CK Blog

What are you doing? Seems like a simple enough question? Think about it for a minute though. Get a bit deeper. How are you spending your time? Where are your priorities in general? Its not a trick question nor is there any one right answer.

Looking around the Internet and eBay, you will find lots of ads and systems for getting rich quick or making a zillion dollars selling stuff online. Of course most of these are scams or common sense information repackaged as the newest greatest plan for the low price of a couple hundred bucks. Lets assume though for a moment, you strike lighting in a bottle and stumble on a way of making lots of money. Then what would you do?

Would you spend more time volunteering helping at a soup kitchen or have more family time with your kids? The possiblities are endless but your time isn’t so you would probably lean towards things that are a priority to you and have lots of meaning. Why are you not doing more of that now though?

I can hear you saying “I don’t have enough time now…” or “If I just had a little more money and a little less debt…”, then things would just be perfect and I could do whatever. The problem is things are never perfect, there will always be a distraction for you. Go back to the original question, what are you doing right now? I am willing to bet if you took a real critical look at how you spent your time, you could start slashing and burning unimportant things from your life and free up a bunch of time. How much time do you spend watching tv or goofing around on the computer? Maybe your life is tied up with little projects that weigh you down but you cannot seem to say no to them because of a sense of guilt or obligation.

Take a good look at things, are you really spending your time like you should be? Is your life’s priority to play Xbox all day? I’m not saying whichever way you chose is right or wrong, but is it one of your choosing or one of default?

For the past couple years the company that I work for has decided against offering a Roth 401k. A bummer for me because it would appear to work nicely in my situation. With the 401k, you make contributions with after tax money and get the money tax free in retirement. It is nice if you have lower rates now or had deductions such as student loans or mortage interest to help offset the difference. Check out this article from Yahoo Finance to get a quick overview or the Roth 401k and if it makes sense for you.

Finally, the company announced that this year, they will be offering…you guessed it, a Roth 401k. This of course is right after they tell me I am losing my job and will not be working there pretty soon anyways.

Since I will be rolling my current 401k over into an IRA soon enough so I don’t think its worth even messing around with the Roth 401k. Just great timing all around…

Sometimes in life, we tend to get wrapped up with an idea that we lose focus on the big picture. Say for instance, taxes from investments, no one wants to pay more than they have to pay, but some people go overboard in trying to avoid paying them.

Warren Buffet talks about this in a quote from Buffet : The Making of an American Capitalist (p. 83), one of the best books about Buffet out there.

“What is one really trying to do in the investment world? Not pay the least taxes, although that may be a factor to be considered in achieving the end. Means and end should not be confused, however, and the end is to come away with the largest after-tax rate of compound.”

Most people would consider themselves as pretty generous individuals when it comes towards giving to others, but are they just as generous when it comes to being on the receiving side?

That might seem a little weird since you would assume people would say sure, I’ll take money if someone wants to give it to me, but when it comes time to put hand to cash, can you just accept it with no problems? I would guess a lot of people are like me and have a bit of trouble accepting it. Maybe its a pride issue? Don’t want to be thought of as needy person or indebted to someone or whatnot? Maybe it goes deeper and you want to be thought of as the big helper and savior as others and accepting stuff from someone else changes that balance.

Regardless of the reason though, perhaps it would help if you flipped it around and thought about the joy that you get from helping someone and that you are taking that same feeling away from someone else. Think of how it might help someone else to think that they are repaying you a little kindness for everything you do for them instead of a one way street of you helping them. Its not a easy question for me to answer that I still search for the reasons inside me, perhaps you might find an answer or two in your own situation.

Over time, I have discovered a simple problem that I have as a single person…spoiled food. I cannot tell you how peeved it gets me to discover that item sitting on my cabinet or fridge shelf has zoomed past its expiration date. I try to keep a close eye on the dates when I buy stuff so I do not get things that are set to expire soon if I can help it and keep portions small enough so I have a shot of using them up. However, it seems almost a foregone conclusion that I end up with part of a loaf of bread unused or some leftover meat gone bad depending of how much I am home.

Part of the problem ends up being that I get busy with life and am not as home as much to use up some items. There is only so much I can do about that part, but I am doing some more studying about better utilizing my freezer to improve shelf life of my items.

