New Personal Finance Blog at SFGate

Hallelujah! Someone at the SF Chronicle finally woke up to the fact that, considering that the SF Bay Area is the most expensive place in the country to live, they should provide some coverage of financial matters that would help people actually afford it. They've launched a new blog, Dollars and Sense, by Lisa Schmeiser. In her first post, Schmeiser states her intentions, including the following:

I will not engage in false spending or saving dilemmas. For example: I will never flog the "if you just stop spending on your daily Starbucks ..." horse that appears in so many personal finance blogs and articles.

Starbucks is rarely the problem. It can, however, be an excellent answer.

Because here's the thing: lots of people have exhausting routines and/or crappy jobs, and that $3.50 venti mocha is the one bright spot in their workday. If that cup of syrupy go-go juice is what it takes to keep from snapping, then $875 per annum is a comparative bargain -- especially when stacked up against, say, the street value of certain controlled substances or bail on a felony charge. So you can forget about posts that promise you ways to save hundreds of dollars annually if you eliminate breakfast and recycle your tinfoil and shake down your kids for their Halloween leavings.

I like her already.

Progress in Very Small Steps

Just having set out a list of goals for the rest of the month made me feel better and I've made some progress already on the list. For one thing, I did some online game testing today for 30 minutes and earned $30 for it (well, $23 after I subtracted the toll and parking costs to go there). I also accomplished some other things, but I'll leave the full accounting of it for the end of the month.

Goals for the Rest of May

My lack of goal-setting for the past few months certainly hasn't helped my finances any. It's in these really awful times that I realize how important it is to have short-term and long-term goals to keep things from going totally off the rails. My goals for the year are now sadly obsolete and I'll have to rework them soon. But wanting to focus on what I can do here and now, I've decided not to wait until June 1 to set my next round of monthly goals. So here are my goals for the remaining 13 days of May:

1. Complete and send in at least three job applications.
   
2. Bid on at least two jobs in Elance.com. I recently joined Elance and have bid twice but haven't won any bids. I need to spend more time on this site to understand how to work it better.
   
3. Earn $250 in extra income. This includes sales from Amazon, eBay, Half.com, etsy, or any new blog or focus group/survey income.
4. Call credit card company about notification of rate increase I received yesterday. I'm not clear whether the higher rate will apply only to new charges (which I don't expect to have) or to the $2500 of my existing balance that was not part of a balance transfer.
5. Make at least five changes/improvements to blogs to increase advertising income.

That should keep me busy.

The Reckoning: My Financial Situation Now

As I discussed to some extent in my April 15th post, my financial situation has deteriorated a lot in the past couple months. Although I've tried to keep the numbers in front of me so that I can't hide from them, I confess that I've had a hard time blogging about them. For the past two months I've failed to set monthly goals and do an end-of-month accounting as I usually do. But it's time to get the ugliness out on the table. It's certainly not going to get any prettier any time soon.

So here is how it all stands. First, let me say that with one major exception (my federal 2008 taxes), I'm current on all my bills. That's the one, albeit limited, bright spot.

Now here are the debts, as of today:

• Credit card #1: $9635 (at 2.99%)
• Credit card #2: $14,656.65 (at most at 6.99%, but $2500 at 7.90%)
• Credit card #3: $616.29 (8.9%; I usually pay off this card in full each month, but can only pay the minimum this month)
• Store card: $643.34 (this has been at 0%, but that ends in June--I have to pay off this balance in full by 6/15 or the rate goes through the roof)
• IRS: $6679 (penalties and interest TBD)

Total Debt: $32,230.28

That's right. I'm very nearly back up to the full debt total I started with two years ago. Two years of progress paying down debt wiped out.

Now, here are my savings:

• BofA efund: $34.46
• ING efund: $5.37
• ING taxes fund: $5.20
• ING vacation fund: $5.74
• ING home improvement fund: $5.09

Total Savings: $55.86

Yep. Savings pretty much gone.

On top of all of this, work is spotty at best. I've had no work since last Monday and I have nothing scheduled so far for the next 3-4 weeks. That's a killer.

I've got barely enough money to get me through the rest of May and enough in Accounts Payable to get me through June (assuming everybody pays up on time). It would help a lot if one of the focus groups I applied for came through, but that's always kind of a longshot. I'm doing everything I can think of to make extra money on the side and I am job-hunting as well. I've got a lead on some new work that I would really love and it pays OK too, but realistically it's not going to start for at least a few months.

If I want to stay current on everything, I'm not sure that I will have much choice other than to take out a cash advance on one of my credit cards. Just the thought of it makes me sick. Hopefully, I won't have to make that decision for another month and perhaps something will come through before then.

You Don't Have to Be Dumb About Money to Get Into a Financial Hole

There's a fascinating article in the New York Times by Edmund L. Andrews detailing his own descent into a full-blown credit crisis that is absolutely worth reading. Anyone who thinks that it's only people who are stupid, greedy, or lazy who ever have the bottom fall out of their personal economy should think twice after reading this. It shows how a couple can gamble and extend themselves too far (which, let's face it, is a very American thing to do) and then have one or two bad breaks (such as a job loss or a health issue) send them over the edge.

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I'm Back and the News Isn't Good

It's been more than a month since my last post and the reason is simple--life has been crazy and my financial picture is looking grim.

For starters, by way of explanation for most of the stress I've been coping with, my mother has been suffering increasingly from Alzheimer's (now in the moderate or late-moderate stage) and I've been the only one nearby to give assistance. That would have been difficult enough except that she got stubborn and wouldn't accept assistance so things got really out of control. As of about a week ago, however, she has gone to live with another relative out of state. But while the responsibility for her care has shifted elsewhere, I'm not responsible for straightening out her financial mess. More about that in future posts.

