Stacking Pennies

While some of these thoughts could possibly be developed into full posts, I just collected them in a random mish mash of money thoughts.

I have $400 in cash somewhere in my possession.  (I’m not saying exactly where because who knows if any of you are stalkers/thieves.)  It makes me uncomfortable, but I also have heard some horror stories about ATM deposits so I’m scared to put it in an envelope at the ATM.  This means I have to make it to a bank before they close.  I have this because my parents bought my computer from me and apparently wanted to save their checks and aren’t uncomfortable with large sums of cash like I am.

Sometimes I make “to-do” lists and writing it all down makes me feel so organized that I don’t feel the need to actually do the things on the list.  “Roll over Health Savings Account” has been on my list for months.  And I might never do it–I might just spend up my old HSA on birth control, then close it.

I started my Roth IRA in 2006, and I haven’t broke even yet.  (Good thing this is a long term investment, right?)

I have a SSN that is nice and low, so I should be among the first to get a paper stimulus check.  Paper, because I split my refund between two accounts.  I was hopeful when I saw something from the IRS/Treasury yesterday, but it was just a letter telling me I should expect $600.  Thanks for wasting postage on that.

I found a debit card on the floor of my workplace restroom last week.  Of course I immediately returned it to the owner, but there was a glimmer of “wow, I could use this to fill up my tank”.  It only lasted .4 seconds, but it was there.  It is worse, because i knew the owner, and she lives quite near me, so I even would have known the zip code.  It is worse that I thought that!

I’m considering splitting my savings between the Vanguard Prime Money Market fund between and a tax free version.  Common knowledge has told me that unless you are in a high tax bracket, tax free options aren’t important.  However I did the calculations myself (see The Finance Buff) and it is currently a better deal. The tax-free compound yeild is currently slightly higher than the fully taxable yield (even without the tax benefit!), though I suspect this won’t be permanent. My after tax equivalent is 3.242% or 3.392%, for state specific and federal respectively. Not too shabby.  I’ve done the calculations myself several times, and the tax-free version often comes out ahead, but not always, which is why I would split it.

If the school I applied to doesn’t tell me NOW if they are going to let me study there (through distance education), I might smash my head against the wall.  Better yet, I’ll find out which professor is procrastinating on his job of going through the applications, and smash his/her head.  (I have contacted them, and they are still processing applications for distance program.  UG.)

I have less than $250 in my checking account! This is unusual for me, I like to maintain a minimum of around $700, and it is often well over $2000 just before the awful rent comes due.  I was expecting that $400 cash and another $250 I’m owed to be in there, but I’m not worried about it.  I get paid this week and I know exactly which bills are allowed to autodraft (not many).

My student loan payment increased from $133 to $141.  From what I gather, this is because I didn’t make payments while I was a half time student for part of last year.  The interest was subsidized (paid by gov’t), but now my payments aren’t quite on schedule to be paid of by 2128.  (Exaggerated date, but sometimes it feels like it.)  Despite my pledge to not pay extra on my loans (financially a bad move), I sent in $35 extra last month.  Ooops.

That is what is going on in my finances lately.  What about yours?

I spent $41 on make-up over the weekend.  I haven’t bought new make-up since 2006.  That is probably a slight exaggeration (think $5 mascara or lipstick now and then) but when it comes to powder/foundation, I’m serious.  I spent $15 on Sonia Kashuck Mineral Make-up set (powder, blush, concealer) about $12 on Physicians Formula tinted moisturizer (though I lusted for Stila brand ), $11 for a new powder brush.  I researched the products before I bought them and so far am quite happy with my purchases.

I spent $20 on two Lush solid shampoo bars plus a ‘free’ case.  I bet they get almost everyone on that “if you buy two this $6 case is free” deal.  This was mostly just a treat, but also, I was way off when I thought my current shampoo was organic.  Vegan is not the same as organic (obviously) and also doesn’t mean SLS-free.  Hmph.

I also spent $50 to chip in for spa day for Mom.  We don’t always buy extravagant presents like this, but this year we did.  Usually I get something much smaller:  a book + bubble bath is standard.  (Actually I spent $150, but the other $100 will be reimbursed.)

If I didn’t pay attention to my finances, I think it would be quite easy to walk into Sephora on a weekly basis and buy product after product.  I wouldn’t tire of it, and I’m not what you’d consider a high maintenance sort of girl.

However, I don’t buy many products, even though sometimes I want to.  Each of the items I purchased felt like a treat.  I’ve been feeling squished by my budget goals, and was happy to allocate a little bit of my extra paycheck and economic stimulus towards non-essential beauty products.  Some may argue that make-up is essential, but I’m not convinced.  (It depends on your job though.)  Shampoo is less debatable (though some DO debate), but $10 bars aren’t necessary.   Not necessary, but a fun luxury.

