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?

 

Carnivals

Finance

I’ve been a bit of a slacker when it comes to posting the carnivals I’ve been included in.   This is me playing catch-up.

Live Real, Now was included in five carnivals last week:

Prior to last week, I was included in:
Thanks to all of the hosts for including my posts and my apologies for not posting the links sooner.  If I missed you, 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!

How to Save Money On Anything

Finance

Haggling
Haggling (Photo credit: pritzkerphoto.com)

There is a little-known secret to saving money on almost anything.  If you want to know what it is, please send a case of beer and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to my house.

No takers?

In that case, I will share the secret that has been passed down from father to son since the Mesopotamians landed the Santa Maria at Plymouth Rock.

Ready?

The secret is to…ask.

That’s right, just suck it up and say “Pretty Please”.

How does it work?

In the easiest version, you call up one of the companies you pay regularly and you say “How can I save some money?”

Allow me to give you some examples.

How to save money on insurance

Call up your insurance company and ask, “How can I save some money with you?”  You may be offered a multi-line discount if you let them insure your home and your car or you might be told to raise your deductible.  If you have a $1000 emergency fund, you can afford a $500 deductible.   They may recommend that you drop some coverages that you don’t need or they may ask you some questions that will allow them to lower your rate.  For many years, I lived 2 miles from work and got a discount for the low mileage.

How to save money on utilities

When you call your electric company to ask the magic question, they may offer to conduct a home energy audit to determine where you home is leaking energy.  If they try to charge you for the audit, remind them how long you’ve been a customer in good standing.

Another option they may offer is to install a remotely-triggered switch on your air-conditioner.  Around here, that switch is good for a 15% discount off of my bill in the summer.

How to save money on your cell phone

If you are out of a contract or near the end of your contract you have leverage.  Look up the best comparable deal from another company.  Then, call your cell phone provider, ask to be transferred to the retention department, then ask them to convince you to stay.  They will.

If you aren’t near the end of your contract, you can still call and ask.  If that doesn’t work, watch the mail and any emails from the company.  If they change the terms of your contract, you can get out of it without paying a penalty.  If you get that opportunity, call and ask for the retention department.

How to save money on credit cards

I am assuming you have a credit card with a balance that gets carried from month to month.

Credit card companies are competitive.  Find a competing deal and call your company.  Ask them to beat the deal.  If the competitor is offering 9%, ask for 8%.  If they refuse, call up the competitor.  Tell them you will transfer your balance over if they will waive the transfer fee.    A surprising number of companies will be happy to do so.

Most bills can be reduced in some way.  All you have to do is ask.

Have you had any luck pointing the shrink ray at your bills?

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Negotiating 101

Finance

In the US, haggling is something that makes a lot of people twitch and wet their pants.  It’s too hard/scary/intimidating, so most of us just take whatever price is offered, with a smile.

A Chinese gilt bronze stand and statuette of t...
A Chinese gilt bronze stand and statuette of the historical buddha on a lion throne, from Northern China, dated to the Northern Wei Dynasty, c. 480 AD. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The truth is, you can negotiate in almost any situation.   Sure, big-box retailers with low-price goods–like Walmart or a grocery store–aren’t going to go for it, but a lot of other businesses will.  Did you know you can haggle at Best Buy?  It’s true, but only on the bigger ticket items.

You can also easily negotiate at place like these:

  • Credit card interest rates and annual fees
  • Luxury utilities like cable
  • Rent
  • Hotel rates
  • Airline tickets
  • Gym memberships

“Great”, you say.  “Anyone can do it?”, you say.  “But how, jerk?”

No need to call names, I’m getting to that part.

I am about to share the First Secret Lesson of Negotiating.   This secret has been passed down from father to son among the celibate Shaolin monks for generations.   Breaking the code of secrecy may be putting my life in danger, but I’m willing to do that for you, no matter the risk.

I rock like that.

Are you ready to be initiated into the secrets of the Ancient Masters?  When our first abbot, Buddhabhadra, first wandered into the Northern Wei Dynasty branch of Best Buy in 477 A.D., he discovered the phrase most likely to break price barriers.

Are you ready, Grasshopper?  This is the “Wax on, wax off” of effective negotiation.

