your readers and that you stay up on what is going on in the PF blogosphere.

While I think I’ve earned maybe a whole dollar from my website, I know that there are some PF bloggers out there that have figured out these tips in order to make it somewhat profitable for them. Whether you’re like me and just want to document an educational journey, or you want to go big-time with your blog- it never hurts to review blogging fundamentals.

*****

2008-09-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

I was watching the last hour of the Today Show on Tuesday which typically is not intellectually stimulating. Hoda and Kathie Lee blaze through sound bites of numerous topics without giving much detail. Which is great for topics like: which rain coat to wear this season or look at Busch Garden’s wild animals (Hoda: Look at it’s tail. Kathie Lee: Uhhh… Ewww!).

So I didn’t have much hope for the upcoming financial segment with Carmen Wong Ulrich from CNBC’s On the Money. I was pleasantly surprised as she gave quick insightful advice to the viewer’s questions about bank safety. Check out her blog on the same topic.

Here are my favorite tools that she recommended:

To see if your money will still be there after your bank has failed use the FDIC’s calculator. We were completely covered, which we thought we would be, but it’s always nice to know since I live around the corner from IndyMac.

This tool tells you if FDIC will replace your money if your bank was to go under. To see if you’re about to deal with FDIC because your bank is teetering on the brink of disaster go to Bank Rate’s Safe and Sound Rating System. Keep in mind you are hoping to see that your banking institution will have a Safe & Sound CAEL rating of 1, 2, or 3 and a Bankrate Star Rating of 3, 4, or 5 stars (could they make that anymore confusing?).

Here are a sampling of some of our banking institutions and current ratings:

Vanguard- CAEL Rating: 1, BR Stars: *****
Washington Mutual Bank FSB- CAEL Rating: 2, BR Stars: ****
ING Bank- CAEL Rating: 3, BR Stars: ***

Wow- well that explains the cheery little email that I got from ING the other day. It was trying to reassure me, but all it did was perk up my antenna. I did a little research because frankly I thought WaMu would be in worse straights than ING. It turns out that ING is highly invested in Lehman Brothers' Inc (40 million Euros). While it doesn’t look like it’s going to fail anytime soon, it explains the PR email.

Never Going to Retire

2008-09-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

For a man who never thought about money, it was confidence that built him monetary and emotional wealth. This is just how it is for Murphy*, who works out of his home in a small-business that he owns with his wife. When he’s not in his office, you’ll likely find him on a golf course with friends or entertaining his family. For him personal finances are not something to worry about, rather money is just the means of gaining true wealth- doing the things he loves most and being with those who he loves most. To continue my series interveiwing people in (or very near) retirement and their views on money I asked the following:

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view money?
Murphy: You expect me to remember what I thought of money when I was 26? I can't remember anything from when I was 26- that's 40 years ago! I am old and have learned that the older I get the less I know and the less I remember.

I think that when I was 26 I didn't know my a@@ from a hole in the ground. Money didn't mean anything to me, other than the next pizza or chocolate-chip cookies.

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view wealth?
Murphy: Wealth meant nothing to me.

I figured that some day I would figure out what I would do about money, and the wealth part never entered my thinking. I wasn't much of a thinker; I certainly was not a planner. Wealth was the last thing I would be thinking about.

SCS: How do you think of money now?
Murphy: When I apply myself I can make a lot of money, but the money does not mean anything to me.

Except I do like going to the Post Office to see if a check has arrived on time, and if I see an envelope with a window on it- I know it's a check. Then off I go to the bank with my business stamp and deposit slip, and enjoy handing a big check to the teller to deposit.

I think I now know why I enjoy Wells Fargo so much (Wells Fargo has been our business bank for 30 yrs). Whenever I bring a $20-30,000 check to deposit and hand it over to a teller they have to get it approved by the manager. I watch them look me up and down in my torn 49er t-shirt, unshaved, and my dirty Maui hat. Then I nod, they nod (they know me) and they know I am a success. It gives me pleasure to do that again and again.....kind of childish behavior, but, I go with it every time.

SCS: How do you think of wealth now?
Murphy: I guess with our pension plan (for 25 years), how we have saved, our home, and other stuff, I guess it means something to me.

When we met with our new stock broker, Tim Moore, he helped me see the retirement plan as the future. Honestly it doesn't mean that much to me, ‘cause I plan to keep on working ‘till I drop. I want to be the first 100-year-old recruiter!

Work, golf, and family..........that's the wealth thing for me.

SCS: What events in your life shaped your current beliefs about personal finances?
Murphy:
1) I have never spent a lot of money. If I had enough for a good hunk of chocolate, that was enough.
2) My father. I guess knowing how hard my dad worked and the sacrifices he made during the depression have had some influence on my thoughts about finances.
3) My wife. My wife has hammered me into the ground with how one does business, saves, takes care of the future with savings, mutual funds, etc. We are worth a lot of money, but it doesn't mean shit to me.

As a result I work hard, golf twice a week (keep my score in the low 70's), buy some golf balls once in a while ($15), green fees ($18-40), gas for the car (Prius), I pack my own lunch, a movie once in while, restaurants when I’m too lazy to cook (my wife is not a very good chef) - and that's all.

What I am trying to say is that neither money nor wealth has been a motivating factor in any way in my life. And still, I am proud of what I have accomplished, that I enjoy my work, my family, and friends.

I say, keep your eye on the real prize.........happiness, enjoy what you do, don't worry about $$$$, be fairly honest, have good friends, stay close to relatives and friends (always call 'em), and be generous to those who do not have much or have faced tragedy.

*Murphy is not his real name.

Child's Play Pays

2008-09-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

To further look at retired people’s views on personal finance and to paint a balanced picture of how this family views personal finance, my next interview is with Teacher4Life’s husband- MustangMan (MM). MM is in his 50’s and a recent retiree. Like his wife, he shares the viewpoint that forethought and care with money can result in financial peace of mind. He emphasizes that they are not wealthy (for he perceives wealth more as a status rather than a state-of-mind). His prudent lessons from childhood have carried over into stable financial security for his retirement years.

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view money?
MM: At 26, both my wife and I had jobs that allowed us to buy, recreate, and save within reason. I think we did better than a lot of other Dinks like us. We both came from families with 5 children and learned at an early age to be wise with what you had (waste not, want not). Money was necessary, but not craved.

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view wealth?
MM: Financial wealth was something only a few people had and it wasn't us! Some people invented things, bought and sold land, buildings, stocks, etc. I didn't really think I would ever become wealthy in my lifetime. Both my wife and I had teaching jobs and didn't perceive that we would have several houses, personal jets, butlers, or maids.

SCS: How do you think of money now?
MM: Money now is something that comes in monthly retirement checks that for the time being serves us well. Our house is paid off and we have only 3 more car payments. An equity loan for various home renovations and a wedding is the only real outstanding loan that we have. Other investments such as stocks and tax shelters are there for emergencies and padding.

SCS: How do you think of wealth now?
MM: I now find myself (and wife) comfortably wealthy. We have both retired, we have money coming in that will support our conservative lifestyle- but yet allow us to travel, take short trips to the coast or mountains and pay what bills we have. Extremely wealthy we aren't. We don't own several houses, jets, butlers, maids or lots of cars. But what we have is relative financial security that should serve both of us for the rest of our lives.

SCS: What events in your life shaped your current beliefs about personal finances?
MM: When I was very young I was given a bank to save my money in. This was not a piggy bank, but a bank shaped like an old mailbox. You would open the little door and drop your change in just like a real mailbox. On the front of it was a chart showing you how much money you would have in one year depending on how much you put in every day. I was amazed at what one could amass with regular deposits. This lasting memory showed me that money should be governed with a goal in mind, having something for the future and not spending everything that you earn.

Proof is in the Prudence

2008-09-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

I’m starting a new series where I’m interviewing people who are older- I mean- more experienced with personal finance. Specifically, people in (or very near) retirement and their views on money. I kick things off with an interview with Teacher4Life (T4L) who has recently semi-retired teaching in her 50’s. Overall, her views show that she is content with her past financial choices and that prudence can pay out as a comfortable middle-class life.

