If your mom was anything like mine, she probably reminded you a lot to consider the less fortunate when you got to feeling sorry for yourself. As a kid I rolled my eyes, but my ears were still working. Childish protestations aside, my mom was absolutely right. If times are hard for you, they are probably worse for someone else in your community. There's no time like the present to lend a hand.
The Thanksgiving holiday is a great reminder to us all to be grateful for what we have, and to help others around us as well. As the weather gets colder and heat bills go up, need in communities across the nation increases. Food banks all over are struggling with rising costs and rising need, and some are going broke in the face of these challenges. It's time for us all to step up and take a little of that burden to help each other.
Either we stand together, or we fall apart, right?
So here's your homework assignment this week: I challenge you to find a little to give. Whether you look through your closet and weed out old blankets and coats, or find a bit of extra in your budget for the local food bank, any little bit helps.
Compliments of msn.com, here is a summarized list of top ten needs of food banks in your area:
1. CASH
2. Proteins, like canned meats, oils, and peanut butter
3. Soups and stews
4. Rice and pasta
5. Cereals and oatmeal
6. Canned or dried beans or peas
7. Canned fruits
8. Fruit juice
9. Prepared box mixes like mac-n-cheese or hamburger helper
10. Dehydrated or evaporated milk
In addition to the top ten, a lot of local charities find need for non-food items this time of year as well. Things like hygiene items, blankets, sweaters, and coats are all in high demand as well.
Whether you can spare food items, money, or just a few old blankets, every little bit helps someone. Resale stores like St. Vincent de Paul or Salvation Army can even use other odds and ends to make money for their food pantries, and to provide low-cost household items and Christmas gifts to those who need them most. Money, goods, and even time go a long way to help those who need them most, and it takes so very little to give.
So this week, count your blessings and give thanks by sharing whatever you can. You have my word that it will come back to you someday.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Where does it all go?
We've all been there. You think you're spending wisely, you're not making any major purchases, you're paying your bills and your paycheck should last...but at the end of the week, there just doesn't seem to be as much in the account as there should be. You may even experience a brief moment of panic as you look at your balance. As you stand there in the parking lot, heart fluttering as you look at the receipt, the question on your mind is the same as many others.
What the hell happened?
As someone who has experienced both upward and downward financial mobility, I have noticed some habits that quietly eat up money fast and often go unnoticed. These habits seem harmless, but just like a diet, the little splurges add up over time to yield big results. I call these...
MONEY MUNCHERS!:
Fast food
I know it calls to you after a hard day at work. It seems so much easier than cooking dinner, and really, the kids won't mind! You don't even have to get out of the car-- just a quick trip through the drive-through and you're home free. They'll be satisfied, you won't have to cook, and there will be no fights over who eats what vegetables.
The reality is that it isn't worth it. The average fast food dinner costs about five bucks per person. Let a family of four do that once a week, and we're talking $1,040.00 over the course of the year. What would YOU give to have that money lying around at Christmas time? And the average American eats this junk way more than once a week. Look at your habits, and do the math.
"But Liz," you argue, "If I cut my fast food consumption, won't my grocery bills just be higher?"
Not likely. Americans generate over 30 million TONS of food waste each year. That's an average of $1,200 per family. With a little foresight and realistic planning, you can cut waste from both ends. And that's to say nothing of the health and nutrition benefits, and the advantages your kids get by having family meals.
Specialty Coffee
As an admitted coffee addict, this is a touchy topic for me. There is just something so much more satisfying about a dark and spicy mocha than my morning cup of joe. That said, even I can't justify the expense when faced with the cold, hard truth. My four dollar lattes, when consumed each work day, add up to a whopping $1,000.00 every year. Though I can't stand to cut them altogether, drinking my coffees just once a week ($208 annually) was much easier on my bank account.
Take-out
I know packing a lunch can seem burdensome during a hectic morning, but it's totally worth it. A five dollar take out meal (a steal by any standards) each workday can run you $1,250.00 a year. Better to wake up a little earlier and make time to pack a quick lunch sack.
Cigarettes
It's hard to say no to an addiction, but your wallet and your lungs will thank you. At three and a half dollars a pack, a pack a day smoker spends almost $25 a week. That's $1,277.50 annually for the cigarettes alone, to say nothing of the potential health care costs accrued over time. Even cutting back a little will save a lot of money.
