Overspending Alert!

Just to be forewarned—we quashed the budget this weekend. Something akin to over a hundred dollars, obliterated. A peek at our spoils unveiled a few monstrosities.

Our budget was blown on:

* A penchant for pricey and delicious Oktoberfest brews.
* Accumulation of necessary ingredients for a ‘finer dining’ type of meal experience.
* And, entertainment for guests dropping by our apartment one evening from out-of-town.

Off-budget, and I totally blame the duck.
He sparked such a festive mood in us.

M. and I bought our duck locally at the organic Farmers Market. After we trussed, de-quilled, and placed him in a pan for a few hours to roast, our bird was smothered with a honeyed-molasses glaze and crisped to a deep mahogany. Wild rice pilaf and copious fall brews ensued (including one IPA, aged in oak cask, which was splendid and completely knocked my socks off).

We were off-budget but it felt gratifying to embrace our bursting tummies and just relax in a cosy atmosphere, blithely enjoying our rare-but-savory spread with good company.

Tomorrow, we head out to the countryside in the early morning to pick wild grapes and apples for pressing and wine-making.

So there you have it.

I was naughty but now that we’ve had our fun, note to self: it’s time to get back on financial track, bee-yotch.

=^..^=

Saving is the cornerstone to building a strong and abundant financial future.

It’s past midnight. The apartment is blessedly silent and I’m curled up on the couch with my tablet, pondering this thought:

I am truly amazed at how little people save.

Many of my friends subsist paycheck-to-paycheck, and they believe stashing away a few bucks here or there is not going to make a significant difference in their finances overall.

I strongly disagree.

Every great financial empire was built upon saving, or someone prudently setting aside what is left over after payments and spending—their surplus.

Surplus of money can only be created in two ways: by increasing cash flow into your personal coffers and by decreasing the cash flow out.

Each cent is an opportunity for growth; fortunes are generated through tucking away teensy amounts of money until it blossoms into a thriving honey-pot of wealth. This small stash of surplus (savings) needs to be guarded prudently—as each cent accumulates, it becomes a financial seed to prosperity.

Plant each financial seedling protectively into fertile soil through wise investments and, through careful cultivation and attention, your seeds will begin to flourish and mature into fruit-bearing trees.

This produces further seedlings—interest, dividends, or capital gains, for example—and these children of initial capital will continue to multiply into streams of income, eventually producing their own offspring, and so on. With enough dedication and perseverance and by proceeding to sow seeds wisely, your small garden of savings will evolve into a thriving orchard of ‘money trees’, each producing an abundance of fruit to sustain you through the seasons.

So, don’t hack down your money tree!

It is so typical nowadays to spend an entire paycheck, which is equivalent to devouring all the financial seeds before they have an opportunity to grow and multiply.

Continuous spending also evolves into a vicious cycle where a financial surplus is never available, and therefore an opportunity to build a solid financial foundation upon it can’t manifest. Without proper attention and care, your financial garden merely withers and dies.

There are also those who foolishly blow through their entire savings and destroy income streams (usually on stuff) and essentially chop down all their money trees, viciously desecrating the entire orchard and leaving their land barren. They then wonder, why is money not plentiful? Why am I destitute and dead-broke?

This is why I am genuinely baffled by how more people don’t recognize the impressive nature and powerful potential of saving. Here is advice I offer to my friends:

• Be mindful that borrowing money—getting into debt—is merely paying rent on someone else’s savings. Avoid this situation whenever possible.

• And most importantly, don’t overlook the importance and value of saving—it is the key to building a thriving financial empire. Each cent wisely used holds the promise of a prosperous financial future.

Small, accumulated savings matter tremendously because it is your path to wealth and opportunity. So, what will you build?

=^..^=

God, I hate bills.

Every so often I retreat to my work area, clutching tattered scraps of invoices and receipts, and indulge in a heinously liberating tantrum of writhing in a corner and having a moan while banging my head against the hardwood.

While chanting: go away, bills, gooo awaaayyyy. (thrashing and banging)

Then someone kindheartedly intervenes at some point during this bizarre ritual to peel me from the floor.

This is one reason I’m so anal about paying my credit card bills promptly after making a purchase, before the monthly billing cycle closes out. Although I love the rewards incentive for utilizing plastic instead of cash, I hate owing anyone anything.

M. will quite calmly allow his bills to pile up and fester in some stark corner of the apartment, unopened. “Oh, this was due two days ago,” he will nonchalantly say. “Pass me the corn chips?”

You do not want to see my spazzed-out reaction to money being pissed away on late fees.

We are works in progress.

Developments afoot—M. is on a rigorous credit-repair regime and, inevitably, I have taken over all bill-paying duties for our household.

Damn it.

