Student Loans First Steps

Student loans have been all the talk around the Croshaw-SSF household these days. My in-school deferment will be ending at the end of this month which means come February we will be taking on a $900 loan payment in addition to our other monthly expenses. It sucks, but it's life. In anticipation of that dreadful day we've been working on a strategy on how to manage the added monthly expense, while still living our normal lives and paying for a wedding.

Our strategy consisted of 3 steps.

First, lower monthly payments 


I have a mix of private and federal loans. Because the terms of my private loans are less agreeable than those backed by the government, paying off the private loans is a priority. As a result, I wanted to make my monthly payment on my federal loans as low as possible. In order to this I have to consolidate all of my federal debt into one loan. Once that process is complete, I will be applying for Income-Based Repayment, or IBR. IBR is a repayment option available to those with more than $30,000 in federal student loan debt. What makes IBR different from most repayment plans is that your payment amount under IBR is dictated by your income as opposed to factors like principle, interest rate, and term.

Second, identify cash inflows and plan for extra income 

Between tax returns, tuition reimbursement, and bonuses SSF and I have some serious bonus cash coming in that needs to be accounted for and earmarked before it gets here. SSF made a list of all our expected "extra income" and together we made decisions on where it should  go. While quite a bit of it will go towards the wedding we would also like to pay off at least one of our cars and keep some tucked away for a rainy day.

Third, identify cash outflows and cut back on expenses

As of right now we are focusing on one expense: our grocery bill. Despite my attempts at couponing this is the one area we always tend to go over on so starting this month we established a strict budget of $320 per month for groceries. That's a generous $80 a week, and $20 less than we had been spending. How did we come to this number? Well I basically looked at our average spend over the last few months and cut it by 20%.

And that's that. Thrilling right? Not really. But its nice to have a plan. If you are like me though a plan is not enough, so I made a goal too. My goal is to have all my private student loan debt paid off in less than 10 years. (My repayment term is 15 for them.) I've yet to figure out how much that would save me in-terms of interest, but mostly likely a lot. Wish me luck.

How do you cope with your student loans?

Infographic Love: How Much do you Spend on Clothes?

I wanted to go easy on you, since it's Monday and all, so think just about this:

How much (on average) do you spend each month on clothing?

According to a recent Mint infographic, Mint Users spend on average 15-23% of their discretionary income (whats left over after your needs are met) on clothes.

(click to see full image)

This surprised me, but at the same time it didn't. Working for a retailer I see first hand just how much people are spending on clothing but it just doesn't seem to jive with the headlines you read in the paper or hear on the news day in and day out. People are still losing jobs, the economy is at a standstill, and yet we continue to shop, myself included.

At the same time I'm surprised to find that my monthly spending on clothing, on average about 10%, is way below the norm. So take that SSF! My spending is below average!

Now of course, as with anything, there are flaws with this data. For one, it only captures Mint users information and we don't really know what the average Mint user is like. We don't know their income, their age, or the sample size, or even how often they update their Mint account to reflect accurate data.

I probably wouldn't use this as the end all be all, but it could be a great tool for comparison. How do you stack up to the average in your (closest) city? Are you overspending on clothes? Is their opportunity to cut back?

Working Backward to Move Forward

Source: modernhepburn.tumblr.com via Kelly on Pinterest

When I was in college I had a friend that graduated two years before me. He got a job with a financial advising company and asked me to sit down with him to talk retirement. During that time, he had me fill out a survey (if you've ever been to a financial planner, you know what I'm talking about) basically outlining my current liabilities and most importantly my financial goals for the future. At that time, our little sit down meeting was a joke. I was a server working part-time in a bar, with lots of debt, and no idea of what I wanted in the future (this was prior to meeting SSF). In my mind, I was just helping out a friend.

That was then.

Earlier this year SSF and I started to paint our own retirement picture. It involved waking up every morning to the sounds of the ocean, preferably in the Outer Banks. We patted ourselves on the back and called it a goal. We set a goal for retirement.

This past Saturday we were up in Philly helping my parents get their house ready for the market (ripping up carpets, very glamorous). My Dad will be retiring in few short months and they are planning on selling their home in the city and buying a new one elsewhere. While my parents don't really have any other choice since they want to leave the city, I realized there is no way I would want to start paying a new mortgage on the cusp of my retirement. I want our retirement to be free of any avoidable liabilities. Sounds like another goal to me.

