Need a Good Story?

Check out Maya's story of  the guy she met at the bus stop, who had a complete stranger give him 11K.  It made my day.

What I really, really want ... Financial Bucket List

Thanks Carla, for pointing me to Krystal's $500 Give Me Back My Five Bucks competition, sponsored by Life Insurance Finder, the life insurance experts.

The contest rules require that you post your financial bucket list as part of your blog post entry. I'm not sure what that is, exactly, since I understand that a bucket list is a list of things to do before you die.  Quite honestly, if I die and my last student loan debt isn't paid off, I could care less.  (I wouldn't be sticking my family with it either - my life insurance would more than cover it).  So I think for a bucket list, I should talk about something I'm saving for that I really want to have or do before I die.

Namib Desert

My really, really big want is a safari to Namibia.  The second least populated country in the world, after Mongolia, Namibia has unspoiled, beautiful desert vistas full of exotic animals, pretty much all of which can be hunted.  I think this would be a wonderful 13th birthday / 45th birthday present for myself and the twins.  I'm thinking they can get some smaller game and I can take my once-in-a-lifetime African trophy hunt.

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To be completely honest, I've never hunted in my life.  But I'd like to, and I really want my children to as well.  I live in a rural area and hunting is part of the ethnic heritage that I want them to appreciate.  So part of the appeal of Namibia is the requirement that I become a reasonably proficient hunter over the next thirteen years, and pass along the conservationist values that hunting entails to my children.

Great Southern Kudu

I've looked into it a bit, and I think the trip would cost $15-20K today.  So I'm probably looking at $22-30K in 13 years, assuming 3% inflation and no other changes (I know this isn't realistic, but I have to start somewhere). If I save $2K a year for the next 13 years, I'll have around 30K assuming a 2% annual rate of return after taxes.


I haven't actually started saving for this yet - I'm waiting for my finances to stabilize a bit first (my post about how I've spent >2K in the last month on baby stuff is coming soon, really).  Maybe this post will be the kick in the butt I need to keep myself accountable, since my safari dreams will only become a reality if I start working on them now.

Mint = Fail

Before this year, I kept my monthly budget on a whiteboard, writing in expenses as they came up, and keeping a running total on the wall, where it was easy to see.  The downside of this system was that it was difficult to track expenses over time.  Lots of PF bloggers had nice things to say about Mint.com, and so I've been using it for the last six months or so.  On the whole, I've been underwhelmed.

Mint tries to auto-categorize your spending for you.  I can't decide which is more annoying, having my utilities auto-categorized as my toy budget, or having literally every Amazon purchase categorized as shopping, a category that isn't anywhere in my budget.  Their trends section is woefully inadequate to track spending over time.  And it's annoying as all get out to get spam email that "my Paypal balance is low" or "my interest rate has dropped, why don't I change to a bank with an even lower interest rate."  Finally, if I do overdraw a budget, there's no way to zero it out by bringing in money from my EF and reconciling my accounts - I have to use torturous and unsound accounting methodology to make my budgets look right again.

But this week has taken the cake - according to Mint, my toy budget is overdrawn by $2264.  Usually, this means that Mint has again misallocated a credit card payment to my toy budget.  In this case, however, I can't find the source of the two thousand dollar plus overdraft, and I've looked over all my transactions for the last six months.  So, basically, I have to either wait for Mint to fix the error, or put in fake numbers and hope that Mint never fixes the error so that my numbers continue to look correct.  

I'm done with this.  I'm going back to my trusty whiteboard next month.  I still want a way to track expenses well over time, and I'm sure I'll try another budgeting service when it becomes available, but, for me, using Mint has been a gigantic fail.

What I Learned from the No-Spend Challenge

Today marks the end of the No-spend Challenge!  I ended up with 6% or my food money and 18% of my household money left over; my toy budget was blown at 49% over.  I consider it a success because I was able to pay for all the car inspections and maintenance without drawing down any of my savings.

Things I Learned From the No-Spend Challenge:

(1) Murphy is always waiting just around the corner; a financial cushion makes this an annoyance rather than a disaster.  Yeah, I knew this already, but being extra money-conscious this month definitely reinforced the message.  No sooner had I decided to spend no money from my toy budget, then my computer blew up.  Now, if I had to, I could live without a computer and do all my internet from the library.  A working computer is not a necessity like food and shelter.  But it sure was nice to have the extra cushion to just make a new computer happen painlessly.

(2) Freezers are only frugal if properly utilized.  There is way more stuff in my freezer than I had realized.  We didn't even really make a dent in the freezer this month, even though our food budget was halved.  I'm considering reworking my food budget to continue to require myself to eat from the freezer at least a couple of nights a week.  I'm really good at putting stuff up, but it's not frugal if you put it up and then it spoils before you use it.

