Tag Archives: Money

Reflections on an A/C Free Summer

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That’s what you call a sensational title. Mostly, because it’s not exactly true. I did use air-conditioning for one week this summer (when the highs were 100+) though I was thankful not to need to turn it on again after that week.

Actually, I did try to turn it on again in late July when it reached almost 100, but it was broken. It was quickly fixed by my apartment complex’s maintenance crew (who felt it was much more of an urgency about it than I did), but I took that as a sign I didn’t need it.

Overall, I had the A/C switched to ‘On’ for 7 days (set no lower than 85), and I spent about $6 running it. I don’t think I could have done this in a warmer location (though don’t discount the impact of North Carolina’s humidity!) and probably couldn’t if I lived with anyone (for many reasons), but this is what works for me.

When I mention this to others, they’re always surprised. Fifty years ago (or even less), no one would have bat an eye at it. In the 100 years since air conditioning was invented, we in the US have turned it into a necessity. Of course, it is a necessity for some of the physically weaker and those in hotter climes. But for an able-bodied person with access to abundant cool water and a couple of good fans, it is just not needed.

When I’ve mentioned this mostly A/C-free summer to people they usually ask me one of two questions:

Why did you do it?

I’ve really been trying to reduce my consumption in all areas, including electricity. I don’t want to waste resources: whether “mine” or the world’s. While A/C isn’t by definition a waste, it’s not needed. I can wear less clothes, point fans at myself, and believe it or not, sweat. As long as I shower before I’m around others, there’s nothing wrong with it!

It’s hard to say how much I saved by doing this. I think it’s easy to say I saved at least a dollar a day I didn’t flip the switch. In the long North Carolina summer, that makes for over $100 of savings, that all went to my savings account.

I should also mention that part of this challenge to myself was the thrill of competing (with myself): I kept trying to see how much I can stand, and was surprised at my limits. When the summer started, I had set 95 degrees as the point when I turned on the A/C, but it actually got up to 103 before I flipped the switch for the first time.

How did you do it?

It helps that I started out without using air-conditioning. For 5 months, I didn’t run my HVAC system at all, and have been opening my windows wide for months before the heat hit.

I didn’t wake up one 95 degree day and decide not to use A/C. I was doing it on the 75 and 85 degree days.

The key to not using A/C is have some good fans. I have two in my windows, a stand fan for my living room, and ceiling fans in my dining and bedrooms.  The air blows on your sweaty body, and you’re cooled by evaporation. This is the cooling method God invented!

Book Review: Debt-Proof Living by Mary Hunt

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I was recommended to read Mary Hunt a few years ago by a friend, so I ordered this book from Paperback Swap and promptly put it on my shelf at work, where it still sat when it was time to pack up my office. Since I wasn’t pursuing another job in financial counseling, I decided to get rid of the bulk of my finance-related books, but decided I should read this one before I did get rid of it.

I’m glad I did.

This is really the perfect time for me to read this book, before I got my first paycheck at the new job. It’s much easier to start on a new budget than to try to change a budget mid-course.

Overall, this book wasn’t terribly different from Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover which I greatly appreciated and recommend. Still, it’s good to read a book like this every once in a while to help keep your finances on track.

One thing that Mary Hunt does well is her “Freedom Account” concept. Similar to the envelope method, but I think it’s more intuitive and workable…it clicked for me, whereas the envelope method didn’t quite work for me.

The idea of the freedom account is opening another checking account and setting up subaccounts within it through your own recordkeeping (I use Excel, but a notebook would work, too). These subaccounts are for things that are either more-than-monthly expenses (things that you only pay every 3 months or every year, for example) or irregular (like car repair expenses).

I have 8 subaccounts: Car Expenses, Car Insurance, Cell Phone (I pay my phone quarterly to save money), Health, Clothing, Gifts, Christmas, and Travel. I have determined the amount I would need to pay in to each category each month, and then I make that deposit each month.

I have tried something very similar before, but just keeping the money in one of my regular accounts. That became a problem for me, because any time my expenses exceeded that paycheck, I’d just use the money I had already set aside for a future purpose. When that future expense came up, I’d usually have to dip into my savings to cover it, or worse, put it on my credit card.

I don’t agree with everything Mary Hunt says. I don’t think that debit cards are horrible, particularly in this day and age. I don’t get how she would advocate checks but not debit cards. I don’t use my debit card online, but it’s certainly more useful at the grocery store than a check. Also, it’s worth noting that this book was written in 1999, so some of the laws have changed in regards to things like home equity loans and credit cards.

