I’ve been talking to myself lately, and mulling around some Len Penzo stuff. He’s one financial blogger I follow regularly, always thought provoking. A while back he suggested inflation was the government’s way to tax individuals without showing the bruises. Current government obligations will be paid in post inflationary dollars while interest rates charged on their loans remain relatively low.
He mentioned in another post, if we took the 1970 criterion used to track inflation, costs are actually up 9.6% over last year. Yet according to government stats, the current CPI (Consumer Price Index), is 2.1% . It’s based on a newer “typical shopping basket” which skews results. Why is this important? The CPI is used to calculate our “inflation rate”. That rate determines social security benefits, other “entitlements”, and many times governs the “cost of living” salary increases in the private sector.
Another Len Penzo post included individual stats for commodity changes over the last year on coffee, wheat, cotton, sugar, gasoline, etc. It’s a more accurate indicator of present/future price increases as retail prices generally follow wholesale. I went to his source last week, CNN.money, and found this info. Pork bellies, up 30.55% over a year ago, unleaded gasoline, up 31.79%, heating oil, up 44.26%, sugar, up 57.89%, wheat, up 60.50%, corn, up 103.38%, coffee, up 121.51%, feeder cattle, (where your hamburgers come from), up 18.%, cotton, up 124.63%. So kiddies, now you know why Mom is rationing your Sugar Gobs cereal.
According to the US Census Bureau, the average household income in 2009 was $49,777, down from $50,303, in 2008 and $50,233 in 2007. It was $48,201 in 2006. The 2010 stats aren’t in yet, but they won't be pretty.
To clarify, a household is defined as one or more persons living together. The current US average is 2.63 people, and slowly rising, as kids stay home longer and older folks move in with the kids. It’s crazy. We’re being squashed from three directions. All these stats together means less money per person to pay for more expensive goods.
So how do we handle it? We can gripe. We can worry. Panic even. We can demand our legislators act wisely, budget within incoming revenue. (No guarantee they will.) Write letters to the editor. Stockpile. Buy gold. We can scramble for alternative housing situations. Live in treehouses. Squat in abandoned buildings. Build tiny portable homes. Start communes. Go off grid. We can try other ways of obtaining needed goods. Borrow. Share ownership. Rent. Barter. Become freegans. Forage. We can tighten our belts across the board, scrimp and save. We can develop a “side hustle”. We can divert personal resources from wants to needs. We can put in a Victory garden and keep chickens.
We can do tons of things, but what if they don’t work? Have we considered God is getting our attention by hemming us in? The thing that owns our thoughts, has our worship. (I’m talking to myself here.) What if we focus on him and ask for wisdom? We may end up doing many of these same things, but at least our priorities will be right. While everything else is throwing temper tantrums for our loyalties, why not seek him? Could comfort be the real killer, the thing that has us by the tonsils? What if we take to heart the verses,”I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” or “Your heavenly father knows you have need all these things, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you”. What if?
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Spring Cleaning
It’s not just wiping dirty windows or replacing smoke alarm batteries. I’m convinced stuff breeds in dark corners over the winter months. In spite of my best efforts, yard sales are not a good way to divest. I've tried individual, multi-home, and neighborhood sales with poor results. This, in spite of low prices, clean pieces in good shape, and enthusiastic promotion. We live in an upper middle class suburban neighborhood. So it's not as if people fear for their lives or wallets. It makes no sense.
Frankly, I've done better by lugging stuff and pairing with other people in more trafficked places. One friend lived in a manufactured home park on a corner property, another in an expensive neighborhood, another on a major thoroughfare near a large grocery store. It's all a matter of what people expect to find, where.
Craigslist is another option for clearing clutter, with free listings and photos. We posted yard sale leftovers there and had better than 50% success. Far less hassle than yard sales. CL is good for larger household items in good condition. A posting method I'm considering is to remove a listing after a week and re-post it so that it stays current.
In desperation we’ve done the paid method. We work with an Ebay fellow who charges 30% of the profit and all fees. Yes, a bit steep. But we’re also paying for his track record of positive feedback, photos, write ups, packaging and mailing out. Ebay is better suited for quality pieces that photograph well and are easy to ship. It’s success rate is less than 50%. But we got some surprisingly good results on things that did move. However the fees are killers on non-sellers. To figure if it’s worth it, track like items and see how the bidding goes before listing your own. Some tricks. If you post on Thursday with a ten day span you get the advantage of two weekends. If you hold off, September through November are prime time for giftable items. I image textbooks would be hot just before the school year starts and clothes appropriate to the season.
