financial zen

I hate guessing taxes on my wife’s paycheck.

I do. I hate estimating, guesstimating, et al. with taxes (I’m still learning to master them!)

Luckily, Ms. Ducky has posted a calculator that will do the work for you!

I’m plugging through my wife’s numbers to get a rough idea, it’s a cool tool to utilize!

I’ve read a number of articles and posts talking about how it is cheaper to rent your living space instead of buying a house. It’s all about maximizing your returns, and where you can earn more money in that alloted time (because stats don’t lie, right?)

With that in mind - I’m going to take a different approach. Put your heart into this decision and decide - do you want to make extra cash, or do you want a home you can be happy in?

It’s a delicate balance! Happiness in renting, or happiness in home-owning?
The Real Estate Journal reinforced my thoughts on the issue - they discuss home improvements and whether they really add value - basically, recognizing your bad investment for being exactly what it is - making you happy, with a possibility of a cost (or loss).

In other words, do you temper your desire for what you want your home to be, because what you want may temper a future buyer’s enthusiasm? Or, do you disregard the future to enjoy the present?

Basically, as the article states: Your style is their disaster.

Just think when you are house hunting (or apartment hunting), and even when you hang out with friends. What goes through your mind? Probably something along the lines of “I like their style, this is cool” or…

“What in the WORLD were they THINKING?”

You may think Greco-Roman is in this year. Maybe a little Asian Zing. You drop a lot of money to get a style into your home, either with decor or by remodeling. But you’re doing it for YOU - not for resale, unless you are keeping it as basic and simple as possible. It’s important to remember:

“I want our house to fit our style while we’re here,” my friend says, “but unless I plan to die here, I want to recoup as much money as possible from a remodel.”

That’s it - it’s realizing how long you’re going to live in your house - spend money to make yourself happy in it - and it especially makes sense if you think it’s the house you’re going to grow with your family in.

As for my future home? I plan on making a couple improvements, maybe a remodel here or there - but basic. Making it less dated, a little more roomy and functional - but I won’t be installing the Kitchen of my dreams until we’re settling and in the area when intend to live and grow for the rest of our lives.

It just must be the time of year for giving:

The Org I work for is doing our annual fundraiser and I am trying to get the word out. You can donate through my own little page, where you will get the bonus of a picture of my cat. Donate 5$, 10$ or 4,367$, it all goes to help the animals.

Here’s the spiel:

I will be participating the 14th annual Furry Scurry, a two-mile walk and fun run to support the Dumb Friends League. The League is a national leader in providing humane care to lost and abandoned animals, rescuing sick, injured and abused animals, adopting pets to new homes, helping pets stay in homes and educating pet owners and the public about the needs of companion animals. The League is the largest animal welfare organization in the Rocky Mountain region welcoming as many as 25,000 animals a year. They turn no animals away.

The League’s mission is to shelter and care for every pet in need and they have one of the highest pet adoption rates of any similar sized organizations in the country. The League offers humane education to school children, training for pet owners and animal behavior advice through a free helpline. They investigate animal cruelty, support animal-friendly legislation and initiate partnerships with other groups, including rural shelters, to achieve outcomes that benefit animals, including reducing the number of unwanted animals born and the number relinquished to shelters.

Follow This Link to visit my personal web page and help me in my efforts to support Dumb Friends League

So, help the homeless of Indiana, and help the animals!

This comes from my bro, and he knows what a sucker my family is for animal causes, so he knows I’ll be donating.

I’m going to take a break from my personal career struggle, my search for frugality, financial zen and the zen state of mind and talk about a friend in need.

A good friend of mine from “back in the day” (it was a Wednesday, in case you were wondering) - recently emailed me about a fund raiser he’s doing to help benefit the homeless - but instead of summarizing, here’s his note:

My reason for contacting you all is simple. I am walking in a fundraiser to benefit the homeless, and would like to ask you to sponsor my walk. To those that is all I need to say, here’s the link to sponsor me.