On the car ride home I started thinking about both of those goals, the beach house on one hand and no debt on the other. Those two goals were in conflict if we planned on buying our home post-retirement. That's when, for the first time, I actually made a strategy instead of just a goal.  New Strategy (to achieve retirement goal): In our mid to late 40's we will buy our beach home, maintain it as a rental to help with the mortgage and insurance, and then make it our own when we retire. Then out of that one strategy came another: New Strategy: pay off my student loan debt by 40 so we can save for the down payment on a house. (That sounds like such a long way off, but realistically it's only 13 years away, eek!)


I realize this probably sounds like nothing new, but for me it's a different way of thinking. I've always just assumed that everything would work itself out and that everything happened for a reason. But it doesn't and it won't. Having a goal and a plan to achieve it are two different things. You can't have one without the other. My work is far from over, I still have to layout my plan for paying off my student loans, but thinking about my retirement this way is kind of liberating.

What are your goals for retirement and more importantly how do you plan to achieve them?

Five Things You Might be Paying Too Much for... (and How to Pay Less)

That was a pretty aggressive title right? I've never really done a post like this so before we get into it let me make a few things clear. First, not everything may apply to you. Take it with a grain of salt. Second, these figures are based on my own experiences your own may differ. Third, I'm not saying the items I mention are the cheapest alternative on the market, but it maybe something that preferred to a generic or cheaper brand.


Just wanted to make that clear, now let's save some money.

                                                                 

1. Salon Quality Nail Polish
I will be the first to admit that I am a nail polish snob. I don't buy new polish often, but when I do I prefer brands like Essie and OPI. For me, someone who has trouble painting inside the lines, these brands go on smooth (read: easy) and last a long time (read: only have to change my polish once every 2-3 weeks). The problem is they cost $8 a bottle, at least. Ouch.

                                                                          Source: smallshopstudio.com via Lola on Pinterest

Get it for less: Lately, I've been choosing Ulta for my nail polish purchases. They often run buy 2 get 1 free specials that you can combine with the in-ad coupon (in the Sunday paper).Their standard coupon is $3.50 off a purchase of $10, but sometimes they will offer $5 off. That means you would pay $12.50 for 3 bottles of $8 nail polish. A savings of 48% 

2. Anything full price from Gap

I've always liked Gap, but if you've paid full price for anything from there you paid too much (no offense Gap). The retailer has been crazy promotional the last few months, I'm sure you've noticed if you receive their e-mails, which means big savings. 

Get it for less: As a big fan of their denim I've been using their end of season and random 50% off women's sales to purchase items like white skinny jeans and an pair of cropped denim leggings for $18 dollars total. You can save big too by keeping an eye on your e-mail for "additional % off" clearance events or that elusive 50% off all women's to stock up on their reliable basics (short sleeve/ long sleeve tee's) and denim in all kinds of cuts for less. 

3. Text Messaging

I can only speak to my experience with Verizon, but $20 a month is a lot to pay for unlimited use considering all the alternatives out there. Take a look at your cellphone bill and tell me there isn't an opportunity to trim some fat.

                                                                 Source: habituallychic.blogspot.com via Tessa on Pinterest

Get it for less: The person I text message the most also happens to be on gchat so by transitioning our normal conversations from text to gchat I was able to cut my text messaging plan down to $5/month. You can do the same by taking advantage of social media sites and instant messaging platforms to circumvent those high text messaging plans. Individual savings will vary. 

4. Victoria's Secret Underwear
This is kind of cheating because I've mentioned it before, but trust me it is worth repeating. I love Victoria's Secret underwear. I don't know about you, but I love it, especially the PINK line. I'm not exactly their target market these days, but let's face it they reeled me in as a coed and I really don't see myself buying underwear from anywhere else. That said, $8.50 for one pair is a little ridiculous especially when Hanes is selling a 5 pack for $10.

Get it for less: I know we are all privy to the the 5 for $25.50 sales. They are great sales but I'm talking less than that. Victoria's Secret sends out a lot of coupons especially for free pairs, but the best ones are the $10 off a $10 purchase. Match these $10 off coupons with a 5 for $25.50 sale and you've got yourself a deal. That's a savings of 61% 


5. Toothpaste
I know it's the end but stay with me here. Before we started couponing SSF and I were completely content baying $2-$3 for a tube of crest. We'll call that blissfully unaware. However, now as couponers, we couldn't imagine paying more than 50 cents. Seriously.