But I suppose the main reason I haven't been blogging is that I've known that I had a dark financial cloud looming over me--taxes. I knew I was going to owe a whopping amount and I didn't have enough money saved. That thought plus dealing with my mom's situation just made me want to crawl in a hole. But in the past week or so I've been getting things in order so I could at least know exactly where I stand. I paid my property taxes and that almost cleaned out my savings. I've got a total of a bit more than $400 left in all my savings accounts combined--not good!

Then it was time to tackle my income taxes. I hadn't made all my estimated tax payments and I knew the bill was going to be big and it was--$6679 for federal and $693 for the state. I paid the state, but I filed the federal tax papers with no payment. After speaking with someone at the IRS, I decided to wait until they bill me and then work out a 120-day extension. There will be penalties and interest, but they're pretty low. I could take out a low-interest advance on a credit card to cover it, but I think the thought of owing the IRS will keep me scared enough that I'll be even more motivated to pay it off this way. I'm going to try to earn extra money every single way I can think of (legally) to get this paid off in four months.

I'm very depressed to think that this IRS debt will just about wipe out the progress I've made in paying down my debt over the last two years. But I'm just going to have to suck it up and dig myself out of this mess too.

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Book Giveaway at No Credit Needed

There is a great giveaway going on at No Credit Needed. You can enter to win your choice of any of five personal finance books. But more importantly, check out the great series going on there on setting your personal finance goals and making them happen. I'm definitely following because, god knows, I need the help!

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More Than $7K Paid Off!

In the midst of a generally crappy financial outlook, there is one bright spot: I've now paid off more than $7K of my original debt. The actual payoff to date is $7270.15, leaving a new debt total of $25,530.29.

I've updated the debt and savings totals in the sidebar. I've also made one addition to the savings totals--I'm now considering my PayPal balance as part of my savings. Total savings now stand at $2944.36.

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End of the Month Update--February

These were my goals for February:

1. Invoice at least $4000.
2. Line up at least $6000 of work for March.
3. Earn at least $500 in alternative income.
4. Pay another $400 towards debt.

Ha! Fat chance. What a miserable month, financially speaking! Here's the damage:

1. Invoices only came to $1178.34.
2. I only have between $2500 and $3000 of work lined up for March, although it's very possible that more will come in.
3. I only made $240.59 from alternative income (Half.com, blog ads, surveys).
4. I did pay down debt by $468.22.

I am going to be so screwed when time comes to pay taxes in April. I don't even want to think about it. I've got more to post about things I've done to cut costs and set new goals for March, but right now I'm too bummed to deal with it. I also need to update the numbers in the sidebar. To be continued.

Great Depression Cooking

Have you seen these great videos on YouTube? Ninety-three-year-old Clara demonstrates how to make several of the penny-pinching meals that she grew up on during the Great Depression. It really shows the inventiveness of the Depression-era cooks and Clara is treat to listen to. She reminds me of some of the older members of my family. Check them out.

Embedded Video

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Free for Your Valentine: A Little Marvin Gaye in the Night

Amazon.com is offering a free download of that classic Marvin Gaye song "Let's Get It On" just for today and tomorrow. Why not download a copy and burn it to CD for a low-cost Valentine's Day gift? Or, if you're feeling a bit more flush, you can buy your valentine a new MP3 player and pre-load the song to it before you give it to him/her. Geez, it's such a cool song--just treat yourself to the download! Click the link in the pink box in the sidebar at the left to get the free file download.

I saw this list on Saving4Later. The idea is to mark the ones you've already done in bold. Some of these things I'd never want to do! (Such as going rock climbing!) But it's fun to remind yourself once in a while that the world still holds a lot in store. Here goes:

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain (well, at least, a short mountain!)

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon (actually, I walked it)

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo's David

41. Sung karoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies

62. Gone whale watching.

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cellphone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day

That's 33 out of 100 for me!

End of the Month Update--January

These were my goals for the month of January:

1. Invoice at least $4000.
2. Pay off at least $400 of debt.
3. Pay quarterly taxes ($4000 from taxes fund).
4. Bring in at least $250 in alternative income (ebay sales, etsy sales, surveys, etc.).
5. Line up regular work for February.

And here's what actually happened:

1. I did much better than I expected with my earnings in January. I invoiced 4927.43, almost a thousand dollars over the goal!
2. The debt paydown was another story. Partly because I transferred a balance and partly because I was just reluctant to pay more than the minimums, I only reduced my debt by another $96.32.
3. I did pay my quarterly taxes, but I only sent $3000 to the feds, which means I need to come up with a whopping payment for April.
4. I only succeeded in bringing in $101.85 in alternative income, mostly from eBay and Half.com.
5. This is where I really blew it, although not for lack of trying. I have no work deadlines scheduled for the entire month of February. Some last-minute jobs may pop up (one already has), but I can't really count on that. I'm really going to have to come up with some kind of brilliant money-making idea if I want to avoid raiding my e-fund in March.

So here are my new goals for February:

1. Invoice at least $4000.
2. Line up at least $6000 of work for March.
3. Earn at least $500 in alternative income.
4. Pay another $400 towards debt.
   

Below $26K!

I've made my credit card payments for the month and my new debt balance is $25,998.51. I'm disappointed that I will not reach my January goal of paying off $400, but because money is tight this month (and likely to be tighter next month), I'm paying just a bit more than the minimum. I also had a $75 increase to the debt because of a transfer fee in order to get a lower rate. I think my new goal is just to survive the next few months and hope like hell that I'll be able to get the money together to pay all my taxes in April. Paying extra on my debt would be gravy.