Search Results for “Clearing Up Social Debt in 3 Steps” — Page 43

The Friday Tax

I’ve been at the doctor’s office every time my kids have been scheduled to get shots. I let them know what to expect before the shot, hold their legs still during, and comfort them after. It’s not pleasant, but it is a bonding experience. It builds trust. My kids know that if I tell them something won’t hurt, it won’t, because I tell them when it will. Unpleasantness is never a surprise. Somehow, this policy hasn’t led to a fear of the doctor. They always know what to expect and how tough I’m expecting them to be, so they don’t worry.

Last Friday, it was time for the unpleasant duty. Both of the girls had checkups and one was due for shots. I took the afternoon off to meet my wife and kids at the clinic.

It was a beautiful day. It was warm, the sun was shining, and traffic was light. The windows were down and music was playing; it was an almost perfect start to the weekend.

Did I mention I have a lead foot?

“No, honey, I don’t think we need to buy that” certainly loses some of it’s effect shortly after “Uh, honey? I just paid the voluntary driving-too-fast tax.”

For days, I heard, “Well, I wasn’t the one who got a speeding ticket!” This sounds like nagging, but it’s not. I am normally the one issuing reminders about spending and saving. This time, it was her turn. It’s not my job to hold her accountable. It’s our job–jointly–to hold each other accountable. If I mess up–and I did–she is perfectly within her rights to hold me feet to the fire. I certainly don’t hesitate when the roles are reversed.

I haven’t had a ticket in almost 12 years, so this isn’t a habitual problem. It is an expense that should have been avoided.

Now, I’ve got to take a day off of work and go to court to try to keep it off of my record, so it won’t affect my insurance rates. That means court costs on top of the fine.

Monetary weakness or a lapse in judgment can derail goals. We haven’t destroyed our budget for the month, but it’s not an insignificant amount of money. I try figure enough padding into our budget that this isn’t painful, but it is money that could have been “snowflaked” onto our debt. It could have meant another $150 in the vacation fund. That is disappointing.

It’s time to establish the habit of driving the speed limit.

Update: This post has been included in the Money Hacks Carnival.

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-06-19

Misc

RT @bargainr: Life in North Korea is absolutely dreadful http://nyti.ms/dAcL26 #
RT @bitfs: Weekly Favorites and Gratitude!: My Favorite Posts this Week Jeff at Deliver Away Debt threw together the .. http://bit.ly/9J0gGo #
@LiveRealNow is giving away a copy of Delivering Happiness(@dhbook). Follow and RT to enter. http://bit.ly/czd31X # #
Baseless claims, biased assumptions, poor understanding of history. Don't bother. #AnimalSpirits #KeynesianCult #
RT @zappos: Super exciting! "Delivering Happiness" hit #1 on NY Times Bestseller list! Thanks everyone! Details: http://bit.ly/96vEfF #
@ericabiz Funny, we found a kitten in a box last week. Unfortunately, it was abandoned there, not playing. Now, we have a 5th cat. in reply to ericabiz #

The 10-Step Saving Action Plan

Finance

: Image via Wikipedia

Getting started saving money is hard. It’s easy to get used to instant gratification and impulse purchases. Postponing material fulfillment takes discipline and deferred enjoyment. I don’t like deferring my enjoyment, but I do it. The path to successful savings isn’t always easy, but it is gratifying, when you give it the time and effort required to see actual results.

Here’s the 10 step plan to successful savings:

Recognize the need. If you don’t understand why you need to save, you won’t do it for long. If you think it’s more important to buy a new car, a new TV, or the fanciest portable gadget out there, you won’t prioritize saving. You need to think about how saving a solid nest egg will benefit you and your future self, before you can be sure you will stick to your savings plan.
Pay yourself first. When you get paid, whether it’s a traditional paycheck or a surprise windfall, immediately drop 10-15% in a savings account you keep completely off-limits, no exceptions. If you make this an unbreakable habit, you will have a surprising amount of money in a surprisingly short amount of time.
Prioritize. Prioritize your expenses. If you don’t care about a particular optional expense, get rid of it! Examine the rest of the bill for things you can trim. Do you really need 5000 channels? Can you make do with just 300 specialized versions of ESPN?
Compare prices. If you buy from the lower-priced store, you save money. No s****, huh? Doing this requires that you forgo impulse purchases and do some research before you buy most things. Shop online, at least enough to know what you should be paying.
Save your change. When you get home at night, put your change in a jar. When the jar gets full, bring it to the bank. A medium-sized mason jar full of silver-colored coins will bring in about $100. Put that directly into savings.
Save your dollars. I pay cash for everything I buy in person. When my money clip gets too many one-dollar bills, I put them all into a box. This would be a phenomenal addition to my savings account, if I weren’t planning to use it for spending money on our vacation next month.
Save the extra $$. If you get unexpected money, don’t let it enter you regular cash flow. Get it straight into a savings account. You weren’t expecting it, so you won’t miss it.
Save the new $$. Save your raise. If you start making more money, save the difference. Like #7, you’ll never miss it. Don’t give yourself a chance to expand your lifestyle.
Club the naysayers in the knees. There will always be people who denigrate your choices. If they tell you it’s crazy to live within your means, or get upset because you don’t want to go to the fancy restaurant, screw ’em. Not literally of course. We’re trying to apply a punishment here, after all. If they don’t like your choice, kick them in the shins.
Reward yourself. Don’t be afraid to schedule rewards at certain savings goalposts. When you get $5000 saved, let yourself take $300 to the high-end steakhouse. When you get $10000, look at buying the camera you want. Give yourself a reason to stay motivated. It is, after all, your money.

