Weekly Money Check-Up

Image via MPP

This week, I decided to participate in My Pretty Pennies Weekly Money Check-Up because after being a bit neglectful of my finances for the last few weeks, it's time to get back on track!

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was $45 on ingredients for my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner, Spice Cupcakes with White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. I was a little shocked that the ingredients cost so much, but they turned out delicious so I guess the money was worth it.
2. Today I feel excited about money because it’s a pay week and that's always something to be excited about :- )
3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was spend time with my family during the Thanksgiving holiday. I didn't get to see some of my hometown friends, but look foward seeing them later in the holiday season.
4. I will consider this week a success if I complete the first draft of a paper that is due in two weeks and start my Christmas shopping!
5. My favorite holiday song is 'Carol of the Bells' I haven't yet heard a version of the song I didn't like. I have fond memories of singing the song in my high school choir.

Cutting out little splurges to reach financial goals

I have never been the type of person to spend a large amount of money on any item at one time. I usually have little splurges that (psychologically) make me feel less guilty about spending money. But as most people realize that track their money, those little splurges can add up to a lot of money over time. I’ve spent most of 2010 so far burying my head in the sand about my little splurges. I'm sure many people have heard of David Bach's Latte Factor. But lately, I’ve been trying to make a conscious effort to cut out those little splurges and only spend money on planned expenses but I have to admit it’s hard for me. Small treats like a latte from Starbucks or a new lip gloss from CVS or an album I’ve been contemplating downloading off of iTunes will have to stay in their respective stores where they belong. I also need to stay out of my favorite big box retailers altogether for a while to avoid temptation. After looking at my calendar in dismay and seeing that the year is half way over motivated me to be a little more cautious in my spending so I can really see some progress at the end of the year with my financial goals. I’m not on a spending fast, but am doing the diet equivalent of ‘stepping away from the table before over-indulging.’ I'm going to put any 'leftover' money I have after my expenses into debt repayment, because that is my focus right now. Though I don’t plan on taking up antisocial behavior to save money, I will try to spend as little money as possible while partaking in any activities. I think that summer approaching actually works in my favor of my efforts to spend less. I do live in DC after-all, there are plenty of low-cost things to do here, if I look hard enough.

Curbing Debit Card Usage

During the Easter weekend, I used cash for the majority of my spending and I realized how much more conscious of my spending I was as a result. I've gotten out of the habit of using cash regularly, and use my debit card for most of my purchases. I'd like to continue to curb my debit card usage for the rest of the month. I noticed a few things while operating on cash (mostly) instead of my debit card exclusively:

1. Took away my shopping mojo. The weather was so beautiful over the weekend that I did go into several stores including my usual 'budget kryptonite,' H&M and managed to walk out of the store without purchasing anything. In the past, I might have made a small purchase with the idea that I can return or exchange the item if I change my mind about it later, but nothing I saw passed the 'Love' test. The 'Love' test just means, I knew I wouldn't feel a sense of regret for leaving anything in the store, so I did just that.


2. Spent less. I find it so much easier to just hand over my debit card and not think too closely about the money being spent until after the fact when I reconcile how much I've spent, but physically handling cash makes me watch my spending more closely because once it's gone, it takes an extra step to withdraw more money at a bank or store that gives cash back.


3. Decided on cheaper options when I did spend. When going out to lunch on Saturday, I opted for a kids meal at Qdoba, that was quite filling instead of an adult-sized meal because I didn't want to use all of my cash.

I don't plan on spending much money this week, so I withdrew money today that should last for the rest of the week. I'll continue to do this on a weekly basis. I will pack my lunch daily and will think twice before making any non-essential purchases. The only exception to this rule will be loading money on my Smart Trip card for my daily Metro rides and a trip out of town that will take place at the end of the month (more on that later).