Alcohol
Please understand, I'm not talking about the occasional glass of beer or wine at home. I'm no puritan, and I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner like anyone else. That said, going out clubbing regularly will leave you with more than a headache. Those cover charges and overpriced drinks add up quickly, not to mention the potential for costly unwise choices and missed work hours due to the brown-bottle flu. If you spend fifty dollars a week (a kind estimate for the regulars), that's $2,600.00 per year in bar tab alone.
Still not convinced? I can book two weeks in the Bahamas in January, starting at $1,579 per person. We are talking direct flight from Detroit to St. Thomas, staying at a three-star resort.
Tell me again that you can't find something better to do with that money, sugar.
$3 or Less
I've done it, and I know you've done it too. You go about your shopping, spying an item that you want, that maybe you don't need, and maybe you go ahead and get it. After all, it's less than three bucks, right? You can totally afford that. But when you get to the register, you may suffer a little sticker shock. All those little $3 purchases and "great deals" added up to higher than you expected.
Now imagine what that does to your budget in the long haul! My grandmother used to say something that applies here: "If you weren't about to buy it anyway, it isn't really a deal."
If that ain't the truth...
If parting with any of these habits seems overwhelming, remember that you don't have to part with them wholesale. Just like my coffee, simply cutting back is sometimes enough. It's all about choices, and deciding what matters most to you. If you can't live without going out dancing every night, that's fine. That's all you. Me? I'd rather be in the Bahamas.
What the hell happened?
As someone who has experienced both upward and downward financial mobility, I have noticed some habits that quietly eat up money fast and often go unnoticed. These habits seem harmless, but just like a diet, the little splurges add up over time to yield big results. I call these...
MONEY MUNCHERS!:
Fast food
I know it calls to you after a hard day at work. It seems so much easier than cooking dinner, and really, the kids won't mind! You don't even have to get out of the car-- just a quick trip through the drive-through and you're home free. They'll be satisfied, you won't have to cook, and there will be no fights over who eats what vegetables.
The reality is that it isn't worth it. The average fast food dinner costs about five bucks per person. Let a family of four do that once a week, and we're talking $1,040.00 over the course of the year. What would YOU give to have that money lying around at Christmas time? And the average American eats this junk way more than once a week. Look at your habits, and do the math.
"But Liz," you argue, "If I cut my fast food consumption, won't my grocery bills just be higher?"
Not likely. Americans generate over 30 million TONS of food waste each year. That's an average of $1,200 per family. With a little foresight and realistic planning, you can cut waste from both ends. And that's to say nothing of the health and nutrition benefits, and the advantages your kids get by having family meals.
Specialty Coffee
As an admitted coffee addict, this is a touchy topic for me. There is just something so much more satisfying about a dark and spicy mocha than my morning cup of joe. That said, even I can't justify the expense when faced with the cold, hard truth. My four dollar lattes, when consumed each work day, add up to a whopping $1,000.00 every year. Though I can't stand to cut them altogether, drinking my coffees just once a week ($208 annually) was much easier on my bank account.
Take-out
I know packing a lunch can seem burdensome during a hectic morning, but it's totally worth it. A five dollar take out meal (a steal by any standards) each workday can run you $1,250.00 a year. Better to wake up a little earlier and make time to pack a quick lunch sack.
Cigarettes
It's hard to say no to an addiction, but your wallet and your lungs will thank you. At three and a half dollars a pack, a pack a day smoker spends almost $25 a week. That's $1,277.50 annually for the cigarettes alone, to say nothing of the potential health care costs accrued over time. Even cutting back a little will save a lot of money.
Alcohol
Please understand, I'm not talking about the occasional glass of beer or wine at home. I'm no puritan, and I enjoy a glass of wine with dinner like anyone else. That said, going out clubbing regularly will leave you with more than a headache. Those cover charges and overpriced drinks add up quickly, not to mention the potential for costly unwise choices and missed work hours due to the brown-bottle flu. If you spend fifty dollars a week (a kind estimate for the regulars), that's $2,600.00 per year in bar tab alone.
Still not convinced? I can book two weeks in the Bahamas in January, starting at $1,579 per person. We are talking direct flight from Detroit to St. Thomas, staying at a three-star resort.
