It was nice writing something that doesn’t really mean anything. I’m not really looking for much beyond an answer–and, hey, if they know some people are waiting for it, maybe they’d move faster. Of course, I’m trying not to eat so much pizza (tonight was the first time in 5 weeks), but still. Also, after a crappy day like today, it feels good to tell someone else something positive.
Dear [Regional Pizza Chain],
Six months ago I moved out of [former state] in order to go back to school. It was stressful and I was leaving behind many things I enjoyed–friends, decent weather, and the city in general. During my time in [Former State], I had taken to your pizza and it became my delivery of choice. I was not sad about missing your pizza since I saw on your website that, COMING SOON!, there would be a [Chain]’s in my new town of [New City, New State]. Now, I don’t eat pizza as much as most college students but, every time I do, I check your website and hope that I somehow missed a grand opening announcement. Sadly, it seems I have not. So, I am curious: when will [Chain]’s pizza be available in [New Town]?
A former and hopefully soon-to-be returning customer,
XXX
I’m counting this one as done even though it’s technically not. What’s left are just technicalities.
My brick-and-mortar bank was giving me 0.5% on my savings account and this needed to change. From what I’ve read, online banks tend to offer the best rates. I decided to go with ING Direct. Why?
Several reasons. I did a lot of reading on different possibilities; while anecdotal evidence isn’t definitive, when a diversified audience all say the same positive things, it’s worth looking into. I think I read, maybe, one negative review of ING. Additionally, many of the personal finance bloggers I read speak highly of ING and specifically mention their excellent interface and customer support.
By opening an account with more than $250, they offer a $25 reward, which is pretty sweet. I got a referral from one of those personal finance bloggers (An English Major’s Money), additionally she gets $10 for referring, so we’re all better off.
While they don’t offer the highest interest rate–despite the recent Fed cut, you can still get above 5%–their 3.65% is still seven times what I would be earning otherwise. When the economy gets better, I may look into moving the cash to a higher yield account, but for now I’m satisfied.
The account is open and I only moved a (relatively) small amount of my savings over. I can’t access the money for 10 days, so I didn’t want to move it all because I’m paranoid. But once I verify that I do actually own my checking account and the 10 days are up, I’m moving almost all of my savings over, at least until I decide how to invest the non-Emergency Fund portion.
Accomplishing this makes me feel quite good; this is one of the things on my list that serve, partly, as a foundation for other goals. More on that later.
Outside of getting my BA and, possibly, going to graduate school, the most important thing I’ve done in the last five years for my long-term benefit was the 60-day fitness Challenge at the gym
Over two months, I started eating right and exercised (usually) 5 or 6 times a week. I lost 23 pounds of fat and gained 4 pounds of muscle and felt physically better than at any point in my life.
These are impressive numbers, I think, but that’s not why it has changed my life. Doing the challenge convinced me that the person I want to be is within reach. This isn’t limited to just physicallity; my recent learning/understand of my finances–and the good changes I’ve made because of it–stems in part from the MBG. Things are not usually as difficult as they seem, and I/You/We can do it.
Found this idea through one of the personal finance blogs I read (The Simple Dollar) though it appears the original is from here. Looks interesting, so I am going to do it. You know, become the person you want to be and all that kinda crap. Follow that second link for a big list from other people. I stole some of my ideas from them. Two of my favorites (since I tend, you know, to identify more with those my own age and those in grad school): here and here. Here’s the "rules":
The Mission:
Complete 101 preset tasks in a period of 1001 days.
The Criteria:
Tasks must be specific (ie. no ambiguity in the wording) with a result that is either measurable or clearly defined. Tasks must also be realistic and stretching (ie. represent some amount of work on my part).
Why 1001 Days?
Many people have created lists in the past - frequently simple goals such as New Year’s resolutions. The key to beating procrastination is to set a deadline that is realistic. 1001 Days (about 2.75 years) is a better period of time than a year, because it allows you several seasons to complete the tasks, which is better for organising and timing some tasks such as overseas trips or outdoor activities.