If you listen to podcasts, I think you should you check out a post Get Rich Slowly wrote today, The Giant Pool of Money: Anatomy of the Subprime Mortgage Mess.

J.D. talks about this week’s episode of “This American Life“, perhaps my favorite NPR show. I usually end up downloading it through a podcast, but I happened to catch this week’s episode on my way to pick up T on Friday. It was an excellent sort of friendly view of how this whole mortgage mess came to be.

The show starts out talking to a guy with several part time jobs who was loaned half a million by the bank, though he himself admits he has friends who are essentially loan sharks, and they wouldn’t have even lent him it. It goes on to talk to a young guy who was just out of college making $75,000 a month, and when that dropped to “just $25,000″ it didn’t even cover his current expenses. It talks about how the financial industry is handing out awards for creating product that almost brought down the entire economy. It talks about NINA loans, or “No Income, No Assets” where banks didn’t ask how much you made or how much you had in the bank before writing you a loan. It explains how many people knew that what they were doing wasn’t sustainable, but figured it was the problem of someone higher up on the chain.

J.D. took a lot more time than I could and wrote a great summary, so please read his post and consider listening to the episode!

I have been learning how to sail! I have some pipe dreams of cruising around the world on a sailboat, though at this point in my life, that isn’t really an option. I don’t spend a lot of money on entertainment, going out, or gym memberships, so I selected sailing as my newest hobby. It is a bit more expensive than I anticipated, but to be honest, I didn’t think much about it. It sounded fun, so I signed up.

First there are the lessons. They cost $385, but I was able to pay about $150 instead of full price. This includes 3 lectures of 3 hours each, and six on the water days of 3+ hours each. I can now take the second round, which is the same price but more advanced topics. There are also some fees to get “certified”, which I was not originally aware of.  It is about $95 for a written exam and on the water exam, plus another $30 or so for a log book. I think there is one of these certifications for each of the first 2 classes, so I’d have to pay the fees two times. If I want to go further, the next step would be $445 (!) for a weekend trip that certifies me to charter my own boat.

Then there is the “gear”. I didn’t go overboard and buy a bunch of actual sailing gear, but I did purchase a $50 windbreaker, $20 sunglasses, and $20 white soled deck shoes. I could have just wore regular sneakers, but mine had black soles. If I were to get really into sailing, I might have to get “foul weather gear” but I haven’t found the need.

Between the classes and the gear (mainly the classes) I could easily spend $1000 this year learning how to sail. Then what? What am I going to do with my knowledge? T is going to take the class I just took, and we could take boats on little trips around here. However, sailing seems to be expensive and time consuming and neither one of us has a lot of time or money right now. Purchasing a sail boat is only realistic if I intend to live on it, which sounds a bit romantic but is a little to extreme for this point in my life.

I can’t afford to regularly rent boats, I really can’t afford to go out and buy a boat. Is sailing a wealthy person’s hobby? It seems like there is a mix of wealthy people and people who are free spirited. My sailing teacher has given up his life in the “rat race”, as he said. After spending a year cruising with his family, he has taken to making a living by writing on the weekdays and teaching sailing on the weekends. Not a bad life, if I don’t say so myself. (This is helped by the fact he sold a home in the L.A. area at the peak of the real estate bubble. I wish I did that.)

I don’t know what to do from here. I could continue taking classes, but I have no real goal for my sailing hobby, other than fun. It is apparent I won’t be buying a yacht or chartering a cruise to South America anytime soon. I could call my $200 spent so far a fun entertainment/educational expense, and put my sailing career on hold. I could pay $150 more for another session of six lessons. I could pay another $200 on top of that to get fully certified. But for what purpose? I can afford to learn to sail, but I can’t afford to sail on a regular basis after that. It would be kind of like how T, two summers ago when making decent money, learned how to fly private small planes for perhaps $3000 or so. He loved it, but he hasn’t been up in over a year because it is too expensive for a grad student to keep up. (I hated it. I got airsick and small planes are actually pretty dangerous.)

After moving and putting my degree on hold, I found myself with a lot more free time than I was used to, so learning to sail was one thing I chose to explore. Next fall, I’m going to be continuing my M.S. degree and I won’t have time for these hobbies. I still have a whole summer left to explore other interests, and now is the time to decide if I want to continue sailing or spend my time doing something else.

