This is a guest post by Rob Bennett

It's a question you always hear after a stock crash. It's usually asked in apologetic tones, as if it were a dumb question. It's not. It's a question that most of the big-name experts don't fully grasp the answer to. Understand this one and you go to the head of class in Investing School.

When stock prices crash, where does the money go? It goes "Poof!"

That's the truth. People think of stock investing as a serious business played by serious people. So they assume that there must be a complicated answer to this question. There must be some mysterious process by which the trillions of dollars of wealth that are lost in a stock crash disappear.

Nope. We can bid stock prices up to any level we want. We can all vote ourselves raises if we like. The only penalty is that, when we bid them up too high, they must crash back down in the following years. What is made from nothing must eventually return to nothing. It always happens that way. It always will happen that way. Now you know.

The strategy takeaway? Don't invest too heavily in stocks when prices are high. Someone has to pay the bill for those times when we bid prices up too high. It doesn't have to be you.

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Rob Bennett is author of the A Rich Life blog and recently wrote a Google Knol entitled "Why Buy-and-Hold Investing Can Never Work." (J: I don't necessarily agree or disagree with "buy and hold," (although I usually hold way more than sell) but I do find this topic interesting.)

Labels: crazy economy, guest post, investing, stock market

I have no idea how crazy this is going to sound (esp. since I'm no economist), but I found this question posed by the Huffington Post extremely fascinating. What if the unemployed worked for the checks they're receiving?

Here's a quote from one of the guys interviewed - Glen Blackburn - who's been unemployed for 18 months:

"Put me to work digging ditches or helping build roads. Anything is preferable to sitting on my butt. This would give those of us on unemployment back our pride and actually accomplish something with the money being spent. There is a work force of a million people just sitting idle waiting for something to do. That is a massive amount of lost labor that could be fixing America's infrastructure. Instead of unemployment, hire me to do that."

That makes me smile on many levels :) First, because there are so many people EAGER and ready to get out there and do something productive. Not *everyone* of course (like the scammers and others who are taking their sweet time on purpose) but a lot really are ready to start working again. Everyone knows it's hell out there so why not give this out as an option? Give it your all and collect for a few months, and if nothing works out try out a job that helps the community?

I'd go insane being rejected all day long at home and would totally take up this offer myself. Put me out there doing construction or patching up all those potholes in DC. Or bet yet, throw me in with all the gov't bloggers and journalists, eh? ;) I guess that would be one of the things to straighten out - HOW, and where, to place people. Do you do it by occupation and location? Age? By the order of project importance? And what about training? Lots and lots of logistics to consider. Although it could quite possibly open up doors to so many NEW opportunities you didn't even know you could do or like!

But what I like most about this idea is that it offers a SOLUTION. It may be crazy and never see the light of day, but at least people are thinking about it. The craziest things can come out of adversity, and the more we challenge ourselves and really think about how we fit into this world the better. I salute you Glenn Blackburn and all the others willing to work for their unemployment checks - way to be creative!

Labels: career, crazy economy, in the real world

It seems credit card debt has risen 18% in the last 6 months! This does and doesn't surprise me. It does cuz it seemed the public was getting better at managing their finances due to the jacked up economy, but it doesn't in that jobs are still going out the window and we had the holidays to deal with. Plus, people revert to their old ways in a heart beat ;)

Anywho, I got a whole mess of stats sent over by Credit Karma this week and I thought you'd find it interesting - especially if you live in any of these states. Here's what the U.S. Credit Score Climate Report found:

• Indiana - credit card debt increased by 39%
• Michigan - credit card debt increased by 30%
• Oklahoma - credit card debt increased by 32%
• Pennsylvania - credit card debt increased by 30%
• Tennessee - credit card debt increased by 34%

I'm surprised New York or California wasn't on there, although I don't have any real reasons to back up my theory. Michigan totally makes sense w/ their unfortunately high unemployment rate :( Any of you who live in these states noticing this trend? Credit Karma also researched the average debt from their 87,000 users:

• $8,079 in credit card debt
• $184,940 in home mortgage loans
• $53,744 in home equity loans
• $14,899 in auto loans
• $26,692 in student loans

I'm happy to report I only fail at 2 of these 5 categories ;) We've got absolutely no credit card debt, auto loans outstanding, or any student loans on the books. We do, however - and to my chagrin (always wanted to use that word!) - have $287k in a home mortgage loan, and $63k in an f'ing home equity loan. As you can tell I'm not the happiest home owner these days, but we deal with what we got ourselves into, right? Anyways, I'm a sucker for stats like these and comparing myself to the "average joe." It's nice to see where you land when you work your ass of like we do :)

Labels: crazy economy, credit cards, debt, in the real world

Have you heard of this "Move Your Money" movement? I don't know if I'm getting emotionally tricked by the video or not (see below), but this has really inspired me! It's all about moving your money OUT of "too big to fail" banks, and INTO local community banks and/or credit unions - places I'm already a huge fan of.

Here, watch the movie created by Move Your Money.info:



The Huffington Post sums it up much better than I could:

"The idea is simple: If enough people who have money in one of the big four banks move it into smaller, more local, more traditional community banks, then collectively we, the people, will have taken a big step toward re-rigging the financial system so it becomes again the productive, stable engine for growth it's meant to be. It's neither Left nor Right -- it's populism at its best. Consider it a withdrawal tax on the big banks for the negative service they provide by consistently ignoring the public interest. It's time for Americans to move their money out of these reckless behemoths. And you don't have to worry, there is zero risk: deposit insurance is just as good at small banks -- and unlike the big banks they don't provide the toxic dividend of derivatives trading in a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose fashion.

Think of the message it will send to Wall Street -- and to the White House. That we have had enough of the high-flying, no-limits-casino banking culture that continues to dominate Wall Street and Capitol Hill. That we won't wait on Washington to act, because we know that Washington has, in fact, been a part of the problem from the start. We simply can't count on Congress to fix things. We have to do it ourselves -- and the big banks are the core of the problem. We need to return to the stable, reliable, people-oriented approach of America's community banks."

What do you think? Pretty convincing, huh? I'm the farthest thing from being a political pundit or economics guru, but I have to admit I could see this taking off. Personally, I use USAA for all my banking/investing stuff (as if you didn't know ;)), so it doesn't affect my financial situation directly, but if YOUR money were in one of the "Big Four" you'd have a chance to actively participate. This Big Four meaning Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. And I could tell you for damn certainty that I would have already left most of those guys! Okay, well maybe not Wells Fargo since I own their stock, haha, but definitely that dreaded Bank of America. I know each branch is different, but the customer service alone there drives me insane!!!

There would be some downsides here affecting you directly too though. One being the convenience factor. If you've got a billion ATMs all over the place, and BofA is right across the street from you I imagine it would be hard to switch so quickly. Then, of course, we have all that paperwork and updating site logins, Amazon.com, Paypal, bleh! Who wants to do all that?

When all is said and done though, if The Movement really IS in our best interest, I say more power to it! What's the worst that could happen? ;)

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Major thanks to Dave @ Life Excursion for sending me this info. You really got me thinkin', sir!

Labels: banking, crazy economy

Oh yes. And then, when you get there, you should ALSO have to pay for all your beers and liquors and wines. Yup, if you don't spend at *least* $50 at your company party, you are a total embarrassment.

