Live Real, Now

The no-pants guide to spending, saving, and thriving in the real world.

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Don’t Screw Future-You

Finance, Life

A conversation between me and my temporally displaced self.
Future Me: Excuse me, Jason?
Me: Yes?
FMe: <Slap!>
Me: May I ask what that was for?
FMe: Of course.
Me: What was that for, jerk?
FMe: That was payback for all of the hell you have put me through.
Me: What?!?  I’ve never even met you, before.
FMe: Of course you have.  I am future-you, and I’m sick of getting screwed by past-me, that is, you.
Me: Huh?
FMe: Listen close.  You’re not  the sharpest brick in the box and I don’t want to explain this twice.
Me: ???
FMe: A long time ago, when you first met our wife, you were dumb.
Me: I don’t appreciate….
FMe: Shut up.  I was dumb then, too.  Remember?  You…err…we bought a new truck, built an addition on our…err…your…err…whomever’s house, got married in the same year.  On top of many other expensive decisions.  Do your recall?
Me: Yes, I do.  So what?
FMe: If that wasn’t enough, you and your smoking-hot bride are still shopping like you’re rich. You drive a new car.  Your kids wear new clothes.  You’ve got a house full of new furniture.  How did you pay for all of that?
Me: Naturally, I charged it.  Zero payments, zero interest for a year!  Pretty smart, huh?
FMe: What happens in a year?
Me: I don’t know.  I’ve got a full year to figure that out.
FMe: <Slap!>  I’ll tell you what happens!  Future-you, that’s me, gets screwed!   Your raise didn’t come through.  You had a baby. The truck broke down.  Your wife took maternity leave.  A roommate moved out.  You took a loss in the stock market.  You didn’t plan!  You had no savings to cover any of those problems because you were too busy servicing debt to pay for your current life.
Me: How was I to know?
FMe: <Slap!>  Life happens!  You never know what is coming next.  You need to plan and save for what might happen.  Otherwise, you’ll just accumulate more debt to be serviced by yours-truly.  That is not acceptable.
Me:  So?  What are you going to do about it?
FMe: <Slap!>
Me: Really?  Again?
FMe: <Slap!>  I’m struggling to pay your debt. Your son starts college next year, but you’ve left me completely unable to help.  Your daughter wants to get married in a couple of years, but the Father-of-the-Bride can’t afford a tux.  My wife, your beatiful bride, wants a vacation that I can’t afford.   You’ve screwed me, dude.
Me: I’m sorry.  What can I do to fix it?
FMe: Buy me dinner, first.
Me: Huh?!?!?
FMe: Stop the excess spending. Spend less than you make, for a change.  No credit.
Me: None?
FMe: None.  Nada.  Zip.  Zilch.  Only spend what you can afford. Budget.  Pay off those nasty bills.  Don’t leave me hanging.
Me: So, what you’re saying is that, if I don’t have the money, I shouldn’t buy it?
FMe: Exactly.  That’s the path to wealth, freedom, and financial independence.  Live in the real world.
Me: Gee, thanks, Future-Me!  Now I know.
FMe: And knowing is half the battle.

What would your future-you have to say to you?

 

3 Questions to Ask in a Spending Crisis

Finance

94 Stainless Steel Smart Money Clip Credit Car...
Image by ExecGifts via Flickr

Having a well-funded emergency fund is one of the foundation blocks for almost every saving or debt-repayment plan.   The theory is that you’ll be better able to weather a financial storm if you don’t have to raid your budget or beat on your credit card every time an unexpected expense rears its ugly head.   The number varies based on your pundit and your stage of life, but generally ranges from $1000 to 8 months of your expenses.  The money needs to go in a liquid account, so it can be accessed when necessary, but it needs to be completely ignored otherwise.  What good is an emergency fund that has been spent?

Now that you have your emergency fund, you are set, right?  But what happens when something comes up?  When is it okay to spend that money?  Emergencies can take so many forms: medical emergencies, car repairs, accidents, a good sale.  Wait.  What was the last one? What actually constitutes an emergency that is worth shredding your security blanket?