                                                                      Source: lovelypackage.com via Grace on Pinterest

Get it for less: This one does require a little more work than the others, in the form of clipping a few coupons and keeping an eye out for Buy One Get One Free deals,but once you can build a little stockpile it gets easier. There are coupons out there for all different brands, if you catch a BOGO free deal, use 2 $1.00 off coupons to lower the cost of your 1st tube. If you see more 2 for $4 sales at your store look for 75 cents off coupons (if your store doubles) to bring your final cost to 50 cents.

Now you tell me, what am I paying too much for?

sidenote: you really can find pictures of anything on Pinterest. 

Combining Finances Pt. II

So Monday I told you about how SSF and I finally took the plunge and combined our finances. I stand by my statement that the decision was the hardest part, but actually figuring out how to make it all work is no walk in the park either. It takes work, and whole heck of a lot of adjustment.

First we had to decide where we were going to keep our money. Initially we considered opening a new joint checking account at a new bank so we could take advantage of one of those deals where we can get cash for jumping through "x" amount of hoops when we opened our checking account.  Another concern SSF had going into this whole thing is that we were missing out on savings because we never did anything with the money left in our own accounts at the end of the month. In the end for simplicity's sake and the hope of boosting our savings we opened our checking account at ING Direct. (Highly  you recommend it, if you are interested in opening an ING account e-mail me, if you open with a minimum deposit you will get $25, and I will get $10. It's a win/win. )

 Next, we had to figure out our cash flow. There are (apparently) many bills required to run a household and we each had our own schedule of paying those bills. Now we had to put it all together to make sure that no matter what bill was due, we had the funds to pay it.

Third, we (and by we I mean I) created a way to track our expenses. I wouldn't call it a budget, because if I did SSF wouldn't use it, but it's just simply an expense tracker. Broken down by spending category and month I tried to make it simple for both of us to see what money we had coming in and where it was going back out. September  is the inaugural month, so at the end of this month or more likely next month we can go back, analyze, set spending limits, and hopefully add a little more to the bottom line.

(click spreadsheet to make bigger-- and btw don't judge on the figures, there were some irregular expenses like car insurance, and a larger than number cellphone bill to be paid, these do not reflect normal monthly expenses)

So just to summarize, there are three important things to do, if you are combining your finances.
1. Agree on an account.
2. Set-up a calendar (or at least, figure out what bills will be paid when)
3. Track your spend.

And a fourth for good measure:
4. Always be honest and open.

Are there any steps I missed? What did you do when you combined finances?

Combining Finances

Source: bing.com via Grace on Pinterest

     For the better part of a week I've been thinking about how I wanted to organize this post. While I'd really like to just dive right into the logistics of it all I think it would be better to start with what drove our decision to put all of our money in the same pot. Because really its the first step that's the hardest part of the whole process.


A Little Background
    SSF and I have been living together for 4 years now and through all that time we've been splitting up our expenses as fairly as possible. Of course though back in those early days I was paying off my credit cards and as a result the responsibility fell on SSF to pay a little lot more than half of our monthly expenses. Despite that we did experiment a little with combined finances by opening a joint savings account together shortly after we moved to Maryland. Every month we would contribute what we could to that account. In a way I feel like it solidified our future together. To me, that savings account was like a commitment  to SSF that I was in it for the long haul.


The Decision
    Fast forward to July of this year. Our financial situation is a much different (no more cc debt), but we still have a huge hurdle in front of us, my student loans. It would have probably been easier to just continue down our path of "separate and kind of equal" finances but we wanted something better for the future. In reality, we were each only seeing one half of the big picture. He knew what he was spending (and had leftover each month) and I knew what I was doing. At this point, we both wanted to see it all. Not only that, but we wanted to maximize our budget as much as possible and lay the foundation for a better financial future together.  The only conceivable way to do that was to put it all in one place and see where it goes. I don't think it was really a hard decision for either of us. We are both very open about our finances and tell each other each and every excruciating detail. We aren't perfect though. We both check the account religiously and at times we ask suspiciously "what was that money for". But you get an answer and move on.


How to Make it Work for You
     I'm not going to make any promises that combining finances is the answer for everyone. It's not. I'm kind of a traditionalist and have always believed that my future husband and I would share finances. Mentally though it's a lot harder than you think.

