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Budget Buster - Gasoline!

March 13, 2008 – 10:31 am

Just when you think you are getting the budget under control, gas prices shoot up twelve cents a gallon in the last two weeks. I don’t know about you, but for me, the gas budget is one of the hardest to budget for because the price of gas is so volatile - not to mention that I don’t drive the exact same number of miles every month. To make matters worst, I just heard on the news last night and this morning that gas prices are expected to go up 25 to 30 cents per gallon in the next 6 months. Times are getting hard. It’s especially difficult when you are working to get out of debt and trying to scrape up every penny to go towards pay off debt.

Here are some suggestions I have to manage this a bit better :

  • Keep a mileage log every month. This log doesn’t have to be very detailed, just track the starting mileage at the beginning of the month and the ending mileage at the end of the month. After three or four months, you can see how many miles you average per month.
  • Keep track of how many gallons of gas you put in your car in a month. After three or four months, you can average this out and see how many gallons you average per month.
  • When it comes to figuring a budget for the month for gas, figure out what the current price per gallon is and add 5% to that (just in case). Then take your average gallons per month and multiply it times that price. So in other words, if the current price per gallon is $3.00, then an increase of 5% would mean you would calculate $3.15 per gallon for the next month. Take that price per gallon and multiply it times your average gallons per month and that would be the budget for that month. Sometimes the price would be higher, and sometimes it would be lower - but I can promise you there will not be nay surprises!

Jerri | Budgets, Money | Comments (0)

More Affordable Services of Today Lack Quality of Yesterday

March 7, 2008 – 4:58 pm

When it comes to spending money when you are on a budget for services and products that you want, one of the things to consider is the quality of what you are buying compared to the price. One of the things I have noticed in recent years is the quality of service for manicures and pedicures has gone down along with the price. Sure, we are getting a good price now - you can go almost anywhere and get a manicure for ten to fifteen dollars as opposed to twenty years ago when that same service would have cost you $25.00. However, the manicure in the past would have lasted close to an hour, where today they will have you in and out in under thirty minutes. Read more about the sacrifices in quality being made for the sake of saving us a few dollars by clicking here…

Jerri | Money | Comments (0)

Meet in the Middle - Cheap vs Quality

March 6, 2008 – 10:55 am

One thing I really love to do is shop.  (Typical woman!)  I’ve just come to realize that my idea of a “good deal” can be very strange.  My idea of the “best deal” is the best item for the cheapest price.  Then I go a step further and try to find the “best price for the money”.  Then I try to find the cheapest price.  So I sometimes spend endless hours looking for the “best item”, then trying to find it at the cheapest price..and then I get upset when I can’t get the CHEAPEST price.  It’s an endless battle.
It hasn’t worked too well for me.  Ultimately, it seems I end up settling for the “cheapest price” rather than the best item…and that is exactly what I end up with.  Some cheap piece of crap.  I think when it comes down to it, I feel like that if I don’t pay the rock bottom price for an item, then I feel cheated.  Then I get the item home and find out it is a piece of crap (cheap) which is what I paid for.  Only I was  hoping it was just a great deal.  It never is.

I have no idea where the happy medium is.  I’ve always had the idea that quality is what counts, but then take me shopping for some necessity, and all that seems to fall by the wayside in an effort to get a bargain.

My husband is just the opposite.  We were just talking about his truck and that he really likes it and wants to keep it (it’s a 1999 model and paid for).  Then the engine light came on, and he said “guess I’ll have to get a new engine.”  For him, everything is disposable so that he can get the next better thing.  The idea of fixing it rather than replacing it is always secondary.

But with that said, he always ends up with “quality” and I always end up with “crap”.  Maybe we would be better off going shopping together - I would keep his head on straight by trying to keep the  price away from the high end, and he could keep me from buying cheap items that don’t last.

I guess opposites do attract…and we are made to be together.  We compliment each other.

Jerri | Money, Personal Stories | Comments (0)

Student Loans and Getting Rid of the Sorry Suckers!