I mean, why should THEY have to pay for you? Did you come in at least 5 days a week? Work 'till 5 every day - maybe even to 7 or 8 or 9 at times? Did you put up with all those cranky customers? And/or co-workers who you *still* can't believe got their jobs? Who are actually your superiors? I didn't think so.

You see, as the holiday memo clearly states, the budgets are tight this year. You wouldn't believe the trouble it was to even BOOK the conference room we're squishing into. Sure it's in our own offices, but how often do we really get to spend quality time together? If management could, I'm sure they would have totally paid for it. After all, it IS in our honor.

I don't know what you're complaining about anyway. Look, none of your twitter friends are getting free rides:

• @pmmaldonado: Um, yeah. As a former NYC employee, I can tell you that we paid for all of our holiday parties ($50/food/open bar was norm)
• @yousuckatkijiji: Same deal at my company, 'til the "staff association" helped fund it. $25 per, plus cash bar. Times have changed...
• @JoeTaxpayerBlog: Same here. $30/head plus cash bar.
• @3princessesmomm: Our work party this time is a lunch in our break room and the company is supplying cold cuts for our potluck sub sandwiches
• @nicoledixon: Wow, that's wrong - isn't the point of a holiday party to reward employees for their hard work throughout the year...GEESH! (Editor's note - @nicoledixon doesn't know what she's talking about)
  

So be thankful, fellow co-workers. Not everything's "about you." If we don't support each other, you can say goodbye to the Christmas bonuses too. Wait...what's that? Oh, I see...Christmas bonuses have also been cut. Okay, well you know what that's not really the point. The point is, we're a team. And as a team, we have to make sacrifices together. Now go get dressed. If I don't see you in the copy room dancing, you won't have a job next year either.

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This post was inspired by my father, who, if you couldn't have guessed, had to recently pay for his holiday party. $30 for the ticket, $40 for a gift, and $XX for the beers he drank. The sarcasm was an added bonus, courtesy of Stanley Bing whose FORTUNE columns inspire the dickens outta me.

Labels: crazy economy, holidays, in the real world

I know this economy ain't the greatest, but pushing 79.9% interest rates? Come on now, that's just f*cked up. Would YOU sign up to such an asinine credit card? Would you hand one out to your kids or own mother? I doubt it. Whether people are falling for it or not, you can't feel good taking advantage of people like that. I'll send some prayers your way, you're gonna need 'em...
----
Thanks for the tip James....unbelievable indeed.

Labels: banking, cockamamy indeed, crazy economy, credit cards

I do, but only because I want it to :) I'm sitting in front of the TV and it's currently at 9,909.91. That's less than 100 points away! Remember how just last year around this time we had the largest plunge ever and everything was going to $hit? Cheap stocks to buy aside (more on that tomorrow), I'm pretty excited about this. We still may have a wild and rocky road ahead of us, but I'll take news of encouragement any day.

UPDATE: We hit 10,000 today (10-14-09)!!! Now we'll see what happens...

Labels: crazy economy, stock market

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently said that the recession is very likely over. I'm not sure I believe it all the way (do you guys?), but I'd be lying if it doesn't sound hot. It's been a wild & crazy past 18 months, and it's nice to hear that our world isn't going to hell in a hand basket for once.

I swear, if the media stopped portraying all this gloom and doom we'd be much better off. Everyone knows that humans are emotional - you say one wrong thing and CRASH! There goes the market. But I guess the opposite would also hold true. After all, here I am helping spread the 4-5 word phrase Bernanke just spoke of ;) At least it's a positive influence though.

Regardless, I've learned a lot over this whole ordeal and I'm sure I'll learn even more. I really like that about life - $hit can be flying all over the place, yet you can usually take away some new lesson or preventative measure to help you down the road. The bigger the problems, the bigger the learning curve too! (at least that's how I see it)

5 Things the recession has taught me so far:

1. It IS actually possible to spend less! All I have to do is NOT go into Target, TJ Maxx, Best Buy or the mall ;) That, and PAY ATTENTION TO MY FINANCES!
   
2. No job is ever safe. I've learned that you can't stay at one company forever, so always keeping your eyes open and active keeps me sane and away from an unexpected surprise one day.
3. Nature is one of the best gifts to us. And it's free! Since I'm not shopping as much, I'm now going on more and more walks. I totally forgot what fresh air felt like.
4. Networking is M-A-G-I-C. It really is a matter of who you know these days, so keeping in touch with old friends and colleagues is something that will def. pay off in the long run - esp. if they're in your same field. My favorite way to stay in touch is over beers and 1/2 priced appetizers at happy hours! Something a few of us bloggers did last night actually.
5. Everyone wants to master their finances! This might be one of my favorite things right now. You're hearing personal finance spout all over the place and all of a sudden learning about money is "cool!" You & I have ALWAYS known this of course, but at least the others are catching on ;)

So whether the recession is over or not, do me a favor and remind yourselves of all the positive stuff going on in your lives these days. We can't control the economy, but we sure can change the way we're living! Here's to a happy (and hopeful) recovery my friends.

Labels: career, crazy economy, life, one of my lists

You already know how I feel about Cash For Clunkers, but if you're planning on hooking it up you better do so by Monday! Although you never know how many more times the Gov't may decide to extend it ;) Sneaky little devils....for more detailed info check out MSNBC or Cash Money Life.

Labels: car stuff, crazy economy

Word on the street is that the "Cash for Clunkers" program may already be over - less than a week since it started! I won't bore you with all the details here (mainly because I'm lazy and there's already so much circulating around the webs right now anyways), but I did think it was prudent to mention. After all, you might have been excited to go out this weekend and start saving money by spending money! ;)

Haha...okay, well that's just one take on the whole thing. It was perfect for all those already looking to buy a new car! I had considered picking up the $4,000ish rebate myself and trading in the '93 Caddy - but then I realized I was an idiot and punched myself in the face. I LOVE that car! Sure it gets 14 mpg, but it runs just fine and I have ZERO car payments! Definitely not looking to spend another $443 a month again anytime soon, regardless of the discount...

But getting back to the breaking news here, does this mean Cash for Clunkers worked? If the gov't set aside $XXX and we already went through $XXXX, then yes? Or should it have lasted the entire few months originally planned? I'm not the right person to answer that one, I'm just glad it gives us bloggers something new to talk about ;) Your thoughts?

UPDATE: Lawmakers pass $2 billion bill to keep program alive
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Some great articles on it so far:
MSNBC @ White House Reviewing 'Cash For Clunkers'
Cash Money Life @ Cash For Clunkers Suspended Already?
*And my favorite from Man vs. Debt @ Dear Uncle Sam: Please Stop Stimulating Me

Labels: car stuff, crazy economy, free money

How about another financial forward Friday? We deserve a break from all that hard work and number crunching this week.

Plus, I really couldn't keep this one in much longer - it had me cracking up! 2 weeks of sitting in my inbox was enough ;) And as always, it came from my dad where most of the others did. (I wonder if he knows i post these up?) Please to enjoy:

10 Signs the Economy Really IS That Bad.

1. I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.
2. CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
3. Hot wheels and Matchbox cars are now trading higher than GM cars!
4. McDonalds is selling the quarter -ouncer.
5. People in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.
6. The most highly-paid job is now jury duty.
7. People in Africa are donating money to Americans.
8. Motel Six won't leave the light on. (hah! my personal fave)
9. The Mafia is laying off judges.
10. When bank returns your check marked "insufficient funds" you have to call the bank and ask if they meant you or them.

