Finance Gets Personal

While my net worth improved this month, it will be going down again shortly
due to some much-needed home repairs…

Net worth as of April 1: $63,415
Net worth as of May 1: $67,943

Here are this month’s highlights:

• The cracks in our foundation walls started leaking again, making me question why we ever bought this home. Then, our sump pump failed, causing water to come up through new cracks in the foundation floor.
  We replaced the sump pump and called a structural engineer to assess our foundation. He came out today, and I’m happy to say that our house is structurally sound! We just need to do some regrading under the deck, maintain the slope against the south wall of the house and have the cracks in the wall sealed. Total cost should be under $1,000.
• I received a first quarter bonus of $2,100, which I put in savings along with my suspended debt snowball payments in anticipation of having to pay for expensive foundation work. Fortunately, I don’t need the money for the foundation, but we do have to replace our heat pump for about $3,000 within the next few weeks. Once that and the foundation issues are taken care of, I’ll replenish our regular $1,000 emergency fund and begin paying extra toward our debt again.
• I got a little impatient with this whole “saving” thing last week, and transferred $1,000 of the money I’d saved to our credit card debt, which is now down to $2,300.
• I started a diet on April 9, with a goal of losing one pound per week. So far, I’ve lost five pounds. It hasn’t been as hard as I thought it would be, especially since I haven’t incorporated exercise into my plan yet. I’m tracking my calorie consumption, weight and measurements on The Daily Plate, a website I learned about from Get Fit Slowly (the sister blog of Get Rich Slowly)
• Since signing up for My Coke Rewards, my Coke habit has gotten me a free subscription to the Oprah magazine and a free movie ticket.
• I finally finished our taxes after much procrastination, and am eagerly awaiting our refund and $1,500 economic stimulus payment.
• I’d been considering donating plasma to make an extra $60/week, but am even more squeamish about it given the things people have been typing into Google to find my website lately - bruising from donating plasma, sick after donating plasma, donating plasma weight loss - ew. I’m definitely going to try giving blood first, but probably not any time soon.
• I’ve been wanting to have a garage sale so I can replace our pathetic mattress, but don’t think I’ll have the time in May because we’re going to be painting our house. I’ve been collecting items, and will probably do it when the subdivision has its annual garage sale event in June.

Whew! Eventful month.

Oh, lord. The hits keep coming.

Back in January, our heat pump (it’s like a combination air conditioner/heater) was making weird noises and our electric bills were really high. I had someone come out and they said the compressor was weak and recommended replacing the unit for $3,000 (it’s 10 years old - about the average life expectancy). Since I didn’t have $3,000, I had a second company come out, and they said there was nothing wrong with the compressor, I just needed a new starter kit for $100. Obviously, I went with the second company.

Well, within a month or so, the heat pump was making noises again and our electric bills weren’t going down. So I switched the thermostat over to the gas furnace, and meant to call them back about it.

Three and a half months later, I finally got around to it (and only because we’ll be needing to use the A/C soon).

Turns out…the compressor is weak and the unit needs to be replaced for $3,000. Luckily, I just so happen to have $3,400 saved up in anticipation of upcoming foundation work. The structural engineer is coming tomorrow, so hopefully he’ll have good news. Then, I’ll start getting quotes for the heat pump.

As for this “baby emergency fund” of $1,000: Given the current condition of our household systems and appliances, we might need to rethink the amount.

Boo!

Photo Credit: Rocks and air conditioner by Sheila Steele, used under Creative Commons licensing

If you haven’t heard of Angie’s List, you’re not alone.

Angie’s List is a website where members can access and submit reviews of local companies, contractors and even doctors. I guess you could say it’s kind of like a member-generated Consumer Reports for local services.

While some cities offer free trial memberships as initial reviews are gathered, access to my city’s list is $59 per year or $7.50 per month with a $15 activation fee. I signed up today.

But why pay a fee for advice you can get for free from friends and neighbors?

Well, in my case, we’re looking for a structural engineer to examine some potential foundation problems and don’t know anyone who has had this type of service done. Although a few people are supposed to be getting back to me with leads, I haven’t heard from them yet and am starting to get impatient.

But my $22.50 should pay for itself if the structural engineer I found is as good as the 16 “A” reports he’s received from Angie’s List members. I must say I’m a little disappointed in the sparse reviews in some of the other categories on Angie’s List however. I plan on cancelling before the next month hits my debit card.

Has anyone else used Angie’s List? What are your experiences?

I’ll let you know how the inspection goes.

(This post was included in the Money Hacks Carnival, hosted by Save and Conquer.)

In the past two weeks, have you made an “emergency” trip to the store because you were out of something you need, like toothpaste, paper towels or shampoo?