March 4, 2008 – 1:25 pm

Student Loans…that’s a BAD word!  My husband started college in 1983 and took out student loans for nearly a decade.  Back in the day (a long time ago), we did not have those consolidated student loan.  I believe at one point we probably had about seven different student loans with payments totaling $900 per month or so.  Some people might think that’s not bad - after all, you can’t put a price on education.  Please!!!!

To those people who say you can’t put a price on education - think again!

My husband got an Associates degree and was within 13 credit hours of a Bachelors degree.  We were in a tight spot and needed some money, so he decided to go ahead and get a full-time job with his degree.  I can tell you one particular job interview he went to - it was with Radio Shack.  They offered him a full-time job as a Field Engineer for…hold your breath…$6.00 per hour!  Granted, this was in the late 80s or early 90s, but still…when you have student loans totaling $30,000 you have to realize that somewhere in there a mistake was made.

Anyway, that’s the background on our student loans.  Of course, in addition to that, we had credit card debt at the time.  If you want to be able to pay off debt faster, why not enroll in a community college and take half-time college credit hours (it’s about 6 credit hours).  Our student loan payments at this time is $550 per month, but because my husband enrolled in school half-time, he was able to defer the loans.  Only one of the loans still accumulates interest, but that is only about $30 per month, so we have been paying that so the loan won’t get larger.

So do the math:  student loans at  $550 per month were deferred because my husband went back to school half-time.  Instead of paying $550 per month, we pay $30 per month and pay the extra money to t he credit card debt.   Once the credit cards are paid off, he will continue to go to school half-time so that we can pay the loans off faster.

Now I know some people would say they don’t want to go back to school, but my husband enrolled in a Physical Education class and Tennis class - nothing hard.  In addition, when he took classes for one semester, it deferred the loans for one year - not just one semester.  So really, he only has to go to school half-time every other semester in order to defer those loans.  This has been a big help in our being able to pay off our credit cards faster.

Everyone’s situation is different, so you will need to contact your student loan lender to find out the terms of your loan and if it can be deferred, but it doesn’t take long to do and you’ll get ahead faster in the long run.

Jerri | Debt, Money, Personal Stories | Comments (0)

Being Loyal to Your Employer

February 29, 2008 – 3:01 pm

Don’t deceive yourself - companies are not loyal to their employees, nor do they care about them.

On February 6, 2008, I was let go from a job I had worked at for six and a half years. I worked for General Dynamics who had a contract with the Citizenship and Immigration Service (government). I was a regular full-time employee. I won’t go into any details, but six people were released from their position - the letter releasing us said “Release Without Prejudice” (which means they can’t say anything bad about us.) Personally, we think that they just decided to “trim the fat” while they had the opportunity. I don’t blame them for that…I know that they are in the business of making money, so if they feel they are spending too much, then it is a good idea to cut back.

With all that said, let me tell you how they handled returning our items to us. My immediate manager, Robert S. Carey (Bob) of General Dynamics, called me on February 6, 2008, to tell me they were letting me go. At that time, I asked him when I could get my personal belongings…he said he would make arrangements. For the next 3 weeks, I called this man several times trying to make arrangements to get my things. He kept telling me he was working on it. In the meantime, I started a new job on February 19, 2008. I continued to call Bob to see when I could get my stuff.

Finally, on February 26, 2008, he told me I would be able to pick up my belongings from the guards at the guards’ shack at the work site on Friday, February, 29, 2008, after twelve noon. I explained to Bob that I now had a full-time job and that it would be difficult for me to pick up my items in the afternoon because typically the guards at the guards’ shack are no longer out there after 6 or 7 pm. He said he would see what he could arrange.

On Wednesday, I sent Bob an email reminding him that I needed to make arrangements because I now had a job - this is the email I sent:

Thought I would try this one more time.
FYI: Because I am working, I will have trouble getting to 4141 after noon on Friday. It would be closer to 7 or 8 pm, and typically, the guards are no longer at the shack.