When you are given a price, no matter what it is, say “Is that the best you can do?”

“This T.V. costs $7495.” “Is that the best you can do?”

“That comes to $56.95.” “Is that the best you can do?”

“$149,499 for the Ferrari.” “Is that the best you can do?”

“$12,000 for the kidney.” “Is that the best you can do?”

“Only $8.50 for this set of 10 tupperware lids that have been warped in the dishwasher.” “Is that the best you can do?”

“$50 an hour, honey.” “Is that the best you can do?”

“The salary for this position is $50,000 per year.” “Is that the best you can do?”

It is magical, it’s easy to remember, and it’s low stress.  This is a non-combative question.  The worst possible scenario involves the other side saying, “Yes, that is the best I can do.”  No sweat.

Negotiating Lesson 101.2:

After saying  “Is that the best you can do?”, shut up.   The other party gets to be the next person to say something.

Go out and practice this over the weekend.   Master the First Secret Lesson of Negotiating.  I’ll be fighting off Shaolin ninjas for sharing the ancient secrets.

 

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Three Ways to Make Christmas Cheap

Finance

Car off cliff sign
Image via Wikipedia

We failed Christmas Budgeting 101 this year.   I haven’t totaled the damage, yet, but we have spent at least $500 more than we had planned.

It hurt.

Next year, we’re going to handle the Christmas budget differently.   This year’s model isn’t working.   It’s a lot like pushing a car down a hill to get it started, but ignoring the cliff at the bottom.

1.  Use cash.  A huge part of our problem was that Capital One is helping us celebrate.   It’s horrible, because we both know we shouldn’t be using a credit card, for exactly this reason, but we can’t seem to make the transition back away from the plastic.   Part of the reason is that Amazon and ThinkGeek don’t accept cash, and part of it is convenience.    Don’t get me wrong, we’re not carrying a balance on the card, but it’s still far too easy to overspend.

2.  Communicate!  If our gift budget is $500, and I spend $300 online while she’s busy spending $300 in stores, out budget is shot.   Worse, if we spend that money buying stuff for the same people, our budget is shot before our shopping is done.   A little bit of this happened to us this year.

3.  Explore atheism.  There really is no more effective wa

y to cut down holiday expenses than to eliminate the holiday completely.   This may not be the best answer for everyone, but it’s effective.   On the other hand, I know several atheists who celebrate Christmas as much as anyone else.    This probably isn’t a good alternative for most people.

3, Take 2.  Cut back on “stuff”.  My kids have more toys than they can play with.  My kids’ parents have more toys than they can play with.  Do we really need more?   Wouldn’t it be better to spend the money I’d normally use to buy my wife a present on a series of date nights, spread out through the year?   I could take my kids to Feed My Starving Children so they can understand how privileged they are and how much the things they take for granted are really worth.

There are so many other ways to celebrate a holiday that has turned into a national orgy of consumerism.  Next year, we’ll be trying some of the alternatives.

 

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Sunday Roundup

Misc

Today, I have a favor to ask.   I want to get to know you better because  I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.  With that in mind, would you take a moment to complete a short survey?

Click here to take the survey.

Thank you!

Best Posts

All of us make assumptions.  Without doing so, we wouldn’t be able to function.   We assume the sky will stay up, the sidewalk will support our weight, and the other cars on the road aren’t going to turn into homicidal maniacs and attempt to kill us at the expense of their own lives.   Generally, those are safe assumptions.   Other assumptions can cripple us, keeping us from attempting to reach our full potential.  Challenge your assumptions.

At the same time, fear keeps us back.  Are you afraid others won’t like what you say, what you do, who your are?   Let your fear fuel you.

I get a kick out of whiny little entitlement kids running around wearing sweatshop-produced “viva la revolucion” shirts.   Similarly, capitalism-haters organizing their protests using mass-produced gadgets invented, funded, and created by successful capitalism, or Jobs-haters announcing their funeral protesting BS over the iPhone also makes me giggle.

Carnivals I’ve Rocked

Time vs Money was included in the Best of Money Carnival.

Beauty School: Cutting Costs While Cutting Hair was included in the Totally Money Carnival.

Discount Gift Cards: How Much Can You Save? was included in the Festival of Frugality.

The Happy Butt was included in another 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!