Hobbies and the costs associated with them

I feel that most people benefit from having a hobby or an outlet outside of their job and daily commitments. Though blogging has been a very fun hobby for me over the past few years, I wanted to stretch myself to be a little more creative in 2010, so I decided to take up another hobby which is drawing. I was also inspired to pursue my own non-blogging hobby by Well Heeled's posts on her hobby which is Argentine tango dancing. I signed up for an Intro to Drawing class at an art studio that offers adult classes in my area called the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop and have really been enjoying it. I'm still very much a beginner, but the class has encouraged me to practice drawing on my own and I definitely plan to take other art classes in the future. Unlike blogging which I love, I don't have to sit in front of a computer to draw and it requires singular focus, so I can't try to multi-task and do several things at once which I'm usually tempted to do when I'm blogging on my computer.

I'm in the last week of my eight week class which cost $272. I think this price is pretty reasonable for my class and I was able to arrange a payment plan, so I didn't have to pay for the class in one lump sum. I have spent approximately $50 on supplies that include newsprint paper, high quality drawing paper, sketch pad, drawing pencils, ink, charcol sticks, erasers, a supply case and an artwork carrier. Replacing these supplies won't cost as much because I won't be buying things like the supply case and artwork carrier again. Art supplies like pencils and paper should also last a while for me since this is a purely recreational hobby and I'm not taking time-intensive art classes. I think the money for the class and supplies was worth spending and look forward to seeing gradual improvement in my drawing/artwork in the future.

Maybe I'll take a stab at drawing a landscape picture of some cherry blossom trees this week since they are in full bloom!

Reigning In My Spending Isn't So Bad After All

In an effort to curb my extraneous spending, I decided not to make any clothing purchases for the month of July. After looking at my bank statements for other leaky "holes" in my spending, I also decided that I would forgo random Starbucks/Dunkin Donuts visits and iTunes purchases (The Essential Michael Jackson was my final download for awhile to my iPod). I'm only about mid-way through the month, but I'm doing well so far.

I didn't cut my spending on:

• Dining out and alcohol. I'm not a big alcohol consumer or a foodie so I usually order the most inexpensive appetizer item with water and no dessert when I eat out, so I didn't feel the need to cut those out for the month. Yes, I'm the girl that orders Shirley Temple's or Cokes sans the rum when I go to happy hour, but drinks are pricey! I get funny looks because I get mistaken for a teen on a regular basis anyway; and people assume I'm not old enough to drink, but it's less money leaving my pocket.
• Clothing alteration. When you are petite, you just can't get aroung getting clothing altered. I took a skirt to get altered last week, because I wanted to get some wear out of it this summer.
• Groceries. I baked my first cake earlier this month, a vegan red velvet cake. I'm not a vegan, but have never been a big fan of dairy, so after finding a recipe from this book, I decided to give vegan baking a try. While it was fun to make, I learned that vegan baking is expensive because of all of the specialty ingredients! I also had to go to two grocery stores to get items that the recipe called for such as agave nectar and coconut oil. Needless to say, I won't be baking again for a while.

Rethinking my needs and wants is good. It's been kind of a game to see how little money I can spend in a day. Everytime I go to buy something I could probably live without, I think about the fact that the money could be better used elsewhere. I'll check back in at the end of the month and evaluate whether to extend the no-shopping another month.

Cut my cable? Maybe or maybe not...

For the record, I love television. I have somewhat quirky taste and enjoy everything from Project Runway to Star Trek, to almost every show on HGTV, to Gossip Girl. I also have a penchant for classic films. But for a few weeks I've been considering, if I could really live without cable. TV is a time-waster anyway and I normally do have other things I could be doing with my time. It's easy on a Sunday afternoon to sit down to watch one little episode of Millionaire Matchmaker on Bravo (another fav) and end up watching a mini marathon. Let's not even get started on addictive dramas like Law & Order that are always seemingly on in all of their iterations.

But I really feel like I can force my self to readjust to life without cable. I did after all grown up in a household with no cable. The television station I grew up on was the Philadelphia Public Television affiliate, WHYY. For years, with the exception of The Cosby Show and later the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, I had to ask permission to watch another channel other than WHYY. So life without cable isn't new to me.