Oh how sad, yet true some of these are...but not to worry, one day we'll all forget about this and go back to the spend thrift ways we've all grown up with! Hooray! (note to self: when this day comes, re-post every crazy economy article back onto this site to remind people that Financial management is important and not to be stupid again!)

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Other financial forwards you may like:
The Financial Crisis Explained via Beer & Puke Bonds
Warren Buffett = The Man...Or Possibly 100 of Them
Wow, Walmart is as Big as My Johnson!

Labels: awesomely awesome, crazy economy, financial forwards

That's what the owner of this used book store told me this weekend.

What the hell? What did finance ever do to you? I guess you don't read personal finance blogs ;) Here's how the conversation went down (if you could call it that):

Me: "Hey how's it going man, do you know where I can find your economics or finance section?"
Book Store Owner: "Hah! We don't have that here ... (walks away & starts mumbling) ... All financial books from the past 10 years should be burned."

Ummmm...thanks? I guess you're just gonna walk away and not help me, okay I gotcha. Initially I just brushed it off and went about my business looking for other books instead, but the more I thought about it, the more curiosity got a hold of me. Was he just talking out of his ass? Did he say it cuz it was the "trendy" thing to do? Did he *ever* carry these books? Unfortunately he was long gone by the time these questions started to bubble up.

Instead, I am left posting about it and coming to my own assumptions. Here's what I think. I think Mr. Store Owner got burned by the economy in some form or another, and he's now bringing in much less than he used to. He probably also meant to say that all investing books should be thrown out of the window, not financial ones. How could books promoting savings and proper money management possibly harm anyone? I can't imagine anyone getting rid of The Richest Man in Babylon or The Millionaire Next Door on grounds of horrible advice.

Obviously, I think he made a bad choice of words. The average person may not have picked up on it (or cared for that matter), but I take it as an insult. You run a book store where people go to LEARN and give you money, not to hear you spout out conspiracy theories. The next time someone's interested in buying a book from you, try helping them, not patronizing them.

Labels: cockamamy indeed, crazy economy, education, rant

Just when I thought my email forwards were drying up, I come across this gem! Courtesy of my beautiful Aunt, sister of the infamous forwarder of Wal-Mart is as Big as My Johnson, and Warren Buffett = The Man. I guess it runs in the family ;)

So here it is folks - the lay person's explanation of the global financial meltdown that us common folk can relate to! It may be a little late in the making, but it sure does make sense. So pull up a chair (the one you're "working" at right now), grab your mocha chocolate double dipped sugar-free espresso, and get ready to learn something:

Derivative Markets: An Understandable Explanation.

Heidi is the proprietor of a bar in Detroit. In order to increase sales, she decides to allow her loyal customers - most of whom are unemployed alcoholics- to drink now but pay later.

She keeps track of the drinks consumed on a ledger (thereby granting the customers loans). Word gets around about Heidi's drink now pay later marketing strategy and as a result, increasing numbers of customers flood into Heidi's bar and soon she has the largest sale volume for any bar in Detroit. By providing her customers' freedom from immediate payment demands, Heidi gets no resistance when she substantially increases her prices for wine and beer, the most consumed beverages. Her sales volume increases massively.

A young and dynamic vice-president at the local bank recognizes these customer debts as valuable future assets and increases Heidi's borrowing limit. He sees no reason for undue concern since he has the debts of the alcoholics as collateral.

At the bank's corporate headquarters, expert traders transform these customer loans into DRINKBONDS, ALKIBONDS and PUKEBONDS. These securities are then traded on security markets worldwide. Naive investors don't really understand that the securities being sold to them as AAA secured bonds are really just the debts of unemployed alcoholics.

Nevertheless, their prices continuously climb, and the securities become the top-selling items for some of the nation's leading brokerage houses. Then one day, although the bond prices are still climbing, a risk manager at the bank (subsequently fired due to his negativity), decides that the time has come to demand payment on the debts incurred by the drinkers at Heidi's bar!

Heidi demands payment from her alcoholic patrons, but being unemployed, they cannot pay back their drinking debts. Therefore, Heidi cannot fulfill her loan obligations and claims bankruptcy. Both DRINKBOND and ALKIBOND drop in price by 90%. PUKEBOND performs better, stabilizing in price after dropping by 80%. The decreased bond asset value destroys the banks liquidity and prevents it from issuing any new loans.

The suppliers of Heidi's bar, having granted her generous payment extensions and having invested in the securities, are faced with writing off her debt and losing over 80% on her bonds. Her wine supplier claims bankruptcy, her beer supplier is taken over by a competitor, who immediately closes the local plant and lays off fifty workers. The bank and brokerage houses are saved by the Government following the dramatic round-the-clock negotiations by leaders from both political parties. The funds required for this bailout are obtained by a tax that is levied on employed middle-class nondrinkers.

Finally an explanation that we can all understand...

Labels: awesomely awesome, crazy economy, financial forwards

You know that joke - "Do you wanna hertz donut?" - where you answer "Yes" and then get punched in the arm? Well, that's what came to mind when reading today's email about a $195k inheritance getting knocked down to $95k - "Hurts Don't it?"

As I do for all my blogalicious readers w/ crazy conundrums, today we shall feature an email along w/ my un-spellchecked and top of the brain answering skillz.

Well okay, there's definitely more thought and time that went into it than that, but you get the point - I just copied and pasted my answer here instead of tweaking it up to be blog-presentable. But that's okay, right? You're not reading the NY Fabulous Times up in here or anything. You're on a blog w/ "sexy" in the title for goodness sakes ;) But enough rambling, on to the show!

How would you advise a 20 year old girl that had $195,000 invested (inheritance) last year, only to be screwed by the economy and now has only $95,000? Should I keep it in there?? My stocks are spread evenly throughout, I don't belong to just one particular company.

I also get a check from my mom's SS for $1,400 a month. After bills, I'm left with around $800 or so. I have no job, as I can't work right now because I go back and forth to [edited] all the time. Long-distance relationships can be a B-word sometimes.. I'd love to find work online, though.

I ALSO hope to be getting this woman's full policy, 100k, for a car accident I was in 2 years ago. IF I get the full amount, I'll have about 50k left AFTER fees and medical bills.

Please, send me advice!
Nevada Queen

RE: Investing - Yes, I'd totally keep that money invested, ESP while things are so low right now and you have *plenty* of time to earn it all back and THEN some. As the saying goes, "buy low, sell high". If you quit now, you've lost the rest and you'll probably want to get back in again down the road when all is "normal" again and the prices are high. Of course, no one can say for certain it'll get back up there, but history shows it will - and i bank on that.

That being said, what I would do is meet with a financial adviser and see which investments would work with what you want out of it. They may tell you stuff you already know, or they could even suck balls, but even so it may help you sleep better at night. I'd check around your friends and ask for references and then set up a meet & greet with one (which should be totally free btw) and see what they say. I'd happily spend a few thousand over time if it means earning much more in the long run, ya know? just make sure to go w/ someone you trust and makes you feel comfortable.

And if you DO get that extra $50k from that accident? Then having a plan ready to go for it will do you nicely. and that's something a planner can help you with.