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view money?
T4L: At 26 I was already married and we were living in our first house. We had borrowed money from my mother-in-law to make the down payment on it and to pay her back we used an "official" payment booklet. We budgeted, but we felt like we were living on easy street because we had two incomes. Both of us were already saving for retirement in a TSA*. We also put money into an "unexpected" expenses account for annual expenses like property taxes, car and house insurance, and anything else that might pop up.

* The 403(b) plan, often referred to as a tax-sheltered annuity (TSA), was created in 1958 specifically to give teachers and employees of other nonprofit organizations the opportunity to save money on a tax-deferred basis. It's like the 401(k) plans available to private-sector workers, but with fewer regulatory controls (WEA Trust)

SCS: When you were 26-years-old how did you view wealth?
T4L: Wealth – hmmm… I don't think I thought much about this. I knew that we were middle-class and were perfectly happy with that. We were "wealthy" in our happy home.

SCS: How do you think of money now?
T4L: We are reaping the benefits of our early good planning. We still try not to have two car payments at a time. Our car loans are always for the shortest amount of time which makes our payments higher, but the overall outlay is less. We still try to pay off the credit card each month. Being in semi-retirement is letting me ease into really being home and the money I make is going to our travel fund.

Our mortgage is paid though we are carrying an equity line. There is an automatic interest payment taken out of our checking account, but we make a minimum of $1,000 a month on the principal also. At the end of the month I just transfer any money left in that account over as extra principal payment.

I no longer have a budget!

SCS: How do you think of wealth now?
T4L: I feel we are wealthier now due to having a great house that we can afford to remodel as we like. Home ownership is wealth to me because it is security. We have physical proof of our working days. Also, though I still shop sales, I'm willing to spend more on good quality clothes and shoes. We can buy whatever we really want, but our wants are not outlandish. Part of our wealth is the fact that my husband is Mr. Fixit. We have always saved money because he can fix just about anything so we didn't have to pay a serviceman.
I think monetary wealth is being able to meet your wants and needs without accruing debt. Your assets should be much more than your debt.

SCS: What events in your life shaped your current beliefs about personal finances?
T4L: Education was always paramount in my family! Having a mother and grandmother who were college-educated helped drive me to go to college in an age when most women were stay-at-home mothers.

I always knew that I would be responsible for a good part of the costs of college due to being the third child in my family to be in college at the same time. Accepting responsibility by working part time and getting a state scholarship made me feel good about myself. I like being a responsible person and I think that carried over to personal finance. Reality has a way of developing responsibility. I also made a good choice when I married my husband.

The MSN effect

2008-09-11T10:50:00.000-07:00

Wow- first of all I’d like to say that something completely floored me last night.

I checked my site meter for this blog and it was going crazy! I mean, a week ago I had four people visit my site. Four- and I’m fairly sure one of those people was my mother (Hi Mom!).

So the fact that the number of people visiting in the last few hours was double the number that had ever visited my blog was flat out amazing!

I found that everyone was being referred from a MSN Money blog written by Karen Datko!

Yeah!!!!

So today I wanted to feature my favorite blogs and articles written by Karen Datko to say thanks for being my best referrer!

My favorite (but I’m oh-so-biased)

OK, Ok- my real favorite- the one that I saw a l-o-n-g time ago and still remember

The resolution of her situation

More recent blogs:

Common shopping (and spending) stereotypes

I went through a similar thing when I learned the truth about Jamba Juice

En Garde!

2008-09-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

I maybe an out-of-work academic (although I’m trying to stay in teaching), but I know faulty logic when I see it. Let me tell you, I saw it somewhere I didn’t expect to- on the 169th edition of Carnival of Personal Finance. Yup, Steadfast Finances rightfully called himself a black sheep as he tried to convince people that index funds are bad for your investment portfolio.

I love a good debate, when two people come with facts and logical arguments to discuss the finer points of an issue. I applaud BankerGirl for including a different point of view in her carnival; however, most of Steadfast Finances’ points aren’t well supported by the data.

The five supposed reasons Steadfast Finances thinks bloggers like index funds (and my responses):
1. Index funds are very easy to understand.

Once you’ve got a bit of financial knowledge under your belt, yes they are easy to understand.

2. They likely know little to nothing about the stock market.

Nope. I’d say most financial bloggers are financial bloggers because they are interested in finance. Besides professionals, I’ve found that most financial bloggers are serious about their hobby. I know I am. While I can’t say all financial bloggers understand the stock market, I think it’s safe to say most do.

3. They don’t want to recommend individual stocks or mutual funds for fear of reprisals.

Fear reprisals? No we don’t fear them. We know that most individual stocks are riskier than indexes. We're savvy, not fearful. Most individuals don’t have the capital or time to actively manage a balanced portfolio of individual stocks. Fear implies that people who prefer indexing are afraid of something. While no investor is Spock, indexers know that no one can predict the future earnings with complete accuracy, and indexers prefer methods that control risk to the point that makes emotional and intellectual sense.

4. It’s an easy answer to a difficult question because index funds require little to no research whatsoever.

Indexing still requires research. Every investor should know their portfolio. Does indexing take less time to research than a balanced portfolio full of actively traded stocks? Yes, of course it takes less time. That’s a good thing for an individual who doesn’t make finances a hobby or profession.

5. Everyone recommends them, so they feel safe passing along the same recommendation as the rest of the herd. So if the market tanks, they got fooled like everyone else and everyone likes to fit in.

First: Oouch! The tone here is harsh! Herd-mentality? Tanking-markets taking all indexers down! It’s hard to convince people that your point of view is better if you resort to animosity. Your audience in the Carnival of Personal Finance is varied- be aware that you just lost some audience by offending them.

Second: Good indexing requires a balanced portfolio. No one should be just in one index, because that negates the whole point of controlling risk. Every investor should research their options. No one should make financial decisions based on the current fad.

Next, Steadfast Finances makes an illustration to try and show that there are better options than the S&P 500. Using one fund, CGM Focus, he compares it to the last 10 years of the S&P 500. CGM Focus is a domestic large capital growth fund run by Capital Growth Mgt Ltd Partnership. On the surface it does look good. Top Morning Star ratings, acceptable expense ratio, and a return of 320% compared to 25% for the S&P 500 in the same time frame.

What Steadfast Finances didn’t say is that CGM is already regressing to the mean. It’s had a great first year yielding 71%, at three years it’s returning 38.5%, at five years 35%, and at 10 years 26%. It’s current year-to-date return is -5.12%.

While there is no way to know what it will be doing in another 10 years, statistical rules like regression to the mean, say the returns will go back to a more average amount. It may still be better than the S&P 500 index for a short while, but over a extended period of time it will probably make average returns. BTW over the life of the S&P 500 the return is around 7%, not the high 25% we’ve seen in these last ten good years (Jeremy Siegel in Farrell’s Right on the Money).

The problem with your argument is that you’re picking optimal times in the past to get into this fund. If someone had gotten in recently, they would be down and out of money. Very few funds can consistently beat the market in the long run. Without considering mutual fund expenses, only half out perform the market. Only 1 in 3 funds outperform the market when taking into account the fees (Zweig Your Money and Your Brain). That’s why it’s so hard for individual’s to make prudent picks, past performance doesn’t predict future success.

The Consumer Price Index increased at about 3% since 1914. The S&P 500 returned an average 7% return and that is after adjusting for inflation (Jeremy Siegel in Farrell’s Right on the Money). That’s not huge, but it will buy you gas and food. This is assuming you’re just in the S&P 500. Which, let’s be honest, isn’t the only index. You should have more variety than just the S&P 500 in your portfolio.

Steadfast Finances nicely illustrates a normal curve to show the variety you get when you index. He quotes “buying basic index funds - you get some good, some bad, but mostly average performing stocks.” This is a good thing! You’re getting average (7%) returns! This would be hard for individuals to do by picking individual stocks. Also, you’re getting a good rate of return without being extremely risky.

How do I make my money work harder? Steadfast Finances solutions and my responses:

1. Pick mutual funds with an excellent track record of out performing the S&P 500. Any website like Morningstar, Kiplinger’s, or blogs like mine will always cover the better performing mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

The problem with this is that there are a lot of opinions of what is good. There are many professionals who are touting the next hot financial product. The problem for an individual investor is that there is a lot of noise out there. These financial gurus are passionately convinced that their way is the right way. It can be flat out confusing for a novice investor. Trying to find that 33% of mutual funds that outperform the market any one year means that 66% of funds picked won’t even get a 7% return.

