Are you my friend? Family? Are we helping each other out with our finances? If not, you're probably pissing me off :) Unfortunately I can't even say that with a straight face because I'm naturally happy! Haha...

Seriously though, I'm all for open discussions on money, but you can't be a d-head and ask someone how much they make just because you feel like it.

That may sound weird coming from someone who posts up all their financial details for all to see, but I really feel there's a time and a place for stuff like this. The same goes for passwords & sex lives. Can you imagine if I just straight up ask you how many partners you've had? I'd be a total ass. You know what, that's how I should respond the next time someone butts in and asks me how much I make - "You wanna know my salary? Okay sure - but first tell me how many sluts you've slept with!" That would probably shut 'em up for a bit ;)

As far as I'm concerned, both parties have to trust each other before dishing out the goods. Just like with sex, there are appropriate and inappropriate times to talk turkey. (On a side note, you're always more than welcome to ask me anything! The beauty of being anonymous is that I can give you my opinion 100% without worrying about who's reading. I might not know the answer, but I'll always do my best to point you in the right direction either way.) So what are these "appropriate" and "inappropriate" times to ask about salaries? Well, keep on reading my friends...and keep in mind that these are MY own preferences, they may differ depending on who you ask:

Appropriate times to ask about my salary:

• We're in Human Resources. If you're my boss, VP, CEO, or any member of Human Resources, I'll gladly provide my salary to you (although you probably already know it, eh?)
• We're in a job interview. Ask away! You have the right to know so you can pay me more ;)
• You're my financial adviser/accountant. Obviously this is okay. If not, you'd probably be hiding something! haha...
  
• We've been talking about finances & helping each other out. And we're friends! That second part is key. I have nooooo problems at all talking openly with friends & family about salaries. Every now and then people ask for my opinion or what I wold do in a certain situation, so in this case sharing my financial background or salary may be important keys to the conversation. In this case, I'd happily give out the details.
• We're on this blog. Again, it's always cool here. It may not be on others' blogs - especially those who aren't as anonymous, but here it's a wide open door baby!
• I asked for yours first ;) This rarely happens outside of the above situation, but when it does I fully expect to be asked the same or to just give it out first to make both parties comfortable. The only time I can remember really doing this was when I was looking to join a friend's company and needed to know what I was dealing with before heading into an interview. There may be other times too when I was more naive, but regardless if I'm not willing to share my own salary with you, I'll never ask for yours in return.

I think that covers most of the times I'm cool with it. I'm sure others don't mind at all sharing a bit more freely, but again these are just my own opinions. If you're cool with dishing it out, more power to ya! Just keep in mind that not all of us are so you don't step on many of our toes.

Inappropriate times to ask about my salary:

• When we're not even talking about finances. Why would I tell you how much I make when we were talking about The Redskins killing me? What does it possibly have to do with them?
• When I don't now you. The worst is when someone gets all up in your face with 101 questions about what you make when you wouldn't even tell them your apartment number. People are crazy sometimes. I was once asked how much my paycheck came out to THREE whole minutes after meeting them! WTF? Come on now, that's just crazy.
  
• When we work together. Bosses/HR aside, I know what happens when the guy sitting next to you knows you make more than them (or less for that matter). Everything gets weird and emotions start piling up when the only thing that's changes was a number you told them. No sirree, been there done that. Try out GlassDoor.com if you have to, maybe you'll get lucky?
• When we're on the metro/train/plane/anywhere else with hundreds of people around. I might be cool with telling you, but not with all those eyeballs staring at us. I'm pretty shy about that, so please don't force it.

These blunt & direct people actually remind me of those telemarketers who try to get receptionists to xfer them directly over to the CEO. They get so over the top that it stuns you and you give in before you even realize what's hit ya! haha....I was pummeled with these last week when I was answering the phones for a bit ;) Sneaky sneaky!

When all is said and done, I feel there's a right and a wrong way to ask about how much someone makes. Sometimes they'll give it to you, and others they won't. Just please, whatever you do, respect their decision either way. There's no praise in bullying someone out of their lunch money.

Labels: about j., career, paychecks

If you didn't get a paycheck one day, would you be able to survive? And what about 2 or 3 paychecks down the line? Scary to think about. I've been fortunate enough to realize this 2 years ago, but if you'd asked me then I probably would have $hit in my pants before I could even give you an answer ;) Okay, well I wasn't that bad, but I certainly wasn't as aware as I am now.