My list is below. It’s very ambitious and I will be very surprised (and very, very happy!) if I can get all of it done in time. In the sidebar will be a link to the master list which will include updates of progress. I will refrain for trying to explain anything on this list at this time, except to point out two things: 1) lofiaudiophile.com is a website me and some friends are starting here soon but isn’t up yet; 2) #27 & #28 are the two hardest and two most important on the list.
THE LIST!!
Begin date: 19 January 2008
End date: 16 October 2010
Food/Health:
(1) Eat completely vegan for three straight months.
(2) Drink no soda for six months.
(3) Do not eat out for one month.
(4) Do 75 push-ups in a row.
(5) Decrease weight to 220 lbs. (Starting weight: 296)
(6) Decrease body fat percentage to 18%.
(7) Cook a vegan dinner for friends.
(8) Make 150 dishes I’ve never made before.
(9) Collect favorite recipes and make a cookbook.
(10) Grow my own herbs and spices for a summer.
(11) Learn to can/preserve.
(12) Enter a cooking contest/competition.
(13) Donate fat-man clothes.
(14) Run in at least a 10K race.
(15) Work out every day for a month.
(16) Eat nothing but raw foods during one month.
(17) Try a polyphasic sleep schedule for one month. (See here.)
(18) Become an early riser and get up at a set time everyday for two months.
(19) Whiten teeth.
(20) Walk everywhere for a month.
(21) Go completely vegetarian (min. 1 year) except for being a “social meat-eater.”
(22) Write testimonial for [gym mentioned above].
(23) Eat a habañero, whole, by itself.
School/Learning:
(24) Get an academic work published.
(25) Be able to read Arabic alphabet.
(26) Be able to read Cyrillic alphabet.
(27) Pass prelim exams.
(28) Defend dissertation proposal.
(29) Become an online tutor.
(30) Get on “excellent” list 4 semesters. [Professors/TAs given an "excellent" rating by their students.]
(31) Read all required and recommended material (sans non-required books) for two classes.
(32) Voluntarily work a 70 hour week each semester.
(33) Get highest Graduate Teaching Certification.
(34) Learn all world capitals & largest cities for each country.
(35) Get someone to pay me to go somewhere more than 500 miles away for something related to school.
(36) Donate $100 or more to my undergrad school.
Money:
(37) Increase networth to $XX,XXX by 1 Jan 2009.
(38) Increase networth by 75% in 2009.
(39) Increase networth by 50% in 2010.
(40) Buy into an index fund.
(41) Open high-yield savings account for emergency fund ($XXXX).
(42) Get a credit card.
(43) Open a Roth IRA (and transfer old retirement account).
(44) Spend no money for 14 days in a row.
(45) Save 50% of main paycheck for five months. (Doesn’t have to be consecutive.) Don’t dip into savings.
(46) Get renter’s insurance.
Music:
(47) Write 555 articles on music for lofiaudiophile.com
(48) Make 10 mixtapes, each for a different person, of songs that make me think of them.
(49) Make 20 single-artist mixtapes.
(50) Learn the bass guitar.
(51) 555 subscribers at lofiaudiophile.com
(52) Make more than $1 from lofiaudiophile.com
(53) Listen to 555 albums on The Guardian’s 1000 albums to hear before you die list.
(54) See Opeth perform live.
(55) Play "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (RFTT version) live, preferably with a full band.
(56) Go to a dance club and Dance!
(57) Convince a stranger at a music store that they should buy a particular album.
(58) Write a song good enough I feel comfortably playing it for someone else.
(59) Submit song to [local/University’s record label competition].
(60) Make a “definitive” mixtape (i.e. “a history of punk”)
(61) Interview a band/band member/artist for lofiaudiophile.com
(62) Make a list of 250 songs that make me happy to be alive.
(63) Buy a harmonica and learn live the blues.
Reading:
(64) Read Moby Dick.
(65) Read 50 of Time Magazine’s 100 Best English-Language Novels from 1923 to the Present.
(66) Read 24 books for “fun” not covered by last .
(67) Memorize 10 poems.
(68) Join paperbackswap.com and swap at least 6 books.
Drinking:
(69) Try absinthe.
