Hey,
The paperless system is working excellently! This month I think I've looked at the budget 3 or 4 times, and that's when we've got a lot of unexpected bills to pay. Also, the cash system is really great. I've made one modification: In the original plan I was going to split the leftover cash 50/50 between Alex and I. This provides us with an inconsistent amount each week in our bank accounts. This goes against the theory of self-disciplining, because you can't really get used to a consistent amount and will tend to spend more during weeks that are slimmer than others. So what I've done is created a $50 each per week payment from the joint to our personal checkings. That way we get used to the exact same amount every week, and can create predictable habits. It also helps us save by adding whatever trim there is after the bills and this payment to the buffer. When the buffer gets too big, we can trim it back to $500 and save the rest.
NEW HOBBY!!!
Now that I have so much free time from not having to pay bills, I've picked up a new hobby: Learning LINUX. Jeff and I found a computer on the street yesterday, which made me remember that I've got about 8 unused hard drives (some as big as 40gig) sitting in the basement, along with another pretty boss PC I built in '04. Since I don't have any legal copies of windows, and they made it such a bitch to copy now, I thought I'd really stick it to whoever-is-bill-gates'-replacement and fire up Ubuntu.
I really don't know the first thing about linux, unix, ubuntu, or redhat. I do have a decent amount of programming experience though, and I'm pretty familiar with what goes on in the background of an operating system (remember the apple IIe that you had to boot from 5" floppies?) So I downloaded a copy of Ubuntu and ran it on my work computer today.
Ubuntu is really great! I'm going to try to keep my unsubstantiated or opinionated rants (that apple-commie kristie is so familiar with) to a minimum, but the fact that it costs a grand total of free dollars gives it some major points: 189, to be exact. For windows users, the interface is very intuitive: +5 points. It can run off of CD, so you don't actually need to have a working hard drive to run it: +8 points.
I'm going to try and keep it super simple as the free-and-legal project progresses, so if anyone wants to find an old piece of crap computer and follow along you can. I'll even give you a copy of Ubuntu on CD so you can try it out (without changing a single thing on your computer!) on one condition: you post to my blog. My blog sometimes gets lonely.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Going paperless stage II
Sorry it has been so long since the last post. I'm back!
If you don't know, I recently switched jobs from DSM to Gloucester Engineering. I didn't blog much about the transition because, well, blogs are public and that's the kind of thing you need to be careful about. The long and the short of it is that I'll be making more money and driving about the same distance and speed. This will also let me get more into machine design, and it can potentially cut the commute in half if we move up to Beverly or Salem next May. Now I'm documenting and releasing extruders to the production floor, and helping out a lot with Solidworks (they're all AutoCAD guys and, no offense, aren't the best in the 3D realm).
Anywho, as I explained in my last blog Alex and I are automating our finances. We were able to put together about $500 in that joint checking account as a buffer (Stage I of the plan), and we started automatic debit payments for all of our bills (Stage II). For anything that couldn't be automatically debited online we set up Bank of America billpay for free. Basically you tell the bank to send X a check at Y address for $Z on the Nth of each month, and they do it for you for free. W00t! N3rd.
Some highlights:
We moved our rent payment up to the 15th of each month. This has made the net paycheck amount positive each month, since most everyone else wants to be paid on the 1st too. We did this because Stage II is only automation of the bills, and without evening out the spending cash this would be pretty hard to do.
We'll be paying all of our gas and grocery bills in cash from here on, cash we take out and put in specific envelopes for the purpose each payday. We played with the idea of using a Visa prepaid card for each car and a credit card from a gas station, but we decided that adding additional credit is against the rules, and the prepaid cards are kind of a pain to reload (you have to do it at a vendor, and it's not free). So since we need to isolate this cash for its purpose, cash is the best way to go. Every paycheck we'll head down to the bank and refill the kitty with cash, and throw what we've got left from the payperiod before into savings for the wedding (we have about $500 put away in ING for that so far).
There are only 2 transactions we have to do each month: 1. pay the utilites (varies so much you really don't want to make it automatic), and 2. go get the cash for the kiddies. Life is good!
