Always the Planner

Improving Education

2009-11-06T11:53:00.003-05:00

I just read an interesting column by the Naked Economist about how to improve American education.

To demonstrate public education he compares company A with company B.

Company A hires the best people it can. Those who are hired are paid and promoted based on performance. This is not easy, as it's often hard to determine who is really doing a good job. The compensation and promotion process is prone to politics and personal preferences. Still, most people at Company A recognize that there is a connection between pay and productivity. The true superstars get recognized eventually. Those who come to work but never contribute are fired eventually. Everyone in between believes that there is at least a tenuous connection between how hard they work and how well they do at the firm. It's not a perfect meritocracy, but it's not the Soviet Union either.

Company B also seeks to hire the best people it can, with several caveats. First, all prospective employees must undertake two years of full-time specialized training, at their own expense, just to be considered for a job. Study after study has shown that this training has zero connection to subsequent performance at the firm, but Company B sticks to this screening mechanism anyway. Second, all employees eventually hired by Company B are paid based on their years of experience at the firm, which also been shown to have little or no connection with job performance. Finally, Company B promises that no one who has worked at the company for three years or more will ever be fired, even if their performance is mediocre or poor, year after year.

Obviously, company B is our public education system. He goes on to argue that this system discourages the best people from becoming teachers. I don't disagree. I believe our teachers are still paid poorly for all the work that goes into being a good teacher. I also know that there has been a lot of controversy over teacher-training programs. I don't know enough about teacher-training programs to really comment on this argument though.

What annoyed me most in this article was the economic premise he used to explain why the most talented were not becoming teachers:

Economists refer to this phenomenon as adverse selection. Individuals use private information (their expected productivity in this case) to sort themselves into a job with a compensation structure that suits them best.

In fact, I realized that this is what annoys me about economics in general (and this is coming from someone who has been fascinated with the field since our economy collapsed). It is overly rational, ignoring other more personal considerations. For example, using the adverse selection phenomenon described above, it would be expected that the smartest and most motivated people would all be in the fields that pay them the best. My personal experience tells me this is not true.

There are many incredibly intelligent and highly motivated people who work at my organization, a non-profit that does necessarily pay well. In fact, I would go as far as to argue that I rarely interact with colleagues who are not highly motivated and dedicated in their jobs. I am constantly surprised at how much we are able to get done with a small budget and a small amount of staff (compared to similar organizations).

Perhaps this just hits a little too close to home for me. I am not an unintelligent person and I know that I could make a lot more money in another field. However, I choose to work in a nonprofit because I believe in the field and in my organization's mission.

I guess one could argue that compensation is not always defined as money, but can also be defined as the value of your job. However, wouldn't this then go against the columnist's point?

Monthly Update

2009-11-02T16:02:00.002-05:00

October was the first month is a long time that I managed to stay in my budget. I have to say it is a great feeling and now my challenge is to do it for November and December as well. This is my chance to turn out a very expensive year!

In regards to my net worth, it went up 1%. After all the months of watching it go down, I'm incredibly happy with a 1% increase.

In regards to my goals, it wasn't half bad.

1. Keep the Balance - It was a busy month, and while my balance wasn't perfect, besides missing some runs I think I did pretty well.

2. Small Challenge of the Month - I made this 3 out of the 4 weeks. Not too bad. Now I have to decide if I want to try this again, or have another small challenge.

3. Stay at or under Budget - DONE!!! =)

4. Keep up my Running - Fail. I have been running and I did run a 10k in October, but there was a week in there where I didn't run at all.

New Series - Your Stories

2009-10-30T09:47:00.003-04:00

The other day I received an email from one of my readers letting me know about this amazing deal he found. While I was excited for him, it also got me thinking about how I can showcase this on my blog. So, I've decided to start a new series called Your Stories. Now this series will completely depend on my readers, and if all my readers have their own blogs, well then welcome to the first and only reader's stories. (Though, they can always guest post!). If I have any readers who don't have their own blog and want to submit a post please do so! Just email me at alwaystheplanner (at) gmail (dot) com. I promise to protect your anonymity, unless you ask me otherwise.

So without further ado...