=^..^=

…languorous austerity

“As long as you still experience the stars as something “above your head”, you lack the eye of knowledge.” —Friedrich Nietzsche

scanty reflection.

=^..^=

I am suffering through a severe lack of sleep. The wee one has been wrangling a fever-induced wakefulness the past two nights due to her one-year shots last week; not only am I pale and sluggish, but a persistent throbbing has emanated from behind my left eyeball, making it nearly impossible to stare at a computer screen for any length of time.

Or coherently write.
(Tired. Soooo tired.)
My syntax has begun to deteriorate.

Need I sleep. Help must you, please?

See?

I feel like I am going to deflagrate into a pile of goo. Thereby I will leave you with: “My Financial Challenge Update“.

As a stay-at-home mommy without a reliable income stream, I made a financial challenge at the start of summer to raise $1,000, somehow. This is how things currently stand:

(All income was passively made from previous writing projects & sponsors.)

June – $80.00
July – $57.71
August – $257.05 $425.80

TOTAL: $563.51

Broke-Ass Mommy Site Stats

Subscribers –

July 3:
2 subscribers (Can I send you something to express my gratitude? Tater tots, perhaps?)

July 18:
11 subscribers

August 8:
18 subscribers

September 5:
31 broke-ass subscribers, as of this morning. (woo-hoo!)

Alexa Rankings –

July 10th: 3,507,434
July 17th: 1,725,804
July 30th: 1,236,943
August 6th: 906,877
August 8th: 826, 155
(current) September 5th: 369, 754

Page Rank: 2

Progress is encouraging. Sleep am I going to for next days two. Talk you with soon.

… yours incoherently slothful …

=^..^=

Welcome to the Labor Day Edition of the Carnival of Financial Camaraderie!

Enjoy perusing all the great entries this Labor Day and please take a moment to share a salient post or two on your social media platforms and through your blogs. Also remember, this carnival is hosted every second week by My University Money and you can submit articles at Blog Carnivals or Blog Carnival HQ.

BUDGETING

Everything Finance @ Everything Finance Blog writes Are You Still Working Without a Budget? – Let’s face it, budgeting is kind of hard—you’re trying to implement a system for tracking your expenses, and since you’re probably spending by check, debit and credit cards, and cash, keeping it all in order can be a challenge. And they don’t teach personal budgeting in school either, so how do you learn?

Steve @ Canadian Personal Finance writes Is it OK to get a discount if you are good looking? – Would you turn down a discount because you were good looking? A customer received a discount for being good looking. This was simply a joke by the server but honestly it brings up a good question, do good looking people get discounts?

Steven @ Grocery Alerts writes 3 Monthly Expenses to Cut to Save you Money – Although monthly expenses don’t seem like very much, but they can really add up. For example, a $100 cable bill on a monthly basis equates to $1200 at the end of the year. Here are a few tips on some monthly expenses that you could consider cutting.

Steven @ Grocery Alerts writes How you can fly first class to Hawaii for under $350! – For approx. $328 you can obtain 30,000 Saga Club miles which will get you a FIRST CLASS roundtrip ticket on Alaska Airlines to anywhere they fly in the U.S. (Alaska and Hawaii included) Canada and Mexico.

CAREER & EDUCATION

Evan @ My Journey to Millions writes Analyzing the Prepayments on One of My Student Loans – As I made my monthly payment the other day on one of my student loans I wondered how much I have saved in interest over the years by adding to the principal some months. Since the lender didn’t provide me with that information I almost looked at it as a challenge to see whether I could figure it out.

Edward Antrobus @ Edward Antrobus writes 3 Job Search Tips for Recent Graduates – It’s a tough economy for recent grads, but these three job search tips can help you land your first job after graduation.

FINANCIAL ADVICE

MR @ Money Reasons writes My Personal Finance Pyramid Update – I use a Personal Finance Pyramid to provide feedback as I strive to acquire wealth in life for me, my family and my kids!

harry campbell @ Your Personal Finance Pro writes How to Take Advantage of Credit Card Sign Up Bonuses – I got my first credit card when I was in college and I used it for most of my entertainment(see alcohol) and dining out purchases. Since then I’ve applied and been accepted for over 10 credit cards with sign up bonuses and gotten thousands in gift cards, travel rewards and cash(wow that sounds like a scam! But it’s true). So here’s how I do it.

Aaron @ Aaron Hung.com writes How many credit cards are too many? – There comes a time in your life when you need to make a big purchase such as buying a house to raise your family, or for investment purposes. Going to big name lenders is usually the way to go when looking for capitals to buy your dream house

PPlan @ Provident Plan writes What’s the Most Effective Way to Give? – The most effective way to give is one that provides sustainability and the most bang for your buck. Find out what else gives a gift the biggest impact.