If you don't know, I recently switched jobs from DSM to Gloucester Engineering. I didn't blog much about the transition because, well, blogs are public and that's the kind of thing you need to be careful about. The long and the short of it is that I'll be making more money and driving about the same distance and speed. This will also let me get more into machine design, and it can potentially cut the commute in half if we move up to Beverly or Salem next May. Now I'm documenting and releasing extruders to the production floor, and helping out a lot with Solidworks (they're all AutoCAD guys and, no offense, aren't the best in the 3D realm).
Anywho, as I explained in my last blog Alex and I are automating our finances. We were able to put together about $500 in that joint checking account as a buffer (Stage I of the plan), and we started automatic debit payments for all of our bills (Stage II). For anything that couldn't be automatically debited online we set up Bank of America billpay for free. Basically you tell the bank to send X a check at Y address for $Z on the Nth of each month, and they do it for you for free. W00t! N3rd.
Some highlights:
We moved our rent payment up to the 15th of each month. This has made the net paycheck amount positive each month, since most everyone else wants to be paid on the 1st too. We did this because Stage II is only automation of the bills, and without evening out the spending cash this would be pretty hard to do.
We'll be paying all of our gas and grocery bills in cash from here on, cash we take out and put in specific envelopes for the purpose each payday. We played with the idea of using a Visa prepaid card for each car and a credit card from a gas station, but we decided that adding additional credit is against the rules, and the prepaid cards are kind of a pain to reload (you have to do it at a vendor, and it's not free). So since we need to isolate this cash for its purpose, cash is the best way to go. Every paycheck we'll head down to the bank and refill the kitty with cash, and throw what we've got left from the payperiod before into savings for the wedding (we have about $500 put away in ING for that so far).
There are only 2 transactions we have to do each month: 1. pay the utilites (varies so much you really don't want to make it automatic), and 2. go get the cash for the kiddies. Life is good!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Going paperless
Sidenote: I'm having trouble staying focused today...
Today's get rich scheme will serve several purposes:
1. it will save trees by eliminating paper bills
2. it will allow you to ignore paying your bills
3. it will hopefully eliminate overdraft fees and late fees from your accounts
Today's get rich scheme will serve several purposes:
1. it will save trees by eliminating paper bills
2. it will allow you to ignore paying your bills
3. it will hopefully eliminate overdraft fees and late fees from your accounts
Alex and I have been living about a year with our finances combined. We've been working off of the same budget, and have worked to combine our credit cards into one low monthly payment and interest rate. We've just committed ourselves to set up a long-term financial plan. I think this paragraph could be its own post, so I digress for now. The point is we share our bills, and have several that recur every month.
What we've done is open our own joint checking account. This account will be for regular monthly bills only, but these do comprise the majority of our paychecks every month. First, we'll take all of the monthly bills from the budget. Everything from gasoline to rent to cable to student loans to food. We've been running this budget for a year now, so we've pretty much figured out how much we spend on the monthly bills. I add all of this up, and that's what we have to put into this account on a montly basis.
The next step is to add the buffer. The current budget system will work for now, but I want to add $500-$1000 to this account. If a heating bill accidentally spikes next November and is automatically paid, I want to make sure the account is overdraft proof.
Next, we automate the payments. We add my monthly income to her monthly income and subtract out the bills. This leaves us with our spending money. Divide this in half, and you get my share and her share. Take that from each of our salaries, and you get how much each of us should contribute to the regular bills fund. Hm... time for a hypothetical:
- Bills are $1980/month. I make $2000 + she makes $925 (she's still in school) = we make $2925. Take out the bills, we've got $945/month, or $472.50 each.
- I get paid bi-weekly, or approximately 2 times per month. Since I get to keep $472.50 per month, this means $236.25 per paycheck. I make $1000 per paycheck, so I direct deposit $763.75 into the joint account every payday. The rest comes to me in paper check which I can cash, deposit, save, invest, hide, spend, burn, bury or eat.