When visiting, did you only purchase the item you ran out of?

On Thursday, I made a Target run for Q-Tips (which I’ve been out of for a few weeks). I also bought cotton balls (something I ran out of a few months ago), a new soap-dispensing brush for the kitchen sink (the old one broke and I threw it away last week) and pencil lead for our mechanical pencils (my stepson has been complaining that none of our mechanical pencils work because we don’t have lead).

So, my trip to buy generic $1 Q-Tips cost over $11. Of course, this example isn’t the best because I only purchased things I actually needed, but if it hadn’t been my lunch hour and I had time to browse, I’m sure I could have found a few other things to spend money on.

Following this logic, the more visits you make to a store, the more you end up spending in the long run.

Soooo, to save money, reduce your trips.

Here’s how:

• The next time you go to Target or Walmart for household items, buy two of each item on your list that you use regularly. For example, if deodorant is on your list, buy two sticks.
• Start a list of items you buy regularly in Word or Excel. My list includes things like shaving cream, trash bags, toilet bowl cleaner, light bulbs, computer paper, etc. Each time you go to the store, add any items that aren’t already listed (and that you plan to buy again).
• Once you’ve accumulated two of everything, you’re ready to reduce your store visits to once per month (or less). Whenever your first stick of deodorant runs out and you open the second one, circle “deodorant” on your printed Word/Excel list. Once you have a lot of items circled on your list, make one trip to the store and get everything.

This method is great because it not only saves you money by reducing impulse purchases and gas usage, it also allows you to stock up on items when they’re on sale (even if you haven’t circled that item on your list).

It does cost you some money up front, but is well worth it in the long-run. And, if you are ever in dire financial straights, you can rest easy knowing you can skip your trips to the store for a month or two without running out of anything.

(This post was included in the Festival of Frugality, hosted by Sound Money Matters.)

Photo Credit: Under the Bathroom Sink by Jill - Glossy Veneer, used under Creative Commons licensing

Courtesy of someecards.com:

Snowflaking, the popular concept of throwing all your extra little bits of money toward your debts, has quickly snowballed into its own website and carnival. Check out the first edition of the Carnival of Snowflakes, hosted by paidtwice, snowflaker extraordinaire!

The submissions include lots of practical advice and suggestions for coming up with extra snowflakes (even pennies!)

As for me, I’m trying to come up with a more systematic way to handle snowflaking. I currently snowflake all my bonus income and other “surprise” checks, but tend to re-absorb other savings back into my checking account. After reading all these submissions, I’m ready to go sell some more stuff on Craigslist, hawk off my old gold jewelry and teach Italian (not that I speak Italian, but that’s beside the point!).

Photo Credit: snowflake by Pesky Library, used under Creative Commons licensing

Back in February, I wrote about dumping my high-priced hair salon.

Well, the problem with not going to a fancy place is that you no longer have hair “appointments,” so until tonight, I hadn’t gotten a haircut in about 14 weeks. Yikes!

I finally went to Snip ‘N Clip and got my hair cut for $14 plus tip. That’s about $20 less than before, and I think it looks pretty good! The bangs are a little shorter than last time, but it’s actually kind of cute. I won’t really know how it looks ’til tomorrow though because my hair is so frizzy right now from all this rain.

Yearly savings: $140.

Photo Credit: Day 9 I 10 April 2008 I Snip snip by Shereen M, used under Creative Commons licensing

Snowflaking your debts can sometimes seem like a never-ending fool’s game of pennies and nickels, but stop for a minute and consider how you acquired your debt in the first place.

Chances are, you employed reverse snowflaking.

That’s right - reverse snowflaking. Many people with credit card debt (myself included) can’t really recall what they spent all that money on. Unlike a mortgage, student loan or car loan, there’s often nothing to show for your oversize credit card statement. That’s because you acquired the debt slowly…little by little.

Take my current credit card balance: $2,300. The last thing I remember was being in college and…I forget the rest. What did I spend the money on? I don’t know - probably a restaurant meal here, a trip to the mall there - maybe a few months’ rent.

It’s not really important. I’ve stopped the problem behavior (using credit) and started paying the money back little by little - the same way I spent it.

Don’t be frustrated if you’re not seeing your balances go down a thousand dollars at a time. Just know that someday, you’ll be out of debt and unable to remember all the little things you sacrificed along the way.

(This post was included in the Carnival of Snowflakes, hosted by paidtwice.)

Photo Credit: Blue Snowflake, Post-Print by Blue Sky, used under Creative Commons licensing

Recently, my husband and I have been diverting our regular debt payments to savings to take care of some potential foundation problems. The longer the money sits there, however, the more ideas we have for things we “need” to spend money on.

