You Know You’re In A Nerdy Personal Finance Relationship When…

…you geek out over checking your credit scores together for the first time.

About a week ago, I saw an article in the NY Times about certain financial things you should do as a couple before getting too serious…and checking your credit report together was one of them.

I can’t believe we’ve never done this together!  So, sometime this weekend, we plan to sit down and have our first “credit report date”.  *sigh* After 3 years, there are still so many firsts to experience.

Do you ever have any geeky personal finance moments with your significant other?

Shopping Is That Hidden Addiction Just Waiting To Pounce

When I was paying off my debt, I abstained from clothes shopping (or any unnecessary shopping) for 6 months.  In the beginning, it was hard – I went through withdrawals just like any addict (albeit, they were probably less painful then, say, heroin withdrawals…).  To my surprise, though, when I hit the 6 month finish line (along with paying off my debt), I found it hard to get back into the swing of shopping.  By this time, I had started a budget, regained control of my finances, and was more mindful about just how big of a dent clothing shopping can be in your finances.

So, I continued to turn my back on shopping.  I could hear it taunting me every time I drove past an Express or Target store.  I didn’t listen though.  I had bigger and better things to do with my finances.

It’s been almost a year since my shopping fast, and I still have yet to become a full-blown addict again.  Sometimes when I step foot into the clothing section of Macy’s, I’m grateful when they don’t have anything I really like.

Unfortunately, this was not the case this weekend.

I went Christmas shopping with Lloyd on Friday and alone (red alert!) on Saturday.

Wouldn’t you know it, Macy’s and Old Navy’s winter collections just happened to be my exact style and they just happened to be having sales.

But don’t you worry, my frugal friends, I may have an inner shopping demon, but I still never buy clothes out of my budget.  Here’s what I scored:

• Olive green stretchy turtleneck with cute button details (for work or nights out): $14.50 (originally $29.00)
• Brown work shirt with chest pattern detail: $9.99 (originally $29.99)
• 2 sweater cardigans – gray and cream – with diamondy-buttons: $20.65 each

• 1 pair of my favorite jeans (regular so I can wear with flats instead of heels): $20.65
• 1 long-sleeved V-neck tee: $5.60
• 1 short-sleeved crew neck tee: $7.00
• 1 short-sleeved V-neck tee: $7.00
• 1 coat for family member’s Christmas present: $24.32 (steal of the day!)
• 1 pink scarf: $0.70

As you can see, Old Navy was having some massive sales.  Big sales always help to bind and strengthen the relationship between my inner shopping mongrel and my frugal self.

In the end, I think ~$131.00 is a reasonable price for 2 sweaters, 5 shirts, 1 coat, 1 pair of jeans, and 1 scarf – especially now that I don’t make shopping a regular occurrence like I used to.  Plus, I get points for knocking a Christmas present off my list.

When I got home that night, I could still feed the addiction’s hunger wanting to be fed.  I considered going to Gordman’s and seeing if they had any of these boots on sale.  But, I thought it better to starve the beast back into her submissive state and I resisted grabbing my keys and racing out to my car.  Instead I enjoyed a fun, and free, night at home with my guy.

Us Midwestern Folks Are Living The Good (Cheap?) Life

I always knew that living in the Midwest was cheap, but ever since I started lurking the Personal Finance blogosphere, I’ve realized just how good I have it.

On my post about frugal & healthy food items, several of you commented that you could never find the prices that I listed where YOU live.

So, this got me to thinking…just how good do I have it here in Kansas City?

So I wanna know: how do our expenses compare from coast to coast?

Here are some of my normal fixed expenses along with a few “fun” expenses thrown in for good measure:

• Rent for 2 bedroom/2 bath 1300 sq. foot apartment: $764/month
• Gym Membership: $130/year
• Unleaded Gas: $2.53/gallon
• 1 Tall Caramel Latte at Starbucks: $3.50
• Monthly Water & Sewage Bill: ~$30.00
• 1 Adult Movie Ticket (weekend price): $9.00
• 1 Adult Movie Ticket (weekday price): $5.00

**READERS: Please leave a comment with YOUR financial stats!  Don’t forget to include the city/region that you live in!  You don’t have to include prices for everything I listed - feel free to pick and choose.

I can’t wait to see how much each of you pay for different things!  I can do a follow-up post with the most expensive and cheapest areas of the country (I’ll be sure to include any readers from other countries, I could never forget you ).

UPDATE:  Kansas City folks, feel free to chime in as well!

P.S. What is this called?  I know there’s a name for the price fluctuations across the country…regional inflation?