I would like to make arrangements for either Saturday or Monday morning early to pick up my things. Please let me know.

And here is Bob’s reply sent on Thursday, February 28, 2008:

Your personal items will be available for pick-up at the guard shack at 4141 from Noon on Friday to 7:00pm.

Do you think he even read my email? I don’t think so!!!

I went ahead and made arrangements so I could get to the old work site by 7 pm. Several of my coworkers went up there together today at noon - and this is what one of them described to me:

“All of our stuff is dumped into old scanner boxes - it looks like they just dumped the drawers upside down into the boxes. The boxes are on a pallet at the main entrance of the parking lot where anyone coming by can pick them up and take them. They are not having us sign off on picking up our things – anyone can take our stuff. The guards didn’t even know what the stuff was and didn’t know we were coming.”

Needless to say, one of my co-workers went ahead and picked my stuff up for me.

So, I would think long and hard about giving your time and your devotion to your company. Don’t work through your lunch. Take your breaks. Go the extra mile? I don’t know…I did, and it didn’t get me anything at all. I have never been treated so badly in my life by an employer. Perhaps if I thought I had left on bad terms I might have understood, but I didn’t.

Guard yourself…especially against General Dynamics and it’s managers – especially Robert S. Carey (Bob).

Jerri | Jobs, Just for Grins, Money, Personal Stories | Comments (0)

Just for Grins - A Sad Little Man

February 28, 2008 – 11:00 am

I was recently let go from a job I hated but continued to work at for six and a half years because I liked the people I worked with. One of the men I worked with (David) was around mid to late fifties and I really just think he’s a hoot - love him to death. He sort of looks like Walter Mathau. We had another character in our office name Viet who was short, stocky, and his English really left something to be desired. Although he was likable, he was difficult to converse with - our boss once told us that Viet was the only person he knew that had lived in the U.S for over twenty years, and his English was worse now than when he first came to work there!

So anyway, David is still working at my old stomping ground, but finds the environment to be miserable since most of our “team” was let go. He sent me the following email yesterday…I’ve never read an email that made me laugh and cry all at the same time! (Just imagine Walter Mathau with his shoulders slumped while you are reading this.)

“I hate my job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate my job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hate my job!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

…I’m just a sad and fat little man……He He

I’m just a stranger there and all I do is work on floor. No one will talk with me. It’s like being Viet only worse. Viet won’t even talk to me.

So could you use an old man to hold your papers and pen’s? I’ll work for food…”

Jerri | Just for Grins | Comments (0)

The Weight of Discipline is Lighter than the Load of Regret

February 21, 2008 – 2:38 pm

I was listening to talk radio this morning and I heard this guy say that…and I thought: how true. Most of us live in this mindset that we want to be known as cool, laid back, fly by the seat of our pants, etc. That’s great…if you are a teenager. However, when you grow up, you have to start doing things that are meaningful and purposeful.

The Weight of Discipline

So when it comes to money, what is the “weight of discipline”? It’s a budget – it’s planning and spending with a purpose…things that require discipline. Truthfully, none of us wants to do a budget. We’d love to go on our merry, hectic way of spending money without thinking about it…

The Load of Regret

But what happens at the end of the month after you dined out one too many times and you realize that you don’t get paid again until the 9th of the month, but your electric bill final notice is due on the 2nd?

And what happens when you get paid on the 8th of the month and there are only two bills sitting on your coffee table? Do you say: I’m all caught up until the next payday because I only have two bills due…so you go on a spending spree? Then by the time your next paycheck rolls around you have 7 bills on your coffee table and you realize your paycheck might cover those bills…if you don’t buy gas or groceries until your next paycheck. Oh! But wait! When that next paycheck comes you have to pay rent again and you won’t have any money left over after paying rent!

Note: This just happened to a friend of mine!

