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Browsing category: Uncategorized

  • July 4, 2010

    Link love (Powered by hummus and honey mustard)

    As some of you already know, 20SB is hosting a carnival on none other than one of my favourite topics – money! I kept myself amused throughout the week reading all the fabulous submissions, and found some wicked new blogs to read. Although I’ve always tried to keep my Google Reader count low – I like to feel I know the writers I read, to be able to remember who’s who and keep track of who does what for a job, where they live, their personal situation and all that. But a) many of the bloggers I’ve been following for a while are posting more sporadically and b) there are just too many great bloggers out there to miss out.

    Thus, I bring you Link Love, the 20SB Friends and Money edition.

    Nicole marvels at a $60 pot of tea and wonders just who would want to buy one. Which reminds me of our first trip to the Farmer’s Market this week, where I saw the most divine looking berry and custard Danish… for a whopping $4. So it’s not quite on the same unbelievable scale, but it’s getting up there. (That pastry is still haunting me. I think I just might have to splash out next time, if they’re still selling em.)

    Kim shares where she comes from and how it’s shaped her money personality, a lot of which I could relate to. We’ve always been able to get by relatively comfortably, although I’m sure it was a bit tough when we first moved to NZ. Still, we did not go on holidays. We wore hand me down clothes. We didn’t go to movies. We shopped specials like crazy. We didn’t even really do birthday presents (they tried to get away with buying me stuff I needed, like a sleeping bag for school camp, and calling it my gift).

    Margaret writes (wisely) about how money smarts mean thinking beyond your next Jack and Coke.

    Doniree blogs about choosing to spend on experiences, not things. Her list of things that count as experiences: a good meal with each other or friends, a trip with a college friend to Portland, groceries to cook for a dinner party, travel, and
    exploring somewhere new. I couldn’t agree more.

    Lilu, meanwhile, argues that working in the service industry is character building. Plus you learn the worth of a dollar, and so on.

    Finally, Amy writes about marriage and divorce left a lasting impact on her finances, and how she now keeps on track.

    That’s just a selection of some of the #$friends posts. For more, check out the carnival page!

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  • July 3, 2010

    My very first giveaway!!

    This little blog is happy to present … its first giveaway!

    So, what’s the prize at stake?

    I’ve got a $60 gift certificate (pretty generous, right?) for use at one of CSN’s many stores. There’s tons to choose from: you could purchase a a yoga mat, a knife set, a handbag… there’s everything from stationery to home decor, so you’ll be spoilt for choice.

    To enter, check out the full range of products here, come back and leave a comment saying what you’d use the $60 for! Bonus entries: You can also subscribe via RSS (leave a comment or drop me an email to let me know); follow me on Twitter; or tweet about the giveaway (mention me, @eemusings so I get a headsup).

    I’ll choose a winner randomly on July 13.  Keep an eye on your email, because if I don’t hear back from you before July 16 I’ll draw a fresh winner.  I’ll then arrange for the coupon promo code to be emailed to you. Easy as pie. Yay!

    The fine print: This contest is only open to residents of the US  and Canada (Luckily, I think that’s the majority of my readers). There may be shipping charges on certain items or international fees for Canadian buyers, so be aware of that when browsing.

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  • July 2, 2010

    Why give up on a good thing?

    I’ve already covered why I blog in the past. What I’ve been thinking about, though, is whether this has an end-date on it.

    And to be honest, I can’t see myself stopping anytime soon

    BF doesn’t understand blogging; he thinks it’s absurd, to say the least, that I like to read about other people’s lives. But great blogging isn’t about diarising. I’ve stopped reading blogs that only post spending reports and chronicle tired tips on frugality; I eschew bloggers who spend most of their time recounting their weekends without ever offering food for thought. As a wise blogger once said, eventually the best writers move from straight recordings of their lives, to introspection and looking forward.