Start Small: Don't try to go all in all at once. SSF and I started with a savings account. You could also start with a shared account for expenses (this mostly makes sense if you live together). Each month you put your half of the expenses in and it all gets paid out of one account. This eases you into the concept of "our money".

Bare it All: Seriously. Disclose all of your spending/ debts/ etc. This is the hardest part, but most important. Do you think I wanted to tell SSF about all my debt? Of course not. I was embarrassed, ashamed, mortified. But I did, and you know what? He was supportive. Well at first we was upset (naturally) but once he overcame the initial shock he was ready to tackle with me.

Set Boundaries: When it comes to combining finances, most experts will recommend setting a spending limit that you can spend up to without consulting your spouse/significant other. SSF and I haven't really got there yet because we are stilling trying to figure out what disposable income (if any) we have at the end of the month but this is the logical next step.

Keep the Conversation Going: Sharing finances isn't a one time thing. It is an on-going, ever-evolving process. Things change, and you have to be able to adapt. SSF and I have an on-going conversation about money. What we should do with any extra, what we want to save for, and strategy for paying off existing debts.

Later this week I will go into a little more detail about the logistics. How we decided what account to pool in, our short-term goals, long-term goals, and of course how we've been tracking our expenses.

I am a Fantasical

Source: collegehumor.com via K on Pinterest

According to this Copyblogger post by Kristen Simmons, there are four productivity personalities: Fantastical, Structural , Analytical, Environmental.

I am a Fantastical.

"The Fantastical personality type is energized by wrestling with problems and coming up with creative solutions.They learn best by doing, and they have a tendency to lose track of time when they’re caught up in an interesting project.The most distinctive mark of a Fantastical, though, is that they need to have all the pieces of a project in front of them, otherwise they’ll forget it exists."

That is me to a "T". I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've started working on a project at work only to look-up and realize that I haven't gone to the bathroom all day, or that maybe I should have eaten lunch at one instead of three.

The downfall of this personality type is that I don't have an attention span for long-term projects (ahem, debt repayment). I like to start and finish my project in the same day and can often lose sight of my goals or just flat out forget about them over long periods of time.

So what does this mean for you?

If you are a fantastical like me, you need to keep your goals visible. Last October I made these handy goal cards that I keep on the bulletin board next to my desk. (I even added one for my student loans). Every day they remind what I am currently working for, financial freedom.




Oh and another thing, budgets don't always work for us Fantasticals. We are not fans of repetition (which explains why I hate cleaning the house every Sunday while SSF revels in it-- he is structural). To make your budget system a little more novel or easier to manage consider using an online program like Mint to automatically track and categorize your spending.

Not a fantastical? Find out what your productivity personality is here. Then you can use that information to figure out the most productive way to keep your financial goals in check. If you are stuctural like SSF, consider yourself lucky, according to the post you were built for most productivity systems.

I Have 6 Figure Student Loan Debt

I have some explaining to do.

As you may know I started this blog quite some time ago when I first started paying off my credit cards. It was meant to be a creative outlet to help me find myself, without credit card debt but it's turned into so much more than that. Most days I still can't believe what I've accomplished through this blog. (hello, Lucky Magazine? Goodbye credit card debt?). But this weekend I had a reckoning, if you will, of how much farther I still have to go. I'm halfway home on my car note but my student loan debt is the big pink elephant in the room (and boy is it big). Six figure BIG. This weekend was the first time in almost 3 years that I actually totalled up the amount due between my federal and private loans. It's something I should have done a long time ago but frankly, it wasn't something I was ready to deal with yet.



SSF just about lost it, in his very special way, when I told him what the number was. I don't blame him though. It's not exactly an easy pill to swallow. You have to understand though it wasn't something I was hiding from just him, it was something I was hiding from all together. Telling SSF and now all of you is probably one of the hardest things I've done. I'm so embarrassed about the situation I created for myself. Despite my intelligence I was naive going into college. I thought I would walk out easily making $50-60,000 (seriously) and here I am making a little above $40,000. It's been a blow so my ego and self worth. Even worse, I've set SSF up to a future of paying back my student loans for a long time. So no I don't blame him for being upset with me. I consider myself lucky that he still wants to marry me.