According to a recent Consumerist post, 50% Of Americans Are 2 Paychecks Away From Having Big Financial Problemos! That is a lot. And it really makes me wonder how long we, as in The United States, can keep this up before it screws over everyone in the process. Here's a quote from a place they quoted (MetLife):

"Without a steady paycheck, 50% of Americans say they could not meet their financial obligations for more than a month - and, of that, a disturbing 28% couldn't support themselves for more than two weeks of unemployment."

Everyone has their reasons for not being secure money-wise, but I'd bet saving an extra $50 a month is more than possible in 99% of these situations. Do that for just a year and you've already gotten yourself $600 (not including interest)! That alone is an entire paycheck for some people, and it's really not that hard to get started.

Do you know what I'm gonna advise now? Of course you do cuz it's one of my favorites: Make sure you're building up your Emergency Fund! I don't really need to go into WHY they're important here (you can put 2 and 2 together) but you do have to make sure you're on it. I can't think of a single reason why anyone can't put aside even $20 a month. You don't have to have $3,000 or $10,000 in there right now, just do yourself a favor and be WORKING on it.

That's the moral of the story today - getting into the habit of xfering over little chunks of money to cover your a$$ when times are rough. You certainly don't have to listen to me, but it would be a shame to hear that my lovely readers are part of that 50% who are 2 paychecks away from poop-ville! Don't be a statistic, be a rock star.

Labels: advice, emergency funds, paychecks

"I'm bringing budgets back (yup)! Them other non-budgeters don't know how to act (yup!)" Haha...right Mr. Timberlake? ;) What, you don't think that's the same as bringing sexy back? Well check the calculation my friends:

Budgets = Confidence = Sexy!

Aww yeahh! Okay, so maybe YOU wouldn't swap it in, but this frugal ba$tard sure will. After all, it's what got me started blogging! Well, that and buying a house and all, but it definitely kept me on track. And to this day I've been a good little boy and continued to stick with it month after month. I mean, you *have to* know where all your $exy money goes, right?

What I haven't been doing, though, was keeping it updated here on the blog for all to see. So going forward my budget will be updated the first week of every month! And, as always, you're more than welcome to borrow/steal any part of it:
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• Download via Excel: Budget Template
• Check out in Google Docs: Budget (filled in)

I tend to be budget happy up in here, so it has plenty of room to track a few different budgets - like one for your paychecks, "house", credit cards, etc. I also like being able to see my net worth and any other cash funds I may have laying around, so that's also included. The whole spreadsheet is really like a "financial snapshot" if you will. It certainly won't satisfy everyone's needs, but it's a great starting place for anyone who's ready to get down and dirty.


*Updated: 3-1-10: My current paychecks are bit wonky right now as I'm contributing 90% of all my paychecks to 401(k)! Yes it's crazy, but yes I want to become a millionaire faster ;) So you will see a lot of negatives here until I max out, and in the mean time will be pulling cash from my side savings account to "pay myself."

Here's the paychecks portion above. It took me a while to figure out what works for me and what doesn't, but keeping it updated and refreshed every month helps to nail it all down. You can find the rest of the spreadsheet here, but this is the most important portion of it in my opinion...If you can come out in the positive every 2 weeks, you're awesome as hell! Here's the average breakdown of what's included in these "paycheck budgets" (I keep it avg. as my paycheck usually fluctuates a bit):

Paycheck #1 ($2,249.18):

• Mortgage $$ ($848.24) - 1/2 of my portion of our mortgages. We have a 30-year fixed, along w/ a maxed out HELOC as a 2nd mortgage.
• House $$ ($300) - We tracked and averaged our other house expenses (utilities, groceries, etc) over a good 4-5 months, and eventually came up with our own "house budget". This $300 covers 1/2 my portion, and the Mrs. puts in the rest (you can see the breakdown in the spreadsheet).
• J's Credit Card ($638) - Like the house stuff, I tracked everything i spent over a handful of months (clothes, gifts, work lunches) and then averaged them together to come up with my own "c/c budget" that gets paid off in full each month. It doesn't work for everyone, but I freakin' love it! I get mad cash back rewards, and it's super easy to manage.
• Cash Withdrawal ($100) - I *have to* have cash on hand all the time :)