2. Setup an account with a full service brokerage firm. These are more expensive, but like anything, you get what you pay for.

Since 1976 the Wiltshire 5000 index has done better than 2/3 of money managers (Meir Statman in Farrell’s Right on the Money). While you can’t control the future earnings of a specific fund, you can control your fees. Money managers take a cut of your money. Whether you do well or poorly, they will get their fees- with most of them not outperforming the larger index.

3. Hire a financial planner. If you are looking for more better than average returns, let him/her know your goals and it’s just that simple.

Hiring a financial planner is smart. Talk to someone for a fixed fee if you need advice for a specific issue. Or if you are petrified by making a financial decision on your own, hire a planner and start investing something. It will be better to start investing early, than to wait until retirement is right around the corner.

4. Ask for advice from a trusted colleague/friend with investment experience. I learned how to invest from a family friend, and it’s one of the best financial moves I ever made.

Good idea. However, don’t confuse this with acting on friend’s advice. Your cousin may say he’s made $20,000 in the energy sector, but he may not as forthcoming with his losses. Asking advice is fabulous! Acting on partial information isn’t.

5. Do it yourself and build your own mutual fund. There are many websites and blogs that cover mutual funds or individual stock research, so grab a few RSS feeds, do your own research, and away you go. Just make sure you know what you’re doing, and start small in the beginning.

Also wonderful advice! If you have time to make your own mutual fund this is a fun activity. Take a small percent of your overall portfolio and play! Don’t make your financial goals contingent on these- you could be taking on extraordinary risk.

In summary: I like his closing comments.

“I’m merely pointing out that you shouldn’t close off the possibility of
owning several traditional mutual funds or ETFs that have superior historical
returns. By allocating a certain percentage of your overall portfolio to
higher risk investments, your returns could potentially be far better than using
index funds only.” - Steadfast Finances

His title is misleading if his ending sentiments are honest. However, with a little updating to his supporting evidence, I think we could have a nice little debate on our hands!

This is the balanced advice I wish made up the bulk of this blog. I was so relieved to find out he isn’t a day-trader or exults only managed funds. We have a lot more in common than I initially thought. We both want people to be fiscally-literate and to seek professional help when they need it. We both want financial peace of mind for ourselves and others. We just have a small disagreement over the best way to do that.

In all honesty, we’re probably both right. There are circumstances where one school of thought is better than the other. There are some great mutual funds out there and they can be beneficial for some people (a lucky 33% of people).

However, in my humble opinion and those of many indexing advocates, there are many people who would be better off with balanced indexing. It’s great for individual investors who are educated about the stock market and in ways to control risk. It’s a nice way for people who want to manage their own money to do so and still have a life. These are people who want to do all of this for little cost and great peace of mind.

Top picks from the top picks

2008-09-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

After a morning of more applications, I received a bunch of comments on my post: the 1950’s housewife. It turns out I was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Banker Girl! Such a nice surprise- as I wasn’t sure how people would respond to that post.

Please check out all the entries including my favorites:

Not the Jet Set croons a financial lesson via a country song.

My Dad (my parent’s are my most frequent readers- Hi Mom and Dad!) would like Christian Finance's blog. This blogger is trying to convert a car to run on water. This is proving easier than walking on water, but still not an easy feat.

An ode for my husband (who so graciously backed me up in front of TheBigFatSexist): Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck writes how saving is like football- go 49ers!

A great list for those who are trying to save an extra buck was presented by Squakfox (sorry people- no fido, but please use condoms!).

Being in SoCal we can relate to Miss Thrifty’s home dreams.

No Debt Plan lays out ways to fight the fees (much like my husband did).

Frugal Fu has thoughts from the throne.

The Eeyore post

2008-09-08T11:07:00.000-07:00

I have some to realize, that in some part, I started this blog to help get myself prepared financially for the day I would have my own salary coming in. Even though I have experience teaching psychology and good recommendations from students and colleagues, I’ve reached the disappointing point where I’ve realized I won’t be hired on to any local junior college for fall term.

Although I have prepared for the worst in terms of money, I’m now applying for my backup job- substitute teaching. It’s not something I relish, indeed I’ve put it off for months with my need to be spending time planning the wedding (which is true...) but now it’s time.

I knew it could take a while to break into the JC system, but somehow I had hoped it would be different for me. All the organizing in the world couldn’t stop the tidal wave of disappointment from washing over me.

Of course, all this organizing, planning, and researching is in part for the desperate times- to make them easier. However, it still is never easy when those times come.

Invested, in what?

2008-09-05T12:44:00.000-07:00

I’ve just started John Bogle’s foreword of Benjamin Graham’s The Intelligent Investor, and already there is a part that has jumped out at me. John Bogle has been writing about the original book written in the 1940’s and some of the changes that have occurred since that time in the world of investing. This part caught my attention:

“Today, some 90 million Americans from all walks of life own shares of stock.
Even more astonishing, the lion’s share of those holdings is owned not directly
but indirectly through financial institutions- mutual funds, pension funds,
endowment funds, hedge funds, and the like…This institutionalization has left
the last-line investor in stocks a step removed from ownership, relying on his
managers to be faithful stewards….At the same time, as a trading mentality came
to dominate the market, a new rent-a-stock philosophy came to hold sway over the
former tried and true own-a-stock philosophy. Together, these two trends have
served to sharply dilute the role of the investor as a business owner.”

Here’s the crux of my issue: I don’t feel like a business owner.

I own a few individual stocks (that were aimed at teaching adolescent-me that Christmas gifts weren’t always fun and fuzzy), but the vast majority of my equities are in indexes. So technically, I’m a part-business owner of thousands of businesses.

While I am an investor that has a long time horizon and think frenzied day-trading is generally less fruitful than a lazy portfolio; I still don’t feel a connection to these stocks that I will probably own for 40+ years. I could call in and listen to the yearly owner’s meeting, yet I have no real sway. No ability to really affect policy, and no desire to do so.

I cognitively understand that a stock is a share of business that I am vested in. However, my heart has no connection to those businesses. I don’t care if, in the short run, these businesses cause my investments dip or rise, as long as they trend in an upward manner.

While I’ve read that you shouldn’t get too attached to your investments, is being detached good?

The 1950’s house wife

2008-09-04T08:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in my September update I alluded to the fact that many people gave us generous checks for our July marriage (Yeah!!!). The problem was that people tended to write the checks out to both of us. This, given that we just got married, seems appropriate.

However, we didn’t have a joint account in which to deposit checks written to a married couple. Uhggg- another account, we thought. So, we decided to add me to my husband’s free checking account which is at a nearby bank.

We sat down with a male associate, who I’ll call Mr. BankTellerMan, who took us through the process of changing a single account into a joint one. I was seated directly across from Mr. BankTellerMan and my husband sat to my left, farthest away from Mr. BankTellerMan. It took a minute or two, but Mr. BankTellerMan seemed to be talking only to my husband.

No, I thought, I’m imagining this.

Then came the phrase, “So now have your wife sign her name to add her as a secondary on the account.” Which was said- and I’m not joking here- directly to my husband!

Mr. BankTellerMan AKA big-fat-sexist!

Mr. BankTellerMan then started in on his sales pitch for the bank’s pathetically low “high” interest savings account. A rate which ING Direct could eat for breakfast and still be hungry. This whole pitch was delivered catty-corner across the table directed at my husband.

Not one nod, not one moment of eye contact from Mr. BankTellerMan to me, the 1950’s housewife.

I could have taken off my top and danced on the chair like Tom Cruise, and he wouldn’t have noticed.

Finally, I had to say something- I mean this was getting just plain awkward.

“So what is your current money-market rate?” I said, trying to be included in the conversation.
Mr. BankTellerMan looked caught off-guard. He looked at me in a manner that conveyed: the boobs can speak?

He bumbled, something to the effect that it changes everyday…blah, blah, blah.

This comment yielded no appreciable difference in Mr. BankTellerMan’s behavior.