Eating Out

This reader of mine, let's call him Joe, decided he wanted to take his girlfriend out to eat. Like most people, he has been on a saving money kick. So he decided to shop around and came across the website restaurant.com. They sell gift certificates for participating restaurants at a very good discount. He decided to go ahead and buy two gift certificates. This it itself is a successful personal finance story, but Joe decided to take it one step further. I'll let him tell you in his own words (I've taken out some personal details).

I scored a $25 certificate for $2. Yes, $2. The normal price is $10, but I found an online code that brought the price to $2. I also bought a $25 GC for $2. There are some restrictions, like having to get a certain amount of food, and for Restaurant 1 they tack on the gratuity to the prediscounted price.

So having only ever used one restaurant.com gift certificate before I asked him to tell me how it went:

Great success! $2 got us a $25 credit towards our meal. The waiter knew exactly what it was and took it no questions asked.

Bam!!

So my friends, if you haven't already checked out restaurant.com it might not be such a bad idea. =)

iPhone Lust

2009-10-27T10:44:00.006-04:00

Lately I have had a serious case of iphone lust. In fact, it has been so bad that if it weren't for my boyfriend and sister I would already have one, whatever the costs. There are so many reasons I want one, but the biggest is that I believe it will help me better organize my increasingly busy life. I even found out I can get a discount through my place of work, which would mean that after the initial costs it would only be $25 more a month than I currently spend on my phone.

Luckily, I've come to my senses about needed an iphone this very minute. Though I still really really want one, and I still plan on getting one, the key word here being "plan".

It is not going to be cheap for me to get an iphone and before I can get one I need to have the money in the bank to pay for all the initial cost:

$199.99 - iphone

$175 - canceling other wireless service

$36 - initiation fee

For a total whooping amount of $410.99. How much do I have that I can use towards this at the moment? $117. Therefore, I need to save $294 before I can get an iphone. I currently put $75 towards my slush fund (that will fund my iphone) a month. This means 4 more months until I can get an iphone, unless I figure out how to save more money towards this cost. I just got an $80 reimbursement from my flexible spending plan that I'm seriously considering putting into this fund. It would mean I could get the iphone in January instead of February.

Here is where my competing goals come into play. I'm also focusing on saving for travel at the moment and a big part of me thinks that $80 needs to go into my travel fund, which is paltry at the moment.

Sigh, decisions...

What would you do?

photo by Brian Wilson

A Constant Struggle

2009-10-26T11:15:00.004-04:00

I find that personal finance never gets easy. It is a constant back and forth as you try to figure out what works best for you. Sometimes it makes sense to focus on saving, other times to pay down debt. And when you get to your near perfect place and your emergency savings is completely funded, something always happens. The next thing you know you are focusing on building your savings back up because there actually was an emergency.

It just seems that whenever I'm doing well, things happen that put me back. Either it is my own desire to get new and shiny things (i.e. the iphone). Or, everything just seems to break at once, like when my camera, phone and glasses all broke within two months of each other.

It is in this frustration that back and forth causes, where it is easy to think - what's the point. This is the most important time to remind yourself that it is going to be okay. The bigger goals of financial security are worth it. Eventually life will get easier, but only if you stick to your financial plan. I also believe that during these ups and downs it is worth it to rethink your priorities. For example, even though I'm not going to make my savings goal this year, I'm focusing on beefing up my travel fund. Because, when it comes down to it, if I don't have enough money in my travel savings before this summer, I'll end up pulling from my emergency fund to cover the costs. For me, that is never a good idea.

Frustration happens, you just can't let it take over.

picture by remuz [Jack The Ripper]

$20

2009-10-23T12:39:00.002-04:00

I can pat myself on the back again. I actually made this $20 challenge week. I spent no money until last night where I spent exactly $20 on pizza and beer.

I know Friday isn't technically over yet, but since I'm running a road race early tomorrow morning and I have a paper to finish and a midterm to study for I can guarantee I'm not going to spend money tonight.

I also want to apologize for not posting much lately. My life is going to return to what counts as normal for me after the end of this week and I'll have more time to both read and comment on my favorite blogs and actually write some posts!

Till then folks...