So I’ve decided not to get rid of this book after all. I’ll keep it on my shelf for the next time my budget needs a look in the mirror.

30 Before 30

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When I dyed my hair last week, it started me thinking about how little of my 20s I have left. I don’t mean that in a “poor me” way, but as a motivation to make the most of the days I do have, however many or few I have left on this earth.

That said, I’ve decided to come up with a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30 on December 15, 2012. That happens to be 6 days before the “end of the world,” so it’s a good deadline, right?

I have no idea how many of these I’ll actually accomplish. I tried to make them realistic, but I know that when I have a lot of goals, some seem to fall by the wayside. That’s okay…the point is not to be perfect, but to challenge myself in a healthy way.

All that said, these are 30 things I’m working to accomplish before my clock hits “30.”

1. Read the Bible twice through.

The way I read the Bible, I read through different sections at different paces. But I want to read every part at least twice in the next 16 months. Will continue to keep me in the Word, which is a good thing.

2. Memorize Colossians.

I actually want to finish memorizing the disciplined eating questions and verses as well as Romans 6 and 7 before I get to Colossians. So yeah, this is a challenge. Memorizing isn’t hard for me, but it takes dedication and consistency, which I want to work on.

3. Lose 50 pounds.

Okay, this goal sounds HUGE. It is huge. Fifty pounds is a large bag of dog food like those I had to lift too many times as a cashier because some customers insisted on putting them on the belt, though I told them not to.

But, 50 pounds is a pound a week, with about 18 weeks of forgiveness. Incredibly doable if I stick with my eating and exercise regimen.

And yes, I definitely have 50 pounds to lose. In fact, I will still have another 40 on the other side until I get to a healthy weight. Yes, I want to look better (who doesn’t?), but I want my chief motivation to be to better honor God with my life.

4. Save $2,000.

With the move, my emergency savings got cut into a lot. I want to bounce back, for sure. I can’t find security in money, but I do want to use it wisely.

5. Publish The Journal.

It’s still my goal to self-publish my debut novel at the end of this year. Need to get working on editing though, especially if I want to do NaNoWriMo again, which I’m not sure I will this year.

6. ________________.

This goal will remain private. I have no problem being open, but there are things that are not wise to talk about in such a public forum.

7. Pay down my student loans to $XX,000.

I really wish I get these down to 4 figures by the end of next year, but it’s not going to happen unless I stumble onto a pile of cash. But I am pushing myself…I really don’t want to be paying them until December 2019 as I’m scheduled to do.

8. Write What about Emotions (working title).

This is a non-fiction book that is in its infancy. When I have a final product with my novel, I want to get back to this project.

9. Read 160 books.

Perhaps not much of stretch, as this is my current pace (actually, I read a bit faster than that, usually). That’s okay…I have to have some super-realistic goals on this list, right?

10. Read 5 classics.

I don’t read these very fast. I almost always enjoy them, but they take a lot of work.

11. Swim a mile (again).

I want to get back in the pool. There’s just something about swimming that I absolutely love. I think this will be a big part of goal #3.

12. Work a polling place during an election.

Actually, this is on my schedule for next month. I’m looking forward to it. I’d totally do it for the experience, but I’ll be thankful for the financial compensation, too.

13. Celebrate our 30th birthdays with Dana.

Not sure what we’ll be doing, but we’ll be doing something, alright.

14. Cut caffeine down to only one Diet Dr Pepper a week.

I had been down to 2-3 a week earlier this summer, but it has creeped back up with the move and the work craziness. I’m working on slowly getting this back down. I like the stuff, but I don’t want to have it all the time.

15. Sell 100 copies of The Journal.

I’m not planning on this being a moneymaker, but it’d be nice to make back the little bit of money I’ve put in it. I have no idea if I’d even sell 100 copies, or if I’m totally low-balling myself.

16. Make an author website.

I hope to have this done soon. I guess that means I have to get started on it, huh?

17. Fast 16 days.

Not in a row, for sure. But I’d like to take a day a month to fast and pray.

18. Pray through Operation World.

I want to pray for every country throughout the next year.

19. Spend time on Yom Kippur fasting, praying, and thinking.

I’m not Jewish, but I do want to take this holiday God gave His people to remember what He has done for me.

20. Decorate my apartment for Christmas.

I’ve slowly been collecting Christmas decorations through the years, but this will the first year that everything will be my own.

