Hump Day Happy wk. 15

I have been at my new job for exactly one month today and it’s been going pretty well so far. It has been tricky adjusting to getting paid on a monthly basis. The larger paycheck does help, but organizing paying for monthly expenses and foreseeing the ones that come unexpectedly later in the month is difficult. I haven’t found my partner in crime yet at work but everyone is really nice. This upcoming week my work is having a Crawfish Boil as an annual event they like to have to get colleagues in the department to socialize outside of work. Matlock will be joining me, which should be interesting introducing her to my coworkers.

I also recently bought a FitBit Flex, which I love using so far. It’s a way for me to keep track of my physical activity, sleep and food intake. I really like that it also is a wireless alarm built into the bracelet which wakes me up in the mornings with a vibration. This is a much nicer way to start my day than an obtrusive sound alarm. I can set it to have at least 3 alarms in case the first vibration doesn’t do the trick.  It has been a tremendous help in understanding where I need to change my health related behavior. I am pretty sedentary at work and don’t meet the average 10K steps taken per day, so I could step up my game there. I am trying to find more of a community around the FitBit, so if you have a FitBit yourself and want to be my friend just visit my profile.fitbit flex

Tomorrow I am going to this thing called PechaKucka which I am looking forward to.

Cassy hasn’t been feeling well and last night we had to put this T shirt on her to keep her from leaking. Thankfully she is alright once checked up by her vet, but I had to share this adorable picture of her.

cassy1

Posted on Thoughts By Sofia sofia in Animals, Health, Pets, Technology, Work Leave a comment

Confessions of an Emotional Spender: Five Tips for Managing Debt

Image credit: LotusHead, www.pixelpusher.co.za

This is a guest post by a great blogger, Lisa. We met at a local techy get together in February and she opened up about her personal finance story. Show her some love and check out her tumblr blogs, I Love Columbus   and Modest Pomp.

Hi, my name is Lisa, and I’m an emotional spender. Perhaps if you’re reading this, you can relate. Or maybe you know a someone who is feeling too overwhelmed by debt to begin taking control of their finances. If so, I hope to help by sharing my story.

How does one go from zero to five digits in credit card debt over the course of three years? It’s easy. In my case, most of those plastic dollars were spent on fleeting desires. I love nice things, good food, wine, last-minute plans, throwing caution to the wind, and feeling free to do what I want when I want. But when I’m stressed, I turn to those things in a very impulsive and insatiable way. While the impractical and expressive aspects of my personality have often brought me luck (both professionally and personally), they can also be my worst enemy. Woops…$20,000 in debt later and I found myself backed into a corner. This year, I decided to take some monumental steps in facing that number and take action through a debt management plan. It’s a daunting subject to tackle, so I’d like to share five tips that have helped me to begin managing my money better.

1. Love it or leave it. Even before I took the step towards debt management, I started implementing a “two week rule” when shopping for things that I don’t need. Picture this: I’m walking around the mall after work to blow off steam. I see a really great pair of $40 earrings. In that moment, I think I love them…but I’m also looking for something to make me feel instantly gratified after a particularly frustrating day. Will I still care after the thrill of wearing them out for the first time is done with? I stop, I take note of how I’m feeling, and allow anywhere from two weeks to two months (depending on the price of the object) before making a decision. If I’m still obsessing about those earrings every day for fourteen days…SOLD. The result: less impulsive buys and a stronger relationship with my belongings.

2. Think small, be consistent. What!? For people like me – who enjoy the extremes in life – this sounds horrifying. Have you ever tried to carry every single grocery bag from the car trunk to the front door in one trip? If so, you know how exhausting it can be. And let’s be real, you probably didn’t tackle that task any faster than the person who made it in three trips. And you pulled a muscle. And you broke the eggs. And you had to put all the bags down to fumble with your keys at the door anyway. Getting to my point, my parents also happened to lend me a sum of money right out of college that I still haven’t paid back. That was over ten years ago! The reason I’ve carried this weight around on my shoulders for so long is because I refused to make small and consistent payments from the get-go. I’d promise to pay back a large amount one month, and fail the next, because I was short on money elsewhere (or completely emotionally unwilling to part with the amount I’d promised). It was disappointing to my parents and I felt guilty about it throughout my twenties. Two years ago, I put my pride aside, took my mother’s advice, and begin sending my parents a check for $100 every month. It’s a small amount, and it will take time to pay the lump sum down – but it sure won’t take ten more years. Consistency has proven to add value to my small monthly payment; my mom trusts me to deliver, and we both have peace of mind knowing that the amount I owe is dwindling steadily. I had a teacher in college who used to say, “Pennies make cents.” That has never felt more true.

3. Stop putting your pleasure on credit. Credit isn’t YOUR money. Late last year, it became clear that my monthly credit card payments – plus interest – were beginning to cannibalize MY OWN hard-earned money. The number of cards I had maxed out, combined with their ultimate sum plus interest added, was overwhelming. I just couldn’t get ahead. Facing that number and saying it out loud to someone else was the first, most difficult step in dealing with the $20,000 I’d racked up in credit card bills. After a candid conversation with my mother, and a search on the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC) website, I made an appointment with a credit counseling agency in my area. Here’s the deal: a fixed dollar amount is withdrawn from your checking account every month and distributed to your creditors in order to pay the debt off in 4-5 years. This means no more credit cards. Someone is monitoring that aspect of my life. It seems hard to believe, but I am so much more at peace now, knowing that I can focus on living within the boundaries of my paycheck.

