What I’m Able to Save So Far.
Since I’ve started this blog a month ago I’ve looked at ways to save money to help pay down my debt. Here is what I’ve come up so far:
- Cable TV - $63.75 a month
- Broadband Internet - $18 a month
- Satellite TV - $62.94 a month
- Car Insurance - $35 a month
- Eating breakfast at home and bringing lunch to work - $180 a month.
That totals to $359.69 a month, not bad. That’s $4,316.28 in a year. From a previous post, I said my goal was to pay off $12,000 of my $25,000 student loans in 1 year. With the money I’m going to save from the above, I’ll only need $7,683.72 to accomplish that goal or $640.31 a month.
There are still a lot of things that I can do to save money, and I’m going to be implementing them in the next couple of weeks.
Looks like I’m going to start making a serious dent in my debt real soon. I’m excited.
Wish me luck!
Brown Bagging It.
For the longest time I’ve eaten out for breakfast and lunch during the work week. Didn’t seem to be that big of a deal. 3 dollars for breakfast, 4-6 dollars for breakfast. Bur since I’ve turned over a new leaf I’ve decided to re-think the whole breakfast and lunch thing.
So for the past week I’ve eating breakfast at home and bringing lunch to work. Cereal or oatmeal with fruit for breakfast and leftovers for lunch. I also started bringing my own water bottle from home.
So doing the numbers, I save the average on the following:
- Breakfast: $3
- Lunch: $5
- Bottled Water: $1
For a total of 9 dollars a day. At 5 days a week and 4 weeks a month that comes to $180 a month.
Wow, that’s more than what I used to pay for cable, broadband internet, or satellite TV. I guess it does add up, doesn’t it.
Switched Car Insurance, Saved Half.
Continuing my quest to slash expenses to have more money to pay off my loans I decided it was time to switch my car insurance. When I got my first vehicle many years ago I got the same insurance carrier as my sister and I haven’t changed since. Since the current coverage term was expiring in June I decided to shop around to see if I can save some money off of it. And wouldn’t you know.
I looked at Geico, State Farm, Allstate and Progressive. Of the 4, the cheapest was Progressive at half of what I was paying before. And they gave me another $50 off for paying 6 months at a time. Woot!
Doing the math that’s another $35 a month I’m going to be saving. Not bad, not bad at all 
My Networth: April Edition (+56.07%)
Here’s my networth update as of May 1st with some notes.
- I’ve separated my emergency fund from the checking account to get a more detailed picture.
- Rummaging through my documents I was able to find the original listing for my house, it was listed for $192,108. $2,108 more than my estimates from last month, so I’m treating it as an increase
- I’ve added a row for a Roth IRA that I plan on contributing to before the 2008 tax year is done. Probably won’t get filled until April 14, 2009 though ^_^
I’ve yet to pay my student loans down aggressively as I’ve been concentrating on finding ways to reduce expenses for now. Coupled with a work transition (the good kind!) I’ll probably start doing this around August or September.
I did receive a raise this past month and I’ve allocated part of that raise to my retirement account. It should start to really show in the next month.
I’ve barely cracked $10,000 in networth, Yay! The next milestone is $20,000, something I hope to crack soon.
Did you Get Your Economic Stimulus Check Yet?
While paying some bills this morning I noticed there was an extra $600 in my checking account. Looking at it closer the deposit said “US Treasury Tax Refund”. Looks like the stimulus check got deposited early in my checking account. Woo-hoo! Considering my options I can either:
- Spend it - I do very much want to build a new HTPC ever since my old one kicked the bucket this past January. $600 should get me quality parts over at NewEgg to build my little project.
- Save it - I only have a $1100 in my emergency fund right now, and it adding the $600 would boost me up to $1700, handy to have around.
- Pay my debt down - I haven’t forgotten about the big $25,000 gorilla in the room. If you’ve been following my adventures, I’ve been reducing my expenses everywhere I can to free up more money to pay off my debt.