There are still choices with leftovers. Write up an inventory and give your stuff to the Salvation Army or Goodwill for a tax write off. There are standard tax deduction amounts listed on the Goodwill site .(http://www.goodwill.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Donation_Valuation_Guide.pdf).
If getting cash back is not an issue, offer pieces on freecycle. Or put them out on the curb with a “free” sign, hang out the window, and see how long they stay there until someone picks them up.
Anyway you handle it, your home gets some much needed breathing space.
Frankly, I've done better by lugging stuff and pairing with other people in more trafficked places. One friend lived in a manufactured home park on a corner property, another in an expensive neighborhood, another on a major thoroughfare near a large grocery store. It's all a matter of what people expect to find, where.
Craigslist is another option for clearing clutter, with free listings and photos. We posted yard sale leftovers there and had better than 50% success. Far less hassle than yard sales. CL is good for larger household items in good condition. A posting method I'm considering is to remove a listing after a week and re-post it so that it stays current.
In desperation we’ve done the paid method. We work with an Ebay fellow who charges 30% of the profit and all fees. Yes, a bit steep. But we’re also paying for his track record of positive feedback, photos, write ups, packaging and mailing out. Ebay is better suited for quality pieces that photograph well and are easy to ship. It’s success rate is less than 50%. But we got some surprisingly good results on things that did move. However the fees are killers on non-sellers. To figure if it’s worth it, track like items and see how the bidding goes before listing your own. Some tricks. If you post on Thursday with a ten day span you get the advantage of two weekends. If you hold off, September through November are prime time for giftable items. I image textbooks would be hot just before the school year starts and clothes appropriate to the season.
There are still choices with leftovers. Write up an inventory and give your stuff to the Salvation Army or Goodwill for a tax write off. There are standard tax deduction amounts listed on the Goodwill site .(http://www.goodwill.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Donation_Valuation_Guide.pdf).
If getting cash back is not an issue, offer pieces on freecycle. Or put them out on the curb with a “free” sign, hang out the window, and see how long they stay there until someone picks them up.
Anyway you handle it, your home gets some much needed breathing space.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Wanna Be A Coupon Queen?
You want to save a bundle and are bollixed up by the coupon industry? Let’s take the guy head on.
Where do you find them?
Online on coupon sites. Friending product manufacturer's on Facebook. Buying the Sunday paper. By calling a manufacturer’s toll free number and asking for them or giving feedback. Trashpicking. Purchasing returned Sunday papers in bulk at the publisher (often by weight). Trading with friends. In the mail. Through entertainment books. Asking on freecycle
How do you organize them without driving yourself crazy?
Alphabetically my dear Watson. File them in a recipe box with lettered partitions by product name. They'll be much easier to retrieve. Then once a month go through your stash and pull expired ones.
What’s the best way to use them?
If you’ve ever formally tracked prices in your area stores, you know there can be a huge price range on similar items. So the trick is to get the best overall price. The “perfect storm” combination is a manufacturer’s coupon coupled with a store coupon on a sale item. Some stores allow you to use coupons on damaged packages or pulled items in the discount bins. Now you’re really talking my language. Some stores double coupons up to a certain amount. But if you get one of those printouts that say “$5 off your next purchase” you’re up there with the coronated wonders. Now the product manufacturers know all this stuff and they’ve been playing hardball. When a coupon used to say 50 cents off one, which can be doubled at some stores, it reads $1 off two, which can’t. And knowing when they will reduce a wholesale price on an item, thus influencing retail prices, manufacturers make their coupons valid for different time slots. One trick is to pay attention to the beginning and the end of expiration dates. So if your store changes prices mid-week, you might have a sliver of time when the coupon overlaps a sale.
That should be enough for now. We’ll save rebating for another day.
Where do you find them?
Online on coupon sites. Friending product manufacturer's on Facebook. Buying the Sunday paper. By calling a manufacturer’s toll free number and asking for them or giving feedback. Trashpicking. Purchasing returned Sunday papers in bulk at the publisher (often by weight). Trading with friends. In the mail. Through entertainment books. Asking on freecycle
How do you organize them without driving yourself crazy?
Alphabetically my dear Watson. File them in a recipe box with lettered partitions by product name. They'll be much easier to retrieve. Then once a month go through your stash and pull expired ones.
