TinapBeana's Blog: Money Wars!

While reading over some blogs since the forums are quiet (and I've finished my work for the week, which is weird), I noticed that lots of folks were discussing Myers Briggs a few weeks/days ago. I've also commented time or two on what kinds of personalities are most likely to be frugies. Oh, what the heck, I took the test for the who-knows-what time.

Here's me.

What's Your Personality Type?

***You Are An INTJ***

The Scientist

You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you.

You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer.

* * * * * * *

Great, I manage to take the one online test that was designed by someone who obviously knows exactly who I am.... =P

Earlier this year I read a book "Now Discover Your Strengths" which was really cool. In a nutshell: rather than trying to make up for one's faults, use your strengths to your advantage. What are my strengths? Here's the top 5, in order:

Ideation: People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Strategic: People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
Maximizer: People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
Learner: People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
Intellection: People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

Alright, this is just getting darn right creepy....

And the debate about an EF vs paying down high interest debt rages on... For those of you sitting on the fence, or possibly looking for some fresh information and a new perspective, here is some food for thought.

Background: I was a sales and customer service Trainer up until 6/30 of this year when they closed our location and I was laid off. Ugh... For the first time in my life, I applied for unemployment. After my experience with unemployment, (which is something you as a worker NEVER pay for, it's paid for by the company that employs you), I now have a different view on the need and design of my EF, and here's why.

One needs to seriously take a look at one's expenditures and get an idea of what exactly you have to pay each month if you were to be unemployeed. Housing, utilities, minimums on debt. Keep in mind that you will likely want to keep things like internet access and phone service, b/c they make it easier to fidn a job and get interviews, and your gas budget may go up driving around looking for jobs. Other things, like cable TV and your lawn service can probably be cut. Get a number. For me, it's $2100 give or take.

Now, go to

Labor Department and rom there go to your state's Unemployment Office website. Research there, or even call them if you need to. This is important, b/c this could make or break your decision for an EF.

[*] What is the waiting time for benefits to begin?
[*] How are benefits calculated, and is there a maximum benefit amount?
[*] Are taxes taken out automatically or do you have the option to have no taxes removed?
[*] How long do you get benefits, and is there a possibility of extending them under certain circumstances?

Alright. Here in SC there is a 1 week waiting period after you lose your job, then you wait a week and file, and it takes about a week to get the check, so I estimate a 3 wk waiting period. Benefits are calulated at 50% of your earings for the past 5 quarters up to $303 per week pre-tax. Please note that if you make 100k per year, unemployment is likely NOT going to pay you half, or 50k, in benefits. SC gives you the option to have no state or federal taxes removed, and you receive benefits for 13 weeks with the option to extend another 13 weeks if approved for a total of 26 weeks (6 months).

Now, take the max you can get per wk from unemployment, multiply by 4, and that's what you'll get per month. In my case, $1212. DH gives me $1100 per month for household expenses (and keeps $500 for allowance), so his pay and unemployment will actually cover my expenses and then some for 6 months. Cool.

What if he gets laid off at the same time, you say? My 1212 plus his 1212 = $2424, more than enough to pay expenses.

So, here was my revelation: I can get up to 6 months unemployment which, at my current budget, will more than cover all necessary expenses. It takes on average 6 months to find a job, so the need to an EF in case I loose my job is actually quite low. Therefore, I feel secure in diverting most of my extra income directly to debt while stashing away a very small amount ($500-$1000) to cover medical co-pays or car repairs should they happen.

Any thoughts?

I'm such a dork b/c I love the Blog Stats provided for me here at Saving Advice!!! My whole point in a blog is to be able to vent and rant and hopefully get some support, suggestions, and the occasional critizism, and Blog Stats show me I'm not just blogging to myself.

In the past, my blogs elsewhere lingered in their own little corner, sad and lonely, wondering what all the bleeping blogging fuss was about. Communities that appeared active were in fact stagnet, spam piled in by leaps and bounds. My blogging days were soon outnumbered, and I felt the urge to go buy something to make me forget my sorrows...

