49

When It Rains, It Pours: Joan’s Mid-June Financial Update

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in Joan's Posts, Our Financial Journey, Pay Off Your Debt

fall-off-cliff-620

Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.

Not gonna lie, you guys.

This month? It basically sucked.

Last month’s slow-and-steady progress report quickly devolved into more like a “just barely hanging onto the edge of the cliff” scenario.

We’re still fighting the battle, but we took some pretty significant damage this month.

So what’s the status, and where do we go from here?

The damage

Sooo… this month.

  • The car had to be towed to the shop to have a new starter put in, after ours died. Total cost: $422
  • The cat needed some more vet work. Total cost: $276
  • The lawn tractor died. Total cost: TBD, repair estimate is about $100

We also had our first full month with a major cut in one of my streams of income, and coming up this month is our quarterly estimated tax payment (planned, but still something that would make us run a little tighter even without the rest of these things!)

All in all, we did something we haven’t done in a long time: We ended the month in MORE debt than we started it. The grand total increase in debt?

$9.66.

I don’t like it on principle, but if I had to do it, I guess the amount is right? (That also, by the way, just about matches our bank balance until we’re paid again tomorrow. Talk about cutting it down to the wire!)

You can check out all the brutal details on my Joan’s Finances page, but the short version is, it’s holding steady.

How we’re getting by

We are skimping on a LOT right now. There are some pretty-much-necessary purchases we’re holding off on, and we’ve cut the grocery budget drastically.

We’re expecting to rent out our finished lower level to some friends for a few months, starting soon. While we’re not “high rent,” we’ll at least be able to offset the cost of some extra people and maybe a little more.

We’ve cleaned out the garage and sold a couple hundred dollars in crap, with a little bit more to come.

I’ve also picked up some new side hustles that are helping us at least maintain our progress. I mentioned some one-time gigs that raised about $1,000 for us in the past six weeks; without them, it’s fair to say we would have been that thousand dollars in the hole.

I love side hustling. It’s saved our bacon many times, but it’s hard to budget with and hard to maintain at the rate I do it when we’re really strapped. (Projects like the ones above usually have me working 7 days a week, with most of those days 10 to 12 hours.)

As much as possible, I try to fit in gigs like that around steadier long-term contracts. I just picked up another of these doing customer service/virtual support, and it will be both a huge help financially and NOT the huge drain on my time that short-term projects often can be.

That’s the balance we’re working on: Good for our budget, AND sustainable for more than a couple weeks at a time. We can go bare-minimum on grocery purchases for a couple months, but eventually, yes, you DO need to buy more cat litter, or razors, or flour.

I can work long days for a while, but eventually, my health and my family need to come first.

We keep trying, though, and we’re committed to MAKING it work.

Speaking of side hustles, our friend Jen Gresham of Everyday Bright is launching a new group called The Bright Entrepreneurs Club that is designed to help you start a new business, either full time or on the side. While we’re not affiliated with Jen’s program at all (except that we think Jen is coooooool), this is a HUGE resource for anyone interested in building the type of side hustle I keep talking about, and I wanted to be sure to share it. Jen’s program is different in that it’s community-led, not a “guru” system – and it taps into a ton of collective knowledge, experience and enthusiasm. You can check out more about it here.

 

No matter what, I fully believe that we can at least hold steady. And if you’re the type to pray, or cross your fingers, or send good vibes, or anything like that, we certainly wouldn’t be opposed to some positive thoughts coming our way as we keep fighting for another month!

How has your month been?

Any suggestions for dealing with those REALLY BAD patches?

Comment and let me know!

{ 49 comments }

10

Squirrel It Away For the Future: Top 5 Practical Tips For Building a Saving Habit

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in Money Basics, Oli's Posts

learn-to-save

olilewington 100x100This is a post from Oli Lewington. Oli is a storyteller: a writer, filmmaker and social media specialist who helps people, brands and businesses tell their stories in a way that entertains and enchants their customers, clients and fans. He blogs at CreativeContentment.com and you can connect with him on Twitter. 

Habits underpin everything we do. If you don’t believe me, check out The Power of Habit, a remarkable book by Charles Duhigg that I finished reading just last week. It lays out all of the many varied ways habits affect us without us even knowing.

The great thing about habits is that they are changeable… moldable… adaptable.

Too often we see habits only in the frame of the “bad” or the difficult: smoking, drinking, not getting enough exercise – we are constantly telling ourselves we need to change something in our lives, and those things are usually driven by our habits.

What we rarely stop to look at, though, is that there are great things that habits can do for us. And one of the biggest examples of that is building a habit of saving money!

1. Give yourself a goal.

Having a goal enables you to put your focus on what really matters. If you’re trying to save money, having a goal keeps your focus on the saving habit even when it’s tempting to use the money you’re putting away for something else.

It could be £1,000 for a new laptop, $5,000 for a downpayment on a new car (or just for a car, so you don’t need to finance it and get into more debt) or €25,000 to travel the world for six months.