    People fascinate me. I’m a bit of a social retard, it’s true. (And while awkwardness can be endearing in a guy, the same is never true of a woman.) But blogging removes that physical dimension, and I’m in my element. I love to read about dilemmas, decisions, relationships…sharing in others’ milestones and commiserating when things don’t go their way. I love to know there are people out there going through the same things as me; people who voice my thoughts in far more concise and eloquent terms than I ever could.

    You guys rock. Don’t stop, and I won’t either.

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  • July 2, 2010

    Five on Friday (bits and pieces)

    • It’s my birthday on Tuesday. Where most people would be at work, it’s my day off, and as for BF, well, every day is a day off. I’m not sure how much to budget for the day – I’m probably going to spend at least $100, but quite possibly a bit more. I also really want a new camera; I believe I mentioned he managed to lose mine last time he took it on a road trip, and what better time to make the purchase?
    • I paid off the Visa. I don’t expect T to start paying me back for some time, but once he finds work, it’s on! Seriously, I can’t remember the last time there wasn’t a balance on the card. It feels GREAT. As I said last week, even if things somehow go pearshaped, I can afford to write this off. Otherwise, it brings me peace of mind, and it’s an investment in our future (okay, maybe that’s a bit of a stretch, but it’s saving $20 in interest every month.)
    • I’m always a little bit late to the book party, but this week I finished the Vintner’s Luck! Look, I’m not into super literary novels full of hidden meaning and symbolism, but even on the surface, this was such a beautiful piece of writing. MPP, can this be my contribution to your book club? 🙂 I also read Basic Black: The Essential Guide for Getting Ahead at Work – a really interesting read for anyone connected with the publishing business, actually, with empowering passages and bits of inspiration peppered throughout. And it also means finally, two more to cross off my list (see bottom of page)! At this rate, it could be years before I finish the entire lot.
    • During my webby travails this week, I stumbled across lifetuner.org, which recently won an award for innovative design. There are tools, calculators, Q&As, forums, real life stories and much, much more – it feels to me like the number of financial sites out there is getting a bit overpowering! Like most others, it’s very US-centric – think 401k, 15 and 30 year mortgages, etc.
    • One of my best friends is back from overseas. Yay! We caught up over pizza, where all he could talk about was Broadway, Manhattan and how I totally belong in NYC. I wouldn’t wanna live in the Big Apple, but I definitely want to visit, and him constantly saying how he kept imagining me there, in my element, is giving me the travel bug something fierce.
  • July 1, 2010

    When things go viral

    I stayed up all night last Friday to watch the All Whites play Paraguay. I did my bit. Yeah, I’m a patriot. I didn’t even go to sleep beforehand; I was awake RIGHT THROUGH. This prompted colleagues to remark “I didn’t realise you were a fan!” Despite my concerted efforts to explain that I was still awake well past midnight, and succumbed to peer pressure on Twitter (“We’re making history here!”), I’m still down as a true supporter.

    And seriously, Twitter was going OFF. It was busy as it is at peak times. It was incredibly exciting (more so than the game itself, perhaps). John Campbell was up. Colleagues were up. The Twitterati were up. Hashtags were going mad (and #NZL still failed to make the trending topics!) I kept one eye on the TV and the other on my laptop screen, constantly hitting F5 – thanks Tweetdeck, for failing me so badly that I had to resort to the web. It was indeed a little bit of history in the making, and I was there, kind of. My was heart skipping every time the ball approached either goal, and swooning a little every time I saw Ryan Nelsen (yum).

    I even took part in the whiteout. In fact, I liked my black and white avatar pic so much that I still have it up.

    But does it really make a difference? Other tweeters know you’ve whited out your display pic. But how can the players? I loved the spirit that we’re showing, but ultimately, if the people we’re supporting don’t realise just how many of us are doing it, what’s the point?

    I actually cannot remember if I took part in the breast cancer awareness meme earlier this year (where people were posting their bra colour on Facebook), but here’s a reasoned and thoughtful piece on how it in fact excluded many cancer survivors.