But for everyone else, if I haven’t already told you, I am an AmeriCorps*VISTA. I am paid a small living stipend to volunteer full-time for a nonprofit in Indianapolis. I work on fundraising, communications, infrastructure (boring policy stuff), and whatever else my organization needs, for a year.

And it’s been quite the eye-opening experience. The first thing I’ve learned is that it’s a bad idea to coddle the homeless. Excepting some individuals (the mentally ill, domestic abuse victims, and veterans) a good portion of the homeless are people who really messed up in life and ended up unable to do basic things like pay for rent.

But the consequences of leaving these people to fend for themselves are obvious to anyone who lives in a metropolitan area. They increase crime. They beg on street corners. They get beat up by thrill-seeking teenagers (no, really; google “homeless fights”). And they encourage the drug trade.

But the answer is not to give them hand-outs. My organization, Partners In Housing Development Corporation, is engaged in a “hand-out.” We develop what’s called supportive housing. We take old, abandoned buildings and renovate them for affordable housing. We give the homeless and low-income a place to live where they also get access to social services, like substance abuse counselors, job training, mental health services, and even some health care providers.

You should see these resource coordinators in action. They’re like impromptu parents. If a resident recently got a job, they call and check that they’re showing up every day. They conduct AA meetings and smoking-cessation classes. They leave their doors open so to see the residents walk by and ask them how they’re doing. And they criticize to motivate.

I really believe in what my organization does. I believe that permanent housing, combined with social services, is the answer to ending homelessness. The homeless need something that acts as transitional housing without the deadline. Of our residents who stay for three months, the average stay is just under two years before they transition to living on their own, working like the rest of us.

It’s quite inspiring, the idea that we could actually fix homelessness. Maybe pie-in-the-sky, I know, but at least the immediate benefits are there: less people living on the street.

So, I’m walking to fundraise for my organization on Sunday, and if you’re able and inclined to support my cause, I’d love for you to visit the link below and donate whatever you want. My goal is $125.00, but that’s the bare minimum, and I think my friends and family can do much better.

And to my family (and friends, if so inclined): please forward this to everybody you think might donate. I don’t have near-enough e-mails to reach everyone. Beth, Mom, Dad, Alex, forward this to the fam so that they get it.

Here’s the link again.

I trust that the organization I’m working for is actually helping the homeless problem. I see it everyday.

I’ll stop talking now. The deadline to donate is Saturday evening. I know, I know, it’s a bit late in the game. But I’ve been pretty busy at work. Thank you for listening and if I haven’t seen you recently, call me to catch up!

(emphasis mine, I edited a couple things out, like his phone number)

Join me in helping a good cause!

Yes, I’m a college student. Still. Despite a myriad of classes and major changes, I have yet to attain that magical piece of paper that gives you credit in the real world… a degree!

What have I majored in you ask? Well sit right down and I’ll tell you a tale…
*Graphic Design at a Tech School (until the B.A. program they ‘offered’ disappeared my second quarter)
*Graphic Design at a Community College (it became a general Associate of Arts to Transfer to The University)
*Visual Communication at The University
Associate of Science with a focus on Finance at the local Community College to transfer to The University in about three or four quarters.

Now why am I not in the University, you ask?

MONEY! Let me explain something - I receive tuition reimbursement for all my classes - so they are paid for as long as I pass. So why not throw that “free” money to the well-known University? Because I can use more of the tuition reimbursement taking more (and cheaper) classes at the community college! I can drop two-thousand dollars (plus!) on a University education in one quarter, or I can drop one-thousand dollars on a quarter’s worth of community college classes - and yes, Virginia, they do transfer!

This is akin to investing - would you buy expensive because it’s expensive, or would you buy cheap because it’s comparable? When I graduate with a Bachelor’s in Finance, what will my paper say? “The University” - not “Transfered classes from this college to the University.”

