BlogHer - Learning as I go; redux - Comments

I'm so dramatic...

HeatherB — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 08:42:25 -0600

I have my savings account that has been my ooh thankfully I have that extra money and in that account goes, my babysitting money (I babysit like no other, it's like a bad Babysitters club story. Seriously) And then a designated amount from my paycheck that I never see because it happens automatically. I really (REALLYY!!!!!111!!!) need to set up my ING If I DIE account, because that's what's missing. Like right now I need a new laptop, badly. And this will be my last HUGE purchase which is good, in time for the new year. Wheee.

It's really not that, that bad. But I miss being able to have a massive disposable amount of money also known as the bank of mom and dad. Sad, but true. I figure that if I make enough for a gym membership and I shop at Whole Foods, I'm pretty ok.

Heather B.
Personal Blog: No Pasa Nada
BlogHer CE: Business, Career & Personal Finance

Things that helped me

sassymonkey — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:41:04 -0600

I'm only a few years further out of the gate than you are but here are some things that helped me.

1. Get real about how much you make. Sure my contract says that I make x amount per year. But my bank account is never going to see that amount.

2. Set up a savings account and funnel money into that. Set it up so that it's automatically withdrawn from your account. I recommend something like ING. It's very important that this money be harder to access (but you can access it in a crisis) and something that is not tied to your debit card. I personally find it easier to make bi-weekly deposits of a smaller amount than one big amount once a month.

3. Balance your expenses. I've mostly arranged it so that I never have one huge amount come out of my paycheck for any pay period. For example, half my rent comes out of each paycheck. And I've done my best to balance the rest of my expenses evenly between paychecks so that I have a more or less equal amount per pay for things like groceries and "disposable income". I found that if I took a big chunk out of one paycheck I felt panicky until I got the other and would then soothe myself by spending money when I had it.

4. Be realistic about your debt if you have any. Write it down. Face the numbers. Don't pretend it doesn't exist.

5. "Extra" money goes on debt first before it goes into savings. Chances of me making as much interest in savings as I would save on debt is very slim, even with debts that are "low interest".

6. Pay cash. Anything that you are buying for fun or entertainment purchases(clothes, drinks, movies, etc) - pay in cash. It's sooo easy to swipe a card and not do the math. But it's different all together when you have to fork over cold hard cash. Even if you just do it for a single weekend it can be a wake-up call about how much money you are really spending on those things.

It's really all about balance. I rarely feel like I'm depriving myself of anything I want. Sure big ticket items still are a struggle but I don't feel anymore like I'm struggling weekend to weekend, paycheck to paycheck (although if I were to lose the paycheck I'd be screwed). Oh and speaking of big ticket items...I actually have two savings accounts. One, the inaccessible one, is my "serious savings account". The other is fairly accessible and I funnel money in there sporadically for "splurge" items. I call it my short-term savings account and it's for things like those shoes that I MUST have but do not need. Or if I do find myself with an extra expense I have a bit of money to throw at it without throwing my whole balancing gig out of whack.

Sassymonkey, Sassymonkey Reads, and Sassymonkey Eats

Hi Heather! Rather than

Jen M. — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 09:44:59 -0600

Hi Heather! Rather than being alarmed, your two recent blogs made me smile. I remember when I first started out, working two jobs (one full-time at a Large Public Hospital in NYC, the other for cash at an off-off-Broadway theatre) and still managed to only sock away maybe a dollar a month. But when you're young and not under the house-rules of your parents for the first time, it's incredibly freeing. Hell, I even smoked. Talk about a lack of responsibility! :)

Time passes, no matter how hard we try to hold onto youthful moments. We get married, we have kids (or one or the other), we get more education, we get "real" careers and a mortgage. Suddenly we look around and it's like the Talking Heads: THIS is not my beautiful house! ...Only it is, and we're almost 40 years old. What happened to that 21-year old who smoked and sold tickets to a series of pretty bad plays? She got responsibilities.

I'm glad you know you're happy. That's the most important thing about our lives, I think. If you're thinkng about taking a Kaplan course, clearly your head is screwed on right and the rest will fall into place. Enjoy your youth! And someday, you'll read a fretful blog by Some Young Miss, and it will make you remember, and smile, too.

My Travel Site

There is So Much I Want To Tell You...