Tell me again that you can't find something better to do with that money, sugar.
$3 or Less
I've done it, and I know you've done it too. You go about your shopping, spying an item that you want, that maybe you don't need, and maybe you go ahead and get it. After all, it's less than three bucks, right? You can totally afford that. But when you get to the register, you may suffer a little sticker shock. All those little $3 purchases and "great deals" added up to higher than you expected.
Now imagine what that does to your budget in the long haul! My grandmother used to say something that applies here: "If you weren't about to buy it anyway, it isn't really a deal."
If that ain't the truth...
If parting with any of these habits seems overwhelming, remember that you don't have to part with them wholesale. Just like my coffee, simply cutting back is sometimes enough. It's all about choices, and deciding what matters most to you. If you can't live without going out dancing every night, that's fine. That's all you. Me? I'd rather be in the Bahamas.
Friday, November 7, 2008
You Can't Afford Not To
Before we go too wild with the budgeting talk, there are a few things to think about. It's only natural to begin a budget and then start looking at cutting expenses wildly. After all, that's how this is supposed to work, right?
Well slow down there sparky, you may be doing more harm than good. Budgeting is like dieting-- it only works when you stick with it. A chocoholic cannot cut all things chocolate from her diet and expect that to last long. Likewise with your budget. Also like a diet, going overboard can actually hurt you. Starving yourself of vital nutrients can cause your body to work against you, and cutting vital things in your budget can actually cost you more in the long run.
Let's look over a list, shall we?
Nutrition:
It's tempting, I know. That grocery bill is often a family's largest flexible expenditure each month. Those twenty-five cent boxes of mac-n-cheeseproduct seem to call to you with a voice of their own in hard times. Filling...comforting...cheap...NUTRITIONALLY VOID OF VALUE. It's easy to get caught in the trap of buying garbage because it's cheap or easier to do. But when push comes to shove, you're only hurting yourself.
Preventative health care:
When health care costs are skyrocketing, it can be hard to bring yourself to go in for a checkup or fill that costly prescription. Just remember, allergy medicine is cheaper than bronchitis. Checkups are cheaper than heart attacks, and flu shots are cheaper than missed work.
Dental Care:
Just like health care, dental is pricey. But there are a lot of dollars between a filling and a root canal, and if you skip the one, you might suddenly find yourself in need of the other. Regular cleanings are cheaper than fillings, and fillings are cheaper than extractions and root canals. Oh, and by the way...floss is cheaper than all of these.
Fitness:
Health club memberships are expensive, no doubt. Some of them are month to month or usage-based, and others are long term contracts that are very hard to get out of. If you can't get out of your contract, you may as well get your money's worth. If you aren't stuck and choose to let your membership go, don't let your fitness go along the way! Regular exercise relieves tension, lowers blood pressure, and boosts stress-fighting chemicals all day. It's easy to get in the rut of "I'm stressed out and don't feel like it," but that's the worst thing you can do to yourself in tough times.
Clothing:
Don't get me wrong here-- cotton t's and children's clothes are perfectly fine to purchase from the big discount store. I'm talking about professional clothing. You can't afford to go into a job interview with your elbows showing through your jacket. Buy mix and match separates in quality fabrics, and your dollars will go a lot farther. It's easy to sew a button back on, but neigh impossible to fix a hole worn in a cheap fabric.
Auto Maintenance:
Car repairs can get costly, but ignoring that service engine light can cost you more if you ignore it. One malfunctioning part, if left unrepaired for too long, can cause others to fail as well. That could leave you with a much bigger repair bill than necessary.
Credit Cards:
If you have outstanding bills, you have GOT to pay off the high-interest stuff ASAP. In the words of Dr. Elizabeth Warren, "as long as they'll make minimum monthly payments, skipping one here, making one there ... that's the single most profitable customer in the credit card portfolio." In fact, on the average credit card balance, only about 2/3 of it is actual principle. The rest is interest, late fees, and over-limit penalties. If you don't get rid of that credit card balance, you're throwing away your money.
This list just goes to show you that a budget is not just the big, scary list of what you can't buy. It's about spending smart, and taking good care of yourself. There are so many other things out there that are much more important than money. Your health, your family, and your peace of mind are all irreplaceable, and in hard times, defend those first.
