Archive results for “June 2009f 2009”

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Men, Women, and Money…

When my husband and I were first married, we kept our money separate.

We argued about who should pay for groceries, who should pay for dinner, and who should pay for everything in between. I hated asking him for his half of the rent each month. He was my husband – not my roommate. It finally came to the breaking point when he couldn’t afford rent and we had to clean out our savings and use our credit card to get by. We opened a joint checking account the very next month.

We learned to work beside each other and the arguing stopped.

We made our mistakes – financing nice cars, charging vacations to credit cards, and remodeling our bathroom on credit – but now that we’re working to become debt free, we are partners in the fight. I wish someone had told me early on that working together as a couple was a necessity for a good marriage and good financial health. As I listen to my co-worker talk about his wife ‘owing’ him money for tires on her car, I couldn’t help but think… ‘No wonder he’s on his third marriage.’

So how do we do it? We each get a $3 daily allowance in cash each week. I don’t care what he spends his on, and in return, he doesn’t care what I spend mine on. We usually spend the money on work clothes or a bi-weekly dinner out together. This week, we split the cost of a silly $15 video game we both would enjoy and a $25 set of solar lit pavers for our garden. (And yes I know, $3 may be more or less than you spend, but it works for us)

My husband and I rarely argue about money now that we’ve enacted the $3 daily allowance rule, but we still fight about very serious issues… like the direction of the toilet tissue.

Do you keep your money separate? Or do you have a joint account? And how much do you allow each other to ‘blow’ each day?

Posted by Beks on June 8, 2009 at 5:00 AM in Credit Cards, General Personal Finance, Good Info, Life Experiences, Living Frugal, Money & Relationships, Monthly Spending, Spending Money | 24 Comments »
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Sick in June?!?!

Leave it to me.

I’ve been in perfect health for more than 6 months – not even a sore throat to annoy me. Now that the cold and flu season is over… I’ve come down with a nasty bug. Heaven forbid I get sick when everyone else does. Now I’m the freak show who’s sick in JUNE.

I got sick yesterday afternoon. I felt awful at work and before leaving, I told my boss, ‘Hey, I’m not feeling very well. I’m going to drink some tea and get to bed early. Have a good night.’

Everyone knows the cardinal rule of making two day weekends to three day weekends… fake sick on Thursday afternoon and call in sick on Friday. Er… so I’ve heard.

Terrified that my boss will think I’m lying, I’m forced to go to work this morning even though I feel like I’ve been hit by a giant rotating ferris wheel…multiple times. I’m not one of those people who look adorable when I’m sick. My eyes get red and puffy, my skin gets itchy, my nose turns pepto bismol pink, and I’m embarrassed to go out in public.

Fortunately, this should work well for me in this particular situation. I’m going to work… and I hope to be back home and in bed within an hour.

Posted by Beks on June 5, 2009 at 5:00 AM in About Me, Life Experiences | 8 Comments »
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Debt Update

I’ll try to do a debt update around the first of each month. Here is my debt update for June:

Starting Debt: $38, 495.86
New Debt Number: $27,814.62

Total Paid Since October 2008: $10,681.24

Woo Hoo! We’re over $10K

We were hoping to get ahead of schedule and have our credit card debt paid by July but it’s looking like August or September (still ahead, just not as much as we wanted to be) thanks to the California DMV fees and the higher taxes.

Posted by Beks on June 4, 2009 at 5:00 AM in Debt Updates | 12 Comments »
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Work Mistakes…

As I’ve said before, having a job is a vital part to paying off debt. I try my best to work hard, to get along with others, and to be enthusiastic about serving the public.

Friday, I wasn’t ‘feeling it’. Late nights paired with high stress had me pooped by Friday and I hit the snooze button far more than I should have.

I rolled out of bed, threw my nappy unwashed hair into a pony tail, and put on my uniform without ironing it. I caught the train to work and arrived my usual 45 minutes early – 30 of which I should have spent getting ready and ironing at least my shirt. I sluggishly walked into the elevator, hit the floor button, and leaned my sleepy head against the wall. Just as the doors started to close, a hand slipped through the doors and in walked the equivalent of the company CEO.

I’ve met the guy approximately 2 times in the 6 months I’ve worked there.

He gave me a slow once over – and it wasn’t because I looked smoking hot in my uniform. He looked at my crumpled pants, my against policy un-tucked shirt, and said a very crisp, ‘Well… good morning.’

I heard ‘No Scrubs’ by TLC blaring on my brain radio.

I’ve always been told to dress for the job you want and not for the job you have. I’m fairly certain I will be demoted to janitorial staff by tomorrow.

Never again folks. Never again will I dress like that.

Posted by Beks on June 2, 2009 at 5:00 AM in About Me, Life Experiences, work | 11 Comments »
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Understanding Government Spending…

As a government employee, I get a lot of angry letters about the way tax dollars are spent. Most of the anger should be redirected.

There are two types of spending: Capital and Operating

Capital funds are used to buy things (Ex: telephones, cars, desk chairs, radios)
Operating funds are used to pay daily operating costs (Ex: salaries, electric bills, services)

Obama’s funds given to many government organizations in California are for capital expenditures only (I have no idea if it’s the same way for other states. I only know what our agency is dealing with).

You can imagine the hateful letters, calls, and personal visits we receive when fire/safety/teaching staff and public services are cut while a new 21.2 million dollar diamond encrusted ‘Welcome to San Diego’ sign goes up.

Last week, congress approved 10% of the stimulus funds to be redirected to operational costs. This makes somewhat of a difference but many firefighters, police officers, and teachers are still going without jobs. Public transportation has been sliced. The routes around my house are gone – yet new driverless buses are sitting in a bus yard growing a layer of dust.

I’m not saying I know how to spend the money better. I don’t agree with the stimulus plan at all. But for the love of everything – stop screaming at the people who have no choice on how the money is spent.

Posted by Beks on June 2, 2009 at 5:00 AM in Good Info, Spending Money, work | 1 Comment »
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My Free Weekend…

I spent this Sunday like I spend most Sunday’s – at my parents’ house. We barbeque and play games with my nieces and nephews. These Sunday’s have always been a joy… until the invention of the Wii.

What happened to the good ol’ days of Nintendo and Sega glassy eyed kids? Now they are dancing, singing, and playing instruments. It’s as if the Wii transformed our family into a modern day Brady Bunch band. Ugh.

I rented the Sonic vs. Mario Summer Olympics game from the library. I’m pretty sure I would have expelled less energy actually competing IN the Olympics. Real swimming isn’t nearly as difficult as Wii swimming. Trust me… I can’t use my arms today.

And with the invention of Rock Band, I can’t just sing Aerosmith, I have to sing Aerosmith AND play a guitar. My voice has joined my arms in the ‘not usable’ category.

I think these games were secretly invented by parents who would like to temporarily disable their children. You can’t talk back after losing your voice to Paramore – or maybe that’s just me.

I wish I could say my nieces and nephews suffered from the same painful muscle strain I have today but… I had so much fun playing that I didn’t exactly let them play. When they started crying about the unfairness of it all, I could only say, ‘Back off shorty! Aunti Beks has to finish the last rift of Salt N Pepa so she can win a new tour bus for the band.’

The best things in life are free.

Posted by Beks on June 1, 2009 at 5:00 AM in About Me, Free Stuff, Life Experiences, Living Frugal | 6 Comments »
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