J.P. @ Novel Investor writes Options For Your 401k Rollover – When you leave your job, do you really want to leave your retirement savings behind? There are several 401k rollover options available so you can take your retirement savings with you and have better control of that money.

Jeremy @ Modest Money writes Compare The Best Credit Card Offers – Personally I pay off my balance in full each month and earn cash back on all my card purchases. Plus by using my credit card I am entitled to extra buyer protection. Hey, works for me. It does not work for everyone though. For people who can control their spending, I present a comparison of the best credit card offers.

Mr. Money @ Smart on Money writes Why You Should Have Life Insurance Even If You Are Young and Healthy with No Dependents – The thing is, even if you’re young and healthy there may be quite a few good reasons for you to buy good term life insurance. It isn’t just for old people, you know!

Peter @ Bible Money Matters writes Paying Down Debt? Make Sure to Recognize Non-Financial Progress – If you have had to take a break from debt repayment and feel discouraged, ask yourself if any of these situations apply to you. If so, pat yourself on the back. You are progressing in your war on debt, just not in a gazelle intense monetary way. You know you are making progress on your war on debt if:

FRUGALITY

Michelle @ See Debt Run writes Crock Pot Piggy Bank – You can save a lot of money by making your own crock pot recipes. Eating healthy and fresh doesn’t have to be more expensive!

Wayne @ Young Family Finance writes How to Raise a Child on a Budget: Identifying the Necessities – Find out how you can raise a child on a budget. Spending less on your children doesn’t mean sacrificing the love given to them.

Amanda L Grossman @ Frugal Confessions writes Simple Childhood Pleasures – Aside from going to Ocean City MD each summer, I have realized that most of the fun I had in my childhood was simple and cheap.

Miss T. @ Prairie Eco Thrifter writes Frugal Dating and the Fun Factor – Saving money and being frugal can be boring sometimes, but it doesn`t have to be. Making a date night fun by thinking outside of the box while still saving money can be helpful to your relationship and your finances.

INVESTING

Shilpan @ Street Smart Finance writes The Best Investment Strategy for Growth and Income – There is no doubt that both value and growth investing styles have their share of staunch followers. Those who believe in Graham and Warren Buffett’s value investment style believe that growth investing is for roulette players. On the other hand, growth investors believe that value investing is a thing of the past with mediocre return at best for the serious investors.

Matt @ Dividend Monk writes Gordon Growth Model Overview – A description of the simple method to determine a fair price to pay for most stable, blue-chip companies.

IMB @ Investing Money writes How to Get Started Investing Money – Find out how you can get started investing money. It’s never too early to start.

Corey @ Steadfast Finances writes Unusual Investment Ideas – Looking for nontraditional investment ideas? Look no further. While these may not be as safe, they could provide you with positive returns.

Hank @ Money Q&A writes Don’t Be Fooled Into These Life Insurance Policies – Here are five of my favorite insurance life policies that I love to hate. You don’t need these five life insurance policies. Don’t waste your money on them.

Eddie @ Finance Fox writes Maybe Home Ownership Isn’t For You – There is more to life than home ownership, and it isn’t the only way. If you ENJOY owning a home, more power to you. But not everyone does.

My Own Advisor @ My Own Advisor writes How many dividend stocks are enough? – I guess one goal for dividend investors should be to reach a saturation point whereby the addition of one more stock in the portfolio marginally reduces volatility. To reach this goal, you’re gonna need more than a few stocks I’m sure… Read on to find out what I feel, is a healthy amount of stocks to own for diversification purposes.

BARBARA FRIEDBERG @ Barbara Friedberg Personal Finance writes CAN YOU RELY ON THE 4% RULE IN RETIREMENT? – Are you properly preparing for retirement? Read about retirement issues to consider.

krantcents @ KrantCents writes Home Gym on a Budget – Would you like a home gym? All the movie stars have a home gym and you can too! Do you have to be a movie star to have one? No, not really! In fact, you can put one together for very little money.

Jen @ Master the Art of Saving writes My Plan to Save a LOT of Money – We’re planning to close on our house the first or second week of September, so we don’t have much time to save a lot of money. My goal is to take advantage…..

TRL @ The Retired Landlord writes Real Estate Investing is Easier with Positive Cash Flow – If you are looking to invest in real estate, as I am looking to do, I have learned that a positive monthly cash flow is important to have. As I have already discussed, real estate investing has risks. There is a chance of having to pay the mortgage between tenants or losing money with major maintenance issues.