Top 7 Healthy & Budget-Friendly Foods That I Swear By

If you follow me on twitter, you might have noticed that I’m a bit of a health nut.  Working out keeps me sane.  I eat as healthy as possible, but definitely don’t deprive myself (balance is key, my dear readers).

There are those that claim eating healthy is expensive and that’s why our country is so overweight.  Unfortunately those people are just misguided, because healthy foods on the cheap are ‘a plenty in my grocery store.  In fact, I’ve noticed that when I don’t stock up on snack-y, processed foods and instead fill my cart with minimally (or zero) processed foods, my total bill is much cheaper.

Without further ado, here are the top 10 healthy foods that are staples in my pantry:

1. FRESH GARLIC.  Garlic spices us every dish.  I like to saute onions and garlic in extra virgin olive oil as a delicious topping for my chicken and fish.  It’s also great in stews, soups, salads, and omelets!  Garlic is chock-full of antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory compounds.  So, eat up during the cold and flu season!  Cost for one garlic bulb: ~30-40 cents.
2. ROLLED OATS. As odd as it sounds, oats are practically a cheat meal for me.  They are so delicious and so versatile.  I eat traditional oats (i.e. not out of a bag) with cinnamon and almonds for breakfast and this keeps me full all morning long.  I also love adding oats to yogurt (a la Swiss Oatmeal), pudding, and cookies!  Be good to your heart with oats – whole grain, all natural, rolled oats help lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease.  Oats also stabilize blood sugar which means NO sugar crashes!  Cost for 42 ounces of oats: ~$3.00
3. POPCORN KERNELS. Next time you’re in the popcorn aisle of your store, look way up or way down.  You’ll most likely see one or two bags of all natural popcorn kernels hidden behind an array of boxed popcorn.  The only catch is that in order to make these little kernels uber-healthy, you need to invest in an air-popper.  I bought one about 3 years ago for $15 and it still works great.  Popcorn is a great source of fiber (5 grams per serving), protein (4 grams, who knew?!), and healthy fats.  This is a frequent nighttime snack at my house!  Popcorn is great plain, dashed with sea salt, or topped with melted olive oil based butter.  Cost for 32 ounces: $1.35 (32 ounces lasts forever!)
4. DRY BEANS. I challenge you to stop buying canned beans that have been processed and contains artificial ingredients that you can’t even pronounce.  Not only do you get more bang for your buck, but there’s only one ingredient listed on a bag of dry beans: beans.  We all know beans are full of fiber (maybe a little too much?), but they also contain tons of protein (a plus if you don’t eat meat), and provide that jolt from carbs without the crash afterwards.  Plus, the dark, rich colored beans contain lots of antioxidants!  There are so many uses for beans – soups, salads, dips, taco-topper, burrito-filler, salad-topper, and even brownies!  Cost for 16 ounces: ~$1.25
5. FROZEN BERRIES. Two disadvantages to fresh berries: they’re only in season a short amount of time and they’re (usually) high-priced even when in season.  The solution: frozen berries.  I like frozen berries much better because they never go bad (well, not for a long time) and their generally cheaper.  The deep, dark color of berries means their loaded with antioxidants – especially blueberries.  Berries are a great fruit for those avoiding sugar since they only have about 5-10 grams of sugar per serving, while most fruits have 25-50 grams per serving!  Surprise, surprise, berries also boast a good amount of fiber per serving – sometimes as much as 8 grams.  I love to throw berries in my cereals, oatmeal, and yogurt as well as just have a big bowl on berries by themselves!  Prices vary: anywhere from $1.50-$3.00
6. EGGS. Eggs are an egg-celent (couldn’t resist) source of protein at a budget-friendly price.  Many people rely on chicken, fish, and beef for protein, but – unlike eggs – these foods are usually expensive.  I eat eggs as snacks and as meals, so they have many uses, including: hard-boiled eggs as snacks, omelets, scrambled eggs, “fried eggs”, egg sandwiches, and of course, they can be used for baking.  Cost for 12 eggs: ~$1.50
7. YOGURT. When buying yogurt, look for fat-free, low sugar, generic varieties.  Manufacturers can be sneaky and hide tons of sugar and fat in yogurt without you even knowing it!  As with all dairy products, yogurt is a good source of calcium.  However, the superstar nutrient in yogurt is really the Probiotics.  Probiotics are live, friendly bacteria that keep your body healthy and help it to fight off bad bacteria.  Probiotics also help regulate your digestive system.  As someone who’s experienced problems with imbalances of good and bad bacteria, I rely on yogurt quite a lot to load up on the good guys.  Plus, it’s more fun than taking a supplement!  Yogurt can be used as a topping to oatmeal, mixed with nuts/fruits/oats, topping to pancakes/waffles, or just right out of the carton!  Cost for one off-brand fat-free 6 ounce yogurt: 33 cents

These are foods I LOVE and swear by!  I think this is key when finding balance in a healthy lifestyle – experiment and find foods that you love that seem like a cheat to you, but they really aren’t!