Note: As is the eternal truth, I no more than completed this list when another blogger posted something I forgot. Check out this post at Almost Frugal to learn about the importance of caring for your appliances!
Well slow down there sparky, you may be doing more harm than good. Budgeting is like dieting-- it only works when you stick with it. A chocoholic cannot cut all things chocolate from her diet and expect that to last long. Likewise with your budget. Also like a diet, going overboard can actually hurt you. Starving yourself of vital nutrients can cause your body to work against you, and cutting vital things in your budget can actually cost you more in the long run.
Let's look over a list, shall we?
Nutrition:
It's tempting, I know. That grocery bill is often a family's largest flexible expenditure each month. Those twenty-five cent boxes of mac-n-cheeseproduct seem to call to you with a voice of their own in hard times. Filling...comforting...cheap...NUTRITIONALLY VOID OF VALUE. It's easy to get caught in the trap of buying garbage because it's cheap or easier to do. But when push comes to shove, you're only hurting yourself.
Preventative health care:
When health care costs are skyrocketing, it can be hard to bring yourself to go in for a checkup or fill that costly prescription. Just remember, allergy medicine is cheaper than bronchitis. Checkups are cheaper than heart attacks, and flu shots are cheaper than missed work.
Dental Care:
Just like health care, dental is pricey. But there are a lot of dollars between a filling and a root canal, and if you skip the one, you might suddenly find yourself in need of the other. Regular cleanings are cheaper than fillings, and fillings are cheaper than extractions and root canals. Oh, and by the way...floss is cheaper than all of these.
Fitness:
Health club memberships are expensive, no doubt. Some of them are month to month or usage-based, and others are long term contracts that are very hard to get out of. If you can't get out of your contract, you may as well get your money's worth. If you aren't stuck and choose to let your membership go, don't let your fitness go along the way! Regular exercise relieves tension, lowers blood pressure, and boosts stress-fighting chemicals all day. It's easy to get in the rut of "I'm stressed out and don't feel like it," but that's the worst thing you can do to yourself in tough times.
Clothing:
Don't get me wrong here-- cotton t's and children's clothes are perfectly fine to purchase from the big discount store. I'm talking about professional clothing. You can't afford to go into a job interview with your elbows showing through your jacket. Buy mix and match separates in quality fabrics, and your dollars will go a lot farther. It's easy to sew a button back on, but neigh impossible to fix a hole worn in a cheap fabric.
Auto Maintenance:
Car repairs can get costly, but ignoring that service engine light can cost you more if you ignore it. One malfunctioning part, if left unrepaired for too long, can cause others to fail as well. That could leave you with a much bigger repair bill than necessary.
Credit Cards:
If you have outstanding bills, you have GOT to pay off the high-interest stuff ASAP. In the words of Dr. Elizabeth Warren, "as long as they'll make minimum monthly payments, skipping one here, making one there ... that's the single most profitable customer in the credit card portfolio." In fact, on the average credit card balance, only about 2/3 of it is actual principle. The rest is interest, late fees, and over-limit penalties. If you don't get rid of that credit card balance, you're throwing away your money.
This list just goes to show you that a budget is not just the big, scary list of what you can't buy. It's about spending smart, and taking good care of yourself. There are so many other things out there that are much more important than money. Your health, your family, and your peace of mind are all irreplaceable, and in hard times, defend those first.
Note: As is the eternal truth, I no more than completed this list when another blogger posted something I forgot. Check out this post at Almost Frugal to learn about the importance of caring for your appliances!
Thursday, November 6, 2008
Time to Take Control
So you've lost your job, taken a cut in your hours, or had a big salary reduction. If you're one of the hundreds of thousands of people in this position, you probably have a stack of bills sitting on one side of your computer (I prefer the left) and a bank statement on the other. If you're anything like me, you're probably terrified to look at either one of them, and maybe even cruising blogger to find something to distract you from your situation.
Sorry I'm letting you down on that front.
The bills are not going anywhere. They will still be there when you're done reading this post, and the stack will only get bigger from here. Pretty scary, huh? Even if you're not one of the people in this position, the prospect of ending up there is terrifying. There are a lot of good people in this world with bills that they would love to pay...if only they knew how.