21. Meet my niece.

This is kinda a big deal and should happen well before my 30th birthday…

22. Write in my journal 100 times.

That works out to about every 4 or 5 days, which isn’t really a lot. But it’s more than I’ve written in the past year or two. Journaling is a great way for me to process.

23. Make a baby blanket for Bean.

This is a late addition. I just learned how to crochet (well, I learned a simple stitch in college, but didn’t really do much with it). I learned on a whim (because others were doing it), and I’m glad I did, as I really enjoyed it.

24. Have an empty to-read shelf.

I have no idea if this is possible. I don’t necessarily have to read everything on the shelf, but if I choose not to read it, I need to get rid of it.

This would be easier if I didn’t ask for any books for Christmas, but that’s not likely to happen…

25. Write 70 encouraging letters or emails.

I’d actually like to write more, but this is a good goal number.

26. Bake bread.

I’ve been wanting to do this for a while. I do plan on doing this in a bread machine, though.

27. Make my own laundry detergent.

This is slated for whenever I finish my current bottle. It takes a while for a single girl to go through detergent, though…

28. Finish recording the Chronicles of Narnia for my niece.

I’m halfway through The Magician’s Nephew which is going faster than I expected. 6 1/2 books to go…

29. Walk 4 miles on the treadmill.

Not like that’s very far (I’m pretty sure I’ve walked around the streets of Turkey for at least that far), but I’d still like to do it.

30. Read the Qur’an and the Book of Mormon.

They’ve both been sitting on my shelves since college. I started reading the Qur’an this summer, but I’d like to finish both by some time next year.

FQF: Driving Tests and Lasagna

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1.  How many times did you fail your driver’s test?

Never have.  Though I hadn’t thought to study the drunk driving stuff (there was a whole chapter in the book) for my NC test a few years back, so I had to use my good test taking skills to pull it out.  I don’t know why someone who doesn’t drink needs to know the legal ramifications of a DUI, but North Carolina thinks I do.

2.  What is the most money you’ve ever spent in the bookstore at one time?

I couldn’t tell you what I’ve spent in a brick and mortar bookstore, but I have spent maybe $70 one time at Amazon.  I was waiting until I had enough to add up to $25 to get free shipping, and then I had way more than $25 worth to get.

3.  Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

Definitely half-full.  I actually couldn’t figure out whether or not I was an optimist for a while, but I definitely am.  I’m not a dreamer, though, and that’s what confused me.  I’m an optimistic realist.

4.  What was the last film you saw at the theatre?

Inception, I think (yes, I loved it).  I saw it in Texas, when I was there last summer.  I still haven’t seen The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (which is sad to me, but I haven’t had time to figure out when/who to see it with) which I’d like to.  Except for a few movies I really want to see (which is rare, maybe once a year), I only go to see movies when I’m with my family or my college roommate.  I guess I just associate movies with vacations.

5.  What foods do you dislike?

Cooked vegetables if you can eat them raw (with the major exception of tomatoes, which I’d rather eat cooked if I have to).  I’ve slowly reconciled myself to handling cooked broccoli and spinach, but I’ll still avoid them unless they’re in something.  I also don’t like lasagna (don’t ask my mom about that one), and am actually not a big fan of Italian food, beyond the salad and bread.  There are plenty of things I haven’t tried that I’m not excited about trying, but given the right circumstances, I would.

Privilege: a Wake-up Call

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I don’t remember what I was doing, but somehow I stumbled on a website that would tell you demographic stats on specific US zip codes.

For kicks, I entered the zip code I grew up in.

For whatever reason, the results surprised me.

Compared to the rest of the US, this zip code has:

  • a high number of high school and college graduates
  • a high median income (though Kansas has a fairly low standard of living)
  • a higher than average number of married couples
  • 2/3 of adults working in white collar jobs
  • only 4% of its residents below the poverty line (national average is around 15%)

I was born into privilege.

Not only am I a part of the 4.5% of the world population who lives in the US, I’m among the 6% of that population that has a Master’s Degree.  While I myself don’t quite make enough to reach the US median household income in the US, it’s just me, so obviously my costs are much lower than most.

I was born (and raised) into privilege.

I thank God for the blessings He’s given me and my parents who gave me so much, but that’s not what I want to talk about.

I’m a numbers person, so when you show me my blessings numerically, it really sinks in.  I’ve always known that I was overwhelmingly blessed, but when everyone around me is too, it’s easy to forget.