What are you favorite healthy foods on a budget?

**Disclaimer: Prices may vary.  These are the prices I’ve found at my local discount grocery store.   Prices may also vary across different parts of the country.  Nutritional information can be found here.

October 2009 Net Worth

 

It’s November already?!  Here’s my networth update for October 2009:

• Savings:  Lloyd and I were super frugal and only ate out ONCE this month!  It also helps when you have 3 weddings to attend in one month.   Also, the way the paycheck dates fell, I was able to save almost the entire amount of both of my paychecks this month.  Woohoo!
• 401K:  I think all of us felt the hit of the market last week.  I checked my balance at the beginning of last week and it was about $35,000 and now, as you can see, it’s in the $32,000 range.
• Credit Card: I’ve been paying my card off before the end of the month lately, so that’s why there hasn’t been a balance there the past couple months!
• Car:  I checked Kelly Blue Book for the value of my car this month.  It went up about $200!?  How is that possible?  I decided to just leave it at $11,190 since I’m a little suspicious about this random increase.

There you have it!  Onward and upward!

Check out more about my networth HERE.

We May Be Living Together, But We’re Not Sinning Financially

One of my readers, Blair, asked:

I have a question – Do you and Lloyd have a joint budget, or do you keep them separate? How do you split bills… is it even, or is it based on salary?

Thanks for your question, Blair!  I meant to write a post about this awhile back, but never got around to it…

As geeky as it is, Lloyd is even more obsessed with his finances then I am (we’re a match made in PF heaven!).  Before we moved in together, we had several talks on how we would split the costs.

All Things Equal

In my humble opinion, I think each man and woman should pay the same amount for the same things and should not be penalized for making more money.  Lloyd feels the same way.  We actually do make about the same right now, so that makes things even easier.

We split everything – rent, utilties, cable, water – right down the middle.  I think this is the right way to do things, but I know that some people split rent differently based on income, size of bedroom, etc.  Splitting expenses down the middle works the best for us.

Bonus:  I get some pretty nice credit card rewards, so all the utilties actually flow through my credit card.  However, we take that into account when we pay rent.  My actual rent check is always smaller than Lloyd’s since I’ve already paid for the utilties.  When you add each of our total expenses up though, they come out to the same amount per month.

We Eat A Lot

The first month or so that we lived together, we attempted to grocery shop seperately.  When you’re living together as a couple, this does not work.  We quickly realized we need to start splitting the costs of dinners and other household essentials.

We go to the grocery store every Sunday and have three orders: joint order, his order, and my order.  The person that foots the cost for the joint order switches from week to week.  But, we still keep a spreadsheet of how much each weekly joint order is so one person doesn’t end up paying more than the other in the end.

Lloyd and I like to eat pretty healthy, so weekly grocery shopping is a must for us.  We prepare breakfast, lunch, and almost all our weekly dinners at home (as much as it pains me since I’m not a fan of cooking).  We have the joint grocery shopping down to a science now, but it’s still pretty annoying!  But…that’s coming from a person that dislikes grocery shopping in general.

Joint Budget

At this time, Lloyd and I do not share a joint budget.  There are many reasons for this, but mainly because our finances are not combined.  We plan to combine our finances when we’re married, but I do not think we should until then.

How do you share the finances with your significant other? 

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In other news, I particpated in two carnivals this week!  Please click on over and check out these carnivals!

**Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Money Crashers

**Carnival of Money Stories hosted by PT Money

How To (Mentally) Max Out Your 401K

I’ve had a couple readers share with me that even though they probably could max out their 401K, they don’t.  I totally get it – it’s tough to do.  If everyone’s strong suit was willpower, we’d have a bunch of rich, skinny people walking this Earth!