I know I’m far more motivated by short-term goals and I love taking frequent trips, so my savings goals are always relatively low numbers. But my brother, on the other hand, loves to save for the long-term rewards of big-ticket items. (He also earns a lot more than me, so small vacation breaks don’t need much saving!)

Find the best, most attractive, most motivational reward you can and stick a picture or reminder up somewhere prominent to go back to if you’re wobbling.

2. Automate it.

Whether or not you subscribe to the idea of automating your finances (that’s a much wider topic for another post!), automating your savings makes a lot of sense.

Start by working out exactly how much you can afford to put away each month, however small – every little bit helps. Once you know for sure what you can cope without, set up a transfer from your main bank account into a savings account.

If you never see it in your account, it’s far harder to miss that money. If you plan your finances well, it won’t be a strain, but it will slowly start to accrue a decent level of cash to put toward your goal.

When I first started saving I did it all manually, but the temptation to skip a month was all too easy when I knew I needed a little bit of extra cash for the month. Don’t let this happen!

3. Put your savings in a blind account.

I have several bank accounts – one is my regular, everyday account; one is a long-term savings account; and one is a short-term savings account. The difference between the last two lies in when I can dip into them – the short-term account can be accessed and dipped into whenever we need to (for unexpected costs like car and house repairs) while the long-term account is there to house the “big savings.”

It used to be that when I logged into my main account, I could see the details for my savings accounts, too. It was lovely when things were going well, seeing the numbers slowly creeping up and working toward a safe buffer and a healthy holiday fund.

But then it started to become easy, when money was tight at the end of a month, to lift £100 here and there to ease the pain or just get that one thing I thought I needed, like a new Kindle book.

Putting it into a blind account – or one that sits separately from my main account – means that I can still check in whenever I want, but the temptation to take a small “loan” from my savings is almost entirely eliminated.

4. Don’t leave the reward too long.

Even if you are aiming for a long-term savings plan so you can retire at 50 and sail the world on the good ship Financial Freedom, make sure you have shorter-term goals, too.

By all means keep putting things away for the future, but don’t live your life thinking of a future that might never come; enjoy what you have while you have it.

I’m all about security and sensible spending, but if you’re conscientiously saving, you need to be able to really splurge and enjoy it now and again. Not only will it make you feel great, as long as you’re sensible and strict with what you spend when you do splash out, you’ll keep  yourself on the strong financial footing your saving habit has set up.

5. Enjoy the control.

This is just as important as the practical steps: taking the time to enjoy the knowledge that you’re in control of your finances, that you’re the one who will allow yourself to do or buy whatever you’re saving for, that you have taken your financial responsibility upon yourself.

When we’re living in debt and fretting about meeting payments, living to a decent standard and maintaining relationships, the comfort and reassurance of a healthy savings account can do wonders for our confidence.

***

Start today. Go and automate your savings into a blind account and set yourself a target for how much you need. You’ll start to find that building your savings becomes an instant habit – you don’t need to worry about it because you’ll know that the $100 you’re saving this month will be $600 in six months’ time.

And, like all good habits, you’ll feel all the better for it.

Tell me in the comments exactly what you’re saving for and how long you think it’ll take you to get there.

Let’s share the habit-forming process with each other!

{ 10 comments }

22

Doing a Good Job When No One is Watching

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in Joan's Posts, Rants

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Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.

There’s a quote often attributed to Henry Ford that floats around Pinterest a lot:

Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.

Another one, attributed to C.S. Lewis, says:

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.

Same idea, and one I’ve been thinking about a lot lately.

What does it mean to do a good job?

We know that most of you reading Man Vs. Debt are income-earners. Maybe you work at a job, or maybe you’re an entrepreneur, or maybe you do some of both. Maybe you’re a stay-at-home spouse or parent whose job is to keep up with all the family’s schedules and home needs.

In any of those cases, what does it mean to do a good job? I’ve been thinking about that lately because, as someone who works almost entirely freelance and from home, I don’t have the traditional boss two desks away, performance reviews every year, and all of that.

No, I have two dozen clients in states around the country and countries around the world, most of whom are taking me sight-unseen. That’s a lot of faith on their part – and I don’t want to let them down.

That said, it’s often easy to “phone it in,” as my husband calls it. You know what that looks like. To do just enough, but not more. To answer a customer’s grouchy email with just a touch of terseness yourself – not enough to get “in trouble” for if someone else saw it, but enough to be obviously impolite. To be a little slower on that fix, or a little skimpier on that research, because, really, “Who’s going to know?”

The fact is, YOU know. If you’re doing a good job, you know it (and hopefully are taking pride in it!) If you’re not, you know that too.

And when you’re self-employed (and even if you’re not), I’ve come to realize that you never know who’s watching and what future opportunities those people might provide.

A real-life example

Through our family’s personal website, I’m part of a blogging network for homeschoolers. It’s not a paid position – it’s more of a networking and support group – but we have writing projects that we can choose to contribute to, themed post days where we all write on a particular issue, and so on. There’s also a private forum where members can ask for help or feedback.