Here are three questions to ask yourself before you spend that money:

  1. Is the expense necessary? If it’s a voluntary expense, you should create a savings goal and wait to buy it until you can actually afford it.    Emergency funds are meant for emergencies, not whims.  A good sale is never an emergency.
  2. Is it important? When my motorcycle breaks down, it gets parked until I can afford to pay for the repairs.  When my car breaks down, I need to get it fixed so I can get the kids to daycare and myself to work.
  3. Is it urgent? Is this an expense that can be postponed until next month, when you have a chance to sell something you don’t need, or rearrange some items in your budget to “find” the necessary cash?  If it doesn’t need to be paid right now, it may be best to put it off.  In the case of medical bills, you can usually get on a payment plan with no penalties, if you ask.   That can change an expensive obligation to a manageable monthly bill.

Your emergency fund should only be used on things that are important, necessary, and urgent.  Anything else should get postponed until you can afford to pay it using your on-budget expense items.     As the wise man once said: “Lack of planning does not constitute an emergency.”  Of course, if you are in a financially stable situation and willing to take a small risk for a short time, eliminating an entire debt item to save the interest can be the right decision.

What would you be willing to spend your emergency fund on?

Focusing on the Now

Life, Relationships

Delorean DMC-12
Delorean DMC-12 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

My company uses a service called KnowYourCompany, that sends three emails each week to the entire staff.   Each email asks a question that the staff can either respond to publicly, or just to the company leadership team.

The questions follow a formula.

On Monday, we get an email asking what we are working on.  This allows us to see what everyone is doing, and in theory, makes offering your skills easier to do because you can see what you might be able to help with.

On Wednesday, the question is something about the company or our interaction with the company.  One week this question was as simple as “Are there any company policies that aren’t completely clear?”

On Friday, the question is more personal.  It’s a getting-to-know-each-other question.  Last Friday’s question was “What’s something you want to do in the next year that you’ve never done before?”

I found that I don’t have an answer.

Right now, I don’t have any long-term goals.  Recently, my personal life has been complicated enough that the idea of planning for later this year–much less the next 5 or 10 years–is more than I can deal with.

My side hustle goals are focused entirely on what needs to happen in the next week.  Work goals are only a month out.    My personal goals involve making it through the next few days without letting anything collapse.

Sometimes, life kicks you in the crotch so hard, you have to let the future worry about itself while you focus on what’s happening right now.  Without a functional present, the future doesn’t matter.  You have to focus on the Now first, or everything else evaporates.

It’s not a great situation, but it is an interesting perspective.  I’ve spent so much of the last decade focusing on what comes next that what’s happening right now has suffered.

Focus on Now.  Sometimes, What’s Next can take care of itself for a while.

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ING Rocks

Finance

 

INGDirect Sale
INGDirect Sale

I just got an email from INGDirect.   To celebrate Independence Day, they are having a sweet, sweet sale.

You can:

  • Open a checking account and get between $50 and $126 for doing so.
  • Open a Sharebuilder account and get $76 to start buying stocks.
  • Get $1776 knocked off the closing costs of a mortgage.
  • Get $76 in a new IRA, to give you a little boost for retirement.

Take advantage of all of that and you’ll get $2054 in cash or discounts.

Seriously, this deal rocks.  If you don’t have an INGDirect account, get one.  There are no overdraft fees and no monthly fees.

The sale ends tomorrow at midnight, so hurry.

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Make Money Blogging and a Carnival Roundup

Finance

How I Make Money BloggingAs I mentioned last month, my friend Crystal has launched a book about making money blogging.  This is the book where the biggest blogger ad rep out there shares her price list.  That alone is worth the price of admission.  The rest of the book is gravy and includes things like setting up a blog, disclosures, and connecting with other bloggers.

Because she rocks, she’s offering a $10 coupon.  Use code “thankyou10”.

Because I also rock, I’m offering a bonus.

If you buy the book through my link during the month of August, I’ll hold a webinar showing you exactly how to set up a blog.   It will be a thorough walkthrough of everything you need to get started.   I’ll use one of you as the demo model, so the lucky one will get their site set up for them on the webinar*.

I will show you how to easily get started.

You won’t find a better offer out there.   Get the book.  Get started.

* This does not include graphic design, because that’s not my talent.  It’s also not going to include custom programming.