But how much money could I possibly save if I cut the cable? I currently pay about $60 per month to my cable company. So my approximate yearly savings would be $720. Minus the fees that I will probably get charged to disconnect the cable, it's still not a bad amount of money. That money would be a nice addition to my Emergency savings or my Travel fund (I am determined to go on an International trip in 2010...). Or I could throw it at my debt.

Here are some reasons why I might go ahead and pull the plug:

1. One less monthly bill and more money in my pocket.
2. I miss many of the cable shows I enjoy anyway because I'm not home when they come on and refuse to pay for TiVo.
3. My local library has a decent selection of films and TV shows though they are sometimes a year or two behind.
4. I can fill the gap of shows I miss with Netflix (which is only about $10 with my subscription).
5. I've already cut HBO (my only premium station) and so I already don't see series I like such as The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.

Here are some reasons why I might just let it be:

1. People sometimes expect to be able to watch cable when they visit.
2. I'd miss the news channels like CNN and MSNBC.
3. The fee my cable company would charge me to disconnect my service.
4. I'd miss special programming and series that aren't available on Netflix or some other source.
5. I'd miss the Food Network and HGTV.

The reasons why I should just cut the cable seem to outweigh the reasons to leave it on. But I'll try a 2-week experiment starting June 1. If I can go a two-week period watching only what is available on network television (no cable stations), I will just pull the plug. Otherwise, I'll look at other items to save money in my monthly spending.

New Year, New Resolve

I have never been one to think that you have to wait until the beginning of the year to make a resolution to change something, but the fresh start that a new year offers is always a good incentive to make positive action toward your goals. I've listed my main goals/resolutions on this blog and have a few others still floating around that I need to flesh out. On the first of this new year, I've started tracking my daily spending again. I always manage to do well at the start of the month with this and then fall off by the end of the month. But I will keep it up this time and really see where my money goes. I have already mentioned that I will not be purchasing any clothing items until June, so I need to focus on not letting my spending creep up in other areas, so I have money to do things like travel more in 2009. I'd like to go to Florida to visit my Dad and Step mom within the next month or so and also go on a birthday trip in March (New York most likely), so I need to decrease my spending to make these first two trips happen happen.

My Christmas Spending

I didn't do too bad on my Christmas spending but I did go over my $200 budget. Before shopping, I put $200 on a Visa gift card as a safeguard to overspending but I still ended going over budget by about $150. In hindsight, I should have put $100 on the Visa card and then used cash for the rest of my gifts. I live near a great outdoor market that has vendors, artwork, food, and jewelry among other things. Many of the vendors don't use debit or credit cards like Visa, so I still had to go to the ATM and use cash for a few gifts. I like buying gifts like original art work, or hand made items because they are so much more personal than gift cards or items from large retail stores. I thought using a Visa gift card to track my Christmas spending would be easier, but it proved to be a bit of a pain in the neck overall. The card took 24 hours to activate and I was not aware of this until I was in line to purchase some gifts from Target, so I ended up using my debit card for those purchases also. Oh well, you live and you learn. I still had a nice Christmas and I think the gifts I gave were appreciated and will be enjoyed.

What Did I Purchase On Black Friday?

Nothing. I did indeed go shopping, but it was more so to spend time with my friend than to actually buy anything. Well if you count the lunch I bought at the mall, I spent $10. I saw some nice perfumes and really cute clothing, but nothing I absolutely had to have. It probably helps that I stayed out of Zara and H&M, the two stores that are my budgetary kryptonite.

I still plan to use my first December paycheck to load a Visa gift card with $200 and when its spent, that means I'm done my Christmas shopping. I will also give friends, co-workers and aquaintances holiday cards as I have been doing for the past two years. I refuse to incur more debt just because it's the holiday season.

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I'm just trying to enjoy the rest of my weekend...Monday means back to reality and priorities in the following order: (1) work, (2) two papers to write, (3) two finals to start studying for (4) and a fundraiser (for the non profit I am a board member of) to make final plans for that is taking place next week.

The tragic death of the Wal-Mart employee in New York puts things in perspective and makes me ashamed of the conspicuous consumption that takes place this time of year (even in the midst of this economic slump). No deal is worth the loss of a life.