What’s the best way to use them?
If you’ve ever formally tracked prices in your area stores, you know there can be a huge price range on similar items. So the trick is to get the best overall price. The “perfect storm” combination is a manufacturer’s coupon coupled with a store coupon on a sale item. Some stores allow you to use coupons on damaged packages or pulled items in the discount bins. Now you’re really talking my language. Some stores double coupons up to a certain amount. But if you get one of those printouts that say “$5 off your next purchase” you’re up there with the coronated wonders. Now the product manufacturers know all this stuff and they’ve been playing hardball. When a coupon used to say 50 cents off one, which can be doubled at some stores, it reads $1 off two, which can’t. And knowing when they will reduce a wholesale price on an item, thus influencing retail prices, manufacturers make their coupons valid for different time slots. One trick is to pay attention to the beginning and the end of expiration dates. So if your store changes prices mid-week, you might have a sliver of time when the coupon overlaps a sale.
That should be enough for now. We’ll save rebating for another day.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Better Than Marriage Counseling
We did premarital counseling and it was a great investment. We knew it wasn’t our job to change the other person. The fact that my sweetie hated peas, mushrooms, camping, beets, sweet potatoes, changing the oil, succotash, baked beans, bird watching, Mexican food, being late, sushi, Moussaka, and wearing shorts or sandals even in the hottest weather, was not that big of a deal. Really.
Still, after we tied the knot, a few oddities showed up. Dear Hubbie hates fixing things, and comes to quick conclusions. I love noodling something out, and ponder every possibility before making a decision. D.H. was a money burns a hole in your pocket kind of guy, I was, for lack of a better word, a skinflint. After the initial shock, we’ve come to appreciate the differences. And we’ve learned from each other.
During the early budgeting years we added one category that’s saved us a ton of strife and discouragement, even during the leanest of times. Sort of like the steam vent on a pressure cooker. We’ve labeled it “Personal Mad Money”.
In our budget, every category is covered, directed savings included. And every paycheck we get our P.M.M. in cash. $5. To do with whatever our little ol’ hearts desire no questions asked. For $20 a month we save untold marriage counseling fees. That’s the kind of bargain I can wrap my head around.
Still, after we tied the knot, a few oddities showed up. Dear Hubbie hates fixing things, and comes to quick conclusions. I love noodling something out, and ponder every possibility before making a decision. D.H. was a money burns a hole in your pocket kind of guy, I was, for lack of a better word, a skinflint. After the initial shock, we’ve come to appreciate the differences. And we’ve learned from each other.
During the early budgeting years we added one category that’s saved us a ton of strife and discouragement, even during the leanest of times. Sort of like the steam vent on a pressure cooker. We’ve labeled it “Personal Mad Money”.
In our budget, every category is covered, directed savings included. And every paycheck we get our P.M.M. in cash. $5. To do with whatever our little ol’ hearts desire no questions asked. For $20 a month we save untold marriage counseling fees. That’s the kind of bargain I can wrap my head around.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
You Is Here
The story goes of a traveling salesman lost in back roads. He sees a young boy, stops the car, rolls down the window, and says, “Son, I’m lost and need to get to such and such a place. If you could tell me where I am, I could check the map and figure out how to get there.”
The boy looks up, astonished, “Sir, you is here.”
Starting from where we are is basic to any endeavor. The widow faced with her creditor was asked, “What do you have in the house with you?” And though God made all things ex nihilo, and can do it again any time He pleases, it’s not the normal way of things.
Where are your finances? What are your skills? Your personal connections? Your stuff? Your energy levels?
How can you get the best bang for the buck? Like the fellows given the minas, if you work with what you have in hand, you receive more to work with later, but if you shove it under a bush in a napkin, it all gets taken away.
So where are you?
The boy looks up, astonished, “Sir, you is here.”
Starting from where we are is basic to any endeavor. The widow faced with her creditor was asked, “What do you have in the house with you?” And though God made all things ex nihilo, and can do it again any time He pleases, it’s not the normal way of things.
Where are your finances? What are your skills? Your personal connections? Your stuff? Your energy levels?
How can you get the best bang for the buck? Like the fellows given the minas, if you work with what you have in hand, you receive more to work with later, but if you shove it under a bush in a napkin, it all gets taken away.
So where are you?