An Update

2009-10-19T11:38:00.003-04:00

Last week was not a good one for money - my $20 weekly challenge was a total fail. I don't have my budget with me so I can't tell you exact numbers, but after $20 for a co-pay, $20 at a grocery store, $27 for dinner with a friend, $5 for lunch it was my worst week ever!

I have to be really careful with the money I have left it make it last the next two weeks so I'm going to be more serious about keeping to my $20 limit this week.

I spent my entire weekend doing work so today my brain feels like mush. Definitely not good for a Monday. Sadly, I didn't get everything done that I wanted too. It was good to learn that things took me a lot longer to do then I expected. At least knowing this will help me plan better for the future.

So I didn't end up doing any reward shopping (though I did make it to Trader Joes). I've decided to table my shopping for a bit. Yes there are things I still really really want, but now that I have a winter coat and a good pair of gloves I don't need any of them. I'll be posting again soon about planning for the holiday season.

To Blackberry or iPhone

2009-10-16T08:00:00.001-04:00

As I often talk about on this blog, my life has gotten significantly more busy since I started school, especially since my job itself has gotten busier than usual. So even though I had to get a new phone recently (my completely died), I've been debating investing in a blackberry or iphone. I'm really beginning to think the extra cost each month would be worth it.

So here are my issues:

I would either have to pay a cancellation fee to get out of my current provider if I wanted an iphone, or
If I got a blackberry with my current provider, I would have to pay full price.

Either way it looks like it would be expensive. There are guides online that teach you how to get out of a contract without paying the fee and I could always ask at&t to do it, but there is no guarantee that any of that is going to work. I have no idea how to get a new phone at a discount if I just got a new phone.

Suggestions anyone?

Photo by William Hook

I Love Fall

2009-10-14T08:00:00.001-04:00

Even though I'm feeling very busy, I also feel like I want to go out and do fall things! I want to go apple picking, carve a pumpkin, make this pumpkin butter!

Even though fall means the end of summer, I love it. The weather is great, the colors on the trees are amazing, and I get to pull out and wear some of my cold weather clothes.

One of the drawbacks of Fall is that is always makes me want to go shopping. I want stock up on sweaters, skirts and boots. This is where being busy is a good thing. I don't have time to browse the stores, and there is always something else I could be doing besides spending my money. To keep myself from spending like crazy this fall, I'm using the wish list I created as guidelines to what I can spend my money on.

Thanks to my mom and a target gift card I've already gotten my winter coat, one sweater dress, and a pair of really good gloves. Next on my list are a pair of camel colored flat boots and a few more winter skirts/dresses (and tights to wear with them). Luckily, I still have a $100 rebate card from buying my phone I can use for some of these purchases.

I've decided to use shopping as a reward for getting my work done this weekend. If I can get to the point where I have good drafts of everything I have due in the next two weeks then I can spend a few hours shopping. If the urgency of needing to get stuff done doesn't motivate me, hopefully this will!

photo by Grant MacDonald

Feeling the Stress

2009-10-12T13:14:00.003-04:00

Just a warning this post rambles a bit.

So far balancing school and work has gone really well. Yes I'm very busy with both, but I haven't felt overwhelmed. This month is slightly different. While I'm not feeling overwhelmed, I am feeling stressed. I have a lot due this month, more than I do at the end of the school year. I'm also working on some big projects at work, so I feel busy all the time. I'm worried about finding the time to get everything done, and done well.

Luckily I don't have any plans this weekend. So now I just have to make sure I get things done. I've been toying with the idea of planning my Saturday like it is a work day. I'd get up, get dressed, eat breakfast, but instead of commuting to work I would lock myself in our home office and not take a real break again until lunch. I'm contemplating this because sometimes I surprise myself at how much I can get done in one day at work. I just can't decide if this will stress me out more or make things easier. I guess the only way to really know is to try.

A Quick Update

2009-10-09T10:50:00.002-04:00

Since I've started three different posts this weekend and haven't found the time to finish one I thought I would give you a quick update now and work on a longer post this weekend.

I've decided to focus my student loan energy on the smaller loan. I just think the psychological benefits outweigh everything else and during a time where I feel strapped for cash it will be nice to be making progress towards something!