RE: Online work - Have you thought about blogging? if you're passionate about it, you could start earning a little somethin' somethin' on the side from doing that. It always takes more work than people think, but it's def. do-able, esp if you don't have a 9-5 gig. If you don't like writing, maybe try picture blogging or celebrity bashing ;) haha....or celebrity loving for that matter. anyways, the point is - if you can learn how to navigate the online world, you can then use that for future jobs down the road, not just for blogging. Learn Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, online marketing, etc. it's all fun stuff and won't bore you to death.

I hope this helps! Keep in mind I'm no sexpert, so don't punch me in the face if anything goes awry from any of this ;) And keep us updated - we love hearing how this stuff turns out! How about you guys out there? Have anything to add to this?

Labels: advice, blogging, crazy economy, financial advisor, in the real world, inheritance, reader mail

Yep, not even my beloved USAA can save us from this one. Apparently we're TOO under water to refinance. Since when is $60k in the negative TOO much? ;) haha...ah well, it was worth a shot.

But what's really frustrating, if you'll allow me to say so, is the fact that there are, indeed, people who can/will be able to refi because they made some huge boo-boos.

That's great for them, and certainly for our economy in general, but what about the others who behaved and played by the rules? Shouldn't WE be granted some help as well considering we also took it up the a$$? This affects more than the people who helped us get in this mess to begin with. (emphasis on *helped* here as we all know there were many other factors stirring the pot.)

The Mrs. and I aren't perfect little badgers, but we should still be granted some sort of equal rights. We pay our mortgage on time, we didn't get too over our heads, and we were responsible. Shouldn't that count for something? Are we being greedy here? Whatever....I'll go ahead and stop now. I'm sure everyone's tired of hearing about this stuff. I just had to get it out since it's directly affecting us now.

I'm just hoping Mr. Obama has something good up his sleeves...

Labels: crazy economy, home ownership, mortgages, rant, USAA

Whether you believe AIG is in the right or wrong with this bonus fiasco, you can't help but wonder what it's like from an insider. Particularly one who received one of these bonuses, and who writes an extremely interesting letter before he walks out the door. It's a long one (that's what she said!), but it sure does make you think twice about bashing them...Courtesy of Consumerist, here's Jake DeSantis' public resignation letter from AIG.

Labels: crazy economy

They're asking us to help out. Apparently they've already gotten $30k from last week's requests, and they need another $100k within the next couple of weeks. I really don't know how to take this...in all honesty the first thing that comes to mind is: Wtf?

Not so much because we're being asked to help, that's expected, but moreso because I have no idea as to what caused this debt to begin with (I kinda sorta skipped church last week when they went over it). Is it mortgage related? Are parishioners not tithing enough? I can only assume it has something to do with this economy because it seems to have come out of nowhere.

Reasons aside though, does our community even HAVE the extra funds to help bail out our little churchy church? Cuz I gotta tell ya, the amount of cash people have access to these days are slowly drying up. And what we DO have, most of us are holding on to in case of something even crazier happening. At least that's what I'd assume is happening :)

So @ church yesterday we were all asked to "sacrifice" and contribute a little more this week, and the next, so that we can clear this debt and start Easter fresh. How wonderful it would be if this indeed happened! But I can't help but wonder if we might be in the same situation again 3 months from now? If that were the case, they (the church) would be hardpressed to get even *more* of these extra funds from us to help get on track again. Not only that, is it even our duty as followers of Christ to do whatever it takes to help out? And what if we don't? Will the church file bankruptcy and leave all it's members behind? (is that even possible?) My moral side says YES - it's your obligation to help clear out this debt. But my logical/frugal side says NO - we may very well be in this same situation again.

It's hard speculating without the facts. When it comes down to it, I'll do my best to contribute & sacrifice as much as possible w/out putting my family's livelihood in harm's way. How much that amounts to I couldn't tell ya. All I know is that things start looking a little rough when even your church is having a hard time getting through this mess...not a complaint, just an observation ;)

Labels: charity, crazy economy, in the real world

Just got this text via CNN Breaking news. One word: WTF?!

"AIG Paid 73 employees bonuses of $1 million or more; 11 of whom are no longer there, according to NY Atty. Gen. Cuomo."

Labels: cockamamy indeed, crazy economy

Yup, so I pay a bit more now for health insurance - oh well! When it comes down to it, I still have a job. And a mighty sexy one too at that :)

Who needs 100% company-paid health insurance anyways?! There's no way we could have continued doing that in today's environment (as hot as it was!) So I'll suck this one up just as I did the other benefit cuts and just never go to the doctors or dentist again! Haha, nah...it's not THAT bad.

Our CEO & Management handled this situation pretty damn well. Our company's premiums went up around 40% and they were forced to come up with a change that would best benefit all parties involved. But after they did that, they called an all-hands meeting and presented everything very thoroughly and explained their reasoning behind their final decision. EXCELLENT! That goes a long way in any company, but esp. those small ones like ours.

Here were some of the options they had to sort through:

• Keep our current plan, and pass the extra expenses onto us. This would have allowed us to hold on to our rock star plan as-is ($10 copays, $50 ER visits, no deductibles, etc.), but we'd then have to contribute about $300-$400 A MONTH each! ouch. That's a far cry from paying $0.00 each month.
• Change up the CoPays and Deductibles. This would mean our insurance is still paid for 100% through our company (no auto. deductions every paycheck for it), and our coverage would be the same, but we'd now have to pay a bit more every time we took a visit. If you go a lot, then you'd be more affected than those who rarely ever go (like myself).
• Lower coverage and pickup a limited plan. This would also drastically cut costs, but then our coverage goes to $hit and we'd have to be extra careful where we go to do what, and how. I'm CRAZY glad they didn't go w/ this one for obvious reasons.

They went with Option #2, which I agree was a great choice. We get to keep our awesome coverage through Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, and we don't have any $ auto. deducted from our paychecks every 2 weeks!!! I love it. Some of us NEVER go to the dr's so we wouldn't even notice the change until we do. Which would probably suck cuz that means something is *really* wrong w/us ;) haha....but either way, I'd say 99% of us were pretty happy w/ the outcome. If I had to pay $400 a month i'd be pretty pissed. I'd still do it cuz I love my job, but I'd fill out that complaint jar to the brim on that day!

Here are the biggest changes to our plan now:

• CoPays go up from $10/visit to $20/visit. This one stings a little, but again you only pay it when you hit up the Dr's. And it's a lot less than a) $30 like a few of my friends have, and b) having no insurance! (yikes)
• We now have deductibles! I believe they are now at $300 per incident, up to a max of $7,000 total you can pay throughout a given year? Something like that (I don't have them in front of me at the moment). This is the biggest change as we never had them before - most things were totally taken care of, unless you had a unique situation that required you to go out of network.
• Network vs Non-Network spread increased. I never go out of network so I kind of dozed off here, but I know that it costs a lot more now going out of network than it previously did. I can never understand why anyone would really do this anyways...

So yeah, looks like our company is still dealing with the changes going around town. We were told this was the last of the "big items" being looked at now too, so that's def. good to hear! And that means our awesome 401k matches are still on the docket - woohoo :) Who knows what next month will bring, but for now I'll still continue working along happily and doing my thang over here. Can't get bent out of shape when the unemployment rate keeps skyrocketing..

--------
PS: I still have to report on the final cost of the Gallbladder Removal last year! I haven't forgotten, just too lazy to compile all the amounts and get it all together. More to come on who got the closest estimate.