Kanwal @ Simply Investing writes 9 Important Reasons Why Dividends Matter – I came across a great article at Dividend Growth Stocks that I would like to share with you: “It seems that every financial adviser or financial publication is proclaiming that you should own dividend stocks. Each are proclaiming the virtues of dividend stocks from their own perspective. To that I have two questions: 1. What took you so long? 2.

Debt Guru @ Debt Free Blog writes Get debt Under Control and Start to Enjoy Life – Find out how to pay off your debt and enjoy life as you prepare for retirement.

Investor Junkie @ Investor Junkie writes Four Top Investment Mistakes You are Making Today – Investing is a task unlike any other. Rarely is there an opportunity to outperform just by avoiding the big mistakes. The truth is, though, that the best investors aren’t those that hit home runs. The best investors simply avoid big mistakes.

SAVING

Deacon Hayes @ Well Kept Wallet writes Why it Pays to Go Back to the Store – Every time I go to Fry’s, they post the ads on the right as soon as you walk in the door. I have made it a habit to go over to see if there is anything that is a good deal or worth looking at. Well, this time I noticed that a radio I had bought within the past 30 days was on sale for $20 less. I remembered that they had a price match guarantee and decided I would ask if they would give me the difference.

Jefferson @ See Debt Run writes Four Great Uses For a Savings Account – http://seedebtrun.com/2012/08/4-great-uses-for-a-savings-account.html

Passive Income Earner @ The Passive Income Earner writes Kids and Money: The Bank Card Introduction – Introducing the bank card to children. It’s a delightful experience.

OTHER

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes How to replace HP Laptop – Effectively managing financial institution accounts is equally important as saving money. Still we don’t usually put much attention on managing side of the personal finance. In personal finance, diversification is as important as managing that diversified portfolio. Do it effectively

Ryan @ Early Retirement Investments writes Some Signs that You Need to Convert to Heat Pumps – Confused on whether you should have a heat pump or not? Read more to see if it makes sense for you!

Jon the Saver @ Free Money Wisdom writes Why Do We Worry About Money? – Worrying about money is not helpful in life. It’s better to plan and not worry so much about it. Money does not need to consume your thoughts.

Suba @ Broke Professionals writes 5 Easy Ways to Irritate Your Boomer Boss – 5 Easy Ways to Irritate Your Boomer Boss is a post from: Broke Professionals if you enjoy it, please visit us and subscribe to the Feed.

Jason @ Work Save Live writes Popular Jobs in Tax Friendly Countries – With all the debate around Mitt Romney’s possible assets overseas, it makes you wonder more about the places like Gibraltar, Andorra, the Cayman Islands and more. These places are known as tax shelters, and as such, they usually have a lot of bankers and financial institutions in place.

Corey @ 20s Finances writes Do You Remember Your First Time? – Getting approved for a credit card without having any previous credit history can be a challenge. Find out what you can do to get approved.

Roger the Amateur Financier @ The Amateur Financier writes The Success of Others and My Motivation – A discussion of how the success of other people influences me, and how such success (and the converse failure) can influence everyone.

Jester @ The Ultimate Juggle writes Family Spending Choices Versus Family Wants – Struggling to balance the best mix of family spending and saving for the future.

Daisy @ Add Vodka writes An Unsent Letter to People Who Are Selling Things – Dear whomever this may concern: While I appreciate your drive to make money so that you can buy winter booties for your dog and another cardigan sweater from BCBG instead of paying down your debt, please stop sending me sly. Read more of my unsent letter!

Ashley @ Money Talks Coaching writes Trying to Get My Daughter to Save – I’ve mentioned several times that my daughter really doesn’t get money. She doesn’t care to earn it. She doesn’t care to keep it.

Aloysa @ My Broken Coin writes My Not Quite Traditional Marriage – When we met over seven years ago, both of us were poor. I was a full-time student, working full-time, my spending problems were in full gear, debt piling up.

SFB @ Simple Finance Blog writes Minimalism At Home: Do I Really Need Six Sets of Sheets? – I hate laundry day; or, rather, when you have two children under the age of four and a husband who changes clothes more often than a budding fashionista, it’s more like laundry days. Despite that, I still follow my mother’s old adage that you should wash your bath towels weekly and your bed sheets every…

Shawanda @ You Have More Than You Think writes Secret Tricks to Grabbing the Best Travel Deals – Making the most of your travel dollars will give you peace of mind and set the stage for a relaxing vacation.

JP @ My Family Finances writes Reasons Why Families Need to Get Life Insurance: Take It From a Guy Not Trying to Sell You a Policy – There are plenty of convincing reasons for buying life insurance; I need not frighten you.

Don @ MoneySmartGuides writes Can People Not Save for Retirment? – Teresa Ghilarducci is back again. I previously wrote about her wanting Guaranteed Return Accounts (GRA) for Americans back in July of 2010. She is still advocating these accounts, now with updated numbers to make her point.