The icing on the cake was when Mr. BankTellerMan’s sales pitch ended and my husband needed to make a decision about this "high" interest savings account.
My husband simply said, “My wife handles all the investments.”

The look on Mr. BankTellerMan’s face: priceless.

September Update

2008-09-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s been a lucky-number-seven month for me!

My retirement portfolio is up and my money market accounts are doing well. We had some extra cash, so I got to make an additional payment on my student loan. All of which brought me that much closer to a solvent NetWorth balance.
I’m now only three digits in the red- whoo-hoo! (Small victories people, small victories….)

Also, as the last few wedding presents trickled in, we put the checks in our down payment fund bringing it to a whopping 11% of our goal. As I stated above, my MM are earning 3%, so my new car fund inched up to 24.1%, my ROTH IRA 58.4%, and my emergency fund to 18.7%.

Overall, for still not having a job- I feel incredibly blessed!

Good morning September!

2008-09-02T11:13:00.000-07:00

After a nice Labor Day weekend at the in-laws, I’m back home and found a nice little email: I was accepted into the Carnival of Personal Finance hosted this week by That One Caveman!

It was quite the spread (I'm a kabab), with some of my favorites being:

Squawkfox

Value For Your Life

Financial Ramblings

Saving Advice

Happy Labor Day weekend!

2008-08-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know- technically I’m a day early.

However, since we’re going on a trip up to wine country this weekend, I’m a bit psyched! Yes, were going for a family wedding, but we figured out the perfect gift for the newlyweds (see my post: Gifting Rules). The same thing they gave us for our wedding! Yes, we were both registered at Crate and Barrel, so we got them the same cutting board they got us! So now I don’t feel guilty about buying them a lower cost gift- at all!

We’re staying with the in-laws and have lots of hiking and beach time planned. I haven’t seen the family since the wedding, so it’s going to be a great weekend of catching up and sharing photos. I’m sooo excited to get away for a weekend!

Whether you’re going to spend this weekend with family, with your TV watching NASCAR, or putting away your white shoes- I hope you have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

Planning for living on less than two incomes (even if you’re already there)

2008-08-28T07:38:00.000-07:00

Well, we’ve been down an income since we moved in February, and so I thought the book “How to raise a family on less than two incomes” by Denise Topolnick might be something to check out.

A surprisingly comprehensive yet easy-to-read guide for people thinking about spending less time at the office and more time in the home. However, it wasn’t quite as helpful for me as I hoped it would be. We’ve already checked for the lowest insurance rates and the chapters about children didn’t apply.

It's a book I'd like to revist in about five years. However, it is something I’d recommend to little Kailey’s mom, one of my good friends, who just gave birth last week. Congrats on safe and healthy delivery!

Home (page) improvements

2008-08-27T08:05:00.000-07:00

I’ve been tweaking all the ads and gizmos on my blog home page and I wanted to point out a feature that I really like that has saved me time.

I’ve been reading a lot of money blogs lately. While I’m fairly good at remembering recent blogs on topics I like, I have a hard time remember just who it was that wrote the blog about that book I wanted to get from the library. Trying to Google for that blog specifically about that book generally yields too many results.

So, to remedy this problem, I’ve customized two Google searches on the left hand side of my page. The top one searches just my So Cal Savvy blog and the second one searches all my favorite PF blogs. That way if I wanted to search for “budget” I'm not going to get the rental car company.

It’s a simple tool, but I’ve already found it helpful! If you would like to be added to my search bar (or you would like to know how to do this for your own peace of mind) leave a comment and I'll check out your site.

Gifting rules

2008-08-26T07:35:00.000-07:00

I’m very excited about visiting my in-laws this weekend to go to a family wedding! No, really, I am. The issue that is hanging me up is trying to determine how much we should spend on the wedding present.

Generally, we spend about $50, but we spend more if it’s a close friend. These aren’t close friends, and there is an additional complication: we know how much they spent on our wedding present three weeks ago.

We know that they spent $30, and are in roughly the same situation as us (one income due to a recent move). So, to them, it probably wouldn’t seem odd if we spend about $30 on their wedding present.

The problem really is- that I feel kinda badly about this.
Like I have insider information and I’m acting on it.

My hubby says that it’s only fair to spend the same amount they spent on us given that we’re in similar financial situations. We’re financial equals- so gifts should be given using a tit-for-tat strategy. He has no problem with this, it’s his side of the family, and I’ve only met these people once before.

Why am I feeling so uncomfortable about this?
What is your rule for wedding gifts?

Gold Medal Blog

2008-08-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at that famous bird’s nest in Beijing as we’ve attempted to watch all the Olympics by setting our DVR to record them all.

Yes, I said record them all. I have mastered the art of 4x fast forwarding through water polo (sorry- but on TV you can’t see much of what’s really going on) to get to the good stuff!

While some parts have paid off (Phelps races, watching a sorority sister’s efforts, all the great human interest stories…), we’re just now watching Wednesday evening’s events last night. So we’ve been avoiding the news networks so that some of the surprise remains intact for those events scheduled for the tail end of those two weeks.

Which is why I’m glad Broke Grad Student didn’t spill all the beans on the Carnival of Personal Finance that he just hosted (although we hadn't yet seen the 4x100 relay- grrrrr...). With his Olympic theme, he included my "Feathering the Nest" blog, which was very exciting!

To enjoy this round of fighting against our financial enemies please visit: here.

Etymology

2008-08-21T10:23:00.000-07:00

As an ongoing pursuit of what the word wealth means to people I looked up it’s etymology. While there are more recent inclinations to associate the word wealth with money and fortunes, the origins of the word is actually linked to health and well-being.

In fact, wealth was once an analogy for health.

Which made me think (cliché-ly): isn’t our greatest wealth our health?

Where does it go?

2008-08-20T08:14:00.000-07:00

One of the things that is emphasized in Chris Farrell’s Right on the Money! is the idea of knowing where your money is going and seeing if this matches what you’d actually like to be spending your money on. In other words, does where you put your money match your values?

To see if I’m on track here’s my Mint breakdown:
32% on Home
20% on Travel
10% on Shopping
8% on Healthcare (the vast majority of this is reimbursed by the hubby’s workplace)
7% on Savings and Investments
5% on Bills and Utilities
5% on Food and Dining
5% on Autos
less than 2% on everything else

While I look at these numbers every month, there is something about having these numbers in percentages that makes it apparent that we’re fairly on track with our spending, but still have room to improve.

Home- We’re living in a great apartment in a great downtown location. It’s the time in our lives when we can do this (don’t have kids, don’t need a lawn). I feel fine about spending this amount on our home.

Travel- We’re both very close to our families, and it is unacceptable to not see them often. We would be very sad people if we didn’t spend the money to spend time with our families and friends. We also make sure to have some vacation time for just us on some of these types of trips.

Shopping- Of course this could be lower. About half of this category was spent on clothing that was wedding related- so this is a category that will go down in our future spending. Almost the rest was spent at Target getting all the things you need from big box stores.

Savings and Investments- I wish this were bigger. Now that we won’t have the wedding expenses, I’m intending to put the difference into savings. Also, once I get a job this will get bigger!

Bills, Food, and Autos- All things you have to spend money on, and are unlikely areas to cut back on without making large lifestyle changes.

How does your values and your spending line up?

Point of View

2008-08-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

I’m finishing up a couple of books on personal finance right now, and they all are ending the same way: talking about retirement. It's the last phase of one's financial life and they all talk about how to calculate how much money you’ll need, insurance needs, and about living out your dream retirement.

Which got me thinking: if I was older and wealthy enough to retire, what would I want it to look like?

After much thinking and long lists (happy family life, friends to visit, totally insured, morgage-less home, travel- just to name a few), I realized what I want most is to live somewhere beautiful and have an amazing view.

So I compiled a set of photos I’ve taken these last few years of locations that represent wealth for me (above). Some are waves crashing on foreign beaches while others are of a shack in the hills of Santa Cruz. All are slices of nature captured and mine forever on film.

In my mind these places are gorgeous! If I’m ever affluent enough to live somewhere so remarkable when I retire I know that I will certainly be: wealthy.

What does wealth look like to you?