Thursday, March 3, 2011
A Super Saver’s Dirty Little Secrets
Everyone knows someone who’s always late for an event. They have good excuses. “I’m sorry, the tire fell off my car.” or “I forgot to feed the cat.” Non-savers are the same, there’s always a reason why they’re fishing quarters from under the sofa cushions before payday. “My kids gag when I serve leftovers, so I had to order pizza.” or “This was a once in a lifetime trip to Monte Carlo.”
Well, get over it! Buck up! The most efficient way to tackle it is head on. Make it a game if that helps. Remember when you used to hold your breath underwater? Like that. See how long you can go without buying something. I double dog dare ya!
1) Take an axe to your budget, separate needs and wants. Be honest now. A car may be necessary for work, but a brand new Buick sedan? Not.
2) Plan for contingencies. Allow yourself breathing room in the areas of time and money. Set up a cushion fund, and only tap into it when the situation is dire.
3) Give every dollar a job. Tell it where to go. Be a grownup. You’re the Big Boss now.
4) Squirrel away windfalls. Anytime a little extra comes your way, birthday money, a long lost rebate check, a quarter on the street, put it into a special fund. And no peeking!
5) Do the old dieter’s trick. Plan your splurges. Savor that warm cookie, let those chocolate chips melt and buttery morsels crumble on your tongue. But don’t say, “If one is good, ten is better.”
6) Take the long view. There will be glitches, but get back in the ring and keep punching.
So there you have it. The not so secret secrets. "Live long and prosper."
Well, get over it! Buck up! The most efficient way to tackle it is head on. Make it a game if that helps. Remember when you used to hold your breath underwater? Like that. See how long you can go without buying something. I double dog dare ya!
1) Take an axe to your budget, separate needs and wants. Be honest now. A car may be necessary for work, but a brand new Buick sedan? Not.
2) Plan for contingencies. Allow yourself breathing room in the areas of time and money. Set up a cushion fund, and only tap into it when the situation is dire.
3) Give every dollar a job. Tell it where to go. Be a grownup. You’re the Big Boss now.
4) Squirrel away windfalls. Anytime a little extra comes your way, birthday money, a long lost rebate check, a quarter on the street, put it into a special fund. And no peeking!
5) Do the old dieter’s trick. Plan your splurges. Savor that warm cookie, let those chocolate chips melt and buttery morsels crumble on your tongue. But don’t say, “If one is good, ten is better.”
6) Take the long view. There will be glitches, but get back in the ring and keep punching.
So there you have it. The not so secret secrets. "Live long and prosper."
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Happy Soup
In February it will be
My snowman’s anniversary
With cake for him and soup for me!
Happy once, Happy twice.
Happy chicken soup with rice.
--Maurice Sendak
We’ve been experiencing Indian Spring these past few days. Nice walking weather. But if Punxsutawney Phil is to be believed, and how can that sweet faced fellow deceive us?, winter is not over yet.
With puffs of cold air skittering across the floor this morning and wind wailing through the trees, today is perfect for a warming supper. Happy juxtaposition. The bits and pieces container in the freezer is crammed full, so it’s time to act. What kind of concoction can I whip up from a couple tablespoons of corn, leftover gravy, a bit of shredded cabbage, some ground beef crumble, vegetable liquid? Pretty bor-ing. Hmm. I’ll add more liquid, some chicken bits, slivered red pepper and broccoli for color, heat it through with a dash of garlic and basil, and bake some crusty Cuban bread on the side. That’s the ticket. Fuss free. Warming. Three cheers for soup!
My snowman’s anniversary
With cake for him and soup for me!
Happy once, Happy twice.
Happy chicken soup with rice.
--Maurice Sendak
We’ve been experiencing Indian Spring these past few days. Nice walking weather. But if Punxsutawney Phil is to be believed, and how can that sweet faced fellow deceive us?, winter is not over yet.
With puffs of cold air skittering across the floor this morning and wind wailing through the trees, today is perfect for a warming supper. Happy juxtaposition. The bits and pieces container in the freezer is crammed full, so it’s time to act. What kind of concoction can I whip up from a couple tablespoons of corn, leftover gravy, a bit of shredded cabbage, some ground beef crumble, vegetable liquid? Pretty bor-ing. Hmm. I’ll add more liquid, some chicken bits, slivered red pepper and broccoli for color, heat it through with a dash of garlic and basil, and bake some crusty Cuban bread on the side. That’s the ticket. Fuss free. Warming. Three cheers for soup!
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