Christmas Budget

Ah yes, the proverbial post-Christmas budget check-in. How did you do?

I didn't do all that bad but honestly, I hadn't saved much so it was over budget for me. All told I spent around $200 on gifts for my family; no friend gifts this year since money was so tight. And we couldn't afford cards for everyone so we sent out really nice free e-cards from Punchbowl. I hand made some gifts (thanks Pinterest for inspiration!) and bargain shopped sale racks for others. TJ Maxx always comes through for me. Also, my family is pretty frugal but we all agreed to have a more frugal Christmas. This year both my sisters weren't home here in DC because they both live outside of the US, so it was just my husband and I celebrating with my folks and visiting with his folks before they went to the beach through New Year's. So with less people there were less gifts and we kept it simple, though with more trips to the post office and paying international postage. My family is known for cheap, practical gifts. Lots of books (I just discovered Thriftbooks, great for used books), some of which were picked up from my parent's church rummage sale. My sister schemed to go all out though and deliver to my hubbie and I a new TV to replace the bohemoth we got for free from a friend two years ago. A new TV is a want, not a need, and so we hadn't yet bought a new one despite our distaste in moving that heavy thing around and its lacking picture quality. So a big thank you to my sister and her husband for the wonderful gift!

The rest of the day was spent cooking and eating, as is tradition as well. Mmmm...squash soup and leg of lamb...thank you slow cooker.

But now I am trying to review our finances and see what progress we have made in 2012 and set some goals for 2013. I just finished reading Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace book and am halfway through Total Money Makeover. My husband and I really want to make more progress in getting our finances in order and getting out of debt in 2013, so we are starting the Total Money Makeover, thanks to a suggestion from my husband's brother. Let's get started!

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Book Review: Hot Broke Messes

I recently read Hot Broke Messes: How To Have Your Lattee and Drink It Too by Nancy Trejos. I checked it out from the library (saving money already!) and read through it in about a week. This book is a funny memoir of a former Washington Post personal finance writer's financial journey.

This is the part about personal finance that I love: the personal part. I like to know how people make their financial mistakes and successes and what motivates their relationship with money. It was really interesting to read this book for that memoir feel and to read about another young professional in DC who was learning to get her finances on track.

The book also offers much practical advice that the author learns from her financial planner and along the way as she researches articles for her personal finance column at the Washington Post. She discusses student loans, mortgages, savings accounts, credit cards, and the general gamut of basic personal finance. I learned things I did not know, like the history of credit cards, and it made me think about how much I am really paying for something when I leave it on the card accruing interest. You also can learn from her mistakes as she talks about buying a condo with a gifted down payment from her mom then losing it as the result of a breakup and a downturn in the real estate market.

She also talks a lot about the emotional aspects of financial security and our personal relationships with money. Like the author, I too have had to call my parents and ask for a loan then kick myself repeatedly for making a decent salary and being an adult yet not being responsible enough to not run out of cash and rack up debt. Sadly, this happened in 2007 when I maxed out my credit card (due to roommates not paying rent and utilities, a vacation to Hawaii for my friends' wedding, and God knows what else) and ran out of cash and had to call my folks to borrow $100 to pay for the metro to get to work and to buy some groceries. How humbling. Even worse, my folks found out about the card debt and gave me an interest free loan to pay it off so I wouldn't have to pay all the finance charges. Then, since I hadn't changed, I proceeded to rack up debt again. Now I owe my folks and the credit card company, who unfortunately raised my limit since I previously paid it off and now I have an even higher amount due. It's good to know that other people, like Nancy Trejos, have been in these jackpots before and her story of how she came to grips with her relationship with money and got out of debt really helps give me hope.

Have you read Hot Broke Messes: How to Have Your Lattee and Drink it Too? What did you think? What other personal finance books would you recommend?

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I Got Paid!

Online surveys and mystery shopping get a bad rap. Many people think that they are just scams but there are really some great (and legitimate) companies out there that will pay you for your time and effort. And to prove it, here's what I earned from online surveys and mystery shopping last month, among other endeavors. I completed these mystery shops and surveys in the previous month (or earlier) and received the payment this month. Some of these mystery shops required me to pay something out of pocket to purchase a good or service (which I get to keep) but I was reimbursed for my purchase and was usually paid an additional fee.

November 2012
Marketforce- $153.30
Goodwin & Associates- $12.00
Sinclair Customer Metrics- $15.00
American Express World Points- $25 Amex gift card (from credit card reward points)
Ebates- $19.11
Inspired Opinions/Schlesinger Associates- $125 (focus group)

Total earned this month: $349.41

Where did this money go? To be honest, some of it went toward Christmas gifts but only about $100. I am keeping a small budget for presents this year and making many of them to save costs.

The rest went to paying my speeding ticket (ugh) and for car repair for my husband's car. Yay responsibility, or lack thereof.

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