Jennifer Lynn @ Broke-Ass Mommy writes The Best Piece of Writing Advice, Ever. – This is the best information on writing advice that I know of, read more to see if you agree.

Sustainable PF @ Sustainable Personal Finance writes Which is the Greener Option – Shopping Online or Shopping at a Store? – Shopping online has become the method of choice for many people but I’m still not convinced it’s for me.

John @ Married (with Debt) writes The Savings to be Made from Paying Off Your Mortgage Early – The savings to be made from paying off your mortgage early For most Canadians, the biggest debt they will ever have is a home mortgage.

A Blinkin @ Funancials writes How To Lose Money and Hate The Stock Market – Do the exact opposite of what you find in this article and you will be on your way to riches. Find out how to lose money and hate the stock market. Don’t meet with your adviser regularly. Check your brokerage account or stock daily. Watch the news. Take stock-picking advice from a friend. Buy high, sell low.

Crystal @ Budgeting in the Fun Stuff writes My Take on Life Insurance – Today, I am participating in the huge Life Insurance Movement in the blogging world that was started by Good Financial Cents. Here is my life insurance take.

Daniel @ Sweating the Big Stuff writes Five Wedding Gifts You Shouldn’t Buy For A Friend – Some gifts are appropriate for specific audiences. Others will almost definitely be returned. Here are five gifts that you shouldn’t get for friends.

Ted Jenkin @ Your Smart Money Moves writes When Should You Replace Your Old Car For A New One? – When it comes to making smart money moves, our family has never been a big fan of buying a new car.

PITR @ Passive Income To Retire writes Hidden Risks of a Mortgage Fine Print – Find out how to avoid the most common mortgage mistakes.

Invest It Wisely @ Invest It Wisely writes Are You an Introvert? Here’s How to Make the Most of Your Conference Experience – If you are introverted, read how to make the best of conferences!

Luke @ Learn Bonds writes How to Choose a High Yield Bond Fund – Interested in choosing a high yield bond fund but not sure where to start? Here is a 6 step guide walking you through the entire process.

SBB @ Simple Budget Blog writes Simple Ways to Cut Monthly Expenses – Do you need a little extra cash? We offer simple ways for you to save money without it being a huge inconvenience.

Kevin @ Thousandaire writes 4 Reasons We May be Headed for a Recession – Read these four reasons that we might be heading for a recession, see if you relate!

Maria @ The Money Principle writes The Rise in Health Negligence Payouts – Policies has effects and in this article the increase in health negligence payouts is discussed.

YFS @ Your Finances Simplified writes 5 Ways Marriage Can Make You Richer – The cake has been cut, the champagne cork has been popped, and confetti has been strewn all over the place.

L Bee @ L Bee and the Money Tree writes Taking a break matters! – Hey guys, I’ve been away for about a week or so while technical issues with my self-hosting site get ironed out. Even though I was on “vacation” with my blog I was still in training for my part-time gig and …

SB @ One Cent at a Time writes 10 Tips to Avoid Internet Fraud and Scams – In most cases of online scams, people are either careless or ignorant. That is the reason they are cheated quiet easily. Following are the 10 ways to protect yourself from being cheated in to scams and frauds

SB @ Finance Product Reviews writes Kiva Microloan Review – an Attempt to Understand Kiva – This is review of Kiva micro-loan program. Is Kiva legit, is Kiva worth it. Learn more about the allegations against Kiva. Learn how can you lend to Kiva or borrow from Kiva.

~¤~¤~

More nifty carnivals to make your eyes bleed:

Carnival of MoneyPros at Simple Finance Blog
Carnival of Retirement at My Family Finances
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at My University Money
Wealth Artisan’s FinCarn at Wealth Artisan
Y & T’s Weekend Ramblings at Young and Thrifty

Happy Labor Day!!

=^..^=

Soon I’ll return to financial topics but first I need to share some of this weird shit that has been happening to me, which started last week when I took the garbage outside and walked back into the foyer to discover a bat hanging (upside down) and guarding our door. On the inside of our apartment complex in the city.

I am not a brave person.

Unknowingly I had walked right beneath this thing moments before while preoccupied with trash disposal. Right. beneath. it. And now the bat beckoned with dripping fangs.

Halting on the stairs of the corridor, I squealed for M.

I stood ready to engage in an epic battle, convinced that at any moment the imp would swoop down and shred apart my eyeballs. M. opened the door slowly to our apartment unit, then gently closed the door and glanced up to where I was pointing frantically.

“Oh, crap.”

He disappeared back inside for a moment, taking care not to rouse the bat or let it slip inside the doorway, and then returned, equipped with thick leather gloves. (That, and only his boxer shorts.)