Labels: career, crazy economy, insurance

I know this is old news now, but seeing as how I missed it the other night (AND it's freakin' brilliant!) I couldn't pass up the chance to share. This is a video of the 3rd portion of the whole show Thurs. night, but it was my favorite part. Mainly because Stewart sounds smart as hell and has the balls to say what everyone's thinking. That, and it's uncensored ;) Have a good night everyone!

Labels: awesomely awesome, crazy economy, updates

...To play the drinking game that goes along with it? Yup - my boy over at Pimp Your Finances come up with a list of words to watch for, and if all things go as planned I suggest not driving/doing anything afterwards as it's gonna be crazy ;) Some of these words include "In Cramer we trust", "Leftist" and "Chicago Tea Party" haha....Let's just hope this isn't a ratings ploy! So if you've been reading & watching all the hype lately, turn on The Daily show @ 11PM EST tonight. Word.

Labels: awesomely awesome, crazy economy

Tent City is back :( This is one of the saddest things i've come across lately...you'll have to click through to the slideshow (via MSNBC.com) to get a better feeling of this whole thing, but it's freakin' crazy.

Can you imagine if your sister or parents or even friends were LIVING this way? My heart goes out to each and every one of them. Here's a quick excerpt explaining more from MSNBC.com:

"A tent city in Sacramento, Calif., shown here on Thursday, March 5, is growing as the worsening economy leads to more people losing their jobs and being forced out of their homes. More than 1,200 are estimated to live in the encampment, which is growing by up to 50 people a week."

Labels: crazy economy

I was a frugal ba$tard long before the Economy got all kooky ;)

And it's a good thing too or else we'd be really hurtin'! While we were lucky enough to figure it out beforehand, unfortunately others weren't :( This leads to today's post inspired by my girl Frugal, who should actually be about married right now! Congrats my fellow friend & blogger!

So if it wasn't the economy that changed MY shopping habits, what was it? Well, I wouldn't say it was 1 big thing in particular, but rather a few that came together around the same time for me. I've talked about most of them before, but it's always a great reminder (even if just for myself) of the path that still gets me rollin' today. Here were/are the 3 things:

1. Buying a home.
This was the first time I realized how important it is to stay on top of your finances (and it actually led me down the path to blogging!). It's one thing to rent by yourself and glance over at your bank account every now and then, but it's a whole 'nother buying with someone and having to pay double what you're used to! After a few months of this, I wised up and started to wonder how the hell I'd be able to keep this up. (note to self: Better to do this BEFORE you buy a house next time! Sheesh).

2. Tracking my money
When you sit down and actually SEE the breakdown of your income and expenses, your whole brain opens up and gives you a swift kick in the pants! It's not like my habits were all that terrible to begin with, but it did make me realize I needed to prioritize better. You may not notice the difference at first, but over time you'll come to realize just how big of an influence this has over you!

3. Taking up a "No Spend" Challenge!
I've talked about the process and psychology behind this before, but it's helluva experience if you haven't tried it before! I actually gave up "shopping" for Lent last year (yeah Catholics!) and boy was it interesting. Imagine, 2 whole months w/out buying clothes, lottery tickets, bananas (woah!), or anything else that's not a "necessity" or books (I still wanted to read) - do you think you could you do it? I slipped once by accident - I bought an itunes song w/out even thinking twice - but for the most part I passed the test.

But this exercise really taught me a lot in the end - You really CAN limit your spending once you get in the habit of it! It's been almost a year since I did this, and I can tell you with utmost certainty that this little blogger has cut his shopping by at LEAST 75%! And you know what? I don't even know what I'm missing! haha...guess i wasn't picking up anything super important ;)

So how about you all? Do you find yourself hoarding more money, or spending less due to the Economy? Or perhaps you were already sexy little boogers before the mess even started ;)

Labels: crazy economy, home ownership, money management, zero spend day

Yep, I have finally confirmed it. After almost two years of purchasing it, our townhouse is now worth around $300k, down from the $360k we originally purchased it for....and we still owe a good $350k.

Unluckily, we also we picked it up at the very tippy top of the peak! Yikes. But at least we *know* what we're dealing with now. It's not like it was a huge surprise, ya know? I thought it was worth around $320k, but that was a total guess. And a really bad one too ;)

In theory though, it really doesn't matter until it comes time to sell....at least that's what I keep telling myself ;) But it's true in way. It's not great for the total "net worth" if you calculate it in like I'll be doing now, but the losses aren't realized until someone buys it from you. I guess my dream of moving closer to the city will have to wait a while.

So how did I come to this new figure of $300k (well, actually $305k)? I did two things:

1. I signed up with Zillow.com!
Ever been there? It's freakin' sweet man. You type in your address, and it'll pop out an average of what it thinks your house is worth! Then, if you want to take it a cple steps further, you "claim" your house and tweak the information, and it'll pop out an even better estimate of the value. The key to all this is "estimated", but depending on where you live it's pretty good at guessing (you can see the ratings here).

There's a whole mess of goodies you can pull on your house too. You can see the value over certain period of times, the amount of homes up for sale or foreclosing around your neighborhood or city or state, whatever you want! You can also pull one of the following graphs:



2. I called my Realtor and had him price it.
This is what sealed the deal for me. I told him I'm interested in moving closer to the city (the truth), and wanted to know how much he'd list it for if we were to throw it on the market in the next month or so (sorta white lie). Our realtor is an expert in our particular neighborhood,having bought and sold around 15+ alone there, and we continue to keep in touch & help each other out when possible - like when we did a tv show segment on "new home buyers" ;) it was awesome! but that's for another day...

Anyways, due to the foreclosures/short sells in our cul-de-sac, he said the most we could expect to get for it at this time is around $300k. But, if we wanted to rent it out, we could get around $1600-$1800/mo depending on how quick we'd want to do it. Then, if you wanted to be totally hands off, you could pay 8% and have a management company take care of all the issues w/ it - collecting the rent, sending over plumbers/electricians/etc. So that would add another $150 or so, but still good to know.

Soooo, between our realtor and Zillow it looks like we have a decent answer here. I'm sure it'll change over the months as the economy fluctuates like a college freshmen, but we'll be keeping our eyes on it and updating as necessary. Another "account" to watch and obsessively check all the time ;) haha....nah, my 401k is enough. I can't take 2 crazy accounts like that!

Labels: crazy economy, education, home ownership

HOT DOGS, right?! Wrong :( According to the way it's all phrased in the media at least.

I know it's not the greatest for the Economy, but I must say I'm freakin' elated!!! According to MSNBC.com, Americans "boosted their savings rate to 3.6 percent of their after-tax incomes in December". GOOD for you Mr. & Mrs. Consumer! It also goes on to say,

"Consumer spending fell for a record sixth straight month in December as recession-battered households, worried about surging layoffs, boosted their savings rates to the highest level since May."

Can we say, "HELL to the YEAH bitches!" I can't help it, that just really puts a big fat smile on my face :) I'm totally for the Economy getting back on its feet again (as evidence of my 401(k) crying all the time), but I mean people are SAVING again! That is freakin' awesome I don't care what they say. Sure saving = not spending, but when are we going to get it in our minds that saving is important?!

I guess a better question to ask here is, "Can America continue to prosper if Americans start getting smarter with their money?" Well, I have an answer for you, and you may not like it. And that answer is.....I have absolutely no idea ;) hahah...it may come as no surprise to you, but contrary to popular believe I, J. Money, am no Economist.