Feathering the Nest

2008-08-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

This past weekend my Mom and I returned all my duplicate wedding presents; used the gift card money to buy the stuff I really wanted but didn’t get. However, it seems that in my zeal to complete the bed of my dreams, I spent more than the amount on my gift card.

See I really love downy duvets- so cuddly, so soft, and so warm. This was great when I was in NorCal and the nights actually made frost on the lawn, but in LA that doesn’t often happen. While I think it’s tolerable and worth the coziness factor, my husband doesn’t.

So I found the lightest weight down insert and bought it even though it was over the gift card amount. While I was fully aware of this at the time of purchase, I’m still holding on to my receipt in case this guilt gets any worse (or it’s too hot for the hubby’s comfort).

What my husband doesn’t understand is why I didn’t get cash back for these returned gifts. I explained that since I didn’t have receipts (these were wedding presents) that it was store policy to give back store credit on a gift card.

He looked exasperated and said, “But then you have to spend that money back at that store!”

I’m thinking- well duh. Why would they give you back your money so that you could spend it elsewhere?

While this was the only store I overspent my gift card it made me think: how often do I spend under a gift card amount?

Normally, it makes sense to me to spend the whole gift card and maybe a couple dollars over. That way I come away from a store with two sweaters, three t-shirts, and a pair of flats all for only $6.29 of my own money! While I’m a fairly prudent purchaser and probably would have made those purchases without the gift card, this made me think: do I spend more when the money is in the form of a gift card?

The answer for me is probably yes. It’s always easier for me to spend someone else’s money than my own. How about you? Do you spend more money or in a less sensible manner with gift cards?

Giving it away

2008-08-15T10:49:00.000-07:00

I’ve finally unpacked all the wedding gifts! Most of the items we registered for were to replace old items (most were my parent’s items that they registered for their wedding registry 30+ years ago) that we already had. So once I finished unpacking all the gifts I loaded all the old items into those boxes.

However, I didn’t stop there.

I was on some kind of cleaning high and I went for my closet, my dresser, and most of the cabinets in the apartment. I was a mad cleaning woman!

If it was ill-fitting- it was gone.

If it made me feel like a shulmp-a-dinka- it was gone.

If I had not worn it during the last season- it was gone.

I washed everything and put them too in the ever growing pile on my futon (see photo above).

I recently found a blog about how selling items can be a temporary source of income (ChristianPF); however, I’d like to point out how much financial good you can do by donating.

3. Cleaning out your space (cabinets, closets, whatever) allows you the ability to see everything you have.
I re-discovered some great shirts and found matches to what I thought were single socks! By making things less packed and less cluttered I can spend less time getting ready in the morning with less frustration. That’s worth a lot of peace of mind!

2. It’s an easy project that can be done with the whole family.
This isn’t something that I just decided to do one day; it’s something I’ve been doing at least twice a year since I was a child. My parent’s always encouraged me to give what I wasn’t using to the poor. Back then, we would go as a family to drop everything off at Goodwill. Now Salvation Army will come to my apartment and pick everything up for free! To schedule a pick-up of your donations go here.

1. You make not get your wallet padded with cash, but you will get your heart padded with tenderness.
I may have gotten $10-$20 for my clothes and mismatched dishware and flatware if I sold it. Yes, this would have been money I could invest for myself; however, the value that Goodwill will get from these items is at least that high. Giving usable items away to a charity is worth a tax write off to you, but it’s worth countless (unavailable) dollars to a poor family.

Everyone knows that this economy is not doing any favors for our poorest families, and it’s sucking those above the poverty line down into it (listen to Marketplace Money’s food bank story on 7/18/08).

Donating these items is not only kind; it’s the morally responsible thing to do in these times.

Thrifty Lovin’

2008-08-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

I’ve shared a lot about saving money on your wedding (see Going to the Chapel of Thrifty Love blog) and sharing your wedding photos for free (see Free Photo Sharing blog). So it only seemed fitting to show some wedding photos!

Photo 1- the apparel
A: Don’t shoes from JC Penny’s look good?
B: Engagement ring and manicure
C: Beading and ruching details on my train (an off-the-rack dress, I might add)
D: The hubby’s boutonnière
E: The ring exchange
F: Walking away after the ceremony
G: Dress bustled
H: Earrings made by a vendor on Etsy for only $11
I: The wedding rings

Photo 2- the details (can you tell our colors were pink and brown?)
A: All the ladies bouquets (mine- roses, the girls’- lisianthus)
B: Reception table centerpiece (we made those vases)
C: Family photos displayed in a hutch
D: Our cake (yes- that’s buttercream- yumm!)
E: Programs that were also fans (needed in CA heat)
F: Invitation I made on VistaPrint
G: The buckets lined the ceremony aisle and then were moved to the cocktail tables as centerpieces
H: The mothers’ carried a single orchid
I: Table numbers I made to hang on the chairs by a ribbon (I didn’t want another thing on the tables- just food and flowers)
J: Tablescape
K: My bouquet and our toasting goblets (my parent’s from their wedding)
L: Strawberry and edible flower salad
M: Great wine (bought through a friend who is in a wine club)
N: The fortune bouquet: this bouquet is actually five small bouquets in one. I tossed it and five ladies each got one bouquet with a fortune on their ribbon!
O: Bubbles for the kids (bought on clearance, made labels from leftover mailing labels)
P: Our monogram (which my Dad made)!

Photo 3- The venue
A: Hubby waiting to get married
B: Sign to the outdoor chapel
C: Me waiting to get married
D: Waterfall near ceremony site
E: The outdoor chapel
F: Pond near cocktail area
G: The other side of the pond was the reception site
H: Everyone enjoying lunch on the lawn
I: Kids playing on the lawn

Free Photo Sharing

2008-08-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

I’m being inundated with digital photos from relatives!

I’ve got literately thousands of photos from our wedding. Guess what? The few people who didn’t take their own photos- want mine. Or they want my Uncle’s shot of my grandma. Or they just want to browse them all once, but never print them out (I love photos and I’ll never understand people would don’t print out their digitals).

So, my simple and cheap way of making these all available for free is Picasa Web Albums. Picasa is a free photo editing software available through Google. After editing the photos I hold my favorites in the photo tray. Once I’m done, I upload them to the internet (so simple, huh?). I recommend selecting the following: slowest upload, largest size (because you want people to be able to enlarge them if they so desire) and unlisted (do want some perv looking at photos of your children?).

After you’ve made your album you have the option of emailing the link to the people who want to see the photos. In turn they can download the photos and do as they wish with them. I’m freed from burning CDs and making hundreds of copies of individual photos which would have to be mailed.

(Free)dom!

Photo A: Go to Google.com and select even more

Photo B: Under the Communication header select Picasa

Photo C: To upload your photos to the internet, click the web album button

Photo D: Select your desired settings and you're done!

Accepted

2008-08-12T11:47:00.000-07:00

This round of Money Stories’ Carnival was hosted by Broke Grad Student and I was accepted into their back to school edition! Go check it out here.

Stand out articles to read include:
A success story on Poorer Than You
9 Biggest Money Mistakes made by Art of the Coupon
When being extremely frugal- isn’t. By Erica.
Because I don’t like Ralph’s I enjoyed Sound Money Matters rip on them
An excellent shopping experience with My Daily dollar
A paradigm switch for Trees Full of Money

Happy reading!

Frugal Furniture

2008-08-11T10:18:00.000-07:00

Here’s our dining room table and chairs!!!

Yes, part of planning on saving money is making sure you don’t indulge in unnecessary purchases. Being an HGTV nut, I’m always plotting different furniture arrangements and storage solutions for our apartment. However, I’ve been a very good girl about holding off on a big purchase: a dining room table and chairs. We hadn’t had one for the six months we’ve been here. This was fine, it being just the two of us, we were perfectly happy to sit on the floor and eat at our coffee table in front of the TV.

I knew there was the possibility of a table in our future, but we kind of had to wait for someone to die.

Morbid- yes, I know.

However, one of my friend’s parents was caring for a dog of their infirmed neighbor. It was pretty apparent that the neighbor wasn’t going to pull through, and her children were going to sell the house. Since my friend’s parents had helped out so much, they asked them to take whatever furniture they wanted. Since they already have a house full of furniture, they took the dining room set for us!!!