Here’s one example:

My husband’s ex-wife, who used to have joint physical and legal custody of their son, decided in July 2006 that she was going to move across town and concentrate more fully on her education by limiting her visits to every other weekend. Basically, my husband would have full physical custody and she would return the child support money he sends to the state every month. But of course, she didn’t want to make any legal changes (welfare fraud, anyone?).

My husband told her that the change would have to be legal, or no deal. Fine, she said.

Nearly two years later, we still haven’t hired a lawyer because the estimates we’ve gotten say it’s going to run about $1500-$1800, and we’ve been unable to figure out how to do what should be a simple process ourselves.

As far as we can tell from the hours and hours we’ve spent researching the situation, my husband needs to file a motion to modify the divorce decree and submit a new parenting plan (which has already been written and approved by the ex). However, no one can seem to tell us how to actually go about filing all the necessary paperwork. Ask a court clerk, and they all say, “I’m sorry, but we’re not allowed to dispense legal advice.” JFC, if administrative help constitutes legal advice, then give me a freaking law degree!

We’ve visited the law library, bought books from Nolo and checked the city and state courts websites. Most of the pro se information available focuses on defending yourself in criminal court, and the rest reads like a bunch of conflicting goo with no instructions for the actual filing process.

Clearly, we need to get this taken care of in one way or another eventually, because we are in a constant cycle of paying $350 and not being paid back until the next $350 is due (and sometimes after a second $350 has been paid). But more importantly, we are taking the risk that she won’t change her mind and pretend like this informal arrangement never occured.

I was an honors pre-law student in college, so it’s not like I’m a complete idiot (although I’m starting to feel like one…). You’d think our court system would be able to give people better advice than “consult a lawyer.” What gives?

Photo Credit: Library visitor by umjanedoan, used under Creative Commons licensing

You know that person that comes into work 20 minutes late every day, keeps you waiting at the restaurant and interrupts church by trying to find a seat during the prayer?

That’s me.

I am chronically late.

I don’t do it to piss you off, because I think my time is more valuable than yours or because it gives me some kind of power trip. I actually hate being late.

The problem is, I don’t like being early either.

Lateness is a problem I’ve struggled with my whole life. My parents were always late, I’m always late, and I admit that I often don’t think it’s that big of a deal.

But tell that to my high school aerobics teacher who gave me detentions for it, my old boss at the bank who told me that being late could keep me from getting a big raise someday (so far it hasn’t), and the annoying morning people at my work who think it’s a sin for me to be more than two minutes late (but who also think that it’s OK for them to leave early, take half-hour personal phone calls and go to the gym during work hours).

I have to admit, however, that there are some financial costs associated with being chronically late. Like these, for example:

• Speeding tickets - I’ve only had one, but my husband has not been so lucky. He once had three in a three-month period. When I’m late, I am much more likely to speed.
• Missed appointment fees - Since I don’t get home from work until after 6:00 p.m. and work far away from my home, I have to schedule my appointments early in the morning. This is not a good thing. A few years ago, I had to go to physical therapy for my shoulder three times a week. Getting there by 7:45 a.m. was tough, and sometimes I had to cancel because I didn’t wake up in time. After the first few incidents, I started getting charged missed appointment fees, and my physical therapy came to an abrupt end.
• Getting fired or missing out on a raise - As I mentioned earlier, most of my bosses have been pretty flexible with my problem because I’m such a good employee otherwise. But I have had at least one instance where my lateness affected my pay. Back when I worked in retail, there was an employee incentive that if you were only late two times between Thanksgiving and Christmas, you’d be paid an extra 25 cents an hour (or something like that). Well, I busted my ass to get to work on time because I was broke. I was only late once. However, they counted me as being late two other times - once because I was late after getting lost on the way to work coming from the company Christmas party at another store location (!), and once because they called and asked me to come in for someone who had called in sick and I told them I could probably be there by 4:00 but was actually in a few minutes after that (!!). I didn’t get the incentive money and, boy, was I TICKED!
• Late pick-up fees - This one doesn’t affect me too much, because my husband usually picks up my stepson from school, but parents are charged $1 for every minute they are late in picking up their child from the after-school program. We’ve probably paid about $30 for this over the last four years.

I’ve tried a lot of things to break my habit, but here’s one that might actually work: charging myself money when I am late. But, as Idub pointed out in a comment about going to the gym, that money would have to be donated to charity or something, otherwise I’d be snowflaking (and who doesn’t love that)!

(This post was included in the Money Hacks Carnival, hosted by Quest For Four Pillars.)

Photo Credit: my favorite t-shirt by Johnn P, used under Creative Commons licensing