“It’s getting ready to rend away my flesh!” I hopped around wildly in the hallway.

The bristly, mahogany bat calmly slept through this commotion, its snot nuzzled delicately into a wing fold.

M. snorted. “It’s not a vampire bat, you idiot.”

“It’s preparing to brutally end my life!”

M. reached up and quickly snatched the hellacious fiend around its torso while I scurried to watch the action from a reasonably safe distance.

Instantly the hellion awoke and struggled in vain, yelping in a way that I’m sure was meant to tip off its brethren hiding in ambush somewhere in the ceiling: squeak squeak squeak squeak!

I was screaming to M. about how we were about to get swooped by a whole colony of pissed off, vengeful bats while M.—still in his underwear—strutted down the stairs and out the front door with this writhing, panic-y, squeaking beast chomping down on his gloved finger. (With a hysterical-me trailing behind them.)

M. calmly tossed the bat onto the porch and away it flew.

A bulky, tattooed man was standing near the sidewalk, enjoying an ice cream cone with his daughter. “Did you just fling a bat out your front door?” He stared at us incredulously. “Don’t those things bite? Man, you crazy.”

M. held up his leather gloves and grinned.

Drama over.
Or so I thought.

For the weekend we went camping in the country and when Lexi was due her afternoon nap, I tucked her away in the tent and settled down on top of a sleeping bag to nurse her. In the process I kicked M.’s forest-green pack out of the way and shoved it a few inches to my right.

That’s when the snake popped up its head.

It slithered closer and stared at us, a demonically forked tongue smugly lapping up our bewilderment.

“S…ssnnnaaakke .. in the tent!”

M. burst into the tent, rolled his eyes and scooped up the snake with one of MY discarded socks. “Must’ve crawled into my bag when I left it under the tree,” he muttered, opening the flap and flinging the snake into the weeds.

“OMG, it was getting ready to probe my cavities!”

M: (not being at all supportive) “Will you calm yourself, woman. It was just a garter snake, perfectly harmless. Probably crawled into my pack when I laid it down beneath the maple while chopping wood. There’s a hole at the bottom of one of these pockets…”

As M. rattled on, my only thought was that I had placed that pack in the tent before dusk yesterday after M. had been chopping wood and if what he suspected were true, it meant that the fucker had been in the tent with us all night just waiting to crawl in bed with me.

Total heebie-jeebies. (Or as I call it, a-weebie-jeebies.)

M. — grateful he didn’t need to hack the slithering foe into a zillion scrappy slices with his axe.

Me — visibly shaken with the stench of snarling demons to contend with. Possibly scarred for life.

Lexi — totally unfazed.

Hope your week did not include unwanted bats or snakes.
(If you need me I will be cowering over here. —–> )

=^..^=

Child usefulness #37—When Lexi wrecked havoc on my workspace area earlier and found her sonogram photos, which have been misplaced for months.

Lexi, among the carnage.

Brutal truth: My kid is much more efficient than I am.

=^..^=

P.S. Between typing and editing this, Lexi started to rouse and I tiptoed away, straight into a pool of cat vomit. This cat has been puking for three days straight. What is wrong with my kitteh?? ; (

P.P.S. Okay, baby now up. Must go. (it’s two in the morning, ffs…)

While perusing my inbox—where do these questionable emails come from? No, I don’t want to ‘browse hot singles in my area looking for no strings attached sex!’—I was offered a link that just had to be shared.

From best-selling fantasy author Patrick Rothfuss (dude has a wicked ‘fro and beard combination, how could I not trust this man?), I present what is to be dubbed, The Best Piece of Writing Advice, Ever.

(Besides: to write your ass off.)

From Patrick’s personal blog, Advice For New Writers:

I’ve come to realize that when an interviewer asks me, “Can you give one piece of advice for new writers?” what they’re really looking for is something pithy and encouraging. They want me to say “Reach for the Stars!” or “Never give up!”

But that’s not really good advice. I mean, you could really hurt your shoulder reaching for the stars. Good advice is occasionally disheartening. “Come to grips with the inevitability of rejection.” Or “Don’t quit your day job.”

Once, I had a lovely 30 minute phone interview that ended roughly like this:

Thanks for the interview, Pat.

My pleasure.

In closing, if you could give one piece of advice to new writers, what would it be?

Live somewhere cheap.

I beg your pardon?

Odds are, it’s going to take you a long time to finish your novel. Then it’s going to take you a long time to break into the publishing world. That means you’re effectively going to be working at a job that will pay you nothing, and you’re going to be doing it for years. So you should live somewhere cheap.

I was thinking something more along the lines of worldbuilding….