The good news is that you are not helpless. A little planning and a little understanding can show you money that you never knew you had, and help those dollars stretch farther when you need them most. The simple fact is that people need to know how much money is coming in, how much is going out, and where it is going to. You need a budget.
Everybody knows that you need a budget to manage your money, right? WRONG! Consumer-action.org reports that over a third of US families do not use a budget to manage their finances. Some consumer advocacy groups rate that number at even higher! The word budget has become a scary word for a lot of people, and it doesn't have to be that way. For many, budgeting means coming to terms with your financial situation, denying yourself, scrimping and suffering. In actuality, budgeting is a tool that will allow you to make smart choices and be in control.
That's right, budgeting is all about choices. Once you track your expenses, you can decide what is important to you and how to make those important things happen. Would you rather have those designer label things, or nice furniture? Would you rather have your daily latte, or six hundred dollars extra for the holidays? Would you rather order take out for lunch all week, or take a vacation? Expense tracking is about making choices, even if some of us have more choices than others. If your two pack a day habit is coming between you and paying the electric bill, don't you want to know?
If you're one of the readers sitting at your computer surrounded by bills, your time is now. Whether you use an online program, a printable worksheet, a computer program, or a notebook, you can't afford to wait. Get started on filling out that budget now, and take a long and hard look at where your money is going.
If you're not in trouble yet or don't know where your dough goes, there's another easy method. Simply take a manila envelope and write the the following words on it: DID YOU SPEND MONEY TODAY? Scribble today's date somewhere on the bottom. Then take that envelope and tape it to your refrigerator, inside your front door, to your car's dash, or wherever you have to put it to remind yourself. Every time you spend money for the next month, you need to put a receipt of some kind in that envelope. Whether it's your rent check stub, or a sticky note for the five bucks you loaned a friend, put it in the envelope.
At the end of the month, what you learn about yourself may surprise you.
Sorry I'm letting you down on that front.
The bills are not going anywhere. They will still be there when you're done reading this post, and the stack will only get bigger from here. Pretty scary, huh? Even if you're not one of the people in this position, the prospect of ending up there is terrifying. There are a lot of good people in this world with bills that they would love to pay...if only they knew how.
The good news is that you are not helpless. A little planning and a little understanding can show you money that you never knew you had, and help those dollars stretch farther when you need them most. The simple fact is that people need to know how much money is coming in, how much is going out, and where it is going to. You need a budget.
Everybody knows that you need a budget to manage your money, right? WRONG! Consumer-action.org reports that over a third of US families do not use a budget to manage their finances. Some consumer advocacy groups rate that number at even higher! The word budget has become a scary word for a lot of people, and it doesn't have to be that way. For many, budgeting means coming to terms with your financial situation, denying yourself, scrimping and suffering. In actuality, budgeting is a tool that will allow you to make smart choices and be in control.
That's right, budgeting is all about choices. Once you track your expenses, you can decide what is important to you and how to make those important things happen. Would you rather have those designer label things, or nice furniture? Would you rather have your daily latte, or six hundred dollars extra for the holidays? Would you rather order take out for lunch all week, or take a vacation? Expense tracking is about making choices, even if some of us have more choices than others. If your two pack a day habit is coming between you and paying the electric bill, don't you want to know?
If you're one of the readers sitting at your computer surrounded by bills, your time is now. Whether you use an online program, a printable worksheet, a computer program, or a notebook, you can't afford to wait. Get started on filling out that budget now, and take a long and hard look at where your money is going.
If you're not in trouble yet or don't know where your dough goes, there's another easy method. Simply take a manila envelope and write the the following words on it: DID YOU SPEND MONEY TODAY? Scribble today's date somewhere on the bottom. Then take that envelope and tape it to your refrigerator, inside your front door, to your car's dash, or wherever you have to put it to remind yourself. Every time you spend money for the next month, you need to put a receipt of some kind in that envelope. Whether it's your rent check stub, or a sticky note for the five bucks you loaned a friend, put it in the envelope.
At the end of the month, what you learn about yourself may surprise you.
In The Beginning
We are hard working people. We always have been. Our work ethic is what makes us the dream of any employer. We are the people who take pride in our work, show up on time, and excel at what we do every day. We stay late whenever necessary, and our customers ask for us by name.