Discipline = Budget                    Regret = Spending Without a Plan

So the next time you want to be that cool, laidback, fly by the seat of your pants person, try to realize that with a little planning/budgeting, you can spend without regret later on - and lighten the load!

Jerri | Budgets | Comments (0)

BeansAgain - The Story

February 14, 2008 – 7:01 pm

Have you ever been so poor that all you could afford to eat was beans, rice, potatos, and ramen noodles?

In the Beginning

Many years ago, I was working as a hair stylist part time and my husband was working at UPS part time. We did this for years, running up debt because we simply didn’t make enough money to pay our bills. He had an Associates degree in Electronics Engineering Technology but was having trouble getting a job. Student loans were over $30,000 and the monthly payments was about $500 per month. The school’s job placement department actually sent him on an interview (for a job in his field) that paid $6.00 per hour! When you consider we probably made about $2,000 per month between the two of us, life was a real struggle. I’ll go on record right now and say that I was just being lazy and that was why I worked part time. I suppose I was frustrated because I hated doing hair, but I had no other skills to earn a living with.

Keeping up with the Jones’

Our best friends were doing pretty well, and it was painful to sit back and see all the things they could do. We seemed to model ourselves after them for a while: they got a dog, we got a dog; they bought a house, we bought a house. We couldn’t afford either one. Within 6 months of moving in to that house, we had to replace the central heat and air units for $3,000. As you can imagine, we didn’t have the money, so we charged that, too. The stacks of bills were getting higher, and our telephone began to ring non-stop.We were desperate and didn’t know what to do.

An Opportunity

We went through a lot of things during this time (I’ll save those for another time). About a year later, I received a phone call from a customer whose hair I had cut the day before. He wanted to know if I was interested making extra money. Of course I was! I was flattered, but told him I could not meet with him unless my husband came along. We met up with this guy and he showed us the Amway opportunity.

Now I know a log of people hate Amway, but I don’t. I signed up and we stayed in for 10 years! We never made any real money - mostly because we were afraid to approach people and tell them what we were doing. But it was a good experience overall because of the people I met, the books I read, the tapes I listened to, and the seminars I attended. Amway didn’t change my life, but the opportunity did.

Beans Again

We met another couple who were as broke as we were. They’d always ask us, or we would ask them: what’s for dinner? The reply was always “beans again”. And that was no exaggeration…it was all we could afford. We ate so many beans that we became immune to the “side effects”. But I will tell you this: they were the best of times, they were the worst of times. I would never want to go back to being that poor, but it changed my life in more ways than I will ever be able to share. So everytime I say or hear the phrase “beans again”, it puts a smile on my face and brings back great memories. It also reminds me that sometimes sacrifices have to be made today so that we can have a better tomorrow.

Jerri | Personal Stories | Comments (0)

What’s the Point? Working Extra

February 8, 2008 – 10:17 am

Does it ever seem like every time you get a little extra money that you never get to use it for what you planned? I’m trying to pay off debt and I have been trying to get overtime and find extra things to do to earn some cash, right? So last Friday I get the opportunity to be in a “Focus Group” – this is a way that companies get people’s opinions on things. $85 for one hour…how cool is that? That’s some sweet, easy cash. So I’m thinking I’ll put that money towards the credit card so I can get out of debt faster. Sounds like a plan, huh? Well, it turned out I needed a toner cartridge for my printer – with tax it cost me $82.84. How is that for irony? I made $85 and spent almost $83 on a necessity. It wasn’t fun and it didn’t get me closer to being out of debt.

…or did it? After all, that money could have been spent out of my regular monthly income, and it wasn’t something I had budgeted for. So in essence, it would have SLOWED ME DOWN from getting out of debt if I hadn’t taken the gig.

So what’s the point? The point is that I have a budget. I have a goal. I worked for extra money thinking I would get out of debt faster…and the reality is that even though the money didn’t get applied directly to debt, it didn’t cost me anything and I got what I needed – something I had not planned for. And I just keep moving along.

admin | Debt | Comments (0)