If you live somewhere like Seattle or Manhattan or LA, you’re going to have to shell out thousands of dollars just in rent. If you have to work three jobs just to pay your rent, when are you going to find the time to write?

Do you know how I managed to keep working on my first novel for 14 years without starving to death?

Student loans? Some sort of trust fund?

Shit no. I learned how to live cheap. Up until 2005, I never paid more than $225 a month for rent.

Wh– how?

I’m a good bargainer. And I had roommates. And small-town Wisconsin is a cheap place to live.

Also, I lived in some real shitholes from time to time. But you know what? You can write in a shithole. You can’t write when you’re working 70 hours a week.

[chuckles nervously] Well, I think that’s about all the time we have….

Hell, I was so poor for a while I qualified for low-income housing back in 2004. Those places were pretty nice, actually.

Remember to turn in next week, folks. Thanks again, Pat.

Did you know that if you boil a paper shopping bag long enough, it makes something that’s almost like soup?

[Cut to static]

Tell me you’re not a more enlightened writer now. Listen to this man—that soup tip is genius.

=^..^=

Economic brevity.

…me, when I was five months preggers

Time to break out the balance sheet in the hope that my finances aren’t roasting in a huge inferno of suck.

Credit Card / Car Loan / Student Loan Debt:
$0

Expenses:

$200 on control arm for a faulty ball joint on the vehicle last week, and an additional $68 for a new axle (which snapped while trying to fix aforementioned ball joint).

$1,000 on a road trip to Cape Ann, Massachusetts for Lexi’s first birthday.

Credit Cards I Use:

American Express Gold (my primary card)

Since I prefer simplicity, all household and personal expenses go straight onto my American Express Gold card and the balance is immediately paid off in full each month. M. questions my sanity because I am so completely anal about this—which explains why I have a rad credit score and his is, ahem, somewhat blemished.

My trusty old Discover Card has resurfaced and they’ve recently sent a new, glossy black card through the mail with a tantalizing offer attached: spend $1,000 by October 31, 2012 to receive $100 in cash back.

Hmmm, this could be tempting. A coin has piqued my interest for around that price range, so I may consider taking advantage of this, but for now the slick card has been lounging on our coffee table, unactivated.

Personal Checking Account: $2,877.11   (-$122.89)
My checking account is set up at a local community bank.

Goal: Plump this balance up to $3,000. Why keep so much in a checking account? Liquidity. As previously mentioned, I enjoy having a bit of cash at my disposal in order to take advantage of unique opportunities (local antique crawls, etc.)

Personal Online Savings Account: $1,000.72   (+$435.00)
Discover Online Savings Account @ .90% APY, with a $500 minimum balance.

Goal: Leave this account as is. $1,000 seems like the perfect amount to keep handy in this personal online savings account right now.

M. & I also have a joint savings account set up at a local credit union.

Our joint savings: $3,500   (-$1,500)
A recent family vacation and car repairs guzzled up a hunk of this balance. (And I seem to have $200 floating around waiting to be redeposited back into this account.) I’d like to get our joint family savings at the credit union back to $5,000, asap.

My Other Investments: $23,191.00
Various conservative investments which can be liquidated if necessary in the near term.

Unusual investments probably also worth mentioning:
M. and I invested a teeny percentage into Bitcoins last year. We bought in at $4 and recently sold some of our Bitcoin back into the market at $13, a phenomenal rate of return for this nascent cryto-currency. Profits are being held in the Bitcoin market exchange CampBX in order to reinvest into more Bitcoins during attractive price dips.

(I’m not going to break down exact numbers here because a. it’s 5:30 in the morning and I’m too lazy to dig out our CD at the moment and b. so few were sold that it’s a pretty negligible amount anyway and not worth the effort so, I won’t.)

Simplicity, and all that.

Current Net Worth: $30,568.83   (-$1,084.17) <— Cape Ann family vacation plus car repairs.
Down by $1k.

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Financial Carnivals this week:

Wealth Artisan’s FinCarn at Wealth Artisan
Carnival of MoneyPros at See Debt Run
Nerdy Finance Carnival at Nerdy Finance Carnival
Carn. of Financial Camaraderie at Finance Product Reviews
Yakezie Carnival at Frugal Portland

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What I’ve been reading:

• Wikileaks bypasses financial blockade with Bitcoin – by Jon Matonis, Forbes Magazine (8/20/2012)
• Cash is essential for a free society – Stowe Boyd. “A strong society that accepts human nature without moralizing will always have anonymous cash.”

You won’t be reading this until later morning but I shall slip off to bed now. Have a great weekend, everyone.

=^..^=

Last night M. and I attempted to replace the control arm on my vehicle to fix a loose ball joint, but it was obvious something had gone terribly awry once he flipped the ignition and an explosive pop! and sickly grinding radiated from behind the tire, which produced a host of problems.