I've actually done a great job on my $20 a week challenge. Here is my spending:

$3 on hot chocolate from the grocery store (so I won't buy a $2 hot chocolate form dunkin donuts every other day)
$6 on pizza
$1 at the vending machine
$2.50 on soup for lunch today

$12.50! I even have a little splurging room if I want to buy something else tonight. Since I plan on doing some work and then relaxing I doubt I'll go over $20.

My Student Loans

2009-10-05T19:11:00.003-04:00

As October began I realized that one of my student loan payments hadn't been deducted from my checking account. I pay one manually and the larger payment is done automatically. A little time spend searching and I realized that both my loans had gone into deferment since I started school. I had not planned on deferring my loans while I was in school, but this opportunity got me thinking...

I currently pay $166 towards one of my student loans and $65 towards the other. The larger payment goes towards a balance of $12,332 and the smaller towards $2078. In a lot of ways the smaller one annoys me the most. I think it is because I know I could pull from my savings and pay it all off at once, however I don't want to pull from my savings.

So, if I concentrate on the smaller loan (only paying the interest on the larger loan) I could put $20o towards it every month. I would use the extra $30 towards the interest on the other loan, and would pay anything over that out of my $700 monthly spending money budget. By focusing on my smaller loan I could pay it off in a year! While it might not make a difference in the long run I'm really beginning to think the psychological benefit of doing this would be huge. I would just feel so good having paid it off because then I could focus on my larger loan. Plus it would be one less payment to make every month.

I haven't decided if I'm definitely going to do this yet, but I'm heavily leaning towards it.

Goals & Another Small Challenge

2009-10-03T20:24:00.004-04:00

Since my last small challenge was so successful I've decided to give myself another one, but this time roll it into my monthly goals. So here they are:

1. Keep the Balance - This was a goal last month as well. This month is going to be harder since I have a lot of work due for school. It means I'm going to need to be disciplined when I'm doing work and plan ahead of time.

2. Small Challenge of the Month - I'm challenging myself to only spend $20 from Monday to Friday each week this month. To clarify, this means each week I get $20 to spend each week, not $20 for the whole month. I imagine this is going to be hard, but considering this is a five weekend month, it will also be vital in helping me with goal #3.

3. Stay at or under Budget - Self-explanatory.

4. Keep up my Running - I need to start running in the morning so I can get in at least 3 runs a week. I'm running a 10k at the end of the month so this is non-negotiable.

Now in spirit of goal #1 I'm going to get back to work!

Picture by iChris

My Wish List

2009-10-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

As always, during a time that I'm trying to save as much as possible the list of things I want seems to be growing. Here is my wish list of things I would buy if I had a big chuck of change to spend.

A New Winter Coat - I could probably get by with the one I have, but I would really like a nice coat that will last me a while.
Really Warm Gloves - I can argue this is a necessity because my fingers go numb so easily. My gloves from last year have been completely warn through and the other pairs I have are not warm enough.
A Pair of Tom's Shoes - Either these or these.
Fix My Ipod - The sound on my ipod touch broke and it is $180 to get it replaced.
eGo Helium Portable Hard Drive for a Mac
A New Camera - My camera broke at the beginning of the summer. In a perfect world I would get this one (with a touch screen)! But in all honestly I would be thrilled to have this one (in green) or this one. I consider this a necessity, though technically it probably isn't.
A Pair of Flat to Low-Heeled Camel Toned High Boots. Does anyone have any suggestions?
A Couple New Winter Skirts for Work - I have a $50 Target gift card that I'm hoping I can use for this purchase.

Now that is a list of wants.

September Goal Update

2009-10-01T13:51:00.002-04:00

I actually had goals in September. The first time in a very long time I've had monthly goals.

So how did I do?

1. Keep the Balance

I feel really good about this one. I wasn't overwhelmed and I still have some time to relax. Granted I'm incredibly busy at work and with school, but overall I'm doing well. I even think I could take a third class without too much more stress!

2. Stay within budget

I don't have the numbers in front on my right now, but I think I only slightly went over budget, maybe by $50 or so?. This doesn't count a birthday gift I bought for my boyfriend or a bridesmaid dress I purchased. If I want to be honest and count those then I'm way over budget.