Luckily, I have found a blog away from home (actually, I am at home right now) and can rant and rave to my heart's content.

Maybe I need more friends IRL...

Gotta love that word 'continuum'. Looks wrong, don't it? =)

At any rate, the more I work on my own budget and (ack!)

Frugal Failings, the more I realized that the definition of a Frugally Fabulous Frugie is neither black nor white. It is in fact, black with white spots and grey swirls (or some other combination.

What is frugal to one is abhorrently wasteful to another, and sheer miserly insanity to a third.

For instance: I do not wash zip top bags and reuse them. I have no dishwasher, and the thoughts of washing them by hand makes my head hurt. Does this make me a bad Frugie? No, just a different one. Maybe I am white with black spots and grey swirls... I do, however, use washable containers for all of my fridge and freezer needs. Sometimes I even use butcher paper and/or aluminum foil, both of which are recyclable in my area.

On the other hand: when I eat a steak and don't finish it, I cut it into strips and add it to my 'steak strip' bag in the freezer. I use these to make stirfry and occasionally chili. This weirds some people out (I guess b/c the fork that touched my mouth touched the steak which I then put in in the freezer).

Are either of these more frugal than the other? Perhaps. I like to think, though, that the great cosmic Frugal Continuum applies to all aspects of one's life, and just because you are abhorrently wasteful in one area doesn't mean you can't partake of some sheer miserly insanity in another It's all about balance, you know.

After the painful post about my frugal failing with food, I decided to sooth my ego with a fugally fabulous post. Last month I got all the shots for all three of my cats at the Mobile Pet Med for $36 total.

And 2 wks ago I had the last one spayed at the vets office that sponsors the Mobile Pet Med here. Surgery, 3 days of pain meds, and getting her claws trimmed was $67.25. FYI, just a spay here is normally $120-$150.

In my world, this is pretty frugally fabulous.

Alright, here goes, Frugal Failing #1 is....

FOOD

Several issues here so I'll just get started. BTW, I went mostly organic/non-processed earlier this year, so I am pleased for the most part with what I buy. It's once I get it in the house...

1 - I don't know how to cook for 2 people. Everything I cook could probably very easily feed a normal family of 4. Thing is, DH and I like to eat a lot. Take that both ways, as in we enjoy eating good food and we enjoy eating quantities of food. So, I cook a bunch, and if it's there we'll eat most of it (except for chili, I make enough apparently for 8). What's left goes into a container and in the fridge, or (ack!) into the trash or compost bucket.

2 - Speaking of leftovers: I'm probably earning a C- in this category. If I package it up as a meal I'm pretty likely to eat if for lunch at work or Thursday nights when DH is at pool league. If it's not packaged as a meal, it seems to get lost in the shuffle. At somepoint, it too goes in the trash or compost.

3 - DH earns an F+ for leftovers. He won't eat them unless it's chili or spaghetti sauce, or if I sneak it into something I'm actually cooking. =/

4 - I don't know if this is laziness or legitimate, but either way it bothers me. DH & I both work full time salary, but he's got one of those dream salary jobs where your lunch hour (or two) gets included in the 8 you're supposed to work for the day. *sigh* I mention this b/c it means I get home after he does and really just don't want to cook sometimes. More over, I really don't want to do the dishes when I'm done. This is hard to work around w/ little processed food in the house, so sometimes we just go out. BTW, more on DH can be found (eventually) in 'Personal Rant' in case you're curious.

5 - I can't keep up with produce to save my ever loving life, and am tired of finally going to use something just to have to (you guessed it) compost it.

I know the solutions are relatively simple: make menus, cook ahead, maybe plant a garden. It sounds so easy!!! =( Menus I can probably do. Cooking ahead would be great, but I don't currently have a standalone freezer, so all my great 'got it on sale' meat is in the regular freezer and doesn't leave room for much else.

The garden is a slightly different problem. Just bought this house in July as some know, and the yard is in absolute shambles. There are 5 yrs worth of dead limbs and leaves (compost!) back there, and everything is so over-grown it's hard to tell what is what, and where it is. We put it off until fall b/c we didn't want to get molested by mosquitoes working on it in the summer, but it's such a big project I'm starting to feel overwhelmed.