Soo, since Lexi and I are car-less today, I embraced the opportunity to clean a bit. Because someone has to do it.

So we’ve:

* swished through each room, vacuuming and sweeping (as Lexi hooted and scootched after the vacuum)
* hand-washed, dried and carefully put away all the dishes
* scrubbed the cat box, with me carefully removing soiled litter and Lexi prancing after the unfortunate cat, gnawing on its tail
* polished counter tops and tables

(I turned for a millisecond and observed in horror as chubby, dimpled ankles poked from the garbage can.)

Immediately I prepped an extra sudsy bath and Lexi splashed in the luxurious silken bubbles as I vigorously scrubbed at rosy folds until everything felt sanitized again. As soon as I reached for a towel, she giggled and plopped her rubber ducky into the toilet.

I fished her toy out of the toilet.

Finally with bath time over, she settled into my lap for some reading, which went something like this:

Kit-ty? kit-ty. kit-ty. KIT-TY.

“Yes, Lexi, that is our cat.” I bobbed my head enthusiastically.

KIT-TY!

I gestured at various objects speckled across the sturdy cardboard pages of our story. You’re supposed to point things out to kids, right? They like that kind of stuff.

“Oooh, see Lexi, there’s a pretty red balloon! and a table…” KIT-TY “…and a bowl full of mush…” KIT-TY! “…see the old woman…” KIT-TY! “Lexi, see her rocking in the chair?”

Lexi ripped the book from my hand and it ricocheted off the hardwood floor. She grabbed another story, opened the pages midway through and scrunched her face: KIT-TY!

“No, baby, what you’re pointing at, is a walrus.”

KIT-TY! She turned the page. KIT-TY!!!

“That’s Mickey Mouse. A mouse!” I corrected brightly.

Big mistake. She wrinkled her nose and waited.

“A mouse, honey. And see, this is his doggy, Pluto.”

Her eyes narrowed, lower lip quivering. I was treading on thin ice. My shoulders slumped and I slowly turned the page, revealing a black and white cat swiping at a ball of yarn on Mickey’s rug.

“Oh, here you go, baby. A kitty. See? A cat. Kitty.”

Lexi glared as if I was the worst creature who ever lived. I stared back at her but all ready she sensed my uncertainty, my fear, and like any vigilant shark pup smelled blood. Too late—this infant train had careened from the station and choo-chooed its way straight into Becoming Derailed-ville.

“Lexi? It’s…see that, here. It’s a kitty.” I lamely tried to repent.

Gooshie-pie! Fat tears spasmed down her cheeks and she swiped at the offending page.

“Gooshie pie?”

Goooooshie-pie, she wailed and crawled away, disgusted and seriously pissed.

Right, gooshie-pie.

So: that was my morning. How was yours?

=^..^=

Beanie and her ball.

Alexis Skye

Frugality. Prudent money management. Savings. Investing. No debt.

My financial foundation.

But given the caricatured scenario above, I can’t help but wonder how well college students and graduates are handling their finances.

This cartoon certainly depicts M., a computer engineer, who received his Bachelors diploma—and nearly $60,000 worth of debt—from a state university five years ago. It’s stressful for us, but I’m helping M. tackle those balances aggressively. He’s on a fifteen year repayment plan right now (ridiculous!) but, potentially, we can eradicate this debt in two or three years.

When I spoke briefly with a random group of peers (all in their twenties, all in college) for a candid snapshot of their finances, I was particularly interested in their debt to savings ratio, and a little disheartened by their answers.

Seem familiar?

Jaime is a 26 year old working in non-profit and pursuing a Masters. She has nearly $10,000 in student loans, less than $2,500 in savings and currently lives at home.

Lisa is a 20 year old part-time waitress struggling to pay off $7,000 in credit card debt, with $200 in her savings.

Jay is a 27 year old renter who just blew most of his savings on a trip to NYC. He is hoping to save $25,000 over the next year for a down payment on property.

Sherry is 23 years old and grateful for her auntie, who is helping to pay for tuition. Recently Sherry decided to take advantage of this by plopping $375 into savings.

Little to no savings and, in most cases, a butt load of debt.

Sigh. My strategy has been to;

Save a few bucks of money received, always. Always. This ‘savings’ is the foundation which eventually will morph into ‘investments’ generating passive income (through dividends, rental income, capital gains, etc.)

And the secret is NOT to get into debt. Stop being buried further in debt and find the balance between investing in the future without becoming enslaved.

Be one of those birds not meant to be caged.

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Also currently reading:
* $600,000 in mortgage debt, but wants to be a stay-at-home mom
* Rejected: “I was denied a bank account!”

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