Paycheck #2 ($2,249.18):

• Mortgage $$ (848.24) - the other 1/2 of my mortgage portion.
• House $$ ($300) - the other 1/2 I contribute to our "house budget".
• Insurance: All ($143.42) - homeowners, auto, computer, and bling insurance for the Mrs. and I.
• Insurance: Life ($55.56) - life insurance for both the Mrs. and I.
• Cash Withdrawal ($100) - to cover the next 2 weeks ;)

In a perfect world, I'd like to ALWAYS have my expenses budgeted below or at least even to what I bring in every 2 weeks (but sometimes I go over in one paycheck, and over in another). Luckily I've been able to come out in the positives each month, but when I don't I just pull the difference from my savings account and throw it into my checking to make up for it....not the worst thing in the world to do, since that's why I have that padding there to begin with, but it's still a dirty habit that I should get out of.

So there you have it - J's new & improved 2010 budget :) Again, feel free to steal any part of it! It may look a bit confusing at first, but it's totally cool once you get the hang of it. It's all a matter of what works for YOU though, so if you already have a great method down pact, then by all means keep rockin' it out!


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PS: Be sure to check out my list of Best Free Budget Templates too, you might find something that works a little better for you there. If you don't, you must really despise 'em ;)

Labels: budgets, money management, paychecks, tools and resources, updates

Cuz i gotta tell you - it feels AWESOME! and not because it's payday, which is nice, but you can actually see *how much* money you're earning in the purest form. It's an incredible feeling!

I usually just deposit it right away, but w/ some of the weirdness going on here at work lately, I figured better to be safe than sorry this round.

It's not that i don't trust our company, cuz i really do, but it's just annoying having to worry about your check bouncing every now and then. For once i wanted to know 100% that i have the money and it's safe and sound. Plus, i was up for the adventure ;)

So, i followed a fellow co-worker to the bank where the check was issued from (that way it clears %100 and you get cash right away), paid my $5 fee for doing so (i hate banks), and out we walked full of greenbacks!

It was the first time i clearly saw my paycheck - and i was mesmerized. I couldn't believe i brought in THAT much every 2 weeks!

We all know how much we make, but there's a HUGE difference seeing it electronically over piles of cash. A slew of feelings took me over, and it went something like this (in order):

• WOW, $1802.00 in pure cash sitting right in front of me!
• I'm so proud of myself, that's a lot of money!
• I wonder how many $50's are actually in there? (36)
• Man, imagine all of the stuff i can buy with this! (i daydream for a bit...)
• $hit, every last bit has already been budgeted for...
• I can't believe i go through ALL THIS every 2 weeks.
• How the hell do other people survive on much less?
• I REALLY need to figure out a way to keep more of this.
• How cool would it be to go 100% cash from now on and F the computer age?
• I really hate seeing this...it'll all be gone in no time.
• Damn, i hope no one jacks me on the way home!

My emotions really were all over the place, it's just so CRAZY how the mind interprets the money this way. I mean, it's still the SAME $1802.00, right? How can seeing it in actual dollars be that much different than seing the # up there on the screen?

I don't have the answers for you, but what i DO know is that it was quite majestic :) A feeling that has since come and gone, but a beautiful one all the same. I'm not sure if i'll try it again anytime soon - losing $5 each time and then carrying around all that money before re-depositing is pretty insane - but i'm willing to bet i'd find ways to keep more of that cash around!

Have any of you tried this? Or maybe get paid this way in your line of work ;) bow chicka, wha wha!

Labels: career, cash, paychecks

UPDATE: *NEW* Budget being tracked monthly now!

I've been using a budget for a little over 5 months now, and i gotta say i am feeling pretty damn good about it! And although it doesn't look as good as it should - I have a plan, i'm stickin' to it, and i'm saving money.

The calculations don't lie: Budgets = Confidence = Sexy.

Here's exactly what i have to play with every month after taxes, ss, medicare, and 401k at 19% (holler!):
- Paycheck #1: $1807.86
- Paycheck #2: $1807.86
- Quarterly bonus': $2k-ish (now frozen...stupid economy!)