This weekend changed me though. It changed my whole perspective on life. It's motivated me to take on the challenge of my paying off my student loans in record time. It's got me thinking outside the box of buying new things. I'm ready to learn how to sew. I'm ready to find new uses for old things. More than anything, I'm ready to be out of debt. Forever.


My dirty little secret of my student loan debt is now out. I can't hide from it anymore, and you know it feels kind of good, liberating.

Now, I will ask you the same question I asked SSF yesterday... Do you still love me?

June Resolution Update

Source: etsy.com via Brenda on Pinterest

It's halfway through the month which makes it a better time than any to see how I'm doing with my new goal. In case you've forgotten in the beginning of the month I set a goal to earn or save (as in from couponing) $100 this month, and all the rest of the months to follow.

Earning: SSF and I have been making an attempt to clean our house of any unwanted items. So far this month I've sold my broken laptop for $65, a Black & Decker battery pack for $20 (free with our purchase) and I'm mid-auction on a Kuerig that will sell for at least $24.99. However, no sales this month from the closet shop. Make sure to check it out (if you haven't already) 30% of the proceeds generates go to helping Cats (& Dogs in need)
Saving: To  date this month SSF and I have saved about $20 off from our pre-couponing average. It doesn't sound like a lot, but you should see how much stuff we buy for less.

For a total (after selling fees etc) of around $120.

Done! Mission Accomplished. Easy Breezy.

The only problem is, what the hell am I going to do when I run out of stuff to sell? This is a question that has been bugging me the last couple days. I've run the gamut from getting a part-time job (not likely with one semester and 3 classes of grad school left) to learning how to day trade (also not likely because I already have a day job).

This is where you come in, I know you are all super clever, what do you do to earn extra income?

Seeing the Big Picture

Source: flickr.com via Ida on Pinterest

*disclaimer-- I apologize in advance if you are offended by this picture, it does not necessarily represent my political views, it's just kind of funny.
The other night SSF and I were watching the local news. They reported a story about a group of residents in Harford and Cecil county Maryland that gathered to protest a proposed toll hike. You can read the full story here but if you are more interested in the cliff notes version here it is.

Since 1976 residents of the area have been given the option to purchase a decal at the cost of $10 per year. This decal gave them unlimited accesses to the bridge that connected the counties while all other drivers are subject to a $5 toll. The state (which is raising tolls on all area bridges and tunnels) has proposed to raise the annual fee to $36 and require the use of an ez-pass that has a maintenance fee of $1.50 per month bringing the total annual cost for residents up from $10 to $54. As a result the locals protested citing that an increase in the tolls would negatively impact the local economy.

That is called short-sighted. I would be peeved too if someone told me I would have to pay $54 dollars instead of $10 but lets think about what would happen in the long run. [From my understanding] In the state of Maryland revenues generated from tolls go into a fund that is used to maintain those same bridges and roads. So I'm pretty sure if that same bridge needed repair the residents would demand it be fixed, but where would the money come from if they defeated the proposed toll increases? Maybe it will result in an even bigger toll increase that could of been avoided with the previous one.

It's the same with your finances, you can't just look at the short-term consequences. Every purchase you make big or small has an impact on your long-term ability to save and accrue wealth. You can compare this to those expenses most people prefer to put off like car maintenance or doctors visits. Sure you may be healthy or your car may be running fine, but down the road, those small little investments upfront for things like oil changes and teeth cleanings will save you a whole ton of money in the long run. Sometimes being frugal isn't just about spending the least amount of money as possible it's about spending your money wisely on things that will save you time and money in the future.

And of course, because I love comparing numbers, let's put this toll hike in perspective. SSF travels through the Fort McHenry tunnel everyday to get to work paying $0.80 for a round trip, the residents of the Harford and Cecil counties will pay $0.21 round trip to commute to work. I'd say they are getting a pretty good deal.


What are your thoughts?

Almost Midway Through the New Year Resolutions

Source: weheartit.com via Dianne on Pinterest

Forget New Years Resolutions and say hello to June ones.

I don't know how to explain it, but lately I've been in a weird place financially. I've been feeling kinda blah.  I have goals for myself, like saving for the wedding, paying off my car note and student loans, building an emergency fund... but they just exist. Every paycheck a set amount is transferred from checking to savings automatically. It doesn't feel like enough.You see paying off my credit card debt demanded more time from me. It required me to always think about how I would make that extra payment or the quickest way to pay a card off. My goals now are much more "set it and forget it".