This is how we’ve managed to build up a small-but-comfortable emergency fund and tackle a nice chunk of our debt. Do you have plan to save?

Saturday Roundup

Misc

I just noticed this didn’t post on time.

There are a few ways to get more out of this site.

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Now, for the part you’ve all been waiting for…

This week’s roundup: Awesome Peel

It’s time to buy school supplies again. Don’t let it break the bank.

Chewbacca on a squirrel, fighting Nazis.

A pizza peel with a conveyor belt. The pinnacle of pizza-making awesomeness.

Have you ever looked into the psychology of a restaurant menu?

Carnivals I’ve participated in:

Carnival of Personal Finance #267 at Beating Broke posted A Budget Isn’t Enough.

Wealth Informatics hosted the Festival of Frugality and posted Payday Loans Suck.

Canajun Finances hosted the Best of Money Carnival and posted Life Altering Lessons I Learned From My Debt.

Best of Money Carnival #68

Finance

Today, it is my privilege to host the 68th Best of Money Carnival. I’ve hosted a few carnivals over the last 10 months, but winnowing the choices from 60 to 10 is quite possibly the most difficult I’ve had to do. There were lots of excellent posts this week. Next time, I’ll have to make my job easier by soliciting bribes. I am always on the lookout for a new income stream.

Without further ado, here is the best of the best:

10. Mike Piper presents Do You Have an Investment Backup Plan? posted at Oblivious Investor. What would you do if your investment portfolio suddenly tanks?

9. Tim Chen presents Calm Down, the Poor Are Not Paying for the Rewards of the Rich posted at NerdWallet Blog – Credit Card Watch. I always get a little bit irritated when people accuse the “rich” of only being rich at the expense of the poor. After all, the richest 20% of the U.S. includes household incomes of just $90,000. If you think that’s a lot, remember that $25,000 still puts you in the richest 10% wordwide.

8. FMF presents How to Pick a Great Mutual Fund posted at Free Money Finance. What’s more important, cost or performance?

7. Madison DuPaix presents Marriage Tax Penalty Returns in 2011 posted at My Dollar Plan. This is another example of the flaws in the “tax the rich” policies. When we lose the “tax cuts on the rich”, almost everyone will pay more taxes.

6. Silicon Valley Blogger presents How College Students Can Save Money posted at The Digerati Life. If I knew then what I know now….

5. Kristina presents A DINK Sandwich posted at DINKS Finance. Life gets easier when you can find a simple yet reliable set of rules to cover most situations.

4. freefrombroke presents It’s Still A Good Idea To Buy A House In This Economy posted at Free From Broke. I was lucky enough to buy my house shortly before the bubble grew. If we would have waited, I’d still be renting.

3. PT presents Credit Card Default: 7 Things You Should Know posted at PT Money. If you are working your way into debt, it’s good to know the what’s in store for you.

2. Joe Plemon presents Three New Car Purchases to Steer Away From posted at Personal Finance By The Book. I’m a few months away from my last car payment. Ever. These are more reasons to avoid a new car.

And finally, the best of the best of the best, sir:

1. Craig Ford presents Make Money Blogging | A Guide for Beginners on How to Make Money Online posted at Money Help For Christians. As I was compiling this list, I kept getting distracted here. I’d reread a section, follow the links, and find I had lost an hour. Read this post.

If you want to be included in the next Best of Money Carnival, don’t forget to submit your best post and follow the guidelines. Next week, it will be hosted by Green Panda Treehouse.

Search Results for: Clearing Up Social Debt in 3 Steps