From the start, I’ve tried to participate in – and “do a good job on” – as many of the group’s writing challenges as possible. I’ve tried to be active in the forums, giving feedback, promotional help and advice where I can. I’ve joined related groups based on specific offshoot topics of the main group.

I hadn’t been doing this “expecting” anything. I do it because I hope that I can help in the ways that I received help when I was new to that niche, and because I want the group as a whole to be successful.

Um, guess what?

You never know who’s watching.

I’ve had six freelance jobs in the past month doing web-design and social-media work for members of these groups, netting close to an extra $1,000 toward our debt tsunami. I’ve never “advertised,” though occasionally when I give advice I will mention that I work online in various capacities, mostly to show that I maybe have some idea what I’m talking about.

And it all came because I did a good job when I didn’t think anyone was watching. I gave advice that maybe I “should” have charged for, for free. I wrote some of the best content resources I’ve ever produced as part of a post series.

And when I did that, little did I know that people were watching. Sometimes, the people who later asked me to work with them for a fee were the people I originally helped, but at other times, the work came from those who said, “Hey, I saw how you answered so-and-so. It made me think that you might be able to help me with XYZ.”

It’s not “What’s in it for me”

I hesitated to share this story, because the message I don’t want you to get is that you should always do a good job because you can expect it to financially pay off. That’s not the point here.

If I have a point, it’s this: When you do a good job, it brings good things.

Maybe it’s a promotion at your job, sure. Maybe it’s a recommendation of your work by a client to a friend of theirs. But maybe it’s just some goodwill, or being able to have a sense of pride in what you’ve done, or the knowledge that you made someone’s day a little better.

It’s easy to do an “OK” job, whether that’s for your boss, your clients, or your family. Are you willing to do a really good job? 

We’d love to hear your stories about the good things that come from doing it right in the comments.

I hope you’ll share!

{ 22 comments }

16

5 Things to Do if You’re Behind on Your Bills

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in Joan's Posts, Money Basics

late-bill

Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.

Most of our financial advice on Man Vs. Debt comes from the point of view of people who have enough to get by – but who are tired of just getting by. Our stories are not of people overcoming abject poverty, but rather about people who make the money they already have do more for them by kicking debt to the curb and getting rid of crap.

Sometimes, though, we hear from people who are in a hole that goes beyond debt.

Our You Vs. Debt members, our commenters and sometimes even our personal friends share stories about electricity shutoffs, foreclosure notices, car repossessions and collection agencies.

And that’s, many times, a different issue. There are two pieces to the “behind on your bills” issue. First, there are people who (later) find that the money they have is enough – but they’re not using it in a way that allows it to be. Second, there are people who simply, at this time, don’t have enough money to pay even the minimums due on various accounts, including non-debt accounts like their electric bills.

Either way, nothing will change unless you’re willing to take action. 

[Here's how I suggest you start...]

{ 16 comments }

23

Why Owning Up to Ourselves is the Most Important Step

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in Money Basics, Pay Off Your Debt, Rants

be-open

olilewington 100x100This is a post from Oli Lewington. Oli is a storyteller: a writer, filmmaker and social media specialist who helps people, brands and businesses tell their stories in a way that entertains and enchants their customers, clients and fans. He blogs at CreativeContentment.com and you can connect with him on Twitter. 

I’m in debt.

There, I said it.

It’s not nice, it’s not pretty, but it’s not (or shouldn’t be) taboo, either.

There was a time when I was ashamed of my debt. I’m still not proud of it. But what I do recognize is that it’s a major part of my life and there’s nothing I can do about it other than sit down, focus and attack it head-on.

[It all starts with acknowledgment...]

{ 23 comments }

49

Does Online Shopping Change Our Spending Choices?

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in Joan's Posts, Rants

buy-it-now-images

Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.

Buy it now. Pay now. NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW.

Sometimes, I feel like the internet is screaming at me like a particularly insistent 2-year-old.

And like most insistent 2-year-olds, sometimes, it feels like the easiest thing to do is to give in to the screaming beast… even if it doesn’t have the best result in the long run.

Yep, I’m talking about online shopping.

[Do we live in an Instant Gratification society?]

{ 49 comments }

56

Slow, Steady and Straightforward: Joan’s Mid-May Financial Update

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in Joan's Posts, Our Financial Journey, Pay Off Your Debt

turtle-slow-steady

Note: This is a post from Joan Otto, Man Vs. Debt community manager. Read more about Joan.

Isn’t that guy cute? He’s a huge snapping turtle we found crossing the road on our fifth anniversary trip to Erie, PA, in 2010. While his slow-and-steady progress made everyone around go “Aww!” and reach for their cameras, our slow-and-steady debt payoff progress is making me say “Eww!” and making me want to reach for the Advil.

But we are making progress – slow, steady and straightforward – and I’m trying to remember that even slow going (in the right direction) gets you there eventually.

[And maybe I'm not alone in needing that reminder...]

{ 56 comments }

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