(3) Obsessively chasing online deals is not frugal.  I buy a lot of stuff online, so I am on a ton of mailing lists.  Most of them send me an offer every day.  Before this month, I've had a list of what needs to be purchased, and every day I check the deals offered by any stores that have the items on my list until there is a really good deal on what I need.  This month, since I was buying only essentials, I deleted all of those emails without reading them and added 20 minutes of productive time to my day.  It's easy to get a good deal online; getting an excellent one is a challenge.  Spending 20 minutes a day for a week on a $1K item to save 10% might make sense; spending the same time for 10% off a $10 item does not.  I'm unsubscribing from all those deal lists and just shopping for small dollar items as I need them from now on.

Right before I started this challenge, Debt Ninja posted his belief that "[No-Spend Challenges] are just an excuse for people to pat themselves on the back."  This is the first no-spend challenge that I've ever participated in, so I didn't have an opinion at the time, but I resolved to come back to his post after this challenge was over.  I certainly didn't expect to learn anything from the challenge; I thought I'd just end up with more money at the end of the month.  This No-Spend Challenge helped me pinpoint leaks of both time and money that make my lifestyle less than optimally frugal, and I saved some money, so I'd say they can be worthwhile.

Want to be my Accountability Buddy?

Hard to believe that February is almost over!  Only 2 days left of the no-spend challenge, and, barring anything unforeseen, I should clear my food and household goals with no problem (the toy budget was blown a long time ago).  I've got 9 days left on the shape up for march challenge, but that will barely last me into March.  It's been great doing these challenges; somehow reading about other people doing the same thing makes it easier to keep myself on track.

Looking at my 2011 goals, I am doing well on all fronts except (a) practicing with carry firearm  (b) doing Flylady routines (c) connecting with my friend and (d) working on piano.

If any of these match up with something you've been thinking about getting serious about, I'd love to have an accountability blogging buddy.  Let me know if you're be interested.

Saturday Shopping and Challenge Updates

Another week, another grocery run.  Mr. Goat made a midweek run which skewed my budget a bit.  Between his run and this one we've now spent 78% of our food budget.  I generally shop every Saturday, so I plan to shop next Saturday for the whole week, even though most of the week is in March.  So the food budget will be a bit tight, but I think do-able.

I've spent 50% of my non-household food expense for the month; a tank of gas for each car, and $4 for Turtle Bug and Tar Spray (excellent at removing both) to detail Mr. Goats car for Valentine's Day.  (His present was having his oil changed, inspection sticker updated, and a detailing by me.)

 I've also done the two oil changes, two inspection stickers, and the rear brake pads for my car that were the motivation for cutting the budget this month.

My toy budget spending remains over by 49%.  Luckily for me, Infiniti is running a special where you get $20 off every $100 you spend on maintenance, so my brake pads did not cost as much as estimated, and I did not have to dip into savings even a little to pay for it.  So far the no-spend challenge is a success - we'll see if I can make it work all the way to the end of the month.

On the Shape Up for March challenge, I have been moderately sucessful.  I missed Judo on Thursday tring to save a calf, but aside from that I am 100% in both Judo and gym.  That puts me at 3/8 for Judo and 11/17 for gym.

On a completely unrelated note, halfdozendaily has some cute napkins up for sale on her website, and she is giving a set of four away free.  Head on over there and give her some comment love to be eligible to win.

Pine Cone Research Looking for Peeps

Pine Cone is a marketing company that pays $3 a survey.  I usually get 1-2 a month, and they take 10-20 min to complete.  About twice a year I am selected to test a free sample of something, for which I am paid another $3. It's not much money, but it's not much time either.  They recruit new people occasionally, and they are recruting now.  Follow this link to register.

Closets? Closets!

OK, yes, it officially took me 35 days to finish step 7 of Out with the Old, in with the New, and, yes, I kind of cheated, because I am giving up on my storage cupboard, which holds another large pile of stuff that I can't bear to give away.  But it's still a win, because I didn't add anything to the storage cupboard and I've got a 30 gallon bag filled with clothing to donate, a few things to try at the consignment store, and my closet went from this to this:

Yay for me!

Now it's on to rethinking my retirement plan (and creating a five year sketch by the end of the month).

Is There a Direct Correlation Between Money, Corruption, and Exploitation?

A few days ago, Tread discussed the idea that "money and happiness are contradictory forces in life, that 'simplicity' trumps 'wealth' to such a degree that a fat wallet dooms one to misery and dissatisfaction."  The focus of her ruminations was the myriad ways in which we spend money unthinkingly, and thus miss out on the happiness that that money purchases for us.  But I was intrigued by the position of her artist friend "who insists that to find herself suddenly a millionaire would be an unfortunate state, because to have money in this world directly correlates with corruption and exploitation."

It is true that there are some millionaires, though assuredly not all, who gain their millions through corruption and exploitation.   But her hypothetical isn't talking about that; in her scenario it's is as though a million dollars appears out of thin air and falls on her head.  To her, merely possessing a million dollars worth of deferred purchasing ability would be negatively transformative to her self-actualization.