Here are a couple of ideas to help you max out that 401K and get yourself on the fast track to an early and/or prosperous retirement:

• Daydream:  I kid you not.  This works for me.  Lloyd and I often talk about our summer beach house and our winter ski trips that we plan to take when we’re retired.  Not only retired, but retirees with smokin’ hot bods…
• Stay In Shape:  Yep, you read that right.  I think that so many (young) people think of retirement as the end of the good part of your life.  You’re not a young adult anymore, your body is shot, and you have to wear diapers, right?  NO!  50, 55, 60, 65 is FAR from old – and even further from the end of life.  Keep that body rockin’ and you’ll be able to live retirement like a feisty young whipper snapper.
• SSS (Start Small Silly):  A masterpiece isn’t completed in a day, nor is a 401K.  Now, don’t take advantage of the “start small” tip by contributing an extra $10 a year.  Instead, try to contribute an extra $50-$100 every month.  Before you know it, you’ll be maxing out.  And if starting small doesn’t work for you…
• Go All In:  Max out all at once.  Change your contribution amount and never look back.  This is how I did it and it worked for me.  If you need a support system, round up the nearest personal finance blogger and have them do the clicking for you.
• Keep more of your own money:  Story time…last year I contributed 5% of my income to my 401K.  I paid about $9,700 in federal income taxes.  This year, I will make $3,000 more than I did last year and I’m contributing about 23% to my 401K.  Guess how much I’m going to pay in taxes this year?  About $7,000 in federal taxes in 2009.  Not only did I get a pay raise from my employer, but I’m also getting a pay raise from the government in the form of lower taxes…to the tune of almost three-thousand smackers!
• Expand Your Mind: Truly, the big picture is that the  more you invest from a young age (e.g. twenty-somethings should max out), the more time that money is invested, the more money you walk away with in the end.  I used my handy-dandy balance projection calculator on my 401K website and came up with this:

• A Load Off: Maxing-out your 401K in 2009 and beyond…$16,500.  Knowing you’ll be financially secure in your golden years…priceless.

As you can tell, I’m a big advocate of the 401K Max-Out.  Even though it’s tough putting aside all of that money today, I know how much more rewarding it will be in the future.  After all, it’s the most difficult obstacles in life that have the biggest payout (pun intended).

Question:  Are you maxing out your 401K?  Why or why not?

Bye Bye $10 Drinks; Hello Friday Night In With Pals

Like most post-college 20-somethings, I enjoyed the bar-hopping nightlife scene for a few years after I graduated.  Many young adults coming out of college are single, finally making their own income, and just looking for a good time.

As we grow older and settle down into serious relationships, get married, and even have kids, our preferences for what constitutes a rockin’ Friday night seem to shift.  While a loud, dark club blaring the latest hip hop music was once high on my list of weekend to-do activities, now it seems I would rather snuggle up with my honey, a movie, and a sweet glass of wine on a Friday night.

Enter: adult game night.  Of course I still want to socialize with my friends on the weekends, I just don’t want to do it shouting at the top of my lungs as I get bumped into at the average rate of 2 strangers per minute.

Game night in my group of friends has started to become a regular occurrence over the past couple years.  My friends and I generally rotate houses and each host/hostess will provide an array of appetizers and drinks.  We usually sit around and have a few drinks and chat for about an hour before getting down to business on the board games.

After being out of the board-game scene for a good 10+ years, I completely forgot how much fun they can be.  We all find ourselves doubling over with laughter at some point during the night (alcohol may also be a factor here).

The days of Trouble and CandyLand are long gone in the much-improved board-game industry.  Some of our newer favorites are:

• Loaded Questions: this game is hilarious.  Each person has to answer a (usually funny-answer-provoking) question and then one person guesses who had what answer.  Towards the end of the game, people start coming up with pretty interesting answers!
• Apples to Apples: similar to Loaded Questions, but one person picks the answer that they would have answered with.  Also ranks high in the “LOL” category
• Scattegories: an oldie but a goodie!
• Scene-It: some of our favorites are “The Office” and the pop culture editions.  I can’t get enough Michael Scott on Thursday nights, so Scene-It is my perfect weekend fix.
• Poker/Texas Hold ‘Em: you can never go wrong hussling your pals with a good, old-fashioned poker game!

I recently picked up the new “Loaded Questions: On The Go” for a weekend trip that Lloyd and I took with some friends this summer.  It was just as hilarious as the regular version and perfect for long, boring trips in the car!  It also came in a cute little compact case so it was easy to stash in a suitcase or overnight bag.

I know our game night tradition will keep going strong as we get older and as each of our lives continue to change.  What it really comes down to is having a good time with my circle of friends versus a room full of strangers (on the cheap, too!).  Game night is the perfect solution for those of us in our late-twenties that just can’t party like we used to.

Do you have game nights with your friends?  What are your favorite games to play?