 

Live Real, Now was included in the following carnivals recently:

Yakezie Carnival hosted by Tackling Our Debt

Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Portfolio Princess

Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #40 hosted by My University Money

Carnival of Retirement #27 hosted by Good Financial Sense

Yakezie Carnival: TUJ Summer Heat Edition hosted by The Ultimate Juggle

Carnival of Money Pros hosted by My Family Finances

Yakezie Carnival  hosted by Passive Income to Retire

Festival of Frugality #346 hosted by One Smart Dollar

Carnival of Money Pros hosted by 101 Centavos

Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #42 hosted by Modest Money

Yakezie Carnival hosted by Kylie Ofiu

Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Making Sense of Cents

Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #43 hosted by My University Money

Lifestyle Carnival #13 hosted by Mom’s Plans

Carnival of Money Pros hosted by Finance Product Reviews

Carnival of Retirement #31 hosted by Debt Black Hole

Thanks for including my posts.

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Carnival of Money Stories – Halloween Aftermath Edition

Finance, Misc

Technicolor Zombie Apocalypse
Image by Dunechaser via Flickr

Welcome to the November 1, 2010 edition of the Carnival of Money Stories.  One thing I didn’t do when volunteering to host this was to check my calendar.  Did you know that November 1 follows October 31, every year?    On Saturday, I had 30 people over for my annual Halloween party.  On Sunday, I ran a haunt in my yard and coordinated to get a dozen kids out begging for candy while using my house as a base of operations.   I’ve had guest from out-of-town since Friday.  Halloween weekend is, by far, the busiest weekend of the year at my house.

Editor’s Picks

J. Savings presents Side Hustle Series: I’m a Restaurant Server posted at Budgets Are Sexy, saying, “Is serving tables thankless work? Yes. Are customers sometimes unpleasant? Of course. But the benefits are plenty!”

Wenchypoo presents Marketing, Marketing Everywhere–There’s No Escape! posted at Wisdom From Wenchypoo’s Mental Wastebasket.

The Wise Squirrel presents Does it Matter Who is the Main Provider Between Husband and Wife? posted at Squirrelers, saying, “Money story about a dual-income couple in which the husband had the opportunity for a big promotion that would have required a move, AND his wife to leave her job. Their different viewpoints are discussed.”

Business

Ryan @ CML presents Get a Tax Deduction for a Working Vacation posted at Cash Money Life, saying, “Tips on how to write off a business trip as a tax deduction.”

Career

Jeff Rose, CFP presents How to Pass the CPA Exam and Become a Certified Public Accountant posted at Jeff Rose, saying, “If you are interested in becoming a CPA, here are some of the experiences of someone who just recently passed the CPA exam.”

Jason @ Redeeming Riches presents What Sam Walton Teaches Us About Money, Success, and Family posted at Redeeming Riches, saying, “Sam Walton had it all – or did he? Find out the biggest regret he had on his death bed.”

Credit

Mr Credit Card presents Cash Vs. Credit, A Real World Experiment posted at Ask Mr Credit Card.

Debt

The Family CEO presents Debt Snowflakes: Or How I Made $821.73 in Extra Credit Card Payments This Month posted at The Family CEO.

Kaye presents Stuck in the Middle posted at Mrs Nespy’s World, saying, “The beginning of the journey was excited, the end will be exhilarating, but this “in the middle” stuff is for the birds.”

Kate Kashman presents Why Not To Bounce Checks posted at The Paycheck Chronicles, saying, “An accidental bounced check in college is still causing trouble, 20 years later.”

Michael Pruser presents Managing $225,000 in Debt Is Starting to Ware on Me posted at The Dough Roller, saying, “My struggles on managing a ton of debt!”

PT presents 5 Lessons Learned From Filing Bankruptcy posted at Prime Time Money, saying, “Lessons learned from an actual account of going through a bankruptcy.”

Silicon Valley Blogger presents Should You Pay Off Loans or Invest Your Money? posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “So you’ve got some money. Should you pay off your debt with it or invest the money? Here’s a personal account on what I’ve done.”

Housing

BWL presents Success Story: Paying Off A House In 5 Years While Tithing posted at Christian Personal Finance, saying, “This is an encouraging story of a woman who stuck to her convictions about giving 10% of her income and still managed to pay off her house in less than 5 years!”

Miranda presents Do I Really Want to Rent Out My House? posted at Personal Dividends – Money+Lifestyle.

