financial zen

It’s reassuring to read it a million times on PF blogs, and once again in class:

“The rich get rich by spending less than you earn.”

That’s right, folks. It’s an educational, economical factoid for your consumption.

Even the glorious, never-wrong (truthiness?) wikipedia has an article about local food.

Of course, they pull in the economical problems of eating locally - mainly the problem in a free market, and the damage that can be done if we don’t support the world market. The world requires free trade - a world economy can’t go ’round if we don’t all put in our share.

As well - they bring the variety issue - we can’t get summer foods year round without it. However, by growing in season, foods are fresher and tastier - particularly when you grow them yourselves, so it’s got your blood, sweat and tears in it. You put yourself into your food - your spirit - and it comes out when you harvest. I don’t think shopping gives the same satisfaction.

Ahhh, economics. Everywhere we want to be. As a student, my thoughts are still incomplete, maybe you have something to add?

In my last post I wrote about stumbling upon community supported agriculture - eat locally grown food. Prior to finding this gem, in response to my high gas prices commentary Jay pointed out:

My gut says it’s possible that food grown elsewhere and trucked in could still be “better” for the environment than that grown locally due to various efficiency considerations. But I’m not making any claims as I have absolutely no idea which one is better. So, show me the data.

Now, very often writers (myself included) write stories based on loose information - half truths, speculation, or theories. So I’m going to attempt to look into the 100-mile diet and can we really save the world in doing so?

The 100 mile diet site has 13 reasons to eat local - here’s the ones that I feel highlight the economical reasons:

• 4. Get in touch with the seasons. - I love this one. Eat in season foods means eating foods when they are at their best and fresh, not frozen from god knows where (which means not putting the impact of world-wide travel on your food).
• 7. Save the world. - Yes, you can save the world as an Iowa study found. More information (like how much money would be pumped back into the local economy) can be found at WorldChanging.
• 13. And always remember. - Everything about food and cooking is a metaphor for sex. Okay, so it’s not an economical reason, but still, a little sex in cooking for two is never a bad thing.

Miles to Go Before I Eat has calculations available to help show the different methods of food traveling to your doorstep - it’s not pretty how much energy is wasted for far-off eats!

Has anyone else come across information arguing for eating locally? Or has anyone come across definitive information detailing how it’s all a crock?

CSA is an attempt to eat and purchase locally grown food (veggies - and meat in some cases). I blogged about looking into this the other day, and behold, I find a friend asking questions and finding this answer! Local Harvest has an array of local options and price ranges - we’re going to look into options.

I’m going to have to further my research in this area.

Take a moment and read up about people like No Impact Man. Read about it - the 100 mile diet, not buying anything new (the compact) - living self-sufficiently, reducing our global foot print (which I wrote about before).

Basically, get rid of your car and start riding public transportation (or better yet, BIKE to work). Too far? Car pool. Eat local - don’t shell out for the goods that had to travel over a hundred miles in a refrigerated truck, buy from the local farmers market.

What lead to this? This article on MSN Money, about profiting off this fiasco. After all, why bother with fighting with it when you can make money off of it? Disgusting.

It’s a goal of mine to be able to get a hybrid (or live close enough to work to bike). I’m working on getting a budget setup to afford organic, local produce (including beef, pork and chicken, I’m sorry, but I’m an omnivore). It’s a long-term goal - with a baby on the way and a tolerant wife I can only do so much.

I’d love to go at this 100%, but as with many things in life, it’s one step at a time.

I’ve spent the past two weeks moving, studying, and moving. And then moving some more. I’ve been quite exhausted physically and mentally, but with an upcoming break in another week hopefully I can get into the swing of things…

Dong points out that a private college charges 30k while public charges 12k (on average). It’s a huge gap that needs some explanation - Dong helps point out:

They end up succeeding not because they have received a better education but because they are by nature already ready to succeed. The degree is merely a reflection of success rather than the root of success.

The students make the school more often, not the other way around. So why pay a premium when so many dropouts are doing great? Of course, it’s more of a “luck of the draw” when others lie and land their job. It makes it hard to choose “prestigious” when it seems “luck” and “determination” play larger roles in the fates of careers.

Of course, what many people don’t realize is scholarships play a huge role - I know people who attended the private schools, and did so not because of big bucks in the bank, but because of big bucks in scholarships they applied for (and won, and most importantly, earned). The huge price tag drops dramatically, or disappears entirely.

Now, I’ve heard of people’s affiliations applying to their employment - old frat boys meeting up, people knowing someone from that school of… art, business, what have you. That will take you so far and make things easier for you. For example, I could go to a technical school for design - it ranks less than Pratt Institute of New York, but attaching the name may raise heads until they compare portfolios (let me point out - I like that portfolio, and I don’t have one online to show). At the same time, listening to a world-class violinist is all in the ear of the listener. It’s up the the listener/viewer to determine the value.

I’m looking at a “higher ranked” school down the road. Community college now, top ten school for finance. Will it determine how good I am? No - I determine that, but it may open a few doors, or wedge open the flood gates - which in any job can be the determining factor between success and failure.

Three pairs of tickets sold for over $600 - put on ebay four days before the concert and I walked away with $300 profit.

Normally, I wouldn’t do ebay for tickets, but since two people bailed and we needed cash with our upcoming move, I was hoping to recoup expenses - and I was, until the last half an hour when they jumped up.

This has rekindled my love affair with ebay (and paypal, blech) and I plan on setting up a few more items to help clean my closets and pad my bank account.