What I am, however, is someone who likes to play "what ifs" and give my opinion without any evidence or factual backup whatsoever. And my opinion is that it would take us a loooooooooot longer go get this engine back pumping again, but once we DO, it'll be smooth sailing for the ends of time. Imagine this perfect world of less consumer debt & stress caused by all our money problems! I would even venture so far as to say crime would go down too since the "need" for fast cash would disappear as well. Actually no, I think I'm stretching it here ;)

The point of all this is just that saving money is a GREAT thing. If we could learn how to operate this economy with this in mind, it would be a far less stressful period in our lives right now. And we may have even avoided this crisis alltogether! Now, let the commenting commence....don't hurt me too bad.

Labels: awesomely awesome, crazy economy

Got this flyer while walking past a Bank of America an hour ago...

If you click to enlarge it, you'll see some pretty compelling evidence against them regarding bail-outs. No idea how one-sided this is or anything, but it can't be good for business.

Gotta love freedom of speech :)

Labels: Bank of America, banking, crazy economy

Yeah, for sure! It may not override the ugly situation out there, but they do exist - they always do, it's just a matter of finding them sometimes ;)

The Public Insight Network shoots me a poll every now and then asking for some input, and this time I had something to say! And since they fit in nicely w/ the bloggy blog here, I thought i'd share them with y'all.

And maybe you've figured out how to make the economy work for YOU even better? I know we got some smart a$$ people out there taking full advantage :) Here are the 3 questions they threw over to me, along w/ my answers:

How has the financial crisis affected you?
Mainly, it's just gotten me more nervous about my job security - the first time in the 3+ years I've been here. Working for a start-up is naturally a bit unstable anways, but these days it's a little more crazier than normal out there. Other than that, my house value continues to plummet (at least I'm pretty sure it is!) and considering we bought it at close to peak, it's definitely no fun.

Has the financial crisis prompted you to follow your dreams or rexamine your priorities?
Yup! More so my priorities than my dreams as I'm pretty much doing my dream job right now ;) BUT, if that should ever fall though, I have a list of other fun jobs I'm interested in pursuing - graphic design, starbucks, and even banks! As for reexamining my priorities, I'm really just learning how to save even MORE than before....like by not shopping as much and making do with what i already have. Great for me, not so great for the economy.

Have you found a silver lining to the financial crisis?
Oh, most definitely! The interest rates have gone down an incredible amount, literally knocking hundreds of dollars off our 2nd Mortgage! We have a maxed out HELOC at Prime - .45%, and within the last year alone it's dropped from around 6% all the way down to 2.8%! It's really incredible. Now, if I can just figure out how to refinance my 1st mortgage w/out much cost, it' s home sweet sailing baby!

Labels: career, crazy economy, helocs

Oh how i love me some reader mail! This one comes from a fellow budgets lover who just wanted to know that she's not the only crazy out there.

Her email was too colorful to take a part, so i'll just copy and paste it here and then give my response :) Plus, it's hella fun to read! It's not every day you get some animation out of people like this...Please to enjoy:

In early 2007 my fiance and I noticed that the market here in (edited) was dropping really fast, so our lease was up and we bought a new house, paid about $50k less then what they where asking, it is a 1500 sqft home, hardwood floors, built in 06, beautiful kitchen etc etc. We bought it for $180,000. Great Deal!!!! We do everything right, every month we have a budget, we always stick to it, we have a little over $11,000.00 in our savings, I have maxed out my 401k, and he invests in the states pension plan. We have nice cars that we can afford and both of us have one credit card that we keep a maximum of $1000.00 on just to keep our credit looking good.

My problems is now I couldn't even sell my house for $120,000!!!!! I'm furious, and to top it all off, my cousin who is a complete snob (she is 18, got married has never worked a day in her life and never wants to) she and her husband have no savings, no 401k, nothing. Now she is pregnant and they just bought a semi decent house for $95,000!!!!!WTF, her mortgage is only $500.00, she doesn't have to work and they blow their money away!!!!!! My point is, this really isn't fair, I am seriously thinking of going out, buying a Mercedes, freeze my contributions to my 401k, and drain my savings at Macy's!!!!!!!!!! Why is it that the smart, frugal, responsible ones are getting fisted up the (bleep!), while everyone else gets a free ride because of this economy!!!!!!!!!!! I want my break dammit!!!!!!!!!! Please give me the encouragement to not be bitter and jealous towards her and to keep being financially sexy!!!!!!!

Whew, that was a load full! But ya gotta appreciate the honesty :) And it really sparked my insides a bit. Not so much because her situation sucks so much, but because we really are all in this TOGETHER. Below is my attempt to help cheer her up...or at least back her up!

You know what i think about your little situation over there? $HITTY to the max! I'm with ya girl, life is just plain weird like that sometimes. I really don't get it - we're doing all that we can to better our financial situation (esp you, my damn you guys are onfire!) and yet others get things handed to them. I truly believe things come around in due time though, so maybe it's just not our time?

And you know what? At least we're all in it together :) We bought our place for $355k (instead of $360k which we thought was a steal at the time) 1 1/2 years ago right when things *looked* like they were about to get better and instead came crashing down. That, and 2 other places in our neighborhood has since filed for bankrupty and are reportedly going for $200-$250. So yeah -WTF indeed.

All that being said though, it's 100% totally & completely out of our hands right now. That's what you have to focus on. The only things we can do is KEEP saving our money, keep budgeting, keep maxing out our retirement funds, and stay away from all other debt out there. Yes it sucks, and yes people get lucky with timing (or NOT so lucky as in our case). But you know what? We are ROCKSTARS and we are killing this financial stuff :) Sure we can go out there and start blowing our money, but then we'll turn into the big idiots!

I'd much rather be a financial bad a$$ than an immature possesion monger, so this side of the situation is just fine with me. We are learning about stuff, applying it, and it'll all come around full circle - i can promise you that. So just keep doing your thing, and do your best to try and block out other people's experiences....the only thing we can work on is our own.

Ya diggin' me? You still wanna punch someone in the face? haha...I hope not. That's all i really got for ya ;) Good luck with it all and be sure to keep us updated!

Labels: cockamamy indeed, crazy economy, life, money management, reader mail

I just got out of a company meeting, and I'm flying high baby! My 2 weeks away from the office was a nice break for sure, but the economy was putting some doubt in the ol' job security department :( That meeting turned my frown upside down though!

Our CEO assured us that our company is staying strong, and that things are looking up for '09!! And not only that, but that cutting people is the last option on his mind! We'll still lose a few benefits here and there for sure (i can probably kiss my 100% matching 401k away), but at this point I'll TAKE IT! haha...I really don't feel like looking around for another dream job right now.

Before this meeting, however, I was playing a rousing game of "would you rather" with a few co-workers of mine, and we came up with a really interesting side question. And since it's one of my all-time favorite games to play, I thought I'd drop it on ya:

"Would you be willing to cut your salary by 10% if it meant saving another employee? And what if there was a randomized chance that the employee in question could be YOU?"

TOUGH one, right?! 10% is a lot no matter how much you make. And if you're not a great rainy day saver or budget'er like some are, this could def. knock ya on your feet. Plus, is it even worth the risk? Would you be more comfortable losing 10% than 100% if you were the unlucky employee? Even morally - could you stand by and watch your cube-mate walk out the door all because you couldn't chip in a little? Definitely no right or wrong answer here though...we all have our stuff going on.