Weekend Spending

It’s been way too long since I’ve done a weekend spending log. I plan to do better with that in the upcoming weeks when my spending has the potential to get really out of hand because of the holidays, so I have to be vigilant about keeping track. I didn’t spend all that much money over the weekend. Spending the last several Friday evenings in my 8-week class really does a good job of curbing my Friday spending. I have a bad habit of shopping after work on Fridays and I have not been able to do that. I know I am probably the last person, but I finally saw Iron Man over the weekend and it was pretty good. Movies come and go so fast, sometimes it’s just easier to wait until I can rent it. I attended a jewelry party over the weekend and purchased a pair of silver earrings for $20 which was the amount I allotted myself to spend at the party. There was also a woman selling handbags and another giving henna tattoos, but I opted out of both of those purchases because I really didn’t want to spend anymore money. I made an online credit card payment of $100 over the weekend also, but I didn’t count that into my total because it won’t clear for another day or so.

Friday
Movie Rental $4.00
iTunes album download $11.00

Saturday
Earrings $20.00
Groceries $33.00
Metro fare $3.00

Sunday
Eyebrow shaping $10.00
Window shopping for gift ideas...FREE

TOTAL: 81.00

Today was an accidental no-spend day

What does a day-off from work due to Veteran's Day and two looming deadlines for grad school assignments equal? An accidental no-spend day! During a mid-week vacation day, I would have normally gone out to shop, seen a movie, met a friend for lunch, or at least take a coffee-run to Starbucks or Dunkin' Donuts, but with a group project to prepare for and a paper to finish by tomorrow, I did the practical thing and did my school work and some other tasks I needed to take care of. I also took a great mid-day nap.

If I ever start my own company, I will have plenty of couches for people to take optional naps in lieu of lunch breaks, because I for one feel so much more productive after a nap! But I digress, maybe on a week when I have a fully stocked fridge and a week's worth of money on my Metro card, I will try a whole no-spend week...well maybe I'll try that after the holidays.

What is the longest stretch you have gone without spending money?

Cutting Spending: I Downgraded My Cable Service

My Comcast bill (Internet/Phone/Cable service) was a little high this month, so I looked at the bill and noticed that I was paying for HBO service I rarely watch. I do watch a lot of the other channels, but I just don't watch enough HBO to substantiate paying extra for it. It came free for the first six months of the service and I just never went back to cancel after that six month period was over. So my next bill should be $18.95 less, which was the cost of the HBO.

The only reason why I have a land line is because my cell phone gets terrible service in my apartment. It works everywhere else just fine, even on the Metro, but not so good where it would be most useful...figures. I can't get rid of the cable all together because my TV won't work in February if I do that and I refuse to buy a new one until the old one dies on me. I am a part time grad student and need the Internet to write papers and things of that nature, but I would really consider getting rid of that also if I had a PDA with good Internet service. I just don't live close enough to campus to get rid of that though. I realize, that if I'm going to start making more progress on my financial goals, I have to seriously cut my spending.

I do have a few habits that don't need changing like rarely eating out unless it's a special occasion (when I do eat out I don't purchase alcohol) and packing my lunch on a regular basis. Here are a ways I have come up with to cut my spending that I have mentioned before that I plan to implement in the near future:

1. Learn how to style and trim my own hair (the trimming part is a little lofty but achievable).
2. Learn how to hem my own pants and skirts.
3. Don't put my clothing in the dry cleaners and wash/iron them myself.
4. Stop buying coffee, tea, hot drinks and make them at home or at work.

I want a new (to me) car, but won't start saving for one until I pay off my credit cards and have more in my emergency fund...so I have to remind myself of this when I want to make a purchase that isn't a necessity.

Does anyone else have any other suggestions on ways to my lower spending?