3. Make a list of all the things I need/want to buy and go from there.

So I did this today. Does that count? I'm actually going to post this list so you can see my personal wish list (and hopefully help me decide what I can do without).

It felt good to have goals this month, so I'm going to continue this. October monthly goals coming soon...

The Comparison Trap

2009-09-30T18:19:00.004-04:00

I've posted before about why financially comparing yourself to others is foolish because it is often based on superficial things. In other words it is hard to really know what is going on under the surface. I've also posted about how easy it is to be jealous of others who do not seem to be as concerned about their future and finances (or those who have more money to spend). I like to think I do my best not to be jealous and not to compare myself to others when it comes to my finances. However, the other day I realized that I'm horrible about following my own advice when it comes to other aspects of my life.

I often find myself feeling like I'm behind when it comes to my accomplishments in life. For example it happens when I hear about someone I attended college or graduate school with who seem to be so much better off than me professionally. I end up feeling inadequate. I know it is silly to think this way because everyone's life takes different paths and in all honesty I am accomplished!

Part of the problem has to do with the fact that I work with many intelligent and successful women who I look up to. Okay so this doesn't sound like a problem, but it does when you take into account my lack of patience. I want to be as successful as they are one day, and a big part of me feels like I need to be doing more now to get there. Of course this may or may not be true, since I have no way of knowing where life may take me. In my head I know this comparison game I play is a waste of time and energy, but my emotions continue to play.

I think the only answer is to keep reminding myself that I'm living my life, not theirs. Of course this is easier said than done. Does anyone else struggle with these feelings of inadequacy? If so, how do you counter them?

A Cultural Shift

2009-09-29T14:22:00.003-04:00

Since I'm swamped at the moment and can't seem to find the time to write a real post I thought I would share an interesting op-ed piece by David Brooks in Monday's New York Times.

Brooks argues that there needs to be a cultural shift in our economic values as a country.

Here are some snippets:

Centuries ago, historians came up with a classic theory to explain the rise and decline of nations. The theory was that great nations start out tough-minded and energetic. Toughness and energy lead to wealth and power. Wealth and power lead to affluence and luxury. Affluence and luxury lead to decadence, corruption and decline.

However, this was not true for the U.S.:

Yet despite its amazing wealth, the United States has generally remained immune to this cycle. American living standards surpassed European living standards as early as 1740. But in the U.S., affluence did not lead to indulgence and decline.

That’s because despite the country’s notorious materialism, there has always been a countervailing stream of sound economic values. The early settlers believed in Calvinist restraint. The pioneers volunteered for brutal hardship during their treks out west. Waves of immigrant parents worked hard and practiced self-denial so their children could succeed. Government was limited and did not protect people from the consequences of their actions, thus enforcing discipline and restraint....

Our current cultural politics are organized by the obsolete culture war, which has put secular liberals on one side and religious conservatives on the other. But the slide in economic morality afflicted Red and Blue America equally.

If there is to be a movement to restore economic values, it will have to cut across the current taxonomies. Its goal will be to make the U.S. again a producer economy, not a consumer economy. It will champion a return to financial self-restraint, large and small.

It will have to take on what you might call the lobbyist ethos — the righteous conviction held by everybody from AARP to the agribusinesses that their groups are entitled to every possible appropriation, regardless of the larger public cost. It will have to take on the self-indulgent popular demand for low taxes and high spending.

If you have time I suggest you read the whole article.

Why Budgets Matter

2009-09-22T13:22:00.006-04:00

There is a lot of opinion in the personal finance world on whether or not you need a budget. Those of you who have been following my blog know that I'm a big proponent of budgets and that I'm always tweaking mine, trying to figure out what works best for me. For this reason I am also a big believer that your budget is a living document. It is a guide to help you plan, so it shouldn't just be created and set aside.

How you budget is completely up to you. I try to track every expense so I have a clear picture of where my money is going. I have a friend who just tracks what he spends per day. Others may just take out a certain amount of cash and when that's gone that's it for the month. The best thing about budgeting is that it is not one size fits all, instead it is up to the user to figure out what works best for them.

Lately I've been thinking about the larger picture of budgeting. In other words, why are they so important? Why are they necessary for business (for- and non-profits) and helpful for individuals?