(70) Try and write about 100 different beers.
(71) Buy a shot/drink of the most expensive whiskey/bourbon/scotch at the Bar.
(72) Visit/Tour a whiskey distillery.
Sports/Games:
(73) Attend two professional sporting events.
(74) Visit Lambeau field.
(75) Purchase a Green Bay replica jersey.
(76) Go ice skating.
(77) Beat Final Fantasy X.2
(78) Beat Final Fantasy XII.
(79) Win a trivia contest at [local bar’s] “Drink n Think”
(80) Watch 20 matches during FIFA World Cup 2010.
(81) Find someone to play Chinese Chess with and learn how to play.
(82) Buy a Go board and learn how to play.
Travel:
(83) Go to NYC.
(84) Visit [sister] at college.
(85) Visit Krista in England, assuming she doesn’t move.
(86) Couchsurf for a week in (a) place(s) where I don’t know anybody.
(87) Go letterboxing and get at least 25 stamps, including at least one from out-of-state.
Inter-personal:
(88) Go two weeks without complaining once.
(89) Send out Christmas cards.
(90) Go 72 hours without using a computer, TV or music player. Void if on vacation.
(91) Go 48 hours without talking (including typing).
(92) Respond to an online personal ad (via a dating site).
(93) Write 10 companies with criticism (positive or negative) about their product/service.
(94) Write 10 companies about the excellent service I received from one of their employees.
Other:
(95) Leave no dirty dishes overnight for one month.
(96) Write five decent short stories and send at least one off for publication.
(97) Organize and digitize all my photos.
(98) Get a tattoo.
(99) Continue “Inspirational Deadwood Quote of the Week” every week for a year.
(100) Get hair long enough, cut it and donate to Locks of Love (or similar organization).
Meta:
(101) Put $5 in separate savings account for each thing accomplished on this list. Do something fun (not school or investing related) with the money. Donate $5 to some charity/organization for every incomplete item.
(102) Make new 101 for 1001 list when this one is over.
Money has mystified me.
The last few days I’ve been reading a lot of personal finance blogs. I’ve been a long time reader of The Consumerist and followed some links from there and here I am.
I looked because I wrote a check I couldn’t cover at that moment. I was nearly positive it wouldn’t be cashed before my paycheck was deposited – but I wasn’t sure. And I said to myself, damnit, you’re smarter than this…why do you fear understanding your own finances and money in general?
And in reading stories and ideas, it clicked:
I’m in my mid-20s. I get a pretty decent stipend for studying and I’m in my first semester. I have a stable and reliable income (assuming I don’t fail out or quit). I have a four-year bachelor’s degree with no debt (not my doing—I love my parents). I have no children. I have no wife. I have no car. I have no cell phone. I live in a fairly rural area. I live relatively frugally already. I’ve had no major unexpected expenses.
I don’t have a lot of savings and I have no investments…but I’ve been shit lucky with money to this point…and I’m in a great situation to do something more. So why the Hell don’t I?
One of the first pieces of advice that made perfect sense: track every penny you spend and every penny you get. So I whip up a spreadsheet with pretty colors. I create another spreadsheet of what essentially amounts to a check register. Another spreadsheet to start keeping track of prices.
I started working on a budget. Dear Lord, was that enlightening. Realizing just how much money I’ve essentially wasted over the last four years…wow. I’m an idiot. Even on a grad student’s stipend, even after budgeting over 1/3 of my paycheck for savings – I still had money left over. So, yeah, let’s throw that into savings too…
So get this: I will not buy a car while in school. Assuming no unexpected expenses (medical bills, ineffective birth control, getting the band back together), the day I get to add those three sweet letters after my name, I’ll be able to walk into a new car dealership and pay cash for an above-average vehicle. I won’t, but I love the idea of opening up a briefcase full of crisp $100s…
For the first time in…probably forever…I know exactly how much cash I have. I’ve stared at that number a lot in the last couple days. It’s small, but damn it’s nice to know.
Yeah, so the next few posts, even if they only come once a month, are going to be about money, I think, because I’m a little excited about this.