Biting the bullet and joining the gym

After going back and forth over this idea for the last few weeks, I’ve decided to join the gym that is across the street from my job. My organization gets a discount which would make the monthly fee about $40. I have never been big on gyms because I really don’t know how to use many of the machines on the rare occasions that I have been to the gym. But I can get a training session on how to use the machines with a personal trainer as apart of the membership. This particular gym offers a variety of classes in yoga, pilates, kickboxing and dancing that I would like to participate in. The gym also has a pool, which I would be able to take advantage of. The close proximity to my job makes it convenient, especially since the cold winter months are right around the corner. The gym is a short Metro ride from my apartment and I can also use facilities in other parts of the city and the gym locations in cities outside of the DC area. Working out is a much healthier and cheaper past time than shopping/going out to eat which I normally do. I've been inspired by Seattle Girl over at Saving Cent to have a six month shopping moratorium starting in January, but I'll have more info on that soon. I plan to work out when I get a shopping urge. I should be really in shape by next summer! If I take four yoga classes in the course of a month at the yoga studio I attend at $10 per class, I've spent just as much as the monthly gym membership and don't get the variety of other types of classes a pool and the work out machines that the gym offers. I'm going to look up the class schedule and see what class I'll take first.

Making of a Miser: Nature vs. Nurture

I found this article in the Wall Street Journal and found it interesting:

Scott Rick, a postdoctoral student at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School who has done research on what makes people cheap, says that childhood plays a big role. If you have two thrifty parents, you're likely to be thrifty as well.

Likewise, people who lived through the Great Depression were often thrifty their entire lives. Since the 1930s, each successive generation has gotten to be more free-spending. The current financial crisis could change that. "Right now, there are probably a lot of children who are going to be tightwads," says Mr. Rick.

But our childhood isn't the only factor. George Loewenstein, a professor of economics and psychology at Carnegie Mellon University, says people have innate tendencies. "It's almost like people are born tightwads or cheapskates," says Dr. Loewenstein, who published a paper on
the subject with Mr. Rick and another author.

I agree with the author that spending money does not necessarily make you happier. Especially if you are spending money on things you can't afford. I think it has to be about balance like everything else....

Weekend Spending

Friday
Lunch - 5.52
Marshall's (2 sweaters and a candle) - 68.86
Target (yoga mat) - 9.60

Saturday
Coffee, egg sandwich, tea - 7.07
Ice cream - 2.74

Sunday
Donuts - 1.96
Groceries - 66.72

TOTAL - 162.47

It's just way too convenient to live walking distance from a Dunkin' Donuts, I was in there twice over the course of the weekend...

I have no explanation for my purchases at Marshall's on Friday except that when you are petite and find clothing in your size, sometimes you just have to go for it...on another note, I'm adding 200.00 to savings this week.

Weekend Spending

I very rarely buy lunch on weekday's but I treated my co-worker to lunch on Friday because it was her last day in the office before her maternity leave started. Taking my lunch to work is one habit that is easy to implement because I normally just take leftovers from the night before. This summer, during my monthly trips to Philly, I have been taking the China town bus one way and then taking the train back. I find that Amtrak tickets are cheaper when you leave Monday mornings rather than Sunday evenings, so because its only a two hour train ride to DC from Philly, I just leave at 6 a.m. on Mondays and go straight to work from the train station. It's tough getting up before 5a.m., but I get to sleep on the train ride back to DC. The cheaper ticket price is worth it.

I saw this really cute dress at this store I like on South Street in Philly called Guacamole. But it couldn't have been worn much after the early fall because of its light weight material, which my friend wisely pointed out. It's a little silly to buy any more summer clothing especially since the weather forecasters project it to be a cold winter. I will buy a few fall items and will make a list of what fall wardrobe additions I will make later this week.

Friday
Coffee - $3.15
Lunch - $22.69

Saturday
Hash Browns and Coffee - $4.60
China town bus ticket -$15.00
Dinner - $21.95

Sunday
Snack, etc. - $17.00
Amtrak ticket - $44.00

TOTAL: $128.39

Weekend Spending

The week has already started, but I still wanted to do an update of my weekend spending. I need to stop making end of the week/weekend trips to Starbucks, it's starting to add up. I know better. I also know that H&M is a weakness of mine as there are so many cute fall clothing and shoes there. I will avoid H&M and other stores that tempt me until I save a little money to buy a few fall clothing staples in September. I realize, that my schedule won't allow me to keep my side-gig at the retail store much longer. The extra money was nice, but I don't want to stretch myself too thin. On a good note, I should have plenty of no-spend days this fall since I am embarking on graduate school and will have to study/do assignments in my spare time.