When it comes down to it budgeting is about resource allocation.

In other words, it sets your priorities. In a perfect world I could buy whatever I wanted whenever I wanted. However, this is not a perfect world and I need to balance my needs, wants and debt with my priorities. In other words, I need to decide how to allocate the resources I have. Businesses do the same thing and looking at their budgets can help us figure out their priorities.

On the individual level my upcoming travel is a great example. Normally I wouldn't be so focused on increasing my travel fund. However, it has now become a priority, and because I have a budget I am able to reallocate my money to reflect this priority.

So yes, budgets do matter.

Picture by nimboo

Small Challenges

2009-09-16T16:57:00.002-04:00

Sometimes it's the small things.

I've challenged myself this week only to spend the cash in my wallet ($8 and change), and so far it is going exceptionally well. The only money I have spent is $2.25 on a slice of pizza.

This challenge has gotten me thinking about how small challenges and short-term goals are incredibly valuable tools as we work towards a larger goal. In this case my larger goal is to reduce my spending so I can save more towards a big trip this summer. That trip is 9 months away, so focusing on the trip to save money isn't very realistic for me. However, since I love challenges, a bunch of small goals along the way could potentially make a big difference in the amount of money I save.

A good example of this is when I go for a run. My ultimate goal may be six miles, but to get there I focus on something closer. First I focus on the weird looking tree, once I get there I decide to focus on getting up the hill, then I just want to enjoy the run down the hill, and so on it goes until I've run six miles.

I also use this method when I have big projects at work. When I'm feeling overwhelmed I make a to do list and start with the quickest and easiest tasks. Before I know it I've checked off half the list and the project doesn't seem so daunting anymore.

Since it works so well for different aspects of my life, it makes sense to use this system for my financial goals. This way, rather than only focusing on the larger goal, I can spend time just challenging myself to see if I can pull off a week on $8 (not so hard to do when you went grocery shopping the week before).

While we should never forget the larger picture, sometimes focusing on the smaller steps can help us get there.

Photo by aldoaldoz

Planning to Travel

2009-09-14T13:18:00.003-04:00

I'm planning a big trip come June with a couple of my friends. I don't like to talk about details until they are definite, which is why I'm not going to say much about it just yet. While I don't consider myself superstitious I also don't like to jinx anything!

The reason for this post is that I need to focus my savings on this traveling opportunity. Last night I took some time to reevaluate my goals and I've decided to put less into my emergency fund and more into my travel fund. Sadly though, this still won't be enough money. So I also plan on

putting any money aside that I receive for my birthday (it is in November);
asking my parents for, and saving any money I get for Christmas; and
using my tax return for this trip.

I'm still not sure if that will be enough so I'm also going to look for ways to budget better and squeeze more money out of my monthly budget. So, in an attempt to get myself back into savings mode I'm going to have a mini-challenge for myself.

I'm only going to spend the $8 and change I have in my wallet from today to Friday, September 18.

I'm not expanding this into the weekend because we already have plans to rent bikes and have people over on Saturday. On Sunday my only goal is to get my hair trimmed, which I'm probably going to do at some walk-in cheap place, because really how much could someone mess up a trim?

If this challenge goes well I might try having more mini challenges for myself to keep the motivation to save strong. Wish me luck!

First Week - First Attempt at Balance

2009-09-08T11:22:00.004-04:00

Last week was my first week of school. It went well! I'm very excited for the semester and to be studying what I'm studying.

My biggest concern about starting school was how to maintain balance in my life. Because of this I decided to only start with two classes. I'm happy to say my first week went particularly well. I managed to run 3 times, finish all my work and still have time downtime. Of course, the first week is often the easiest week. Plus I had benefit of labor day.

This week of school will be a better test as I have both classes and only a two day weekend (a weekend that I'm going to be out of town).

Out of everything that I do, I'm most concerned that my blogging will suffer. I'm considering having a set time that I work on blog posts every week. Does anyone do that? Are they having success?

Photo by kevindooley

Just Say No

2009-09-04T15:57:00.003-04:00

Last night I'm rushing from the subway to make it to the first day of one of my classes on time. It is rush hour on a busy street so I'm doing my best not to walk into anyone and not to get stuck behind anyone slow.