The May grocery challenge is going… not well. I have already spent $65/$145, when I’m  only allocated to spend $35/week. That looks bad! However, I have made two trips already, and I usually strive to make one each weekend. I’ve already used this weekends trip, and I should have plenty of food to last through next week.

Still, I was a little silly with my purchases. I usually don’t buy much meat, but I spent almost $7 on meat this week. Want to know how much I spent on cheese? $11.50! While I enjoy good cheese, that does seem a bit excessive. I bought two kinds of parmesan, grated and shredded. I’m not above shredding/grating block cheese myself, but it this case, it didn’t amount to a better deal. The shredded cheese was only $2.50! Also, is Trader Joe’s a good or bad place to buy decent priced cheese? Where else should I look? I also bought, on impulse (!), a box of Belgium butter waffle cookies. Delicious, but not necessary. I’m going to have to be much more careful next week!

Here is yesterday’s shopping trip. I forgot to buy arborio rice (I stink at making lists) which will be another few dollars.

My previous trips included items like eggs, yogurt, granola (breakfast), frozen vegetables, more meatballs, bread, basil and who knows what else that added up to about $31.

What are some things I will be making with all my cheese (and other ingrediants)?

• Croque Mademoiselle
• Risotto in edible parmesan bowls
• Parmesan Wheat Bread
• Edamame and Feta Salad
• Chickpea salad (without the cucumber, with red onion, with red wine vinegar

The menu is a little cheesier and “heavier” than my typical meals, but still may be delicious. I was thinking of trying to make a gazpacho (cold soup) this month, but I can’t find the recipe I used before. It was delicious and included an avocado, didn’t have cucumbers, and had a bit of spice to it. I can’t find it online, so maybe I stole it from a magazine. Let me know if you have a good gazpacho recipe!

Looking over my list and recipes, there really isn’t a huge focus on frugality here. I am certainly paying attention to what I buy, but the biggest reason I don’t spend a ton on groceries is that I don’t buy much meat, I don’t drink milk (purchased for recipes) or juice, and I don’t buy a lot of pre-prepared food.  I am trying to buy more fruit/veggies, but I have to be careful not to let them spoil.

I have been invited to a friends wedding this summer. T was invited as well, but he definitely isn’t going to go. I would love to go, and it is in the city we recently moved from, so I’m sure I’d have a lot of fun seeing old friends and dancing the night away. In addition, my best friend from high school is in the wedding, so… I would really love to go. But $400 for a ticket? No, probably not. Or, maybe $250+ a four hour drive. Still, it just doesn’t make sense. I RSVP’ed that T and I would not be attending, and now I have to send a gift.

When I was in college and a friend got married, I would choose a gift in the $25 range. I was a poor student, and sometimes had to buy bachelorette and bridal shower gifts as well, so $25 seemed reasonable. My friends didn’t need me to buy them $90 serving bowl. Now that I’m making a real income, what is appropriate to spend? I looked through their registry, and I still think it is ridiculous to spend $50 on a vase, but everything on the list is “overpriced” by my standards. Beautiful, yes, but totally unnecessary. Buying from the registry helps me get something I know the couple wants, but knowing the couple, I’m a little surprised at what they want. They don’t seem like the crazy home decorating types, but maybe no one does just out of college.

Then I started thinking about my wedding. I’m not yet engaged, but the idea of getting married next summer has been talked about unofficially. It is a great opportunity to wish for expensive things, but I really don’t have an interest in owning fancy china. Where would I even put it? I have exactly one cupboard in my kitchen. I suppose we’ll probably move, but until we leave L.A., we aren’t going to have anything spacious. Vases? Don’t those $10 ones hold flowers just as well? I suppose I’d like some new bedding and some decorative pillows for my couch. But I don’t want a lot of dishes. I don’t need a lot of stuff. And what about our tentative plans to go abroad in a few years? It would be liberating to sell off all our stuff rather than feeling obligated to put fancy items in storage.

I don’t know why my goals are so non-traditional right now. In 10 years, would I regret not getting china at my wedding? (Let’s not even talk about the wedding itself. I don’t know how I’m going to figure that out.) Quarterlifegirl wrote a really excellent post about chasing dreams, and what it means when your dreams change. Getting my M.S. degree while working full time has been a goal of mine since I graduated. I still want to complete my program (I have this semester off due to moving) because it will keep the most doors open. At the same time, I’ve been dreaming of all the other things I could learn to do instead. For example, I could become certified to teach English as a foreign language and do that while abroad. Then what? I’m not totally opposed to transitioning into teaching math/science here, but I don’t know if I could deal with the pay cut. None of this was in my “plan” but it is nice to think of other paths that I could take.