- Similarly, she gets paid every week, or $231.25 per paycheck. She also gets to keep $472.50 per month, or $118.12 per paycheck. Just like me, she direct deposits the balance $113.13 every paycheck, and hides the rest in an account to buy me a fishing trip to Montana for our honeymoon.
- So if you add my 2 payments of $763.75 and her 4 payments of $113.13 you get $1980.02, nearly the exact amount of our bills.
- With some attention paid to the timing during startup as to not overdraft, we then create automatic bill pay for every one of our bills on the list. Voila!! No more paper bills, overdrafts, or stamps! PLUS! Our weekly "take-home" pay is exactly the same every week, so we get used to exactly that amount of fun-money. If we run out, tough luck. Go buy some Bologna for sandwiches instead of eating out.
Additional comments:
The montly bills also include a debt payment bill which is much more than the minimum balances on our debts. I'll talk soon about our debt repayment plan, and why we pay what we do.
The montly salary is 4-week's paychecks, NOT 1/12th of a yearly salary. This means at the end of the year you end up with 4 additional weeks' worth of bills left in your account. (12*4=48, but 365/7=52) Check this every 6-months to a year, and move it into a higher-yield savings account.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Why you'll never be a good investor. And you're fat.
Half-article written by Austin Edwards, The Motley Fool
Last Friday, something heartbreaking happened. While crammed into a middle seat on a flight from Denver to D.C., I realized that I may never become a great investor.
Tired from a long week, and bored out of my mind, I ignored the more sensible reading material I'd brought along and picked up the in-flight magazine. Before long, I stumbled across an advertisement -- and a troubling fact.
Wasted opportunities "Over 92% of people who own exercise equipment and 88% of people who own health club memberships do not exercise," the ad stated. The more I read that line, the less possible it seemed. But to be honest, at my own gym, maybe one-third of the people I see there look like they've ever been inside a gym.
I guess going through the motions makes them feel good about themselves. But why would so many people spend money, then not even pretend to exercise?
Four words that opened my eyes At one point, all these people had an "I can do it" moment: a brief burst of inspiration brought on by a friend, a personal trainer, or even an infomercial. They came to believe that with a little effort, they could truly get in shape. I should know -- I'm one of them.
Now, I've gone to the gym fairly regularly for years, and I get my fair share of exercise. But have I ever really reached my loftiest fitness goals? Nope.
Is that because I'm lazy, or undisciplined, or I just don't have the genes for it? Sure, that's part of it. But the real reason lies in four heartbreaking words ...
"I don't have time" Time is our most precious resource, and lack of it is the No. 1 reason people don't go to the gym … or travel the world … or, well, you name it. It could also be the reason you never become a great investor, or make the kind of money you want in the stock market.
Becoming a master investor takes an almost impossible amount of time. Warren Buffett began his investing career at 10, and he's been practicing for hours a day ever since. Obviously, he's spent his time well.
But what about those of us who don't have the time it takes to become great investors, or uncover life-changing investments? Heck, what about those of us who barely have time to keep up with the stocks we already own?
Take me, for example Here's a list of stocks I own, along with some of the reading I should be doing just to keep up with them:
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Pages in 10-K:156, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:4
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Pages in 10-K:170, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:93
AT&T (NYSE: T), Pages in 10-K:590, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:28
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Pages in 10-K:114, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:39
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Pages in 10-K:372, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:13
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), Pages in 10-K:202, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:2
Transocean (NYSE: RIG), Pages in 10-K:383, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:5
And that's only a third of the stocks in my portfolio! In other words, I should have read roughly 6,000 pages and 550 articles per day over the past month just to keep up with the stocks I already own, let alone find new ones that could make me rich.
Now, don't get me wrong. I really want to be a master investor -- just like I really want to be in excellent shape. But I haven't had the time to read 6,000 pages of SEC filings and 550 articles per day. Have you?
...
Another article, by Phil Town:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/Financial_Literacy/Oct_07_focused_investing_a1.asp?caret=66d
So, do you have the education to sort out the value of a company? Do you have the time to research like Phil Town? I sure as hell don't! Here I come, Index Funds!
Last Friday, something heartbreaking happened. While crammed into a middle seat on a flight from Denver to D.C., I realized that I may never become a great investor.