For now it’s staying in the checking account, though it won’t be staying there for long.
How about you guys? Did you get your rebate yet? If so, what are you going to do with it?
Bye Bye Satellite!
The following is a reprint of a post that I made from my old blog Getting Out Of The Poorhouse: To find out why, see here.
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I’ve lowered my cable TV and broadband internet bills by a combined $81.75 - next is the satellite bill.
I signed an 18 month commitment with my Satellite provider 21 months ago which meant I would not incur a breach of contract penalty. I called them Monday to tell them their services were no longer needed. After what seemed like and eternity of the CS rep trying to keep my business by offering me ”deals” from their keep the customer playbook he gave up finally and went ahead and turned off my service. He said they were going to send me a box to pack my DVR/Sat box and that I needed to disconnect the LNB from my satellite dish and send it back to them as well. I’m expecting the box any day now.
I expect to save an additonal $62.94 a month from this. Sweet!
Stop Making Other People’s Mortgage Payments.
The following is a reprint of a post that I made from my old blog Getting Out Of The Poorhouse: To find out why, see here.
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I’ve recently had the chance to watch the documentary Maxed Out, about the credit card and lending industry in America. Some interesting tidbits gleaned from the movie:
- Dave Ramsey is over-caffeinated
-They put elevators in houses now!
-Robin Leech is still alive?
-Credit card executives and debt collectors are the scum of the earth.
There’s a part in the movie where a credit card executive says that the people in the depths of credit card debt are their biggest money makers. It was one of the few times when I yelled obscenities at the TV (The other times is whenever Deal or No Deal is on).
Credit cards are extremely profitable because of the astronomical interest rates they charge people. Double digit interest rates in the high teens or low twenties plus surcharges and late payments? Business is good. Scratch that, business is great. These folks drive fancy cars and live in enormous houses (with elevators!). They can afford all of these because regular folk like you and me are paying for it. And what do you have going for you? An inflation rate that is close to 5% and savings rates that have trouble cracking the 4% mark.
Are you tired of paying other people’s mortgage payments? Take heart and know that you can stop this. How?
-Pay off your balances: Sounds simple no? Every day that you carry a balance on your credit cards is a day that you help pay for Mr. Bank of America’s yacht and Mrs. Citibanks mansion. If you can’t do this outright, try…
-Transferring your balances to lower interest cards. There are 0% APR balance transfer rates that range anywhere from 6 to 15 months. Although a stop gap measure at best, you can avoid paying further interest on your balances. If that is not an option for you, there are still lower interest rate options in the single digits that are a lot better than those 18% - 27% rates.
-Send more that the minimum payments: For example - The difference between paying $40 a month and $50 a month for a balance of $1,000 and an interest rate of 18% is 8 months (32 months for $40/month and 24 months for $50/month.
-Stop buying things that you don’t need: Learn to differentiate between needs and wants. Food, shelter and safety are examples of needs. An iphone is not a need (Alhough some people disagree:)
-Use cash instead: Cash is King. Doesn’t charge you interest and is can help curb your spending habits. Nothing curbs spending faster than the unavailability of funds
Stop applying for credit: When you’ve dug yourself a hole, you don’t need more shovels. You need a rope, a ladder, or a jet pack.
And above all, stay the course. It’s easy to step off the path and fall into old habits. However with a litte perseverance and support from loved ones, debt can be eliminated, and new financial behaviors will be forged along the way. And who knows, those credit card fat cats may start paying their own mortgages someday.
An Expensive $10 a Week Pastime? What are the Odds?
The following is a reprint of a post that I made from my old blog Getting Out Of The Poorhouse: To find out why, see here.