These thoughts were already on my mind, when I started reading Radical.

Here are a few things that David Platt said that stood out to me:

“We are an affluent people living in an impoverished world.  If we make only $10,000 a year, we are wealthier than 84% of the world, and if we make $50,000 a year, we are wealthier than 99% of the world.” – p. 194

“But the reality is, if you and I have running water, shelter over our heads, clothes to wear, food to eat, and some means of transportation (even if it’s public transportation), then we are in the top 15% of the world’s people for wealth.” – p. 115

“The reality is that most everything in our lives in the American culture would be classified as a luxury, not a necessity. The computer I am writing this book on, the spoon and fork I will eat my dinner with later this evening, and the bed and pillow I will sleep on tonight (in additon to many other things in my life) are all luxuries.” – p. 127

All this merely starts to illustrate how blessed we are in America.  Yet we, the Church, wrap ourselves up in our own cares, ignoring the extensive needs of those all around us (even if we have to close our eyes to them).  If you’re like me, these facts might make you pause for moment, but then you shut them out because they make life too uncomfortable.

I don’t want to live comfortably at the expense of others (and that’s what it is…I don’t “deserve” a better life and haven’t earned it…I didn’t choose to be born here, to my parents).

I’m still thinking through what the implications of all of this.  I don’t have everything (anything) figured out.

While I don’t have much “stuff” by American standards, I’m sure if I added up the costs of everything I owned, I’d be shocked.  I do have more than I need.

I’m sorely tempted to give some of my income away and turn around and spend the rest on my own excesses.  I can placate myself by saying that I give more than most.   But would I except that excuse from my own child?  ”Mommy, I know I didn’t clean up my room like you asked, but I spent 2 minutes more on it than any of my friends.”

That’s not what God has called me to.

Photo by 96dpi

Summer To-Do and a Million Dollar Question

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1. What’s on your “to do” list this summer?

Moving, for one thing (and the accompanying ”getting settled”).  I don’t really have “summer” plans other than that, since I don’t segment my life so much like this anymore.  I’d like to get back in to regular exercise and eating at home, but I’m already starting to work on that.

2.  Do you enjoy sleeping late?

Most definitely.  Though “late” has changed from what it was when I was a teenager or a college student.  9 AM is the latest I ever want to sleep in

3. Fill in the blank: Life is __________.

A beautiful, wonderful, sometimes painful gift.

4. What is in your refrigerator right now?

As of writing this (April 23rd), a few condiments (mainly salad dressings), milk, eggs, onion, tortillas, lots of cheese (don’t ever want to run out), and some leftovers (taco soup and breakfast casserole).  I think that’s all that’s mine.  Haven’t done my weekly shopping yet to get fruits and veggies.

5. If you received $1 million (after taxes), what would you do with the money?

Pay off my student loan, buy a medium-sized house and furnish it modestly, and give some to friends.  Give at least 200K of it to my church, and then invest the rest.

Book Review: Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover

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I don’t know why it took me two years after I was recommended to check out Dave Ramsey to actually do it.  Probably because I thought I knew better, given my line of work.  Sure, he didn’t tell me much I didn’t know, but reading this has given me the motivation that I needed to get serious about living life debt-free.  If I live by his system to a T, I easily could retire at 50 and retire well at 60 on my average starter salary (which also assumes I never get a raise again…even with inflation).

Dave set up his book well.  Testimonials from people from all walks of life and all sorts of financial situations are found every few pages.  These remind the reader that this really does work and more importantly, it works for people like me.

The funny thing is, there’s not really anything special about Dave’s plan.  Except that it’s counter-cultural…and that’s a big thing.

He’s broken his plan up into 7 baby steps.  The idea is, that you don’t try to put all the fires out at once, you focus on one thing at a time, but you intently focus on it.

These baby steps are:

1. Build up $1,000 emergency savings.

2. Pay off all non-mortgage debts, starting with the smallest and working up to the largest.

3.  Finish off the emergency savings (3 to 6 months of expenses).

4.  Invest 15% of your pre-tax income for retirement.

5.  Start building college savings for your children (if you have any, of course).

6.  Finish paying off the mortgage.

7. Enjoy, give, and live. (By this stage you’re well on your way to having your money do all the work for you.)

Obviously, this is a simplification of what he spend a whole book explaining.  The cool thing is that I can see how it works.  It’s possible to achieve my goals (at least monetarily…he didn’t give any husband-catching advice) without going in debt to do it.  And I don’t have to be a miser either…part of my financial goals is to live on less and less of my income so I can give more and more.  Just means that I won’t have as much “stuff” now as everyone else.