I don’t mind one bit, that this is a hand-me-down and here’s why:
3. It’s actually rather cool.
I drool every time I pass West Elm’s window, and this table has those clean retro lines that I adore.

2. It’s easy to update.
I only remove four screws and staple on some extraordinary new fabric and these chairs will go from frumpy to fabulous.

3. They are quality, well made pieces.
It has three leaves and a protection pad so we could seat four or 10 around the table comfortably for years to come. It also came with six chairs, so I can have a nice group of friends over and have everything match! Of course, being real wood, they were quite the haul from our basement parking garage to our fourth floor pad. However, these pieces will last probably beyond our needs- you can’t say that about those plywood Ikea pieces!

What does afford really mean?

2008-08-08T07:57:00.000-07:00

I entitled yesterday’s entry “the other Broke Grad Student” in reference to Broke Grad Student’s blog. However, within minutes of posting an anonymous person commented:

“I'm so broke I can't even afford grad school.”

While this obviously is a serious and sad comment, it made me wonder:
When I was applying for grad school three years ago- could I really afford it?

Financial picture: I had an emergency fund and ROTH was partly funded (10% of my income always). I graduated without getting into any graduate schools that year, so I took a year off. During this time I moved north, worked the morning shift at a cafe making coffee drinks, and worked for free as a research assistant to a big name Psychology researcher at a local research institution. I worked hard, retook the GRE’s, got a great recommendation from this big wig and suddenly I was in at many graduate schools.

So could I really afford to go to graduate school?
Financially- not really.
I’ll be paying off these loans well into the next decade. I didn’t have the 16k I would spend on my graduate education saved in an account; I ended up borrowing that in interest-free loans from the government. I worked through my MA getting scholarships, grants, and stipends (euphemism for working lots of hours and getting paid very little) to pay the basics.

Professionally- I couldn’t afford not to go onto graduate school. If you actually want a Psychology-related job that pays well with some stability, then you’re going to have to get an advanced degree. An MA was all I needed to be able to teach Psychology at the local state college. While our move disrupted my career there, I’m still working hard to get colleges locally to notice me. It may take another year or so, but I’m confident something will come up.
Note: Academics tend to relocate to where jobs are, not relocate and then find jobs like I’m doing. (As if the thesis wasn’t masochistic enough, I’m adding this on myself….)

While I agree, there are plenty of people who would not be well-off enough to take this leap, I do wonder: if your career and happiness depends on it, can you afford not to go to graduate school?

the other Broke Grad Student

2008-08-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year. The leaves and the mercury is falling- somewhere. It may still be 80 degrees here, but colleges are gearing up for that new freshman class that will be coming in the next couple weeks.

So, here is my list of five personal finance tips for the new college student:

5. Pretend free credit card offers have syphilis
You wouldn’t sleep with the party skank that routinely visits the free clinic, and you shouldn’t give your finances a venereal disease either.
If you do not already have a credit card and want one, go to bankrate.com and find yourself the best no annual-fee, low APR (if you carry a balance, which you shouldn’t, but in case it ever was to happen…) credit card that gives you some cash-back rewards. If you already have one, check out its terms and make sure it’s up to these standards.
People who give you a free credit card and a water bottle aren’t giving out the quality credit cards; they’re giving out the skanky ones who are easy on the eyes, but not on the wallet.

4. Make sure your banking institutions have a branch local to your college.
If not, you’ll be racking up fees to use other banks' ATMs. Open a new account at a local bank or see if there is a place that won’t charge you to use their ATM (for instance my campus had a national credit union ATM which I could use for free).

3. Keep your financial information secure from your roommates.
If you get lucky like me, you’ll have an ex-stripper with a convicted felon boyfriend as your first roommate. For me, it was only logically that I would protect my financial information with passwords on my computer, a mini-safe for extra cash and my wallet when I was out partying, not bringing my SS card, and having my physical statements go to my parent’s house (since I could view mine online).
Or you could be like my husband and have great pals as roommates. However, one of these pals was quite the belligerent drunk, and actually stole and used the third roommate’s credit card. Due to privacy laws, my husband had no knowledge of this occurrence until after that same pal stole his computer. What a pal.

2. Start contributing to your ROTH IRA now.
Why plan for retirement now? It's called compound interest- invest a little now and because you have years to invest the money it will grow much larger than if you wait 10 years to start investing. Never heard of this? See this Get Rich Slowly blog about the topic and this use the calculator at Young Money.
Even if it’s only a couple hundred bucks, like I did, doing this early in my undergraduate career inspired me to try and put more in the next year. While you maybe only earning $6.75 at the bookstore, putting 10% of your paycheck into a long term account will help keep you money conscious for years to come.

1. Organize your personal finances before you go off to college.
If you’re anything like me, all you may have is a savings and checking account at the local credit union and may see this step as worthless. However, realize in the next few years your monetary situation will drastically change. You need to have already started your good money habits before you’re making a lot of dough and are tempted to spend it.

What are your tips for the freshman class?

Flat-lining

2008-08-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

I spent this morning reviewing my financial picture for this month. Here it is so far:

Month Assets Liabilities Net Worth
Aug 08 $15,658 $16,727 ($1,069)
Jul 08 $15,480 $16,754 ($1,274)
May 08 $15,632 $16,870 ($1,238)

So basically my NetWorth is essentially flat-lining.
Yes, while I realize that this would conceptually happen if one does not have a job. However, it still sucks seeing it (like not having a job doesn’t already suck enough).

However, with our recent wedding we received some cash wedding gifts that we are putting in a MMA for a down payment on a house some day. In July we had only .1% of our goal in there and now we have 1%- we moved two whole decimal places! That’s serious money!

My other accounts inched up also:
My emergency fund: 18.3% to 18.4%
My new car fund: 23.8% to 23.9%
New Roth IRA fund: 40% to 50.1% (can you tell where my stimulus package went?)

Note: To keep my spouse’s privacy, I’m not counting in his NetWorth. All I’ll say is that thankfully, it is much better than mine (but then again he doesn’t have a M.A. to pay off…and he has a real job…)! The only information I’m revealing about our financial picture is our down payment on a house account.

Note2: Haha, I just saw the graph on my blog, doesn't it exaggerate the $200 increase I made? Wow, the scale of that is way off... maybe it's a sign- only up and away from here on out!

Only in LA

2008-08-05T09:08:00.000-07:00

It’s not unusual to find spelt or flax seed oil in our cupboards. You won’t find anything with trans-fats, but you will find lots of fruits and vegetables.

Yes, I’m a health nut.

While catching up on what happened in our area while we were gone on our honeymoon, I came across this article: L.A. OKs moratorium on fast-food restaurants

I also found lots of backlash on this issue about crazy Californians and their zeal for healthy ideas. (“Can we just get it over with and kick California out of the union?” “Typical liberal nanny-state garbage.” Comments courtesy of allfinancialmatters blog on the same subject.)

While I’m not sure how well this idea will work, one thing that I’m sure about is that if this moratorium does go into effect, then reasonable options and upgrades will need to be offered and supported by individuals and the government.

Residents of these communities have very limited options for where to get food, as they normally only have fast-food outlets or liquor marts to choose from. The chances of them coming across a ripe piece of fruit are slim-to-none.

Large food corporations consider these low-income areas to be the cash cow to market non-perishable food-like substances to. Unfortunately, healthy foods tend to be marketed only to the upper-class neighborhoods. As if only the rich can afford food that actually came off a plant, rather than being created in a plant.

So if this idea has any chance we need to see some creative ideas on how to get large food corporations to change the type of food that they sell. My fear is that instead they will sell wholesome-appearing food. Take for example the fruit smoothie from Taco Bell- It’s not food worthy if it’s not made with any fruit. Some odd food labeling loophole allows them to market it as a fruit smoothie because it has a piece of sugared fruit on the top. Unfortunately, fast food chains when they do offer healthy choices, don’t even try to make them appealing (ever seen the lettuce at Wendy’s? It’s not green).

I’m hoping this creates the availability for more local business to step up and fullfill the need. Hopefully, framers markets and community gardens can get more support. Maybe the local store can stock some of the produce from these places. Perhaps community centers could offer healthy cooking classes for free. There are a lot of good things that could come from this that would help the local economy and reduce health care costs.