    In summary…it’s great when things go viral. But what does it really mean?

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  • June 30, 2010

    You know you’re a grown up when…you have a well-stocked pantry

    Confession time: We bought breakfast on Saturday. Not to splurge, but because there was literally no breakfasty food in the house. (There wasn’t a hell of a lot of any other kind of food in the pantry, either.)

    This hasn’t happened too much lately, but it definitely happens more than it should. Groceries aren’t cheap, and our budget allows us to shop for a week at a time and no more.

    We don’t have the cupboard space or money to stockpile items, but I’m starting to think it might be worth cutting back on a week of saving to stock up on a few things like canned veges, sauces, oil, and pasta. Bread could be frozen (eliminating the no-breakfast dilemma, assuming we keep our spreads stocked up as well), and so could milk (although T would no doubt still tear through it, eliminating the purpose entirely). He tends to use things up if they’re there, so that’s something we’d have to watch, too – building up a pantry is great, but not if it only results in swelling the weekly spend.

    What other non-perishables – that don’t take up too much room – do you keep on hand?

    {Photo}

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  • June 28, 2010

    Link love (Powered by the All Whites and chorizo)

    Financial Samurai presents his case for why the West Coast kicks the East Coast’s butt. Seriously entertaining (not to mention convincing) and makes me very glad to be over my starry-eyed New York phase! I still want to visit the Big Apple, but I am just as eager to visit California (home to lovelies like Revanche, Well Heeled and many more).

    Me in Millions welcomes summer. What I wouldn’t give for sun, sea and sandals right now. I detest extreme heat – would never live in the tropics – but I’m not a fan of winter at all.

    Jamie reflects (hilariously) on the things she doesn’t understand. To that list, I will add cars, currency and foreign exchange, and the Middle East. Seriously, I’ve been trying to educate myself on this ever since Gaza hit the news post-flotilla incident, but it’s effing hard when everyone has such strong opinions one way or another.

    Fabulously Broke points out a nifty little Google Chrome dictionary addon. That is SERIOUSLY cool and almost makes me want to convert!

    Melissa pays homage to the kiwifruit (or as northern hemisphere dwellers simply say, “kiwi”) and sneaks in a sly diss of the papaya, which I consider one of the tastiest things nature ever came up with. Oh yeah, and this is a kiwifruit spoon (spife).

    Continuing on in the food vein, Pear waxes lyrical about salads – like me, raw veggies just weren’t on the menu in her household. Sadly, all my favourite salads are the kinds with less vegetable and more dressing (or potato).

    Finally, Katie’s sage take on moving up the career ladder: sometimes you just gotta wait your turn. That rung very true for me. And on that topic, from time to time I find myself managing other staff. It’s bizarre, and I’m thankful I don’t have to do too much of it – I’m not sure how good I am at it. I’m always polite and try to be encouraging as much as possible, but I am not cut out to supervise!

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  • June 27, 2010

    The budget, from hereonin

    I thought I had it all worked out. I had a fortnight with no overtime worked, and I was going to budget that amount if it was the last thing I ever did.

    And then this last pay cycle (including a few hours OT) ended up leaving me with less than in the previous fortnight. WTF?

    After much back and forth scrutiny – bearing in mind this was well after midnight, and in fact past 1am to be precise DAMN YOU ALL WHITES! – I think I pinned it down to a tax hike. Why taxes might have increased, I don’t know. I vaguely recall reading about ACC levies increasing, but aren’t they always?

    So I’m going to go with the assumption that I’ll be worse off than initially expected, and round down to $1600 to be  conservative.

    Week 1

    Rent $500
    Groceries $130
    Bills / Irregulars $110
    Remaining $60 – fun money, gas, and anything else that crops up

    Week 2

    Groceries $130
    Bills / Irregulars $110
    Remaining $60 – fun money, gas, and anything else that crops up

    Once a month I tack on $50 for our cellphones – so that’s every other “Week 2”.