Investing

2 Cents presents What Would Make Me Invest in the Stock Market? posted at Balance Junkie, saying, “We have not invested in the markets for a while now. A reader recently asked what it would take for us to get back in. Here’s my answer!”

FIRE Getters presents Early Retirement Case Study – Sandy Aldridge and Dale Lugenbehl posted at FIRE Finance, saying, “At times the fast pace of our city lives appear stifling making us long for a slower pace of life with more exposure to clean air and green vegetation. Our souls yearn for a simple life which is in greater harmony with Mother Nature. Of late our work related health problems have been making us yearn, almost every morning, for a more relaxed life with greater freedom. So we were thrilled to read about Sandy Aldridge and Dale Lugenbehl who retired early (at ages 48 and 47 respectively) more than a dozen years ago to their eight-acre farm in Cottage Grove, Oregon …”

Other

Neal Frankle presents Find A High Paying 2nd Job Using Craigslist posted at Wealth Pilgrim: Money Management Advice, Financial Stess Management, Addiction Recovery Plan & Resources, saying, “You Can Find A High Paying 2nd Job Using Craigs List If you’re looking for high paying 2nd jobs, look no further than your computer screen.”

Super Saver presents Retiree Financial Lessons from the Recession posted at My Wealth Builder, saying, “Although I wish this recession had not happened, I am glad that it happened early in our retirement, while we were better able to meet the financial challenges.”

Craig Ford presents Medi-Share Medical Sharing | A Health Insurance Substitue posted at Money Help For Christians, saying, “Medical sharing is a great way to reduce your health insurance costs.”

passive family income presents Cutting Out Wasted Expenses to Save More Income posted at Passive Family Income, saying, “How many wasted expenses are you paying for? After sorting through my family’s past years credit card and bank statements, I have found several small money leaks in our personal finances.”

Kristina presents Our Parents Estate posted at Dual Income No Kids, saying, “If your parents are divorced, how has their separation affect the way you have planned your estate?”

Donna Freedman presents Rockin’ the surveys — when it’s worth it. posted at Surviving and Thriving, saying, “Online surveys can be a nice source of extra income — except when they aren’t.”

Joe Plemon presents My Car Needs an Engine. Should I Sell it, Fix it or Junk it? posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “What do you do when your beloved car needs an engine: sell it, fix it or junk it? This post explores the options.”

FMF presents My Type of Couple posted at Free Money Finance, saying, “Story of a couple who collected 400k cans to pay for their wedding.”

Lindy presents Once Upon a Time…I Used an Iron posted at Minting Nickels, saying, “One of the likely first stops in expense-slashing is the luxury of paying for laundered shirts. This is a tale of my ironing saga (yes, it qualifies as a saga). And it’s not as boring as this description sounds. Thanks!”

Sandy presents One Disaster Away posted at Yes, I Am Cheap, saying, “We sometimes pass judgment on others for the financial situation, but most of us need to realize that all it takes is one disaster to be in the same situation.”

Bucksome presents Top 7 Ways I Budget My Time posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement, saying, “Budgets are needed for more than money in this story about 7 ways to budget time.”

Tom @ Canadian Finance Blog presents How to Watch Cheap and Free TV in Canada posted at The Canadian Finance Blog, saying, “Want to know how to see free TV in Canada? You have a few options with over the air free HDTV, broadcaster’s websites and cheap services like Netflix!”

Lauren Mendel presents A Very Scary Money Story posted at Richly Reasonable – Successes and failures, all in the name of living reasonably., saying, “This Halloween week read the true, terrifying tale of how Husband and I almost lost literally every important document that we have. Muahahaha! You might want to lock your doors and close the blinds before reading this one…”

Sun presents What’s in My Wallet? posted at The Sun’s Financial Diary.

Shopping

Money Beagle presents Costco Coupon Policies – Truth or Fiction? You Decide posted at Money Beagle.

ctreit presents Our family budget has to accommodate this chocolate snob posted at Money Obedience, saying, “Name brands versus store brands.”

Rachel presents Sometimes Less Is More | MomVesting posted at MomVesting, saying, “Melinda talks about how the value of many things isn’t necessarily determined by their cost.”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of Carnival of Money Stories using the carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on the blog carnival index page.  Thank you, everyone, for participating!