For people looking at the big name education - this is really the way to go. Even better, for all you high-schoolers out there:
Post Secondary Option. I got started late on this because my counselor neglected to mention this to me, but dropped hints to other kids - so I jumped on that boat a little late and still managed to get a few classes taken care of in high school.

Free Education = Awesome Education. Cheaper Education = Better Investment. Transferring to a University to get that Bachelor’s after spending little to no money? Priceless.

Tricia (@ Blogging Away Debt) has a great article talking about MSN’s “Money trouble? It’s your own fault!”

She’s right, it reads like tough love - but one thing I think most people need to understand is that is what they (and their debt need) - a good ole’ kick to the head.

Placing blame won’t do anything except delay the inevitable. As I once read:
A young man will blame the world for his troubles, a smart man blames himself, a wise man blames no one.

People get too hung up on placing blame - on others, on themselves that they miss the whole issue - their is debt to resolve!

I once blamed the credit card lenders for preying on my ignorance - I realized it was my fault, and knocked my debt down and focused. Now, the majority of my debt is from a wedding, a honeymoon, and an emergency. It’s under control - and my wife and I are knocking away our debt like crazy. I’m looking forward to post our state of “monetary affairs” at the end of the month so we can better come to grip with our finances - we’re all ready aware we’ve got a fast-food problem!

Maybe not the law - but I definitely fought my apartment complex.

When you are in an apartment complex, you’ve got the benefit of never doing lawn work, never doing repairs, and never having to stay (you can break your lease, you know).

But when you’ve got difficult neighbors, and a very bad management office, things can get hairy, like they did for me.

I pay rent mid-way through the month for the next month - I like paying early. It prevents me from spending it, using it for something else, or ever being accused of not paying rent on time. They returned it, stating I needed to add utilities. I called them up and let them know - if they want utilities, I’d need a copy of the utilities. They dropped off a new note the next day with my utilities statement, adding $50 for a late fee.

Two days later, we received my first ever eviction notice for non-payment. I hold in my hand a check for rent, with a date of March 14th (I pay mid-way for the next month). I informed them quite explicitly, the lease states utilities and rent are separate payments - to which their rebuttal was “if you read the lease you’d know they are one and the same.” I sent out another check - with utilities, no late fee.

It’s a good thing I’ve got my filing together! I bust out my lease and ask what paragraph that gem is in. “15,” they say. Paragraph 15 is about rent/lease increasing, not utilities or rent payment schedule. So I quote my lease were it states that “once the utilities bill is received, I have 20 days to pay it. Suddenly, their financial manager needs to get the apartment manager. He says that he’s not sure where it says it - but it does say it.

I told him to prove it. I’ve got a lawyer on-call to verify, if need be, and I let him know he can let me know where it states that, because otherwise their constant returning of my rent (and trying to charge late fees) are unfounded. He asks for a day, and that if he can’t, their District Manager will e-mail me.

Four days pass, and I’ve e-mailed the DM twice about my upcoming eviction, and asking about the state of the utilities/rent dilemma. The 16th I finally receive a reply.

Guess what? I AM RIGHT. I called them out on their statement of “company policy” and “lease terms” when I knew they were nothing of the sort.

It’s been four months of these kinds of battles with this apartment complex that has lead to my search for a house - something to call my own, away from pimped out Hondas, bass-rattling stereos at 2am, and beer bottles lying outside. Yes, I’m moving out of the college-life apartment and moving into a house.

Kind of ironic, but thanks to the guest post at Consumerism Commentary of Zen Habits I came across a post that shares my namesake:
Financial Zen: How to get financial peace of mind

These tips are the ultimate basics to controlling your finances - they keep you sane and aware of your financial state of mind (and prevent the bills from piling up). Check out Zen Habit’s break down - I’ve attached my own comments to his very crucial tips.