Tired from a long week, and bored out of my mind, I ignored the more sensible reading material I'd brought along and picked up the in-flight magazine. Before long, I stumbled across an advertisement -- and a troubling fact.
Wasted opportunities "Over 92% of people who own exercise equipment and 88% of people who own health club memberships do not exercise," the ad stated. The more I read that line, the less possible it seemed. But to be honest, at my own gym, maybe one-third of the people I see there look like they've ever been inside a gym.
I guess going through the motions makes them feel good about themselves. But why would so many people spend money, then not even pretend to exercise?
Four words that opened my eyes At one point, all these people had an "I can do it" moment: a brief burst of inspiration brought on by a friend, a personal trainer, or even an infomercial. They came to believe that with a little effort, they could truly get in shape. I should know -- I'm one of them.
Now, I've gone to the gym fairly regularly for years, and I get my fair share of exercise. But have I ever really reached my loftiest fitness goals? Nope.
Is that because I'm lazy, or undisciplined, or I just don't have the genes for it? Sure, that's part of it. But the real reason lies in four heartbreaking words ...
"I don't have time" Time is our most precious resource, and lack of it is the No. 1 reason people don't go to the gym … or travel the world … or, well, you name it. It could also be the reason you never become a great investor, or make the kind of money you want in the stock market.
Becoming a master investor takes an almost impossible amount of time. Warren Buffett began his investing career at 10, and he's been practicing for hours a day ever since. Obviously, he's spent his time well.
But what about those of us who don't have the time it takes to become great investors, or uncover life-changing investments? Heck, what about those of us who barely have time to keep up with the stocks we already own?
Take me, for example Here's a list of stocks I own, along with some of the reading I should be doing just to keep up with them:
Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT), Pages in 10-K:156, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:4
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), Pages in 10-K:170, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:93
AT&T (NYSE: T), Pages in 10-K:590, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:28
Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Pages in 10-K:114, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:39
Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Pages in 10-K:372, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:13
Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX), Pages in 10-K:202, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:2
Transocean (NYSE: RIG), Pages in 10-K:383, Articles in Yahoo! Finance Monday:5
And that's only a third of the stocks in my portfolio! In other words, I should have read roughly 6,000 pages and 550 articles per day over the past month just to keep up with the stocks I already own, let alone find new ones that could make me rich.
Now, don't get me wrong. I really want to be a master investor -- just like I really want to be in excellent shape. But I haven't had the time to read 6,000 pages of SEC filings and 550 articles per day. Have you?
...
Another article, by Phil Town:
http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/Financial_Literacy/Oct_07_focused_investing_a1.asp?caret=66d
So, do you have the education to sort out the value of a company? Do you have the time to research like Phil Town? I sure as hell don't! Here I come, Index Funds!
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
My sister is awesome.
Last week I took a trip to NYC to see my sister graduate from Pratt with her fashion design BA. We had an awesome time! She had her senior fashion show in Manhattan, and showed off a bunch of outfits she designed and made. Although I did feel a little out of place at a NY fashion show with photographers, fashion representatives, and weird dudes with pirate shirts and mohawks, I had an absolute blast! Here are some of the dresses:
The grey one in the middle with the yellow hat was published in Women's Wear Daily, which is apparently a big deal in fashion (not that I know).Unfortunately the organizers at Pratt didn't get the hint from the last 8 graduations, and it rained on the outdoor ceremony for the 9th year in a row. Nobody could see or hear, and we were all soaking wet and cold. The text messages went like this:
Me, after a 55-minute processional: How many ppl are graduating?
Her: 1000
Her: THIS SUCKS
Me: We can't see or hear. We love you to death and we're going to take a million pics when we get back but I think we're going to go.
Her: I'm coming with then, OK?
So we went back to her apartment and stuffed our faces, as usual at Weir gatherings. I made chicken wings. The recipe is: 8 oz Franks Red Hot, 2 cups ketchup and 2 cups regular coke in a crock pot, cook on high for 4-6 hours. The sauce is equal parts salted butter and Frank's.
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