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!

Oh dear....

I'm sure this is normal, especially when just starting to buckle down, but there are certain areas of my life where I feel like a Frugal Failure. There, I've admitted it.

So much so, I've dedicated a whole category in my blog to it, so I can get it off my chest. In all fairness, though, I did create a Frugally Fabulous category too.

I just added to the 'what percentage do you save' thread and it was really helpful and encouraging for me.

My current breakdown is at the end of this post, but the reason it was so helpful is because I can currently save/apply 25% of my net without changing anything I currently spend.

This is a huge revelation for me. I have a big pad built into mine and DH's allowance each month, our grocery bill is estimated way more than it could be, and the cable bill could be trashed altogether. Assuming we cut the allowances and grocery bill in half if necessary and got rid of the cable, that would be an extra 20% that could be applied elsewhere if we had to.

Cool... I am starting to feel much better about my 'almost budget'

* * * * * * * * * * * *
NECESSITIES, HAVE TO LIVE
SOMEWHERE, NEED CAR TO WORK
* * * * * * * * * * * *
11.90% mortgage
7.14% car
19.05%
* * * * * * * * * * * *
THERE'S A LOT OF FLEXIBILITY
HERE
* * * * * * * * * * * *
11.90% d allow
9.52% t allow
9.52% groceries
30.95%
* * * * * * * * * * * *
PAST DEBT IF ONLY PAYING
THE MINS
* * * * * * * * * * * *
1.19% student loan
1.43% honda card
2.86% inlaws
0.71% hospital
0.48% cc1
0.48% cc2
7.14%
* * * * * * * * * * * *
MONTHLY NON DEBT BILLS
* * * * * * * * * * * *
1.79% ins -c
4.17% cable
1.19% cell
3.57% elec
10.71%
* * * * * * * * * * * *
NON-MONTHLY BILLS AND
HOLIDAY SAVINGS
* * * * * * * * * * * *
0.60% water
2.38% prop tx - h
1.31% ins -h
0.48% prop tx - c
2.38% xmas
7.14%
* * * * * * * * * * * *
TOTAL NEW INCOME ALREADY
ALLOCATED
* * * * * * * * * * * *
75.00%

Boy, do I sound confused!

At any rate, I am a late-20-something-married-just-bought-my-first-house type, and as a result I suffer from the typical affliction of most everyone else my age: stagnent CC debt accrued in college, student loans, poor credit, yadda yadda. The good news is I have a budget and something close to a plan. The bad news is DH is a spender, not a saver, so the road is not going to be smooth. Hopefully, that's where everyone here will come in handy!

My general financial stats. Some are good & some are not-so-good:
- DH and I both trashed our credit when we were young and dumb and irresponsible and all that jazz.
- When I withdrew from school I never got closing paperwork/payment info for my stuent loan, which therefore went into default. GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!
+/- Payments are being made on said student loan, but they are too small for my taste.
+ DH & I both work full time and net well above the average for our area
+ Our house payment is about 11% of our monthly gross income.
- We got shafted on our interst rate for the mortgage.
+ Mortgage company doesn't require PMI nor does it escrow property taxes or insurance, so I can save that money myself and earn interest on it.
+ We paid well below market/appraised price for our home, and can refinance after 1 yr w/ my credit union at about 5% with only a $50 fee
+/- My car was about to suffer impending doom and require 2-5k worth of repairs, so I traded it in and financed a car for the first time. BTW it's a 2005, I won't buy a new car. Payments are within budget, there is factory and extended warranty coverage, gas mileage is fantastic, but the interest rate BITES.

I'm here because a) I want to save and invest b) I'm making progress in some areas but may need some encouragement in others c) DH doesn't quite 'get' what I'm doing and why I'm doing it. He thinks we make good money and should be able to buy whatever we want...

Anywho, I look forward to beinga part of such an active and informative community. I've been reading the boards for a while, so I feel like I already know some of you!