I get that we’re trying to instate change, and that it has to start somewhere. However, I’m hoping that there are some very creative people who will work with corporations AND local businesses to make this a good change for the area, and not just another half-hearted attempt.

Stirred, not shaken

2008-08-04T09:24:00.000-07:00

I’m back!

Well actually,
it’s more like (picture Eeyore gloomily saying) "I’m back."

Yup, I woke up this morning not to the sounds of waves crashing on a Jamaican beach, but to the sounds of the morning commuters catching their bus. No beach butler will hand me a martini today. No all-inclusive meal plan- I’m making spaghetti for dinner.

Honeymoon over. Back to reality.

Coming home meant more than just coming back to our apartment; see we were a tad apprehensive to see if our newly acquired wedding presents had been thrown on the floor by the earthquake.

We made a point not to get any news while we were on our honeymoon, but we wanted to see what the weather would be like when we came home. Instead all the papers read, “LA still experiencing aftershocks.”

Aftershocks of what, we thought? A small 5.4 earthquake out of out of Chino Hills it turns out.

However, given the news coverage that we were receiving about it two days later in a foreign country- you’d think half of LA fell into the ocean.

We consider ourselves lucky, as there is really little one can do to protect oneself from such an event. However, the way this trembling earth was shown on TV was blown way out of proportion! It turns out we weren’t the only ones to feel that way: check out Stein’s Los Angeles Times article. By the way, if you’d like to see how often we experience earthquakes go to the government site that tracks them.

Coming into our place (as my new husband carried me across the threshold) it was easy to see that we had experienced little damage. Some books had come off our non-tethered bookcases (note to self: need to put those on wall anchors…), but beyond that some doors had opened or closed themselves. So- really no damage to our place or our wallets.

Be back August 4th!

2008-07-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

I’ll be wed on July 27, 2008 and then we will be on our honeymoon in Jamaica!

While this is, by far, the most expensive trip we’ve been on as a couple; we found ways to save money even on our honeymoon.

We booked our trip during the green season of Jamaica (which is also a euphemism for hurricane season- so please keep us in your thoughts!) which is much cheaper than high season.

We also booked during a 30% off special months ago.

But by far the biggest cost saver for this honeymoon is:
Our honeymoon registry!

Yes, we adore Crate and Barrel, but we already have two apartments worth of stuff in our current apartment. So, we have been incredibly grateful to the people who have already contributed over $1,500 towards our honeymoon!

While it took some cajoling to get my parents to sign on, and a few raised eyebrows to ignore; the step from people giving us gift cards to C&B to giving us a gift card for our honeymoon wasn’t the leap we expected it to be.

How do people feel about honeymoon registries?

Going to the chapel of thrifty love

2008-07-23T10:42:00.000-07:00

Wow- it’s been a whirl wind last week. I had a great time with all the girls this past weekend, and my fiancé and I have been practicing our dancing. With so many last minute details to look over (cancelations meant new table arrangements, who knew signs could take so long to make?, we broke an electric razor and our digital camera) it hasn’t been an easy or cheap (tiny airline approved bottles=very expensive toothpaste per ounce) experience.

While my parents have been overly generous by paying for the wedding, we did try to be prudent with our spending. Here are some of the ways we tried to wrangle in the budget:

I picked three areas I wanted to spend the most money on:
location, food, and photography
All the other areas (flowers, paper goods, favors) we wheeled and dealed with vendors to get bare bones prices.

We booked my top location on a Sunday, to save on price (and it was the only day open for a year…)

We loved our caterer, and decided to go with a lunch to save money. At lunch time people only need a salad and a main course, no additional desserts beyond the cake, and drink less alcohol (in fact we only have wine and beer which we purchased ourselves). Since the lunch is served, we don’t have to pay for leftover wasted buffet food.

We booked a top notch photographer and an assistant while only paying half the fee by agreeing to edit and organize my own album using his digital negatives (I use to be a photo editor in the year 2000).

I made our invitations through VistaPrint, an online printing service, by creating my own invitation, postcard response card (less postage to furnish), and envelope. It was completely personalized and professional without being ecologically wasteful (who really needs all those extra envelopes and papers?).

Our florist knew how to stretch our flower budget and made some smart suggestions:
Using ceremony decorations at the cocktail tables, tucking big glossy leaves under our arrangements so that we could use fewer flowers (without having ugly filler flowers), and allowing us to make our own vases (birch bark wrapped mason jars) saved us from a $15+ per vase charge.

The favors are small silver frames (on clearance at an online store) that also hold the escort card (a free blank business card courtesy of Vista Print on which we typed each name). Later we intend to send a wedding photo with our thank you card that they can put it in this frame.

We are also bringing in some of our own decorations: family photos for a hutch in the cake area, a branch turned into a photo tree display, wooden monograms made by my Dad carved into our initials, and lots of moss! These items where cheap to bring in and I will be able to have in our home as decorative items that I will cherish forever.

These are just a few of the things that my family and I have thought up as cost saving measures over this last year. What are some of yours?

Girls’ weekend!

2008-07-17T07:48:00.000-07:00

I’m excited to announce that I got selected for my first Carnival! It was put on by ThisWritersWallet and you can view it at:
http://www.thiswriterswallet.com/2008/07/16/money-hackers-carnival-xx-chicago-style/

I’ve also realized that since I’ve never been involved in one of these things, that I’m not sure if it’s an honor, or if it’s like little league where everyone gets a participation trophy… oh well. Either way, I’m always excited that people actually read what I write!

Beyond that, I’m leaving for my long Girls Weekend. We’re heading to a beach shack on the central coast for lots of sun, fun, and wine. I’m excited about getting away from wedding planning and having an old fashion sleep-over with a handful of my favorite friends. I’ll probably do a couple posts early next week, but then I’ll be gone for my wedding and honeymoon!

Eyes on the money

2008-07-16T09:22:00.000-07:00

I’ve been utilizing my newly acquired health insurance (regular physical- check!) and yesterday I went to the eye doctor. Needless to say, I haven’t gotten new contacts or glasses in over 4 years so I was certainly due. After my time with the doctor it was time to sit down with the stern lady in black who explains to you your bill.

Here was mine:
$10 co-pay
$65 not coverage by insurance for tests
$160 not coverage by insurance for 6 months of contacts
Total: $235

Thank goodness they take CC, because I only keep $200 in my checking account!

While we have the money to pay this, I was wondering at what point it would be more beneficial to have Lasik. While I would want to accomplish my other financial goals first, I have to wonder if the surgery was successful, how long would it take to pay it off in contacts?

Figuring that Lasik is about $3000, and my contacts cost me $320 a year, it would take a little over 9 years for the costs to even out. While the convenience is worth well beyond that (I’m almost blind- I can’t see faces at about three feet) it still doesn’t make it fiscally possible.

How about you? Anyone else had or is considering this surgery?

Finally Stimulated!

2008-07-15T09:49:00.000-07:00

It finally arrived- yes, I am one of the last Americans ever to receive their stimulus check!

While I had contemplated what to do with it, and it had been hard, I decided to put it in my ROTH. I’m trying to reach $3K so that I can get into a new fund and further diversify my portfolio with some value funds. That seemed like a better idea than paying down my student loans because in the end, I can afford to keep paying $115 a month for the loan. However, it could cost my retirement portfolio much more over the next 40 years if the portfolio is not well balanced.

What do people think of this decision?

His and Her’s (and Our’s)

2008-07-15T09:15:00.000-07:00

As you may recall my fiancé and I were having issues trying to reconcile plans for our financial future together. And, I’m happy to report, we have come to an initial plan!

Right now, without me working, we’re not able to meet these goals. However, after the wedding it’s either a job at a community college (all my applications are out right now!!!) or substitute teaching in the local school district. Consequently, once August comes, I’ll be gainfully employed once again.

So… once we’re both working here is the plan:

As a couple:
$100k for a down payment on a home

As individuals:
EACH $14k in individual money-market accounts for emergencies (together this is a 6 month cushion)

He:
Continue his own savings, investments, and fun money

I:
$3K for this year’s ROTH
$15K for a new car
The rest is fun money

I’ve got some of these goals posted in my sidebar to keep them- literally in my face- reminding me of them.