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Last week a friend of mine won $20 bucks from the lottery. This was especiallysweet for her because she has been on a losing streak lately. According to her she has gone 3 weeks without winning. Now she plays the lotto twice a week, and puts down $5 each time with her regular numbers (birthdays of her kids, husband, mom and dad, etc..). So for the past 3 weeks she spent $ 30 and gotten nothing for it. When I asked her how much she usually wins she smiles and proudly tells me that she at least, wins $3 back - most of the time. This is hilarious not just because she thinks occasionally getting 3 dollars from spending 10 dollars a week constitutes a win, it’s because she works in a bank :)
According to her she’s been consistently playing the lottery twice a week for 11 years now. So at $10 a week - that’s $520 a year. So doing the numbers we find that the same $10 a week pastime would be worth $8,795 now if it was placed in an 8% non-taxable retirement account at 8% compounded monthly. For comparison, the most she’s ever won-$100 in 2004.
It’s about a 1 in 5 million chance to win the lottery jackpot (42 numbers to choose from, choose 6). Those are some odds. Here are some other interesting odds (From the book Life: The Odds: And How to Improve Them by Gregory Baer-an entertaining read) :
Odds of being struck by lightning: 1 in 576,000
Odds of dating a supermodel: 1 in 88,000
Odds of an American home having at least one container of ice cream in the freezer: 9 in 10
Odds of writing a New York Times best seller: 1 in 220
Odds of finding a four-leaf clover on the first try: 1 in 10,000
Odds of being killed by lightning: 1 in 2,320,000
Odds of being murdered: 1 in 18,000
Odds of getting away with murder: 1 in 2
Odds of being attacked by a dog: 1 in 131,890
Odds of dying from a dog bite: 1 in 700,000
Odds of being bitten by a snake, bee or other venomous creature: 1 in 83,930
Odds of dying from being bitten or struck by mammals (other than dogs or humans): 1 in 4,235,477
Odds of dying from a shark attack: 1 in 300,000,000
Odds of having fraternal twins: 3 in 1,000 (for a woman younger than 20)
Odds of having fraternal twins: 14 in 1,000 (for women ages 35-40)
Odds that a person between the age of 18 and 29 does not read a newspaper regularly: 1 in 3
Odds that an adult does not want to live to age 120 under any circumstances: 2 in 3
Odds of being considered possessed by Satan: 1 in 7,000
Odds that a first marriage will survive without separation or divorce for 15 years: 1 in 1.3
Odds that a celebrity marriage will last a lifetime: 1 in 3
Odds of getting hemorrhoids: 1 in 25
Odds of being born a twin in North America: 1 in 90
Odds of being on plane with a drunken pilot: 1 in 117
Odds of being audited by the IRS: 1 in 175
Odds of having your identity stolen: 1 in 200
Odds of finding out your child is a genius: 1 in 250
Odds of catching a ball at a major league ballgame: 1 in 563
Odds of becoming a pro athlete: 1 in 22,000
Odds of a person in the military winning the Medal of Honor: 1 in 11,000
Odds of winning an Academy Award: 1 in 11,500
Odds of striking it rich on Antiques Roadshow: 1 in 60,000
Odds of getting a royal flush in poker on first five cards dealt: 1 in 649,740
Odds of becoming a saint: 1 in 20,000,000
Odds of becoming president: 1 in 10,000,000
Odds of a meteor landing on your house: 1 in 182,138,880,000,000
Odds of dying from intentional self-harm: 1 in 9,380
Odds that Earth will experience a catastrophic collision with an asteroid in the next 100 years: 1 in 5,560
Odds of dying in such a collision: 1 in 20,000
Odds of experiencing an earthquake: 1 in 100,000
Odds of dying from exposure to forces of nature (heat, cold, lightning, earthquake, flood): 1 in 225,107
Odds of dying in an airplane accident: 1 in 354,319
Odds of dying from choking on food: 1 in 370,035
Odds of dying in a fireworks accident: 1 in 1,000,000
Odds of dying from overexertion, travel or privation: 1 in 1,428,377
Odds of dying from food poisoning: 1 in 3,000,000
Odds of dying from legal execution: 1 in 3,441,325
