Archive for the ‘Finances’ Category

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Saving or Spending?


10 Jun

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I love this thread because it talks about something I rant about all the time. Just because you are shopping a sale does not mean you are saving money. Sure, you might be saving 50%, but if you did not go to the store, then you would have saved 100%.

I agree with the people who say its savings only if you needed the item and would have paid full price for it. Though I also like the idea of taking the “savings” and making it actual savings- transfer it to the savings account. Now, you have actually saved money.

Citibank is screwing up my student loan payments, AGAIN


06 Jun

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Posted in Debt Reduction, Finances | Comments Off

Citibank has once again screwed up payments on my federal student loans. This makes the third time this year. It’s getting beyond frustrating. For some reason, their online system and their auto-debit system do not communicate with each other. This bugs me because every other creditor I deal with is able to link the two.

Right now, if I check my payment history online, it doesn’t show any of my auto-payments. And last month, because I made an extra payment online (even though I made it following all their rules) it decided not to take my full auto-payment this month.

Retirement Articles


03 Jun

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There are a million retirement articles out there that tell you what milestones you should be hitting to retire a millionaire, or at least have a comfortable retirement. The thing is, a lot of us aren’t going to meet these milestones, though some people will.

Others, due to time spent in college, may not meet early milestones but will be able to have a comfortable retirement due to increased earnings later.

It can all be very confusing, and it’s nice to have people to talk to about whether or not by 35 you should have 1.4 times your salary saved.

Basic Money Rules


27 May

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Posted in Budgeting, Debt Reduction, Finances | Comments Off

Spend less than you make.

Pay yourself first.

Have a plan.

Even if you don’t respond well to rules, as the original poster says she doesn’t, sometimes it still helps to know what they are. As my writing teacher used to say, follow a rule until you can explain why you’re breaking it.

Sometimes it’s good to get back to basics, ideas that apply to everyone, whether they’re struggling paycheck to paycheck or putting millions in the bank for retirement.

Not everyone is the same, but this Back to Basics thread still has information that just about everyone can use.

Colleges and Credit Cards


20 May

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Posted in Finances, School | Comments Off

I remember being shocked last year, when I saw a college freshman’s student ID card was also a credit card- a regular Visa card that could be used anywhere, not just on campus. So I wasn’t too surprised by this thread about student loan money being given out on a credit card.

Colleges, especially state colleges, keep having their budgets cut, so they’re looking for money from everywhere, including credit card companies.

Do I think this is good for teenagers getting their first taste of freedom, not really, but the solution isn’t yelling at colleges, its teaching teenagers about credit.

Living the High Life on Less


13 May

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Posted in Finances, Home Ownership | Comments Off

This thread comes from an article about how to live a six-figure lifestyle on $30k/year. One thing this article does not address is cost of living. Nor, on his biggest purchase, does he offer definitions.

And it really is the housing purchase he talks about that gets to me. There are houses available in my neighborhood for $85k, when most of the houses average over $200k. But they are manufactured homes, or in such bad shape that you can’t move in right away, or they are tiny. That’s what I really want to know- how big is his “big home”?

Budget Review


06 May

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It’s apparently the time of year that people review their budgets, maybe in advance of summer vacation and needing to pay for camps or day care for the kids, or maybe it’s contagious, like yawning.

At YM, we’ve had 6 threads in the last couple of weeks asking for budget advice. They’ve all been from regular posters, so it’s not like they’re people who haven’t heard all the standard advice. They just need a second (or 50th) set of eyes to look and see if they’re missing something, to have questions asked they might not have thought to ask themselves.

There aren’t even enough McJobs


29 Apr

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Posted in Finances, Politics, Work | Comments Off

It’s a discussion I do not have the energy to be involved in this time around (and it does take energy as people are so entrenched on their side of the fence), but it is always interesting to see how other people view the current job market. There are those who believe that there are enough jobs for everyone, if people were really willing to work, and those who like to point out that McDonalds announced it would hire 50,000 people. It actually hired 62,000. That’s great, but the fact that they got over 1 million applications- not so much.

Update the Budget


22 Apr

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances | Comments Off

Every one will tell you that having a budget is one of the major early (though not the first) steps in getting your personal finances under control. But how do you know you’re budget is working for you? How do you account for the inflation in gas and grocery prices?

A budget is not a Ron Popeil gadget. You can’t “set it and forget it”. You have to pay attention. And sometimes, you have to update it.

This week’s featured thread is from the Smart Spending forum, and it is about when and how people decide to update their budgets.

Friends and Food


21 Apr

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Posted in Budgeting, Finances, Food, Friendship, Relationships | Comments Off

No Mythbusters entry until later this evening. Last night I went out and had a wonderful dinner with an amazing group of friends. We talked about dogs and books and computer games and food.

We took part in Seattle Restaurant Week (which this spring lasts 2 weeks), so we were able to go to a fancy restaurant, order off a special menu and pay a lower price than usual. Of course, we were at a fondue place and they don’t have the cheese fondue on their special menu, so we paid a little extra a got some of that to.

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