Anyway, I guess I’ll buy my friend something from her list of things she wants for her duplex. I’m thinking about $50? They purchased it together last year and are filling it with nice things, a puppy, and perhaps someday, a family. They both have good jobs and his family lives in town. She used to say she can’t wait to leave the Midwest, I wonder if perhaps her dreams have changed as well.

I changed all my standard light bulbs to CFLs quite some time ago.  In fact, I moved 3 CFL bulbs with me from the Midwest to California!  They are expensive! When I bought myself a new floor lamp, I busted out something close to $10 to get a 3-way CFL bulb for my bedroom (I don’t have overhead lighting).

In an effort to improve my environmental impact in May, I decided to finish the job and replace my non-standard bulbs as well.  I figured some of my specialty bulbs would be a little costly, but I spent 20 minutes in home depot today staring at their light bulb selection.  Then I went home empty handed.

I have track lighting over my kitchen counter.  Three bulbs I’m attempting to replace are type PAR16 halogen flood lights, 60W each.  They are on a dimmer switch.  The track lighting piece that I screw the bulb into says I can only use the PAR16 type, so no substitutions allowed.  After much Googling, It seems like my only option might be a Par16 LED light, available for over $20 each, plus shipping.  I just don’t think that is reasonable.

I guess I’ll have to focus on the bathroom for my CFL efforts, unless anyone has any suggestions on a more energy efficient Par16 light for $10 or less.  Maybe instead of using all three lights, I could see how much light I have using just two of the 60W bulbs.

My sister was in town for a long weekend, and I set aside $100 to spend while she was here, just in case.  My parents were also here, so they treated for most of the meals and we didn’t do things that cost money.  I spent $60 on a meal, about $10 on some side dishes for a barbecue, and another $13 for a small present for my most adorable little nephew.  I have $17 left that will go back into the budget for May.

I’m really glad that I set the money aside, because it allowed me to feel free to spend whatever was necessary to ensure that I didn’t spoil their trip by being less than generous.

I also received some of the rebates I was due for my cable service.  I was supposed to get $50 for interenet, $50 for cable, a $39.95 rebate for a modem (which I sold because it wasn’t needed), and another $40 for the modem.  So far, I received a $50 and the $39.95 one.  The website has the second $40 shown as processed, so that should show up someday soon.   The last one is a mystery.

Do you always receive the rebates you are due?  I’m always dubious that they will “lose” my submission and not give me the money.  I almost sent them by certified mail, so I would have proof!

Two blogs I read recently mentioned organic shampoo, and SavingDiva has been talking about Lush in several posts. Being green is so hip these days!

I’m going to join in Fabulously Broke’s effort to get a little more eco-friendly this month. It is spring, time for everything to turn green, including me! I picked a good month for it, since my budget is slightly looser than normal, and there are some start up costs. Here are my action items for May:

Organic Shampoo: I’m already on the ball for this one. I’ve been using Purology, which is 100% vegan, but 100% expensive at about $25 a bottle. My last stylist talked me into it so I splurged. It is specifically for color treated hair, which I no longer intend to have, so I am going to explore other options. I do like this shampoo–it is nice to my hair and is highly concentrated so has lasted me a long time. In the past, I’ve used Bioloage, which you can get for a little less cash (but still about $15), which pretends to be green but I’m not sure that there aren’t chemicals. I’m assuming there is a whole slew of $10-ish organic shampoos I could find at the drug store, but I’m kind of itching to try Lush. It is about $10 for a bar of shampoo. I’m interested to know roughly how long I can expect that bar to last and how well they work. Have you tried it? Do you love it? If I don’t get positive reviews, I’ll try something less drastic and just get a bottle of regular organic shampoo. Of course, I need to use up my other shampoo/conditioner first, so maybe this won’t even happen until later…

Reusable Bags: I’ve been talking about buying some of these for months. Each time I’m at Trader Joe’s, I see them for just $0.99 and wonder if I should grab one. But I don’t. In May, I will take the plunge! Should I be frugal and just get some ninety-nine centers, or should I splurge on something like a Chico or Baggu bag, or something even more stylish?

Paper Towel Alternative: I love paper towels, but it just seems like I could minimize the use of them. Of course I could use a standard dish cloth, but has anyone found cloths that are simply more… paper towel like? I found this option online, but I’m open to suggestions of things you’ve actually tried. I don’t think I’d need something this specialized, but my standard dish cloths don’t satisfy me the same way.