I’m taking that “oh-so-forbidden” (I kid, I kid) route to personal finance shame - I’m buying a house.

Guess what? Interest-only mortgages are making a comeback. Guess what? On houses people can’t afford. Because, in theory, you’re going to take the difference (i.e. “savings”) and hope to get a return on it higher than what you’ll be paying down the line - or maybe you’ll pay more than you owe and have your house paid off in less than twenty years. Maybe sixteen, maybe ten - who knows? The point is to not buy a house you can’t afford - but then would Interest Only loans on a house you can afford work in your favor?

Free Money Finance has five tips to get the best deal in buying and selling (from parade magazine) - buying is what I am doing (did?) and we (Wife and I) hit it pretty much on the head. We’ve got great credit ratings, our debt is almost extinguished (I promise to update my networth this week! And my NCN Network!). Overall, we’re doing incredible - on top of our finances, enough cash to cover emergencies, and we landed a great deal in a great neighborhood - a house that was on the market for 180+ days, passed inspection with flying colors.

But why housing? Why not investing?

We want a house. We, being my wife and I, want a place to call home, where our neighbors are not against our walls, their dogs aren’t scratching at our door, and they aren’t blaring their polka music at full blast at 3am. We’re wanting stability, and a place where we can have space to grow a family, a backyard to throw Barbecues in, and a place we can decorate and design the way we want it, how we want it, without the landlord complaining.

Yes, it’s an emotional thing. But you have to weigh the cost (financially) with what we will get out of it (utility). Trust me, it’s something we’ve debated, gone over, checked our selves on renting vs. buying many times (and we’re not the only one) - we came to this decision after a lot of thought. We won’t have to deal with misinterpretations of our lease, or poor maintenance (I get to be poor maintenance!).

It’s a hefty decision - but like many bloggers have pointed out, sometimes you save too much for retirement that you miss out on life. I’m not saying they aren’t right about investing or renting, I’m saying that a person who buys a house has more in mind than just making money.

A while back I bought a group of tickets for a show - I figured I could get a group of people together to catch it, and I was hoping it’d be a sell out show. Well, that concert is this week, and it’s looking like my plans fell through… which means the show, which is now a SOLD-OUT show, is fair game to be profited on!

I bought six tickets for a little over $300. Checking recent ebay bids shows two tickets going for $250. ($250×3=$750 for the math illiterate, $750-$300=$450 profit)

I was kind of surprised by this - it’s a lot of pop-rock bands, and I was interested in seeing two - ZZ Top and Velvet Revolver (you know, before Scott Weiland is in jail again - I missed Stone Temple Pilots). That left Wife and I with the dilemma - should we stay or should we go? With an upcoming move slated, we’re leaning towards selling the tickets.

What about Ebay Success stories?

I know of one, with my brother-in-law running an ebay store that he currently pulls a profit on. The man has an eye for deals and I’ve seen him spend $10 and make $100. He exemplified frugal living to me - thrift master/shopper, finding deals everywhere he went. His future store will be at Janafrog.com - toys for good boys and girls! I’m hoping he’ll have it running soon.

Personally, I’m attempting to sell more items off on ebay - unfortunately it’s adding items to my to do list. My next goal is to help get things done.

Whoops, I made a mistake. A big, big mistake. In my favor, in a way. I feel kind of goofy, but I know how I made this mistake.

I doubled a credit card payment (the one from HSBC that was going to knock out a huge chunk of debt). Thankfully, I had a large chunk in savings, so all my bills are paid, and it means this week is a “whoops I paid off more debt than I intended.”

So I’m a little richer!

This weekend, to combat costs, we’re spending the weekend with family and friends - two gatherings tomorrow.

I think one of the biggest problems (and complaints) I’ve noticed about being fiscally responsible is that it’s boring. You’re bored. Your friends are all having fun. At the bar. At the movies. At the mall (do people still hang out at the mall?).

Why don’t we take a look at that situation. College students (I mean *REAL* students, the ones that eke by on meager paychecks and have student loans) can’t afford to go out all the time. They buy Natty Light, not Heineken. They join groups with similar interests. And I think this is something people forget about as time goes on, and their paychecks increase. Nights in with friends become nights out at the bar/movies. A friend cooking dinner becomes a weekly Mad Mex trip. Natty Light becomes Imported beer.

See the key here? An increase of income causes an increase in spending. This increase also affects your level of fun - what used to be free (or cheap!) and fun becomes more about how much money you can spend.

I’ve mentioned this to friends before - movie nights, group trips to places, potlucks - and it’s slowly coming to fruition. The Radar Lovebug Transistor manages to do a double-feature every Friday night (albeit, in New York). He creates a flyer, that shows his intent for the evening.

Total cost? Time.

A couple friends of mine are having a group over this weekend - volleyball and beer, a celebration of the summer finally coming, and staying. You know, the crazy warm, snow, warm, snow we were having? We can celebrate it being gone.

These kind of events creates a social atmosphere - no membership fees, no door fees, no concession fees. Bring a few bucks for beer or bring a dish. You spend a lot less money, be social, and - did I mention - spend a lot less money?

So next month, how about we start trying to bring back those college days - social events at your house/apartment. Movie marathons. Trips to a volleyball court. Beers - at home - with friends. Buy a case of Natty Light and reminisce about your college parties, those all nighters, and remember how much fun you had when you had so much less income.

Anyone got any party planning ideas? Group fun?