His salary will continue to pay our living expenses (it’s all automatically deducted from his accounts already- why change it?). Then we take my checks and divide them into three for our savings and investments: third money for him, a third for our joint accounts, and a third for my accounts.

It’s kind of complicated, but it was the best arrangement that we could think of. At the end of August, I’ll tell you how it has (or hasn’t) worked out.

Ill-begotten finances

2008-07-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

While I have been diligent about chronicling my road to fiscal savvy, I was detoured by a double whammy last week: regularly scheduled wedding prep vs. family emergency.

After spending a lot of time worrying about this individual and creating the best seating plans for 150, I was left tired with a full blown sinus infection. The crisis part of the family emergency is over, but will continue to be an issue weeks and even months to come.

The one good part of all this stress is that it reminded me about the importance of being protected financially. The impact of the emergency alone was more stress than most families can bear, but coupled with the prospect of $100,000 of care required for the uninsured person was an unimaginable burden for the family.

After a week, the insurance decided to pony up, and one burden was lifted. However, medical emergencies still rank as a top reason for bankruptcy (www.uscourts.gov). According to a report put out by the government’s link to the courts the average person filing for bankruptcy is a 41-year-old mother with some college education WITH health insurance (not your average dead-beat, huh?) and almost half the debtors meet the requirement of having enough debt to qualify for major medical bankruptcy (www.uscourts.gov). Even though someone has accumulated the status markers of a respectable life (higher education, family-oriented, middle age, insured) all it took was one medical issue (normally a heart attack) to put them into financial ruin.

(For the whole article go to: http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/Bankruptcy%20Comments/04-BK-034.pdf OR search Market Watch and David U. Hirnmelstein, Elizabeth Warren, Deborah Thorne, and Steffle Woolhandler)

Incidentally, as this drama was unfolding, my soon-to-be-married insurance through my fiancé kicked in. I am no longer a slave to my high-deductible plan and I now have good coverage with a regular doctor. With my old plan when I got sick I always had to decide where to seek services, and before I was treated find out how much they would cost. No dental check-ups, no eye exams or new contacts. Now, I can actually use my health insurance (wow- what a thought!) giving me some peace of mind. I feel blessed to have my family safe and my own fiscal protection policies in place as best I can.

Famous Quotes

2008-07-09T07:19:00.000-07:00

“From birth to age eighteen a girl needs good parents.
From eighteen to thirty-five she needs good looks.
From thirty-five to fifty-five she needs a good personality.
From fifty-five on she needs cash.”
~Sophie Tucker
via Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich

What do people think about this?

This nice girl isn't rich

2008-07-08T22:18:00.000-07:00

I’m finishing up Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich by Lois Frankel and it’s been an interesting look at what fiscal problems specifically plague women. I like the format of the book in that you start by taking a self-assessment and then each chapter addresses each of these questions sequentially. That way one can check out the areas that are most relevant to that individual. While I don’t always agree with everything she says- I came across another definition of wealth for my register.

“If you don’t already have some kind of retirement or investment account in your name with at least your age x $2,000 in it, get going fast.” P.170

While this obviously has some ceiling/floor effects issues here’s what it means:

25-years-old = need $50,000 in my own name (not in a joint account!)

Oouch!

My own Mastercard commercial

2008-07-07T11:01:00.000-07:00

Two (cancelled) flights to fly into San Francisco and finally landing in Oakland $54.72
Pesto crepe at Crepe Vine $8.11
Enjoying lemon curd filed Kara’s Cupcakes $3.25
Whole Foods takeaway for three people $18.92

Bundled up watching fireworks disappear into the fog with family and friends-

Priceless.

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T09:41:00.000-07:00

I'll be watching the fireworks explode over the Golden Gate tonight with a group of friends! I hope that you too are spending this national birthday somewhere wonderful with your family and friends.

I'll leave you with this quote I found in Nice Girls Don't Get Rich by Lois Frankel:

"Remember, Columbus would never have made it to America if Queen Isabella hadn't financed the trip."

Chatting about guidelines

2008-07-03T08:46:00.000-07:00

I’ve just finished Jean Chatzky’s You Don’t Have to be Rich and I loved it. It gets at some of the psychological issues people have with money that I find fascinating! She cleverly wraps in relevant personal finance advice in order to help everyone enact good money management practices.

One of my favorite nuggets of information that she gives it this:
A quick estimate of how to construct your asset allocation is “roughly, 100 percent minus your average age is the amount you want in stocks, with the rest split between bonds and cash”.

So for us it would be:
100-25.5=74.5 (oh heck I’ll round up- it’s only four months until my birthday)

So 75% in stocks, 12.5% in bonds, and 12.5% in cash.

Granted, this is a rough estimate.
I feel like we should have more stocks and cash in part because I just don’t get bonds. I understand that they help reduce risk in a portfolio, but it seems that they (at least the safe AA rated ones) don’t give that much more return than money-market accounts. Are they really worth it?

A day at the beach

2008-07-02T09:34:00.000-07:00

We have some friends that live about a mile from Newport Beach. This past weekend we went and saw them and had a perfect beach day.

We started at their home in Costa Mesa (this area is also a place with free day parking) and got bags filled with:

Sunblock
Water
Snacks
Tennis rackets and Balls
Beach wear

Here is a map of the route. We hopped on our bikes and took Victoria to the bike trail through Talbert Park and the US Army watershed. While oil refineries line the northern trail, the south side trail has marshes filled with sea birds and fishermen (the water is reclaimed, so I wouldn’t eat those fish…). This trail is also used by serious bikers, but if you’re not the type for full body spandex just stay to the right. Take this all the way out to PCH and go south. Cross PCH at Orange and continue down Seashore until 57th. One side is dwarfed by million dollar beach homes and rentals, while the other is a nice grassy park with benches, picnic tables, tennis courts, racquetball courts, and other facilities.

After an hour of hitting the ball around, we girls walked to Big Belly Deli for some serious sandwiches. The place is always packed, so call ahead and order your sandwiches to go (phone: 949.645.2888 web menu: http://www.bigbellydeli.com/). My favorite is the 6310- a big sandwich that feeds two people for $6.89 and has: turkey, bacon, avocado, provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion, mustard, mayo on grilled foccacia bread. If you forget to order ahead, order a beer and watch the latest game at the bar.

Grabbing this and a drink and back to the courts we went. The boys staked out a picnic table for us in the shade and we devoured our lunches. After changing into our beach gear we went back up to Orange Street and headed west. There is a big lifeguard station at this part of the beach so it’s fairly family friendly.

The water is cold and the wind makes you chill, but afterwards laying on the warm sand is a hedonic experience.

Sandy and beachified we struggled back into biking clothes for the ride back. The last hill up Victoria is impossible in a beach cruiser, so just walk it. This trail makes for a great mid-day jaunt. Following this up with a poolside BBQ would be the perfect way to finish the day. Overall, it is a cheap activity ($8.00 for lunch for two), but having wonderful friends to share it with makes it priceless.

Just starting out

2008-07-01T09:56:00.001-07:00

My mother-in-law-to-be called last night. She was wondering why we hadn’t deposited one of her friend’s checks.

We looked blankly at one another.
“What check?” we said.

It turned out that her friend sent us a small wedding gift and a nice $100 check in the envelope.

Gulp.

We had never seen an envelope, let alone a check.

Here is rare proof that sometimes being lazy can be to one’s advantage, because I hadn’t taken the big stack of boxes from early wedding gifts downstairs yet. I had just let them pile up where a dining room table should be.

After much digging and scrutinizing wads of gift wrap, we found it jammed between the cardboard folds on the end of a box.

Whew!

This discovery prompted a very exciting turn of events. Just last night we opened our first joint account! A joint savings/money market account at an online institution with a good rate of return (currently a guaranteed 3%). We seeded it with that (almost lost) check that was our first cash wedding gift.

There had been much discussion about registering for monetary gifts (we have a honeymoon registry in addition to traditional registries), but it was a bumpy ride with a variety of family member’s conflicting opinions. While views on this issue still rage, I know I’ll cherish the family silver as well as monetary gifts. I’m envisioning that day in the future when we turn the key to a place we own; we’ll feel the support of the families that gave us seed money to invest all those years ago.