Fat lot of good it's done us.
As I lay awake in bed last night, I could hear my husband's brain working overtime in spite of his stationary body.
"Stop thinking about work baby, " I said with a sigh.
"You too?" He asked.
"Yeah. I'm scared."
"Me too honey, me too."
No matter how hard we work, no matter what we do, there's nothing we can do to change our lot. Times are hard, stocks are dropping, and hours are being slashed. I guess we should be grateful. There are a lot of people who don't have jobs at all, let alone hours to cut. There were people at work hurting long before it got to us. There are people right now who are losing their homes, their jobs, and their stability. We're just getting our share.
I guess it's easier for me to just lower my head and accept our lot. After all, we've been here before. Just a few years ago in northern Michigan, my husband and I watched the first stirrings of the recession that has spread across the nation. NAFTA crippled the steel industry and mines began to close or lay off thousands of workers. Jobs got scarce fast, times got hard, and families suffered. Unemployment checks ran out with no jobs to follow, and savings dwindled one week at a time. We got really good at making our dollars stretch.
When the army took us to Germany, we experienced serious upward mobility. Our introduction to the middle class was a shock, and our frugal habits lent themselves well toward building up savings. We stopped budgeting and counting every penny, because there was no need to. There was plenty to go around and plenty to save. We paid off our meager debts, built up a respectable savings, and still enjoyed life with no worries.
Now that we're civilians again, it's time for a hard reality check. We returned to the US and moved across the country in hopes of finding a better job market than we left. We found exactly what we were looking for, and stepped right into good jobs. Now those jobs are maybe not as secure as we'd hoped. Like thousands of others, we are looking at our paychecks and wondering how long we will hold out and if our jobs will be there next month. It's time to get back to the hard stuff that will help us get by.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'm here. I am not an economist or a financial analyst. This blog is not terribly political or particularly controversial. I'm just a woman experiencing hard times, and I'm here to share what I know with those who feel the same pain. When I was little, I was told that the strength of our country was in how we stood together in hard times. Now is that time. If we teach and inspire each other, maybe we can all get through this just a little bit stronger.
When we lift up those around us, we all win.
Fat lot of good it's done us.
As I lay awake in bed last night, I could hear my husband's brain working overtime in spite of his stationary body.
"Stop thinking about work baby, " I said with a sigh.
"You too?" He asked.
"Yeah. I'm scared."
"Me too honey, me too."
No matter how hard we work, no matter what we do, there's nothing we can do to change our lot. Times are hard, stocks are dropping, and hours are being slashed. I guess we should be grateful. There are a lot of people who don't have jobs at all, let alone hours to cut. There were people at work hurting long before it got to us. There are people right now who are losing their homes, their jobs, and their stability. We're just getting our share.
I guess it's easier for me to just lower my head and accept our lot. After all, we've been here before. Just a few years ago in northern Michigan, my husband and I watched the first stirrings of the recession that has spread across the nation. NAFTA crippled the steel industry and mines began to close or lay off thousands of workers. Jobs got scarce fast, times got hard, and families suffered. Unemployment checks ran out with no jobs to follow, and savings dwindled one week at a time. We got really good at making our dollars stretch.
When the army took us to Germany, we experienced serious upward mobility. Our introduction to the middle class was a shock, and our frugal habits lent themselves well toward building up savings. We stopped budgeting and counting every penny, because there was no need to. There was plenty to go around and plenty to save. We paid off our meager debts, built up a respectable savings, and still enjoyed life with no worries.
Now that we're civilians again, it's time for a hard reality check. We returned to the US and moved across the country in hopes of finding a better job market than we left. We found exactly what we were looking for, and stepped right into good jobs. Now those jobs are maybe not as secure as we'd hoped. Like thousands of others, we are looking at our paychecks and wondering how long we will hold out and if our jobs will be there next month. It's time to get back to the hard stuff that will help us get by.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why I'm here. I am not an economist or a financial analyst. This blog is not terribly political or particularly controversial. I'm just a woman experiencing hard times, and I'm here to share what I know with those who feel the same pain. When I was little, I was told that the strength of our country was in how we stood together in hard times. Now is that time. If we teach and inspire each other, maybe we can all get through this just a little bit stronger.
When we lift up those around us, we all win.
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