And since I asked it, I shall now answer it. While the frugal side of would get up and bitch-slap me, I'd 100% bite the bullet and take my pay cut. For one thing, i'm too much a panzy to risk losing my dream job no matter what the odds are ;) That, and everyone knows each other pretty well since we're a small company. I certainly wouldn't miss one or two of them, but I doubt they'd ever get fired anyways. So that would leave ME, along w/ the rest of my closest co-workers to get the boot.

I'd gladly give away $8k for total peace of mind. Okay, well not *gladly*, but I'd still do it. Who knows, maybe that good kharma would turn around and we'd all get rewarded down the road?!

How about you all? Would you tell the employee to F off, or would/could you pull out the get-out-of-jail-free card?

Labels: career, crazy economy, would you rather

Hello my fellow budgets-are-sexy readers! I've been getting a handful of emails lately w/ the economy being as it is these days, but rarely do i get one from actual business owners.

But as luck would have it, i was blessed with a comment from one of them this week and clung on for dear life! haha....A brother has questions, ya know?

And boy was i lucky! The business owners agreed to my very first interview, and i pumped them for all i could :) After all, employers and "Big Business" are usually made out to be the bad guys, right? They couldn't be nice *gasp!*, could they? Well my friends, today we get to hear THEIR side of the story. Please to enjoy:

====================================================================
1. What sort of company do you own?
A 15.5 acre RV Sales, Service, Parts, and Restaurant company with over 275 RVs in stock at multiple locations. We employ anywhere from 80 to 125 people, and are one of the largest RV dealerships around.

2. When did you notice you'd have to make changes?
Like everyone, we have watched 2008 steadily deteriorate starting this early Spring. Winter was long, lasting well into spring, and chocked off the early part of our selling season. By mid-summer we saw our sales numbers not reaching previous years highs, then gas prices went out of control hitting RV sales hard. Presidential election years are always "iffy" too. People don't like the unknown and are nervous. By mid-to late-summer, along with everyone else, we watched the stock and financial markets self-destruct, with the media fanning the flames.

3. What were some of the benefits you had to cut?
Watching the above unfold, we knew that we'd have to cut wherever possible to survive the company.

• We slashed our own salaries first - We only took enough for monthly expenses, that's it.
  
• Stopped Christmas Bonuses this year - By Sep-Oct we generated a letter to everyone explaining in detail what we believe was happening with the markets (all of us see the real life results – few customers in the doors) and explained why, for the first time in 20 years, we would have no Christmas bonuses this year. [our Christmas parties have always been extravagant – bonuses from $100 to $5000, gifts in value from $50-150 chosen, wrapped by me throughout the year for every single employee; an excellent hotel Christmas dinner; hotel rooms subsidized by us for those who want to stay and play and those who should NOT be driving!]
• Stopped Matching portion of 401(k)s - Our next step was to send out another letter to each employee notifying them that we were stopping our matching portion of our 401Ks temporarily, but that employees could continue to fund their 401Ks with pre-tax dollars as usual. We will notify them when we can again start matching.
• Increased annual lay-offs - We have annual lay-offs normally (ours is a very seasonal business) so this year we have just included more staff. We are rotating staff in various departments and sending them into lay-off with a company letter stating to unemployment office that we want this person back by xx date.

4. How did you bring it up to employees? Was it crazy hard?
We notified our folks early because even though every year we say "now please don't count on these bonuses because each year is different, these are a gift of thanks, not a promise;" we know folks count on the cash anyway (who wouldn't, especially at Christmas!) So when we knew it was going to be a dangerously ugly year, we sat down and composed a letter to go to each person saying exactly what was happening, why we have to conserve every nickel for maybe a long time, etc etc. Then we held a company-wide meeting so we could reiterate the company's situation. We asked for everyone's understanding and help, right down to "turn the light off when you're out of the room." Communication is everything!

5. Did anyone go nuts when you told them?
Well, this is the interesting part of being an owner… you hear things from managers and employees about "somebody said this or that" but they NEVER name names! Human nature being what it is, there most certainly are a very few people we'll lose over this. There are many others who fuss and talk behind our backs (not knowing we started like most folks – with NOTHING. All they see now is this big giant business and think we're loaded! We're not, but the banks are!) And then there are some who make it possible for owners to get up each day and face the battle over and over. The ones who support us and say, "good call, a tough one for tough times, but a good one, we support you" and "I'd rather have my job than a bonus if that's what it comes to."

6. Do you have any lifelines you're holding onto in case 2009 is even worse?
A hope and a prayer! We have also secured a home equity line of credit as a last resort measure to fund the company until we're back on track. This is nothing we like to tell employees because it scares them a little bit. While we want everyone to pitch in to get through the lean years, we don't want to lose good people.

My husband expects Spring to be easier as gas prices are far better, the election is over, and our annual RV show starts in January. I expect a lean year because this is a recession and our fearless leaders (BOTH sides of the isles) are idiots. So… our home equity line of credit will be our last resort after some small savings we have set aside. We will negotiate heavily with our bank on flooring rates and even refinancing loans if needed.

We are both very financially conservative (sweet words for a Budget Guy?!) and we have gone to great lengths to pay off business building and equipment. We owe nothing on our huge custom paint booth, zero on our expensive Italian RV lifts in the shop, Zero on our new Clubhouse cafe we build this year. All we pay on are the initial loans for the ground which will be paid off in seven years, and now this year, the purchase price for our second location, but it pays its own way (so far).

7. Do you have any advice for those of us who have our own companies?
Stay the course, stay confident, smiling, and uplifting no matter how difficult. You MUST cut costs wherever you can. Negotiate hard with your bank; shop for a second "backup" bank just in case. Be honest and open with any employees who are afraid or worried. Answer their questions honestly and fully. (Fear of the unknown is the worst!) Those good people who understand will stay with you, those who don't usually end up leaving anyway.

8. Do you find budgets sexy? ;)
Thanks to years of planning and BUDGETING, we grew this business from one ratty old building with a dozen people to a new, state-of-the-art facility with 80-125 employees and 1700 foot freeway frontage, 250+ RVs in stock, and the BEST STAFF on the PLANET! Yeah! Budgets are sexy!
====================================================================

And there you have it, my very first big boy interview - whew! Gotta give mad thanks to my RV owners out there for taking the time to share with us, and more importantly being so open and honest :) I'd proudly work for you all anytime!

Labels: career, crazy economy, interview

You KNOW how much i love my 401(k), would you really do this to me? We've fallen in love, and could not bear such a tragedy :( I promise to behave, really. Whatever you wish, i shall do - just name it!

What? You want me to do what? Stop blogging @ work? errr......

Haha, yes, i am all hocked up on coffee and cold medication ;) Seriously though, it's like my brain work a lot better when i'm in a total state of loopiness.....the words just flow out like butter! warm butter, that is. it's the only up-side to possibly getting sick...but i digress..

So WHY, exactly, would companies start getting rid of their 401(k) matchings? The Economy - plain and simple. Here's a clip from a recent CNNMoney article i just read:

"[In a slowing economy] it's reasonable to assume that some employers will reduce or even eliminate the 401(k) match," said Frank Boucher, of Boucher Financial Planning Services in Reston, Va.

Any well-drafted 401(k) plan allows the employer discretion to change the company's matching policy at any time, Boucher said.