My big goal in doing this is that I want to be as financially fit as I can be before marriage.  And if I don’t get married?  I’ll be able to see my plan to the end.  It’s rare that I want my plans to be interrupted, but that would definitely be a welcome interruption.

I’d recommend checking out Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover regardless of where you are in life.  I think debt-free living is something more of us should work towards, and not just dream about.

How a Girl Creates a Budget

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My estimate of how/when I'll pay off my student loan. (Mine obv has specifics)

I spent a few hours this past weekend working out a new budget now that my future roommate and I have come to an agreement on the rent I’ll be paying her (it may have involved bartering and a virtual hand shake).  While I was at it, I decided to map out my plan to save more and pay off my last remaining debt, my student loan.

I’ve been reading Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover, and it definitely puts me in the mood to pinch pennies (which I kinda already was in).  Sure, I already know most of it (I am a financial counselor, though that’s not my primary responsibility), but seeing it again–and in the layman’s terms that I think in–has been good for me.

The hardest part of my budget for me is how much I budget for food/groceries.  As a single gal, it’s way too easy to opt to grab something at a drive-thru, especially when I’m on the road anyway after a long day.  It’s easy to justify when it’s just a few bucks more and is less work.  But doing this time and time again…well, that’s not been too great.  Certainly not for my budget OR my body (a topic I’ll be getting to soon).

I’m such a visual and numbers person, that I decided to make a spreadsheet of it, including a crude calculation of both interest accrued and interest paid.  Even made a graph of it for cool visual appeal.

While I don’t pretend to know the future, it helps me to have a plan.  It’s easier for me to see how small decisions I make now (excessively eating out or indiscriminately shopping for clothes) impact my long-term goals.  I even included a list of complications (both good and bad) that I can’t predict at this time, but could affect my plan.  You’ll be happy to know, I think, that I included (and I quote):

Wedding, haha

and

Marriage =)

That’s how you know it was made by a girl…how many men put smiley faces on their spreadsheets?

What I Like about the Recession

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Some people are losing their jobs, homes, and retirement, and I don’t want to downplay that.

But what if this recession isn’t such a bad thing?

I know for me it has really made me tighten my belt and watch my expenses, forcing me to stick to a budget as I should have been doing along.  This has given me more money for three things:

  • Paying off debt.
  • Saving.
  • Giving to the church.

All of which are good things.  I know I’m not the only one.  Others have checked their spending so that it doesn’t exceed their income.

This is a good thing.

May we remember these lessons from the ”hard time” when the years of prosperity, along with their greed and carelessness, rule again.

And Then I Found 110 Dollars

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One of the good things about our apartment complex is that it directly connects to the neighborhood next door. This allows for an easy shortcut as well as gives us a place to go on evening walks.

Thursday night as Dori and I were heading out for a walk (we were in a hurry because we wanted to get back in time for the SYTYCD finale) we ran into our friend Jen who was coming over to watch the show with us. So, the three of us head out on one of our usual routes through the neighborhood.

There are several places where bushes have grown over the sidewalk, and as we were walking by one such place Jen looks down and sees that there are two bills in the bush sitting right on top.

The bill on top was a $10 bill. Okay, that’s a lot to randomly find. And the bill folded underneath?

A $100 bill. No joke. We just found $110 in the bush.

Dori checked to see if it was real (it was), and I wondered if this was some drug payment (“I’ll leave the payment in the bush, you come by and drop the dope and take the cash.”) It seemed too out in the open for that, though.

We decided to find out if the $110 belonged to the person that lived in that house. As we walked up his super-steep driveaway past the 5 old Volvos in the street and driveaway, Dori rings the doorbell and a vicious dog responds.

We wait and we wait. After several minutes, a middle-aged man in a Volvo (would you expect any less?) drove up, and we told him what we found. He assured us that it hadn’t lost a $100 bill, but that his son lived there too and it might be his. We gave it to him and went on our way. I think that he would have been okay with us keeping it, but I wouldn’t feel right especially since we found it on his property and it could have been his son’s.

I wish we had taken a picture of the $110, because who will believe us that we found that much in a bush? But that is what we found. Dori told me later that she wondered if we were on some sort of candid camera trying to find out if people were honest or not. I guess we would have passed the test!

What is the weirdest or most expensive thing you’ve ever found?