409/Cleaner Alternative: I clean my counter with 409, which makes them white and shiny. Unfortunately I’m sure 409 has at least 409 different chemicals. Check out this list of different frugal and natural cleaners from Sarah Snow, who I admit I had never heard of until she was on “Jon and Kate Plus Eight.” Why do I have such lame TV tastes? Regardless, it looks like you can clean almost everything with vinegar and water, or make a all-purpose cleaner with borax and baking soda. (Hmm, what is borax?) I also will need to get some spay bottles to use, but making my own non-toxic cleaners shouldn’t be too hard. Also part of this effort is to clean the small spot on my wall. I’m not telling you what it is, because it is kind of gross (which is why I haven’t cleaned it yet), but seriously, I need to take care of it. Now.

Lights: My kitchen lights are on a dimmer switch and are really bright (which I like). I don’t know if there are available CFL/LED alternatives. The same applies to my bathroom lights. I’ve replaced all the standard light bulbs, but hesitated on these more unusual bulbs. I’m going to investigate my options for these bulbs.

Onto the finances! Shower products combine “green” with “beauty” and are the most fun to buy, I’m going to allow myself to splurge in that area a little bit and spend up to $40 in this category. I could also use some new make-up, but I’ll see how the rest of the month pans out. Reusable bags is a question mark–I could do this for less than $5, but may want to splurge up to $20. What do you think? Cleaning supplies and paper towel alternatives might cost up to $25 (I hope much less though) and will be much cheaper in the long run. The lights could be well over $20, but there may not be any reasonable alternatives. I’ll have to see. I allocated extra money to both the “Personal” fund and the “Misc” fund, so I’ll budget out of those categories.

The best way to be green is not by buying a bunch of green products, but by buying less crap in general. This is something I already am striving to do (for finance reasons), but these are some extra steps that I want to take. At least my consumer impulses will be channeled towards good products.

(P.S. - I finally stopped by American Apparel and really wasn’t impressed. The quality vs. price didn’t match up to my standars, but I guess when everything is organic and made in L.A., a cheap-seeming t-shirt will be $25. I expected the fabric to be softer and sturdier and NOT feel like I could have bought it at Walmart. My quest for yoga pants will continue, and if I’m patient, may end at overpriced but high quality Lululemon.)

After some consideration, I increased my food budget from $135 to $145. I found we don’t need to go out to eat that often, so I took that extra money from my restaurant budget. (However, perhaps I’m being temporarily subsidized, because the last two weekends my parents have purchased me a rather delicious meal. They will be going back home in early June.) I think sticking to $135 (or even $125) would be entirely possible for me to do without too much struggle. I’ve seen grocery budgets as low as $80 (see lunch challenge)! So why am I increasing it?

I’m tired of asking T to contribute to my weekend dinners, even if it is “fair”. I asked for a contribution this week, and he obliged with a purchase of some snack food for us. I’m not much of a snacker, but I did enjoy the nachos, and there was leftover shredded cheese for me to use. It isn’t that we actually have fights about this, but we have these annoying conversations about who paid for what and when.

It is clear (in my mind) that I’m getting a worse deal. I eat one meal a week at his place (or as many as I want to drive to get) and it is usually spaghetti or frozen pizza (boy cooking!), and he eats at least four at my place, with at least one being something delicious (that he usually helps me make). Last weekend I even served crème brûlée for desert (surprisingly cheap and easy)! Then he’ll remind me that he bought this or that the week before, and I’ll concede. He doesn’t bring it up, but he knows that I make a certain amount of money, and he is on a stipend. My net worth increased by over $2k this month, his probably increased by, at most a couple hundred dollars. Maybe it didn’t increase at all. (Well, his stipend is quarterly, so who knows this exact month)

We don’t live together, so it isn’t quite as easy as just splitting things in half. I tend to buy better food for myself than he buys for himself, so I can’t expect him to spend a certain amount just because I feel like making spring-summer ziti and don’t want to pay for all the cheese involved. He’s content eating a plain sandwich for dinner, but I turn my nose up at that. If I want to cook something more expensive that is my choice. Not his. I just enjoy sharing it with him out of love. It really isn’t much fun to cook for only myself.

It isn’t about the money at all, but about my plan. If I brought it up with him and asked for a standard $20/mo to cover the food he eats, he would likely oblige. But would I really be more satisfied? Does it really matter?   Do I really want to add a creepy banker like dynamic to the relationship?  It just seems like this something I’d be better off just letting go. I tend to get wound up when things don’t go according to my plan (it is a fact, pf bloggers have control issues!), but if I simply plan to spend a little extra, everything will be smooth.

Budgeting isn’t supposed to make me stingy and cheap, it is supposed to give me freedom!