4. It’s okay to make practical decisions for now, in order have more flexibility later. The second best choice I made last year was to take a stable corporate Design job, rather than freelancing. I was lucky to find a great company that provides a great level of health, happiness, and consistent paycheck to compliment my plan to eliminate credit card debt. Is that my dream – to work 9-5 in a cubicle? No. But there’s also not much room to nurture personal dreams when you’re buried under the weight of what you owe to the bank every month.

5. Don’t beat yourself up for slipping up: Once a spendthrift, always a spendthrift. Maintaining better habits will always be hard work, but what good habits don’t require hard work and patience? I’ve had weeks where I’ve failed to adhere to my rules in tip #1. Fine. Each time you fall back into old ways, there is an opportunity to create new solutions, ask for advice, and try new methods. Don’t waste time worrying about all the things you haven’t even started yet (like opening a savings account); they will only be possible if you pick right back up again and keep moving forward. Don’t give in to shame or regret; simply refer to tip #2 again. It’s okay to start small, just start somewhere.

Right now, I’m working with these five points. Managing debt is a process that’s both humbling and challenging, but I can tell you it’s also a relief.  Cheers!

Image credit: LotusHead, www.pixelpusher.co.za

Posted on Thoughts By Sofia Guest in Guest Posts, Money, saving, spending, Work 5 Comments

Fun Ways to Get Your Side Hustle On

Hustlin

photo by aaronch

The following is a guest post by Alice.

It is no secret that with the advent of the recession our personal finances have been hard to manage. It seems that incoming cash is never proportionate to our obligations, not to mention that prices of commodities refuse to go down but seem to irrationally increase. A cup of joe is not as cheap as it used to be, so we settle for the instant non-brewed ones which taste like crap for a shot of caffeine. Don’t even get me started on inflation rates. We cut on our vices and settle for simple pleasures instead. These adjustments are necessary so we can continue living comfortably or at least pay the bills to keep the lights on.

We struggle to make ends meet by adding more stints to our 9-5 jobs. If you feel you’ve had enough fast food or babysitting gigs in your lifetime, maybe it’s time to consider available opportunities on the internet. There are a lot of ways to make money online if we only know what to do and where to look. The good thing about working on the net is that you earn without leaving the confines of your home. For additional income which best suits your interests, check out Odesk.com’s job postings. Thousands of openings for categories under web development, software development, networking and information systems, writing and translation, administrative support, design and multimedia, customer service, sales and marketing and business services are on hand for jobseekers and freelancers. If you’re not into clerical stuff but more into gaming, you can also make money by joining free gaming sites with real cash prizes like Cheekybingo, and have your dose of fun while at it. You might also want to sell some of your old stuff through eBay, that way you get rid of clutter around your house as well.

You can come up with some other great suggestions for how to make more side hustle money are in Kylie Ofiu’s book titled, 365 Ways To Make Money. I actually won a copy of this book so I have read it cover to cover myself. Kylie suggests:

  • Selling arts and crafts you made yourself or collectibles
  • Selling  stuff for others –Try charging a fee for it or kept a percentage of the sale.
  • Take on microjobs and quick tasks- A great site you can visit if you live in a city where it is offered is TaskRabbit. You can get tasks done and be a runner and make money completing other people’s tasks.
  • Tutor and teach- everyone one has skills they learned in school, so try tutoring someone younger than you in a subject you might have loved and they need more help with.
  • Helping someone with their household chores
  • Party Planning- helping with tasks for a wedding or large event

Take your pick, so you’ll have more cash to budget in the future. Try some of these ideas and let me know what works for you. 

Posted on Thoughts By Sofia Guest in Guest Posts, Money, Work 2 Comments

Happy Hump Day wk. 14

I was so glad to have last week over with all the frenzied news in Boston, that this week feels like a breeze. Two more days until the weekend! I had some good things happen at the beginning of the week that are keeping me going and some events that I am looking forward to that I am using as motivation. Today was a gloomy, cold, rainy day in my neighborhood; but those are one of my favorite types. It’s when I usually get the most work done since I am not tempted to play outside by the shining sun and warm temperatures.

Rain

photo by : Tanveer Chandok

1. Filed my taxes last week and received both state and federal tax refunds today in my checking account. Made two car loan payments and an auto insurance payment with the refund money. I also opened a new savings account at a local credit union, which I am going to use to start building my emergency fund account. My beginning goal for that E- fund is $500.

2. Going to a work related leadership summit this weekend that I am excited for. Happy Administrative Professionals Day! Everyone at work received an Bath & Body works care package from leadership today. It was such a sweet surprise.

3. Stood in line on a beautiful sunny evening on Earth day (Monday 22nd) to get a free Bean Burger at one of my favorite restaurants in town.

4. Bought two more pairs of professional pants for work with a coupon, which got me a reasonable price I was comfortable paying. Matlock and I have been on a couponing kick lately when it comes to groceries, this has helped keep the grocery bill down and using coupons makes me feel proactive and good about taking control of my shopping. I am extremely appreciative of the generous Target employees that accept my Target coupons without putting up a fuss.

Posted on Thoughts By Sofia sofia in Food, Money, Work 1 Comment

Just Keep Going- Hump Day wk. 13

This hump day I am still busy with the new job, but with the events in Boston on Monday it’s been pretty somber in my mind. Work is going well, tomorrow I have my first 6:30 AM meeting, which should be interesting. I should probably go to sleep now. Having several friends & family members live in the area, the news hit close to home. My thoughts have been with the family & friends of those affected by the tragedy on Monday all week.  I think this picture says it all for now.

photo credit: Lorianne DiSabato via photopin cc

photo credit: Lorianne DiSabato via photopin cc

Posted on Thoughts By Sofia sofia in Media Leave a comment
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