My first reaction to this statement was something along the lines of "She's crazy - I'll take a problem like that any time."  But on further reflection, I can see her point.  I still don't agree that there is a direct correlation.  I do, however, see some correlation to the extent that money is viewed as a proxy for anything besides delayed purchasing ability.  If you view money as a proxy for power, or status, or love, or anything besides the amount of material things you can get in return for handing it over, it can create great unhappiness for you and all those around you.

I have known a few people who were moderately wealthy (think 5 to 15 million dollars).  For various random reasons that I won't go into here, I have known the actual state of their personal finances, not just what possessions they chose to display to the world, so I know that they were actually wealthy, not faking it on credit.  In this small subset of people, I have seen money purchase happiness both in the form of immediate things, like luxury cars and foods, and long-term things, such as the ability to quit a job and pursue art full time.  I have also seen money purchase misery with the exact same items.

For instance, luxury cars purchase happiness when they are bought and enjoyed for their aesthetics and features.  They purchase misery when they are bought and enjoyed for the real or imagined jealousy of the guy next door or the people who mocked you in high school.  If there's a hole in your psyche, buying a lot of stuff to fill it doesn't work any better than eating a lot of food.  Buying experiences won't help either; no matter where you go or what you do, you can't get away from yourself.  You can't use money to purchase feelings of self-worth, and corruption and exploitation seep in when you try.

The saddest situation is where people attempt to use money to purchase love and respect. Corruption and exploitation run rampant, because neither can be purchased, no matter how much the purchaser wishes it were so.  You can purchase a simulacrum, and of the person simulating the feelings is good enough, it can feel very real, for a time.  In my experience, though, people can only delude themselves for so long.  Why do you think famous, wealthy men tend to go through so many gold-digger wives?  It's not just a desire for ever-changing arm candy; they could get that in a way less costly transaction than marriage.  It's a desire for true intimacy with another person, which they discover over and over again that money cannot purchase.

So what relevance does this have for those of us who aren't going to have a million dollars materialize any time soon?  I think that, wherever we are on our financial journey, we need to continuously  examine the role that we give money in our lives.  I see a lot of PF blogs with "millionaire" in the title, either as an aspiration or as a boast.  To the extent that "millionaire" is part of your self-definition, what does that mean to you?  If you are working hard to get there, what do you think will happen at the end of the journey?  Can what you aspire to be bought with money?  Is accumulating money the most efficient way to your aspirations?

Closet Mess > Willpower

I have been trying to work on step 7 of out with the old, in with the new, clean out your closets and liquidate.   But between having out-of-town guests and the lure of holiday parties, I haven't made much progress.  Tomorrow I need to mail our Christmas cards; I have zero done so far, and last year I sent eighty-three.  This year I'm going to have to pare the list down a bit I think, but if I can get them to the post office by 4pm tomorrow, most of them will arrive before Christmas.  I also need to finish two homemade Christmas presents before Saturday.  So, basically, I don't have much time for anything else, so my goal is to finish step 7 this week and worry about step 8, rethink your retirement plan, next week after Christmas. Wish me luck!

Blog Action Day - Water Edition

According to Debt Ninja, today is Blog Action Day, and this year the theme is water.  Debt Ninja has a nice post up about clean drinking water, and the opportunity to donate to charity: water and make his friends' 27th birthday extra awsomesauce at the same time.  I'll admit it - I was touched.  I'm also cheap; that measly anonymous donation is totally me.  But if everyone who likes Ninja chips in a measly few bucks each, his friends will reach their goal in no time flat.

In my neck of the woods, the biggest issue with water is the Gulf of Mexico dead zone.  Basically, the Mississippi River takes all the fertilizer runoff from the middle of the United States (with a side of animal waste from large processing plants and human sewage) and spews it into the Gulf of Mexico.  This nutrient-dense stuff causes lots of algae to grow.  Algae sucks all the oxygen out of the water.  Marine life in the area either dies or migrates. Currently, the dead zone is the size of New Jersey and growing.  (For a more complex explanation, see this website or just Google Gulf of Mexico dead zone)  For extra special fun, it looks like higher water levels on the Mississippi and possibly the BP oil spill are creating mini dead zones closer to the Louisiana coastline.This is terrible for the enviroment and terrible for all the people who rely on the marine life in the gulf for their livelihood and their tradtional way of life. 

There's no easy solution here.  We'll have to fundamentally change the methodology of food production in this country to make a significant impact.  But the dead zone, along with other feedlot-associated problems like antibiotic-resistant bacteria, makes me think that Mother Nature may not give us any choice.  If you're interested, a good place to start educating yourself about the industrial food production system, its consequences, and alternatives is by watching either Food, Inc.or a local screening of FRESH.  If you're more of a book person, I recommend Everything I Want To Do Is Illegal: War Stories From the Local Food Front.

Welcome Life as a Purse

Thanks to SS4BC for pointing me to Life as a Purse, a great new addition to the PF blogger community. Her goal is to pay for all her CC debt before going to grad school next fall; I'm betting for her.