What You May Be Forgetting When You’re The Victim Of Identity Theft

As if taking advantage of modern-day technology to cheat someone out of their hard-earned money isn’t bad enough, identity thieves also leave each and every victim with a lovely little “To-Do” list.

If you follow me on twitter, you might have seen that I was the victim of identity theft this weekend.  It was a typical Saturday morning.  I was enjoying a steaming cup ‘o joe and went to log into my bank’s website like any other day, when I saw it – an unusual $850 increase.  Dang, movies really are getting expensive!

Turns out, although movies are outrageously over-priced, it was just some confused guy in India trying to pay his $836.47 Cellucom bill and must have accidentally used my credit card!  Whoops!

Luckily, my bank declined the charge without a second thought.  I made a mental note right then to stop using so many four-letter words when describing my bank to people.

STEP 1

Everyone knows this step.  As soon as you see the theft, call your bank and cancel the card immediately.  If you didn’t know that, then you should probably have all credit cards in your name immediately destroyed.

Step number 1 took me all of five minutes.  After I hung up the phone, I was done, right?

WRONG.

Step 2

Most people forget this step until it’s too late.  After I had cancelled my card, it quickly dawned on me how many automatic bill payments I had filtering through that very credit card on a monthly basis.

After you’ve cancelled your card, you’ll have to go through and switch every automatic payment from that credit card to another card or bank account.

This is the catch-22 with those handy-dandy automatic bill payments – they can always come back to haunt you if your credit card changes or expires (or gets hijacked by some scammer halfway across the globe forcing you to cancel your card).

When a company tries to bill you for your automatic payment and your card gets declined, guess what they do?  Do they have their secretary call you to remind you that your credit card expired?  That would be nice, but unfortunately, that’s not the case.  They immediately charge you penalties and late fees, which can end up on your credit report in the end.

These two steps are two things you must do immediately when you’re the victim of identity theft.  Your bank may have declined the initial fraudulent transaction, but if you don’t switch all your automatic bill payments, companies can just as easily rob you on a late fees.

Of course there is always step 3 which involves booking a plane ticket and tracking down the jerks that took advantage of your credit.  Unfortunately, step 3 carries a high risk and a low success rate, so it’s generally not highly recommended…

If you’re ever the victim of identity theft – and I hope you’re not – always remember there are 2 steps (not just one!) when closing down your exposed credit card.

Book Review: Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel

Author, blogger, and “stingy scoundrel” Phil Villarreal recently sent me a copy of his new book.  To say I was surprised by the book’s content would be huge understatement.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you probably know that I enjoy the more “personal” side of personal finance more than long drawn out blog posts about housing rates and the stock market (yawn).  If you are like me, then this book will be right up your alley.

Everyone in America has recently hopped on the frugal train to financial freedom – but let me ask you this: Have you considered buying a ticket from the nearest scalper for the “Stingy Scoundrel” train?

Phil’s book is chock full of “dirty little money-grubbing secrets” – 100 to be exact.

Readers, you’ve heard of being frugal and you’ll probably bored with it.  I dare you to try stingy on for size and have a little fun with these hard times.

Here are a few tidbits from Phil’s book:

“Who says soup kitchens are only for the homeless?  Every night, especially in the dead of winter, there’s a bounty of free, delicious food available without a catch.”

“When it’s time to propose to that special lady with whom you’ll spend the rest of your life, do so with a cheap cubic zirconium ring you picked up at a department store…”

My personal favorite (which I’ve actually been guilty of doing back when I was younger…):

“Whenever [my friend Tim] goes out to the clubs, he always keeps a tin flask filled with vodka inside his coat pocket.”

Phil’s book is a hilarious read; it’s perfect for those cold winter nights at home since it’s too damn expensive to go out these days (unless you bring a flask).  Although you may not be able to use most of his tips with a good moral conscience, I think if you get a little creative, you can use some form of his stingy secrets to save you a couple bucks.  If anything you’ll have fun doing it!

Secrets of a Stingy Scoundrel: 100 Dirty Little Money Grubbing Secrets is a great book for a good laugh if our country’s economic situation has got you down – especially if your sick of reading article after article on how to save money clipping coupons or taking ice-cold showers.  This book is just the refresher our country needs right now.  Get to a bookstore and check out Phil’s book today – and then try to sell it to your friend for more than you spent on it!

Phil Villarreal is a freelance writer for the Consumerist website, Arizona Daily Star, and OK! magazine.  He also write a blog and posts pictures of his book protestors regularly on twitter.