It wasn't until recently I realized I was missing that "rush" you get from doing something better, or faster, or cheaper than you have ever before. I like to feel like I am winning. I think that's why I've really bought in to the couponing mentality. Going to the grocery or Target and walking out with way more stuff than your total spend would convey is exciting. It's still not enough. Not only do I want to be saving money on everyday things I want to be making money too.

So with that I've finally settled on a new financial goal for myself: Save or earn an additional $100 every month.

It doesn't sound like much, but after awhile $100 starts to add up and hopefully as I learn to get better $100 turns into $200 and $300... etc. With that said over the weekend I've added a few items to my shop and up and moved the whole thing over here. I will be updating as much as possible and including some of SSF's things. As I mentioned earlier 30% of my proceeds will still be going to Last Chance Animal Rescue.


Have you made any new financial goals lately? Have you kept up with the ones you made in January?

Creative Ways to Save and the Giveaway Winner

You guys had so many great tips on how you save money I couldn't resist sharing them:



1. Pay yourself first (even before you pay your bills!)
2. Pay with cash
3. Check out thrift stores for one-of-a-kind pieces for your home (or your closet)
4. Stash small amounts away every week. You won't notice it's gone, but after awhile it starts adding up!
5. Shop for household items through "subscribe and save" on Amaazon
6. If you find something you simply. must. have. walk away and wait a week. Only go back and buy if you are still thinking about it on day 8.
7. Make/ refashion your clothes (avoid retail mark-ups!)
8. Bring your lunch to work
9. Only shop for groceries when your pantry is bear (waste not, want not)
While were on the topic of groceries...
10. Buy things you use often in bulk
11. Never shop without a list.

What great ideas! Thank you all for entering!

Now the moment you've all been waiting for. The winner of the giveaway is....

Ashley

Congratualtions Ashley, I will be e-mailing you shortly. For all the others don't forget you can still get 10% off your purchase at Shabby Apple with the discount code "moneysmart10off"

I promise, regular posting will resume next week.

Not So Extreme, Semi-Normal Couponing

www.hip2save.com

I know I promised I would stop talking about couponing but the I just can't help myself. It is such a rich topic especially now that SSF and I have crossed over to the dark side, kinda. "Kinda" as in we haven't cleaned a store out of mustard or vitamin water because it was free.. yet.

Truth be told, SSF and I have been using coupons for awhile now in an attempt to lower our weekly groceries bills but never before have we put any kind of strategy behind it. It's always been more like..

 "Oh I want this."
 "Oh I have a coupon for that."
 "Nice."

The last couple weeks we've dedicated a little extra effort to planning our meals and our grocery trips and dare I say we've seen a real return on investment.

Case in point: Prior to watching (and learning from) TLC's "Extreme Couponing" we would spend an average of  $90/week on groceries and purchase anywhere from 30-40 items. Seems reasonable right? Well the last couple weeks we've been averaging $77/week and purchasing well over 40 items each time.

Sure it doesn't sound like much of anything, $13? big deal. Where is the 98% savings? When you think about it though we are spending less money and getting more for it but unlike some of the hoarders couponers on the show we aren't buying anything we don't need or won't use. That's the real key to couponing. Our savings aren't monumental, they are hovering around 43% of our total bill but  that is just the beginning.  At this point 43% is still $62, which is pretty damn good.  My goal now is to get our savings to around 50% and build a stockpile large enough (while still fitting in our pantry) to allow us to shop just twice a month. Perfectly normal.. right?

Have you thought about giving couponing a try?

PS. Don't forget to check out my review of JewelMint, after technical difficulties last week from blogger it is back up from running and slightly different if you checked it out last week when it first went up.

No Regrets Spending

Source: goodgravydesigns.blogspot.com via Scrapenherbe on Pinterest

I've gotten away from finances the last couple weeks, but trust me I'm still dedicated to them. SSF and I just went through the process of negotiating the contract with the wedding coordinators. We've also found ourselves dedicating more to time to the dark world of couponing. Most importantly though the last two Saturdays I've spent a chunk of my time driving to and from Philly. Once for my best friends bachlorette party and just this past weekend to take my mom and dad out for lunch. With 5 hours up and back in the car I've had plenty of time to think.