As I'm walking I see someone with a clipboard and immediately try to avoid eye contact. But in a moment of weakness I do and immediately am asked if I have a moment to save babies. I say I'm sorry and keep walking already thinking about something else. And then it happens: "So you are a child hater then".

Are you kidding me!?

Because I don't have time or even want to stop and talk to you I'm a child hater.

Summer in New York also means that the number of people with clipboards seems to triple at best. While I understand these are jobs that people have, I do not stop. Ever. If I want to donate money to a cause I care about then I do.

This incident last night got me thinking about all the things I've said no too, that I do care about:

Them: Do you have a minute for the environment?

Me: Sorry, no

Them: Do you have a minute for gay rights?

Me: Sorry, no

Them: Do you have a minute to save the children?

Me: Sorry, no

The list can go on and on, and yet not one of them called me a "child hater" or an "environment hater" or any other kind of hater after I went on my way.

So thank you to all of those people who have not called me a name because I don't stop. And for those of you that do call names. Grow up.

Welcome September!

2009-09-01T12:56:00.004-04:00

Even though September means the summer is over, for me, it still brings a lot of great things. My two year anniversary with my bf is today, my bf's bday is coming up, I'm starting school, and the weather is already moving towards perfect running weather.

September has always felt like a new beginning. Sure January is the new year, but September is when you get the chance to start fresh. This probably has something to do with the fact that I've spent more years in school than working full-time (I'm counting kindergarten through grad school here folks!)

Anyways, I haven't posted monthly goals in a long time, so in honor of a new start here are my goals this month:

1. Keep the Balance

Find someway to continue to work out, be productive at work, and keep on top of school work. I know this is vague, but I think I'll have a better idea of what I need to do once I've experienced a month of it. Also isn't it interesting that everything I want to do includes the word "work"?

2. Stay within budget

I haven't done this is a long time so this is going to be a challenge for me. I'm not sure if being busy will help or hurt this goal. I will have less time to spend, but less time to make dinners so may end up buying takeout more often.

3. Make a list of all the things I need/want to buy and go from there.

I've had a lot of things break recently including my camera and my ipod. I need to figure out everything that I need to replace, plus some things I kinda want, and see if I can fit them into my budget.

It is only three goals, but it is a start!

As for an August update. I went over budget but my networth still went up! All in all I'm satisfied with the month.

Goodbye Reading Rainbow

2009-08-28T16:16:00.003-04:00

As I was rushing to get ready this morning a story on NPR made me stop. Reading Rainbow was going off the air. For those of you who don't know or remember Reading Rainbow was this great show on PBS where LeVar Burton (also known for his role on Star Trek The Next Generation) featured a children's book which led to some great adventure every eposide.

While it has been years since I watched it, and I mean so long I basically forgot about the show, I find myself mourning its loss. According the the radio piece I heard the show ran for 26 years, the last few years through re-runs.

And so for a little Friday fun I'd like to take you back...

It Could Happen to Anyone

2009-08-28T15:38:00.002-04:00

Catching up on my New York Magazine this week I found myself engrossed in an article about how Annie Leibovitz ended up in serious financial trouble. I know it shouldn't, but it still shocks me when people who make a lot of money end up blowing it all. Perhaps it is because I'm so careful with my spending and dream of what I could do if I made even a little more.

Back to Annie Leibovitz. Reading the article I was also surprised to see how foolish she was with money to begin with:

Photographers are typically paid a fee for their work, plus expenses. The client, whether it’s a magazine, advertiser, or individual, stipulates an expense budget that the photographer must operate within. From the start, Leibovitz’s perfectionism led her to pay little or no attention to budget restrictions, and she spent money recklessly, losing cameras, accruing parking tickets, and even abandoning rental cars.

Abandoning rental cars? Not paying attention to your job's budget restrictions. It seems obvious that she only got away with this because times were flush and she is such an amazing photographer.

It's a good read, especially for a Friday afternoon when you are struggling to pay attention to work. And the moral of the story for me, it doesn't matter how much you make you need to spend within your means and you need to save for the future.