It's all about weathering the storms i suppose. And I have a sinking feeling our company could be next...i don't have anything to back that up, but i'm pretty sure changes are coming in '09, and that seems to be a favorite to cut.

I know not everyone cares, or even particpates, in their retirement funds (naughty, naughty!) but when you're getting matched 100% of 100% of your contributions, it's a big deal! That $15,000 i threw in so far this year has rewarded me handsomely with an extra FREE $15,000!It's seriously insane.

All that being said, what'll happen will happen no matter what my feelings are on it. After all, if it's between firing a couple of us OR losing our generous benefits, then by all means slash away! The money is nice - okay, HOT DIGGITY nice - but my employment is better. I like it here and i don't wanna go anywhere :(

Labels: 401k, career, crazy economy

NOT. GOOD. AT ALL. Especially since i was hearing this while watching my 'Skins drop their lead and lose it against our rival Cowboys last night!

Talk about a double whammy. One being more important than the other, ofcourse, but equally upsetting ;)

I didn't know this neighbor, but she sure threw some awesome parties! It was like Cinco de Mayo there every other weekend - at least when peering through our window in jealousy. We were never invited, but now we share their pain....damn economy.

I'm not sure of her entire situation exactly, but from what our GOOD neighbors say (the ones who invited us to watch this so-called football "game" last night) it seemed as if their interest rates reset and they could no longer afford their corner-unit with a glam frontview of our LAKE!!! arghh....so they then tried to "short sell" it, only to find out their lender won't except it!!!

Short Sale: A short sale occurs when a property is sold and the lender agrees to accept a discounted payoff, meaning the lender will release the lien that is secured to the property upon receipt of less money than is actually owed.

So while this neighbor HAD an offer on the table to buy the property at a MUCH lower value (i think it was around $300k for a place that sold for $370 two years ago) she just said "F it" and it is now in foreclosure. ARghhhhhhhhhhhh.....

So now, the minute it sells for buttloads less, all of our places will drop in value!!! I don't know the logistics of it all, but basically if her stupid corner townhouse with the f'ing fantastic view sells for, let's say, $200k (God forbid), and our not-*as*-nice places used to be valued at $350k-$370k, then the next buyers coming into town could value our places around $250-$300k or something equally horrendous. I really don't know how it all works out in reality, just in theory ;) What i DO know is that it hurts us either way...and it really pisses me off.

Again, i don't know her specific situation, but it just sucks when you are a good little citizen and pay your dues on time and diligently, yet you lose thousands because of someone else's mistakes! Why again did we have to buy a house so randomly at the peak of the market? oh yeah - to follow the American dream! F to the F to the F, F, F.

Labels: crazy economy, foreclosure, home ownership, rant

I seriously just don't get how people can treat other people so horribly?!

What is wrong w/ this world? I'm sorry to say, but this is probably not gonna be the happiest of posts today - just keeping things honest up in here ;)

It's not accurate if i only post all the happy happy,joy joy stuff right? This is life, and it's crazy sometimes...i'm also selfishly hoping to feel better when i finish here.

Order #1 on the docket - That d-head of a photographer wrote back after 4 weeks with another sob story and demanding us to stop contacting him as his life sucks. He said he'll send the Proofs (no raw images, prints, nothing - just the proofs) by end of December. Are you on crack, son? I'll agree with him that he sucks @ life, but sorry buddy, i've lost all patience and respect for you. You do not have the right to ask for a thing anymore.

I left him the following note on facebook (his preferred method apparently), email, voicemail, and text:

"D-head (edited),

Our condolences for your losses. December is not going to work. We will give you until next Friday, November 14th, to simply mail us the RAW images and you will not be bothered again. If we do not receive these RAW images by Friday, November 14th, we will see you in court. Apparently filing a BBB complaint was not enough.

Mr. and Mrs. Rockstar (edited)"

Needless to say, i've basically lost my $hit now w/ this turdbucket. But fingers crossed.

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*UPDATE: Got the following back within 30 mins (pretty good for someone who has no access to any communication, huh? "As stated. I will not be able to make that deadline." I basically told him that if he does not meet the deadline, the court will decide further action. HAH! F'er.
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Order #2 on the docket: My paycheck just bounced, and i am not scared this economy has finally affected us. There's a whole back story here, but unfortunately i cannot risk saying anything more for fear of blowing my anonymous cover. That, and i actually LOVE my job despite all of this - so i'd rather not depart prematurely. Still aggravating as hell. UPDATE: Will be getting a wire transfer within 24 hours...crisis averted.

Order #3 on the docket: The Mrs. is sick :( Made 3-4 trips to dr's, hospitals, you name it. We're going on 3 days now, and no diagnosis has been found - which is both good and bad really. This has nothing to do with personal finance, unless i talk about how i saved $18 remembering to bring my insurance card this time for the drugs!, but it still upsets me :( this is a rant on life moreso than against a particular person. UPDATE: Wifey still sick, seeing doctor in one hour! UPDATE #2: Wifey went back into E.R., and is now staying over night! yikesy mama - prob. have to take her gallbladder out, but we'll know more in the mornin'. time to go join her and have a "fun" sleep!

Okay, that is all. I'm not feeling 100% better now, but it def. helped! Thanks for listening, and PLEASE please PLEASE holler back with some happy stuff if you've got anything. Some of you have to be having a blessed day, right?!

Labels: career, crazy economy, rant, wedding

Yup, it's offical! They are frozen for a "while". I can't say it's all too surprising though - the last one we've received was back in February! haha....I'm just hoping it'll pick up as the economy does, but who really knows.

While i'd like to bitch and moan about it, i really can't without coming off as a spoiled employee ;) I've been getting a free $2,000 every 3 months which sure ain't part of the job, ya know? Now, if i were in sales that would be one thing, but we're a small start up and it's more about sharing ownership in the company than direct performance.

Still, it's what....$8k a year that i was sorta-kinda-but-not-really counting on ;) Luckily it's not part of my budget at all, which is something my dad once taught me growing up - they're called a "bonus" for a reason. It will, however, delay a few yearly goals:

1. It Decreases the odds of hitting my $100k Net Worth goal.
   Not that the market hasn't killed this already, right? Unfortunately these are all things outside of my control, so while my goals may not get met, at least i can't blam myself or any of it ;) Guess it's just the way life works out sometimes.
2. It Decreases Kills the odds of topping off my Emergency Fund.
   I still have a good $4,000 in it, partially filled from the 1 bonus we did get this year + the stimulus check, but i was hoping to max it out this year with another $1,200 directly from the other bonus'...oops.
3. It Decreases Kills the odds of paying off the credit card by end of year.
   This was more of a new goal for myself when i slapped my car purchase on it, but i guess it'll have to be done the old fashioned way - paying $400 steady each month (the same amt. as my old SUV payment).
4. It Knocks my millionaire plan off by a bit.
   I planned on investing/saving all the rest after tidying up the above 2 goals. i'll have to recalculate this if the freeze goes to "frozen 4 ever" mode.

Oh how i shall miss you, Bonus! It just goes to show that you can't ever count on anything these days, no matter how stable your job may be. That, and being financially responsible is always in your best interest!

There's talk that they will resume during Xmas time, and possibly with even retro-pay, but i'm not counting on it...that's like my Redskins winning the Superbowl ;)

Labels: career, crazy economy, goals