What I realized is that this was the first time in my adult life I've taken my parents out to lunch and paid the bill (ok, well half the bill.. my sister paid the other half). My reason has always been that I couldn't afford it because I was paying off debt. Sure, that's viable but really its just an excuse. Could you imagine if my parents had told me they couldn't afford to feed me because they had to pay their bills? No one would do that, yet I was doing it to my parents.

From that I also realized that personal finance is about so much more than ruthlessly cutting expenses or growing your own wealth. It's about knowing the difference between good expenses: dinner with friends, experiences with loved ones, gifts for family and charitable giving bad expenses: three  figure shopping sprees, dinner out because you "don't feel like cooking" everyday, credit card debt.

Based on my new found knowledge of "good expenses" I decided to make a list of no regrets spending occasions. These are the times that it's really ok to spend those extra 5,10, or 15 dollars to get what you really want.

1. Your Wedding-duh. (aka my wedding, aka I'm buying my dream dress (with consent from SSF))
2. Your best friend's wedding-- would you want them to skimp on yours?
3. Anything for your parents-- because they raised you.
4. Dinner with friends-- SSF and I don't need to eat out every weekend, but I will not miss a chance to spend time with friends.
5. Vacations--because experiences are much more rewarding than material objects.

Of course, everything within reason.

What are your "no-regrets" spending occassions?

Practice What Your Preach

skirt: fossil; tank top: target; blazer: j.crew outlet; shoes: steve madden via dsw.


Sometimes I feel like I talk a good talk, but being a good (finance) blogger is more about walking the walk. This is the outfit I wore to my friend's bachlorette party in Philly last weekend (just with less make-up).

The old me probably would have gone out and bought a whole new outfit that she couldn't afford for one night of dancing. I mean, how do I have fun if I'm not in a whole new outfit? Instead I went with SSF's voice of reason inside my I bought one special piece (the skirt, on sale for $20) and paired it with items I already had in my closet. Turn's out it wasn't so bad. In fact it was better. I had more money to spend on things that mattered that night... wine and food.

This is a new progression for me. I feel like I've matured from just the mindset of paying off debt. While that is still a top priority, I'm also breaking down some of my old habits that lead me to spend money.

What old habits have broken or need to break?

Would You Turn Your House into a Billboard?

One of my good friends informed me about this interesting opportunity.(That's you Nancy)

There is a company called Adzookie.com that will pay your mortgage for each month you agree to have a billboard painted on it (minimum 3 months). They will even do the painting, both to turn it into a billboard and turn it back to it's original condition.

The only question remains is, would you do it?

My answer... only hell yes. Sure it looks completely ridiculous and people would probably stare, but how could I turn down an extra $1600 in my pocket every month that I could use for the wedding, paying down my student loans/car or just building an emergency fund. I was practically salivating at the idea.

Alas, SSF and I live in a quiet little neighborhood under the iron fist of an HOA.

Extreme Couponing: Crazy or Brilliant?

Source: couponingtobedebtfree.com via Grace on Pinterest

You better believe that SSF and I watched the season premier of "Extreme Couponing" (click with caution:this link starts a video) Wednesday night on TLC. How could we not these women are saving hundreds of dollars at the grocery store and more importantly spending unbelievably low amounts to do it! The constant commercials leading up to the event were enough to draw us in. It's incredible the amount of money these women save.

After it was said and done, the only question I had was: What do you need 77 bottles of yellow mustard for?

While I love their clever approach to saving money, on the crazy-brilliant scale I'm going to have to say it's a lot more crazy than brilliant.




The women featured on the show were not only extreme couponers but stockpilers(hoarders even?). They had rooms dedicated to the groceries they purchased full of food, cleaning supplies, paper goods, and soap. Is that really the way to live? Yes, they were saving money but they were also buying a hodge-podge of items that you wouldn't necessarily find on one shopping list. For example, one woman brought home an electic mix of cereal, mustard(77 bottle), cold cuts (40 packs of them), yogart, and fruit cups. That's it. My problem with the whole thing is that instead of going on a big shopping trip, saving a bunch of money, and then not shopping for awhile these women made 4 trips a week to the grocery store. They wiped out entire shelves of product, built their own personal grocery store, and then kept going back for more. I love a good deal but I don't think I am willing to go to this extreme to get it.

What are your thoughts? Did you see the show? Are you an extreme couponer? Do tell.

How Do You Define Financial Success?