Odds of dying from parts falling off an airplane: 1 in 10,000,000
Odds of dying from ignition or melting of nightwear: 1 in 30,589,556
Odds of spotting a UFO today: 1 in 3,000,000
Odds of contracting the human version of mad cow disease: 1 in 40,000,000
Odds of injury from fireworks: 1 in 19,556
Odds of injury from shaving: 1 in 6,585
Odds of injury from using a chain saw: 1 in 4,464
Odds of injury from mowing the lawn: 1 in 3,623
Odds of fatally slipping in bath or shower: 1 in 2,232
Odds of drowning in a bathtub: 1 in 685,000
Odds of being the victim of serious crime in your lifetime: 1 in 20
Odds of dying from a car accident: 1 in 18,585
Odds of dying from any kind of fall: 1 in 20,666
Odds of dying from accidental drowning: 1 in 79,065
As for my friend the lotto jockey? Although not dropping it completely, she’s cutting back her expensive pastime to $5 a week. Now what were the odds of that happening? About 1 in 8,795
Introducing Ramoney.
Hi boys and girls. It is with great pleasure that I introduce to you the newest member of the RJ multimedia empire - Ramoney (pronounced rah-mow-ney). The URL is www.ramoney.com.
It isn’t a personal finance blog despite how it sounds. It’s about personal development. If you are interested in thought-provoking articles about getting more out of life or changing your way of thinking, please take a look at www.ramoney.com. If you like what you see, please consider subscribing
A sample of what you may find:
How to be more confident by tapping your forehead.
How to jumpstart and engaging conversation.
De-ruttifying, a how-to guide.
Thank you, now back to your regular scheduled program.
Reducing The Cable Bill Part II: Broadband Internet
The following is a reprint of a post that I made from my old blog Getting Out Of The Poorhouse: To find out why, see here.
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Yesterday I talked about how I was able to cut $63.75 off of my cable TV bill by cancelling my HD cable package, using a pair of rabbit ears, watching shows off of TV network websites and using Netflix. Today were going to talk about part II of the cable bill equation - my broadband internet connection.
Of the oodles of money that I used to throw my cable company monthly, $42.95 was dedicated to my broadband internet connection. At that price, I was told by my cable provider that I was getting download speeds of up to 6 mbps per second and 768 kbps upstream. “A whole lot of bang for the buck”, was what CS rep told me. He seemed to know his stuff, and it sure sounded a lot faster than my 56k dial up connection - I was sold. But now, do I still need a whole lot of bang?. A few months ago when my Halo3/Call of Duty 4 addiction was at it’s peak I would’ve said yes (Good times!) but now not so much.
So I decided to call the cable company again and tell them that I will be downgrading another service. I found out that they had a basic broadband rate that they didn’t advertise so much. It would essentially cut my down and up stream speeds by half. The price? $24.95. That’s another $18 a month in savings. So I went ahead and downgraded, thanked the CS rep and was told that it would take about 2 hours for the slowdown to take effect. I waited till the next day to test it out and here was what I found:
Surfing the Internet didn’t change at all, pages still loaded pretty fast and I was able to download files pretty quickly - about 8 Mississippi’s per mp3 of average size(about 5 MB each, downloaded legally of course!). No loss of quality in streaming shows from the TV networks and Netlfix, playback was smooth, no hiccups or cut-offs. Netflix even showed on their page that my video quality was high. Only place I noticed a drop in performance was online gaming. Popped in Call of Duty 4 for a few Deathmatch rounds and experienced pretty significant lag. I ended up finishing all of them at or near the bottom. All due to the slow down I’m sure
So with the switch I’m able to save an additional $18 a month or $216 a year. These savings will also go into repaying down my student loans. Join us next time when I tackle my Satellite subscription.
Thanks for reading.