    All up, that leaves me alternately at least $450 or $500 to save per fortnight. Ah, simplicity.

    So with careful shopping and budgeting, I think we can swing this. Like I say, I want to be saving more (I’l stop short of saying should) but this is how it is, for now. T doesn’t want to go back on unemployment, and I’d rather he didn’t too.

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  • June 26, 2010

    It’s not a competition

    You know what’s really fun? Quizzes. Especially ones that you score well on.

    According to this financial fitness test, I’m in solid territory with a result of 86.

    Admittedly, I lied about having health insurance – I don’t live in the US, so that’s a moot point. That’s what I pay taxes for. Er, and although my retirement contributions do come out automatically, I transfer the rest of savings every paycheck. That being said, I’ve never forgotten to pay myself first since I started my full time job!

    One thing that I couldn’t fudge was the fact that I don’t have a will. To be honest, I’ve mentally pushed it into the “one day” basket, along with “buy a house” and “have children”. I don’t have a lot to my name, and I don’t have any dependents. I guess what few assets I do have, I should create an allocation plan for – any tips for doing it on the cheap and preferably free?

    There are so many things that hit you when you realise that it’s time to start acting like a grownup, at least some of the time. And surprise, surprise, they mostly revolve around money . Saving. Investing. Paying off debt. Down payments, holidays, travel, weddings, grad school, and the list goes on. Money may not buy happiness, but not having it is a sure track to misery

    The thing to remember is that it’s not a race. I have a partner to support. Some of us have huge student loans. Others help to support their families. Others live at home and have virtually no expenses thanks to generous parents. Nobody’s situation is exactly the same, and no advice is right for absolutely everyone.

    Sure, it’s hard not to get jealous when friends take off on spur-of-the-moment road trips during semester break, and I’m stuck working throughout. Or when others embark on their OE, certain to come back with all kinds of exciting tales. But when it comes down to it, we buy each other drinks when we’re broke. We pick each other up when someone needs a ride and we splurge on each other’s birthdays (I’m pretty sure I’m indebted to my best friends to the tune of hundreds after they sent me to a spa last year). But you know what? It all evens out in the end.

    This post is part of the 20SB “Friends and Money” blog carnival.

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  • June 25, 2010

    Five on Friday (the financial edition)

    • Apparently we can expect our bills and utilities to increase pretty dramatically with the ETS coming into force. NOT happy! I’ll be keeping a close eye on this and reporting on how much this ends up affecting us. So far, my electricity provider advises that  prices will increase by 0.77 cents per kilowatt hour. For an average residential customer using 8000 kilowatt hours of electricity per year this would mean an increase of $5.20  (including GST and after a 10% prompt payment discount).
    • I’m not sure why I only recently started hearing about this, but payroll giving is officially in force. Basically, you can donate straight from your paycheck and get the tax credit there and then. So if you donate $3, you get a credit of $1 (33 per cent). The charity gets the full amount, but it only costs you $2. My accountant mother thinks this is a huge pain in the ass for payroll, but from my POV, this is awesome! The only thing is, I don’t have a cause close to my heart; I like to give to a range of charities.
    • I’ve finally put a buffer in our checking account – $100 seemed a nice round number. My graduate overdraft won’t last forever, and I need to pretend it doesn’t exist and stop using it as a fallback.
    • I am seriously considering paying off the Visa and having T just pay me back when he can. It’ll save me a lot of peace of mind, and to the tune of $20 in interest. Now, following the PF rule that you shouldn’t lend what you can’t give – in the worst case scenario, yes, I would be able to forfeit $1300.
    • According to Sorted, I should be saving nearly $200 a month for retirement. I’m clocking in at around $185 (plus a 50% employer match). The calculation was based on my current income, though, which is IMO inflated due to the shifts I work.

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