- RT @Dave_Champion Obama asks DOJ to look at whether AZ immigration law is constitutional. Odd that he never did that with #Healthcare #tcot #
- RT @wilw: You know, kids, when I was your age, the internet was 80 columns wide and built entirely out of text. #
- RT @BudgetsAreSexy: RT @FinanciallyPoor "The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money." ~ Unknown #
- Official review of the double-down: Unimpressive. Not enough bacon and soggy breading on the chicken. #
- @FARNOOSH Try Ubertwitter. I haven't found a reason to complain. in reply to FARNOOSH #
- Personal inbox zero! #
- Work email inbox zero! #
- StepUp3D: Lame dancing flick using VomitCam instead or choreography. #
- I approve of the Nightmare remake. #Krueger #
The Virtues of Blow Money
When we initially developed our budget, we built it tight. Every penny was accounted for and had a place to go. I was so proud.
Unfortunately, there were some problems with habitual–even compulsive–shopping in our house. The change from “whatever we wanted” to “it’s not budgeted” was too much, too fast.
After a few months of arguments, we agreed to set up a “blow money” line item in the budget. That’s money that is absolutely unaccountable. When a purchase comes out of that fund, no questions are allowed. Whether it’s a new pair of shoes for her, or a new book for me, nobody gets to fight over it. Sometimes, it’s a nice dinner out, other times it’s another gadget for the entertainment center. It’s never a problem.
This provides two major benefits.
First, it balances the feeling of sacrifice. If my wife never gets to buy anything, while at the same time, she’s watching our friends and neighbors flaunt their rampant consumerism, it makes her feel like she is giving up the good life. We aren’t lacking for anything, but the trappings of middle-class “success” can be expensive. Having an opportunity to participate in that horrible rat-race lessens the feeling that we are missing out. Rationally, we know that the right thing is not to spend that money, but emotionally, it’s a necessity.
Second, it’s a safety valve. Our finances are under tight control, which can cause pressure. Finances are, after all, one of the leading causes of divorce. Having a way to release that pressure makes everyone happier. Habitual shoppers experience shopping the same way drug addicts experience their “high”. That includes withdrawal. The safety valve turns this from a “cold turkey” method of quitting to a weaning of the addiction.
Another minor benefit is that the blow money can serve as an opportunity fund to bridge the gap between the discretionary budget and a desired purchase. Last week, we ran across a curio cabinet that exactly matches our living room, but we didn’t have it budgeted. Out comes the blow money, which, combined a portion of the discretionary budget and some negotiating, made the new cabinet affordable, without busting the budget.
This isn’t a system that works for everybody, but it keeps us on track.
How do you handle the stresses of a household budget?
Whiners
I have a lot of friends and family in different financial stages in their lives. Some are deeper in debt than I am, others are just starting to dig their own pit, still others have paid off every cent of debt they’ve ever used. That’s okay; as they say, it takes all kinds to make the world go round.
Out of all of those, the only ones who irritate me are the spendthrift whiners. These are the people who spend 28 days a month struggling to make ends meet and complaining about how hard their lives are. They make snide comments about how easy other people have it, and act like they are being cheated out of their birthright whenever anybody does anything fun that they can’t do because they are too broke.
The other two days—or sometimes three—of the month, are payday. These are the days the the spendthrift whiners try to make themselves feel rich for 24 hours, while wondering why you aren’t willing to hit the fancy restaurants and expensive vacations with them. This is the day they will buy a dozen moves, or a new home theater system, or a big screen TV. It’s the day they will drop a non-refundable deposit on an exotic vacation, or shop for a new car. Before they know what’s happening, the money is gone and they are broke again until next payday, condemned to whining about their horrible situation, while their spendthrift-whiner friends and neighbors complain about the injustice of having to go without luxuries while our hypothetical spendthrift whiners have a big screen TV and an exotic vacation to Dubuque booked.
These people give no thought to the future. Their life savings consist of depreciating electronics and a fancy scrapbook. What do they do when life catches them by surprise? They come begging for a loan, or charge the emergency to a credit card while complaining about the cost of interest. Ultimately, everyone who plans ahead and sets some money aside is obviously trying to rip them off, because nobody can actually do well for themselves without being crooked.
They are absolutely convinced that life is too hard to succeed, and they refuse to examine their own behavior to find the cause of their problems.
Until payday.
What’s your biggest financial pet peeve?
This was originally a guest post written for a blog swap run by the Yakezie personal finance blog network to answer the question “What is your biggest financial pet peeve?“ It ran on Faith and Finance.
Sunday Roundup: Workaholics Anonymous
I’ve had a rough couple of weeks at work. Starting on July 5th, I worked 10 days in a row and put in 97 hours to finish a major project. I’m not an hourly employee. I totally got screwed out of my paid holiday with that schedule. The worst part? When I told my boss I needed the 11th day off because the major project was done and I was feeling burnt out, he tried to talk me out of it.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked
Family Bed: How to Make It Stop one the Best of Money Carnival. Crystal rocks, and I’m totally jealous that she transitioned to a self-employed pro-blogger this weekend.
Make Extra Money Part 1: Introduction was included in the Carnival of Wealth. I’m really happy with this series and I can’t wait to finish it and hear about how everyone is using it to make money for themselves.
Annual Fees: Scam or Service? was included in the Carnival of Financial Planning.
Getting Back on Track was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great week!
A Look Back
I’m on vacation this week and thought it would be nice to post a look back at some of my early posts. These posts are some of my favorites, but were written when there were only 3 or 4 of you paying attention.
Since I know you don’t want to miss anything, here are 5 of my favorite early posts, in no particular order:
1. Cthulhu’s Guide to Finance. I’m more than a bit of a horror geek. Books, movies, or games; all keep me entertained. Over the weekend, I taught my Mom how to play Zombie Fluxx and Gloom. When Cthulhu approached me about writing a guest post, I couldn’t refuse.
2. Birthday Parties Are Evil. It’s hard to remember to be cheap when your little girl is asking for a bowling party. It can run $200 to get a dozen kids an hour of bowling and a bit of pizza.
3. No Brakes. This is a post about why I had a hard time coming to grips with financial responsibility.
4. 4 Ways to Flog the Inner Impulse Shopper. Who can’t love a BDSM-themed personal finance post? Every blog needs a dominatrix mascot, right?
5. Fighting Evil by Phone. In which I share the method of convincing Big Nasty Telephone Company and their Contracted, Soulless Long Distance Provider to leave me the heck alone and stop demanding $800 they refused to admit was their mistake.
Sunday Roundup
Just some quick carnival links today.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked
What Can Cause Damage to Your Credit? was included in the Totally Money Carnival.
Financial Blogger Conference was included in the Festival of Frugality.
53 Percent was included in the Best of Money Carnival.
Winning the Mortgage Game was in the Totally Money Carnival.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great week!