Of course, sometimes I do dumb stuff like leaving the brand new package of ham I brought so I can make some of the grilled cheese and ham sandwiches that I love out on the counter all night instead of putting it in the fridge.

Awhile back I came across a post by RideFree on Anandatech Hot Deals forum about a bread recipe that could be made for 11 cents a loaf. It caught my attention since it combines two things I like, bread and saving money. I did not have a bread machine so I did not try it out, but I have kept a eye out for a machine when I stop by somewhere like Goodwill incase I see one that just says buy me. Sorry I cannot find the link right now, although if visit the Simple Dollar article below, someone has copied the recipe into the comments section.

Trent over at The Simple Dollar wrote about the art of bread making as well. It is really detailed with pretty pictures and tips how to bake a good loaf. Check it out!

I have finished my taxes of 2007! Last year I decided to do the responible thing and make sure I had the proper amount withheld from my taxes. I went to the IRS’s W4 calculator and entered my information and it gave me the correct number of withholdings and amount to have withheld from my paycheck.

It ended up being pretty close. I am getting a small refund back which is better than owing right? Still before I did my calcuations on the tax form, I had it in the back of my head that I would get an amount similar to what I had in previous years and starting thinking about what I would do with that money. Put a little aside in a emergency fund? Throw a little at some debt? Buy a Playstation or sofa? Of course with the amount I am getting back, none of that will end up happening. I may add it with the emergency fund, else I will keep it with my general funds as an extra cushion. It was nice to dream for a minute though.

I have used Quicken to keep track of my spending and accounts for years now. It has worked out fine for me, although I have never been a big fan of its budget component. Its one big plus is that since it ties directly into your Quicken file, it keeps track of your spending versus your budget amounts. Even with that, its was not easy for me to use and let it fall by the wayside.

I came across You Need A Budget probably from No Credit Needed. It is a Excel based budget system that is really easy to use. Even better is the four rules of budgeting that could totally change how you handle your personal finances that is discussed on the site. There is also a Windows verision that is a bit more deluxe although my knowledge of it is limited to seeing some screenshots and a few blurbs here and there that I have read.

This is not an attempt to get affiliate sales, I’m too lazy right now to go signup for the program. =) I am just someone who brought the program and liked it and think others might find it useful, particularly if they are not hardcore budget detailed types.

My brother called my tonight at work to ask if I could pick a few items up and drop them off at his house for him. It was on my way home so it was no big deal so I jotted down what he wanted, no big deal right?

So I get to the grocery, mind you all I had is a list of his items and a vague notion of some stuff I wanted to get for myself. I grab my cart and start wandering the aisles, picking up his items based on his list and my stuff based on “well I could use that”, “hmmm..that sounds good” or “that’s a good price, maybe I should grab one for stock”. I end up with a nice little cart of stuff.

I get done and head for the self-checkout and starting scanning my items. I was more than a little suprised when I saw the total. It was a good $20 more than I had vaguely budgeted (which was towards the high end of what I really wanted to spent in the first place) in my head for what was supposed to be a quick grab a few items for my brother trip.

Where did I go wrong? I didn’t make a plan. I went through the store aimlessly without a goal (a shopping list) nor I did not have a good predefined outline (budget). I should have made a list and had a solid idea of what I wanted to spend in mind before I even step foot in the store.

What about your career or personal finances? Do you have any goals clearly outlined? Do you keep an eye of them and how you are progressing towards your goals? Without a budget, it gets pretty easy to spend a few bucks here and there and quickly have it blow past your theory spending limits. Sometimes life can be just broken down into parts just like a shopping trip. Plan well and you will have a great trip! Skip all that planning and just wing it? You might just end up walking out of the store of life with a cart full of stuff you don’t need and a empty wallet.

Okay so I am not from the government, but I am here to help you! Check out the link below with some helpful consumer info from the Federal Citizen Information Center of the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA).

The new Consumer Action Handbook – This guide from the Federal Citizen Information Center can help with your consumer problems and questions. Find help on such topics as buying and leasing cars, shopping from home and protecting your privacy and yourself from fraud.