Gena Haskett — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 18:33:33 -0600

Save, for the love of God/Goddess Save!

Because that paycheck can stop. You can find yourself in a world of hurt if you don't have a back-up plan. You get sick, there is a family emergency or the universal whammy comes looking for you. That universal whammy is a nasty SOB and you'll want any and all resources to deal with it.

Start small - $10 a week is cool, anything please. Regular savings or ING savings account at a healthy interest rate.

Because of your age if you start now and put money in for just least 10 years and then stop (but don't stop) you will have a pound of money later. Compound interest is your friend and lover - run to that relationship and embrace that sucker!

I know "later" seems far off but it isn't, in a blink you will be 30 and in a sigh you are looking at 40. This one small thing is a form of financial self-defense.

David Bach's books are very helpful and he has a lot a good free stuff on his web site that you and others can get an idea of how to protect yourself financially. David Bach Finish Rich http://www.finishrich.com

Ok - I'm better now. I shall now step away from the keyboard before I attempt to map out your financial life plan.

The reason I am so amped in sharing this is that I had no financial training or information at all. We spend so much time spending money that we don't understand the power of nurturing and growing money.

The more women understand and control their money the more power they will have to direct their lives.

Gena Out On The Stoop

Baby Steps, Heather...

debra roby — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 15:17:49 -0600

Heather,

I'm sorry you're not getting many responses to this or your last post. Especially when you asked for hints. Maybe it's because people are way too familiar with your situation.

I'm going to give you one suggestion when it comes to the whole "looking at a future further than the weekend" thing: any small steps you take now will reward you significantly in the future.

It's the magic of compound interest.

So as soon you can, if your company offers a 401K or something similar, sign up. If you can do it 1/1 that's ideal. Choose a small amount to be withheld from your paycheck and invested there. Since the money is taken out of your paycheck before you see it, it becomes easier to accept.

Maybe you don't "max out" your payment.. later you will have that opportunity. But starting now will help.

Debra
A Stitch In Time
Deb's Daily Distractions

Learning as I go; redux

HeatherB — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:31:24 -0600

I re-read my last post and cringed and was decidedly embarrassed as to how much I sound like a complete dolt whose financial situation is severely out of whack; also a dolt who sleeps on the floor. Which is really not the case. But what I was half-heartedly attempting to say is that mine is a generation of convenience and wanting things when we want them and not really giving a damn about â€˜savingsâ€™ and â€˜401 Kâ€™, for those are silly things that only â€˜real adultsâ€™ care about. We only care about having enough money for an impromptu bar crawl and for black mid-calf boots and well, a kayak. None of this is from a survey of any kind, but from general conversations that I have with people my age â€“ recently graduated from college, who have spent the last 18 months, mastering the art of living paycheck to paycheck, specifically those who live in one of the most expensive cities in the country. And as you can probably tell from all of this, weâ€™re all really happy people, living in damn near poverty.

Of course the latter bit is a bit of an exaggeration, regardless, my point that I was trying to make is that right now this whole paycheck to paycheck thing is rather daunting. And everytime one thinks that they finally have a leg up on it, one gets bashed in the head with reality or like Christmas or a new laptop or something. Iâ€™m sure Iâ€™ve stated this before, but most of my friends come from somewhat similar financial backgrounds as I, wherein, technically thereâ€™s always the â€˜bank of Mom and Dadâ€™ and I refuse as well as they, to ever dip into those funds. As they are not OURS to dip into.

Anyway, Iâ€™m fairly certain that thus far, Iâ€™ve been perfectly fine and while not always 100% on top of things, Iâ€™m ok enough, with things that Iâ€™m never spending money that I donâ€™t have and I know where pretty much every dollar goes and when Iâ€™m overspending and when things are just so. The latter doesnâ€™t make me happy, because everyone wants to enjoy a little frivolity every once in a while, but itâ€™s the reality for now.

Iâ€™m also fairly certain that this isnâ€™t a forever circumstance, or at least wonâ€™t always be a forever circumstance and Iâ€™m really not hurting in any sense of the word, I mean I have a gym membership and tend to spend an inordinate amount of time in Whole Foods (aka, Whole Paycheck). What I do know is that way too many of my friends and peers, donâ€™t tend to look beyond the weekend (which is something that I see in myself) and thatâ€™s what worries me most.