1. Pay off your debt. If you’re reading this, this is your goal. It’s my goal. $0 debt! I recommend using the snowball method I posted earlier about.
2.Pay your bills as soon as they come in. Master this one. It’ll save you so much grief (and late fees) which also leads into…
3.Make your payments automatic. I DO NOT recommend having any company having access to your checking or savings. Read the Consumerist and find how badly they can accidentally screw you over because of “automated payments.” However, I do recommend having a bank/credit union that lets you set up bill payments online. I have checks sent out from my bank for everything I get a statement for. No problems - yet.
4.Develop a financial security net. Everyone recommends a emergency fund.
5.Review your finances at least weekly. Every weekend I double check my expenses and make sure I’m on track to paying off my debts (and my bills are on time - this has saved me more than once!) which leads to…
6.Talk about money with your partner. Your plan is only as good as your foundation. My wife is essential in this, and we talk about our finances openly with each other. She’s my other half, and she should know our “state of finances” - it’s even better that she talks to me about it directly, actively engaging in the same behaviors

So it’s a simple list - care to add? What does your spouse do with you in terms of finance?

In true fashion, I’ve stumbled on a jewel of last month at lifehack which directs to Marcus Vorwaller’s blog with these ten great gems:

1. Think daily. Meditate.
-When is the last time you did this? I try to do a little meditation or relaxation at the start of the day.
2. Get in the zone.
-Whatever I’m trying to do, I try to focus on it so it is my priority.
3. Make it a point to do something bold every day.
-It’s easy to regret your awkward conversations but hard to regret the ones you didn’t have.
4. Learn something new.
-I trained my dog to lay down. What have you done that’s so great?
5. Debate something.
-I miss my old few friends that could get together and argue about the most random of topics, or events in our lives.
6. Spend time with a child.
-Pretty soon I’ll be spending a lot of time with a child, but I made a point before to visit my nieces and nephews. I love the wonderful insights innocence gives them.
7. Go outside.
-When it’s nice out, go out. Walk your dog, stretch your legs! Go to a park and walk bare foot in the grass. It’s one of my favorite relaxation techniques.
8. Recognize what makes you happy.
-This is what’s hardest for most people I know. They get too stressed or wrapped up in life/themselves that they no longer know. It becomes more “escapism” than happiness.
9. Stop broken thoughts.
-I’m guilty of this. Disjointed. Broken. Half-complete. I’m getting better.
10. Don’t stress about it.
-This is one tip I can’t help but stress (heh). Don’t stress about it. don’t put yourself in situations where you feel the need to stress. Don’t bite more than you can chew, and if you do, realize you will get through it eventually.

Honestly, they seem to be simple steps - but I think people get so bogged down and wrapped up in themselves (and life in general) that they forget about these things.

Queercents has a great two parter on Jobs, Careers, and Money (Part I, Part II) it made me think of my current state of affairs with my “career” cum “job.”

I entered the company with no degree doing something I had done for a hobby (Web Design) for years - now I was getting paid salary to take part in a Fortune 500 company’s web site(s) (one of many people, I should say). I knew a couple guys here who don’t have degrees and are making decent money - they’ve got a condo, a car, and a dog. I was dating my wife at the time, and it seemed like a good gig, and tho-and-behold! A position opened up! I applied, and after being introduced to my future boss, I was told to put in my resume (and send my boss a copy, directly).

I got the job. (Obviously

This of course lead me to the first professional, dedicated position of my life. Salary, 401k, benefits. Retirement. Career path. Or so I thought. As time went on, I learned new skills, learned new technologies, but was finding myself less and less impressed by my career - I enjoy designing, I enjoy making flyers for friends, making web sites - in my free time. Doing it professionally really took the joy out of it - you’re restricted, and even when you’re given free reign, it’s still not as exciting as I thought it’d be. Implement new code and technologies, find new ways of doing old things. But it’s just not that exciting - it’s my job, it’s what I do. I know the answers, I can tell them code when they ask, I know what’s causing that display error - but it’s not allowing me to grow as a person.

I’ll hold off for now until part II (which I didn’t intend, but this is something insightful for me).