Friday
~Starbucks - $7.04
~Lunch - $7.69
~Cab ride - $12.00
~Metro Smart Trip Card- $5.00

Saturday
~Starbucks - 3.85
~Harris Teeter - $61.56
~Snack - $2.88

Sunday
~H&M (purple pumps) - $36.91
~Movies - $8.50
~Lunch - $7.00

TOTAL: 152. 43

Weekend Spending

I enjoyed my week in Florida and as I suspected, I spent very little money except for on food and a pair of black Jessica Simpson wedges I found on sale at Dillards. I really like Dillards, too bad we don't have that department store in the DC area.

I guess I'm not too old to be treated to dinner by my Dad because he frowned at me when I offered to pay for dinner when we went out during the week. But I am too old for him to still pay my cell phone bill, so I am am now officially off of my Dad and Stepmom's family plan and will be paying my own cell phone bill from now on. I made a small payment on my Discover card and will make a larger payment when I get paid on the 15th.

Friday
$0

Saturday
$34 - Discover card minimum payment

Sunday
$10 - disappointing airport pizza and bottle of water
$13 - novel from airport newstand for flight

Weekend Spending

Here is the breakdown:

~Friday
Metro Smart Trip Card - $5.00
CVS (household items) - $30.00
iTunes (album)- $10.29
Airport candy - $3.00
Chinese Food - $8.00
Family reunion dues -$20.00
Dinner -$0 (thanks Auntie!)

~Saturday
Family trip (including lunch) - $60.00
Dinner - $27.00

~Sunday
Taxi cab ride to Amtrak station - $43.00...ugh!
Coffee and snack - $3.00

TOTAL: $163.29

Note: Flight and Train tickets purchased in advance.

I attended a family reunion in Miami over the weekend and had a very nice time there. I didn't end up spending as much money as I anticipated because I avoided a family bus trip to a shopping outlet. You can't spend if you avoid temptation right? Overall, I had a nice time in Miami despite the high temperatures. My train ride today to visit my Dad and Step-mom in Tampa after the reunion ended did not go as smoothly as my flight to Florida due to a lovely child that sat behind me and kept banging the tray table up and down despite my protestations and his even more lovely grandmother did nothing to stop this behavior...ugh!

I definitely need to tweak my budget a little more. I am sadly going over spending in all of the categories I previously set. I plan to completely revamp it based on my spending trends on Mint.com. I also plan to start tracking my week day and week-end spending starting in September. I am waiting until next month, because I would like to enjoy the rest of the summer before buckling down with the improved budget. I will have to allow for the new expense of my cell phone because I guess I should give my Dad a break from paying my cell phone bill since he's been paying for it since I was in high school. It sucks being an adult sometimes...

I resolve to track my spending better because I am tired of not seeing faster progress with building up my emergency fund. I'd also really like to crush this credit card debt so I can open up my Roth IRA in early 2009.

Florida Here I Come

Spending next week visiting my Dad and Stepmom in Florida will save me:

~$20 Metro commute (to and from work)
~$50 Groceries
~$50 Weekend entertainment costs
~A week’s worth of utilities

Yay for trips to visit family!

Since this is my “vacation” for the summer, I intend to enjoy myself, but visiting family instead of going on a trip where I would have to spend money on food, hotel and entertainment is good for my budget. Airfare is my major expense for this trip. My goal for 2009 is to take a trip out of the country to somewhere I have never been before for a minimum of four days. I'll go into more detail on that when I update my goals. But for this year, other expenses take priority over traveling to other countries or locales. So Florida, here I come.

Does anyone have any ideas for inexpensive tourist things to do in Tampa?

Image: VisitFlorida.com