Source: imgfave.com via Jennifer on Pinterest

Sometime last week USA Today had a snapshot that asked people how they defined financial success. While I've tried and failed at finding a digital version of the snapshot, an overwhelming 40% of the respondents defined it as being debt-free while less than 10% defined it by means of their net worth. Which got me thinking about how I would define my own financial success.

I don't want to be buried in monthly payments, but at the same time I am willing to take on a mortgage or a student loan if it translates to an increase in assets. Net worth is important, but is a number, at times, needs to be taken with a grain of salt. Ideally, I would define financial success as not being a slave to my job. I want to work because I enjoy it, not because I have to. (Which was an answer given by a small percentage of respondents).

For me, this encapsulates all the other obvious choices. In order to achieve this kind of success a person must have little to debt, a healthy savings (i.e. net worth), and not be living paycheck-to-paycheck.

Now, if only I had one the Mega Millions jackpot....

How do you define finacial success?

Personal Finance Fail

Source: bayarearidersforum.com via Pao on Pinterest

Full disclosure: My wallet has been like a leaky faucet the last couple weeks. It all started with the pivotal decision to splurge on $8 nailpolish at Penn Station and it's been downhill ever since. There hasn't been any major flooding, just small insignificant purchases that make you go "WTF" at the end of the month when the credit card statement comes. Or in my case, "WTF" in the middle of the month when I checked my balance. I hate to admit it but I've been totally reckless. As much as I love the sequin tank top ($16), new gym bag ($29), and the anti-wrinkle cream ($11)-- I didn't need any of them.

On what I thought was an unrelated note I have been struggling with what to do with with an extra $140 I have in my budget from no longer having a credit card payment. To explain, let me go back a few steps. My monthly credit card payment was $500 which means, since February I've had $500/month "extra". My first plan was to put a chunk of that into savings and the rest towards my car payment, to pay it off early. Then,  SSF proposed, and I had a wedding to save for- among other things. From there, the $500 turned into this:

$77/month-Car insurance (so I have it when my premium comes due)
$33/month- City Taxes (we get the equivalent of a city tax bill each year, so I wanted to save half)
$100/month- Wedding
$150/month- Emergency Savings

Total: $360/month.

So I've been trying to decide between two options:
1. Add the remaining $140 to my wedding savings of $100/month.
2. Start making payments on my student loans and/or make extra payments on my car.

Now what does this have to do with the leaky spending? Well I'm pretty sure had I already decided where the $140 should go, I wouldn't be spending so freely right now.

So help plug the leak. What do you think I should do? Save for the wedding or pay off debt?

Are You a UAW?

As in an Under Accumulator of Wealth.

The term UAW comes from the book "The Millionaire Next Door".  In the most technical sense, a UAW is someone who's net worth is 50% less than their age multiplied by their pretax earnings and then divided by 10.



For example, a 26-year-old making 40,000 would have a target net worth of $104,000. If their net worth was below $52,000 that would make them an "Under Accumulator of Wealth". If that same person had a net worth between $52,000 and $208,000 they would be considered an Average Accumulator of Wealth (AAW). While a net worth over $204,000 would make you a saving maniac, or as the book calls it "Prodigious".

All formulas and calculations aside, what is a UAW really? Someone who is high consumption. I would say prior to 2007, I was incredibly high consumption. I would turn over my closet at breakneck speeds. I was often spending money before I even earned it. However, I was nothing compared to what SSF and I witnessed the other night on "My First Sale" (HGTV). The family featured was selling their home because they didn't have "enough room". Let me clarify, the 3 person family in the 3 bedroom home that had a playroom for their only son was running out of room because the father was a race car junky that had a car and garage containing $70,000 worth of a car and parts and the mom's self-proclaimed hobby was "shopping".

Now, I don't like to judge (on my blog) but we watched in horror as the couple pondered selling off the husband's "racecar" to cover the loss that were going to sustain to get out of there home when there was no REAL reason for them to sell at all (well, besides being able to consume more). I'm also going to assume they lacked any kind of emergency fund or savings.

That is a UAW.

But UAW shouldn't be a dirty word, it should be a signal that it's time for a change. SSF and I are UAW's (SSF kind of lacked a choice in that matter) but we are doing what we can to change that. We are paying off liabilities and setting aggressive savings plans.

So, are you an UAW? What are you doing to change that?




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