My budget, however, only factors in the bi-weekly paychecks I get. The bonus' are GREAT, but it's not something i can definitely count on 100%. So, when/if these come in every 3 months, i either apply it to our open credit cards, the Emergency Fund, or to cushion my checking acct. a bit.

Here's my bi-weekly budget:
(Some of this may look familiar/redundant from my recent "Where does my money go" post, as I budget using "clumps" of money)

- Mortgage $$: 1/2 of my share of the mortgages
- House $$: 1/2 my share of the monies for "house stuff". this includes all utilities & all groceries eaten @ home. i use a separate house budget to track this which i'll post soon.
- Wedding Fund: for our wedding!
- My Credit Card: the amount i alot myself each month. Gets paid off on time and no interest accumulated. i also use a credit card budget to keep track of this separately.
- Cash Withdrawal: always gotta have cash on you.

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- Mortgage $$: the other half of my share.
- House $$: the other half of my share.
- Condo Investment: the amount to my brother for help.
- Insurance: auto: actually covers my car, our 2 laptops, and the engagement ring. billed together.
- Insurance: life: gotta have that life insurance!
- Auto loan: the biggest non-necessity (price-wise that is).
- Emergency Fund: the least amt. i put in...if i save in other areas, i drop that into here as well.
- Cash Withdrawal: trying not to take out more. it's hard :(
- Roth IRA: i used to put in at leat $100/mo until i realized i don't have the money to be doing that! i'd like to re-contribute on an automated schedule once i get this budget in check.

As you'll notice, my lifestyle costs me around $3,900/month on average, and i only bring in $3,600/month. Soooo, according to my budget i'm down around $300 from the get go :( On the plus side, however, i stick to this budget pretty hardcore and haven't gone over since starting. The last 2 months i've actually shaved off a good $200 or so each time (thanks to all my challenges!) so i'm really losing around $100 per month.

None the less, I need to get my average spending down so that i'm at least breaking even each time. This is why i will more than likely sell my car, and pick up a way cheaper one.

It's good to remember though that budgeting is a continual process. So as long as we're all indeed working on it, we're already better off!

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PS: I keep track of all my budgets using a simple excel spreadsheet i've been polishing up. Feel free to use it! Click here for the actual file, or here for the google-ized one.

More budgety posts:
- My "Credit Card" budget
- My "House" budget
- Budgets are a man's best friend.
- Where does my money go?

Labels: budgets, paychecks, tools and resources

As i'm sure i've mentioned before, i have a pretty unique workplace. Not only is the work itself freakin' awesome, but our benefits are simply incredible. One of the *best* ones are what i like to call the "good mood bonus!"

Good Mood Bonus: (n.) A sizable chunk of money your boss hands out to each and everyone at the company when he's in a helluva good mood! Bonus not to reflect profits, project completion, nor work performance... simply random.

How BAD A$$ is that? I was given a cool $1k for just "being" :) This isn't the first time my widened eyes have seen this, but it IS the first time i've sensed the evil lurking of Uncle Sam around so quickly. It's funny how every time i get my hands on some dollah dollah bills, that good for nothing beast snatches a handful of it before my very own eyes. I honestly believe the gov't enjoys being Debbie Downer. He's like our money shadow...wherever your money goes, he goes!

Although i'm not exactly sure how our accounting handles these extra "lump sums" of money, i am fairly certain they treat them as simply that. Extra "lump sums" on top of our regularly salary. Instead of the $3125 (gross) bi-weekly check i'd normally get, it magically turns into $4125 (gross) for that paycheck only; the next check turns back to $3125. So although this extra $ is still taxed, i'm thinking it's taxed as "salary money" instead of "bonus money"? At least that's how it was sorta-kinda explained to me by a senior here.

At any rate, that evil uncle took out a chunk of my $1k, and spit the rest back at me. I'm not totally complaining here, don't get me wrong. FREE money is FREE money, no matter how you slice it up. I just find the whole experience a bit interesting when it comes to the tax side of things ;)

So, out of the original $1k, how much do you think i got back from it after all taxes, ss, 401k withdrawals, etc? A chunkity chunk of $467.47! haha...all i have to say is, MAN that guy is good.

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i forgot to mention what i'll be doing w/ this extra money: straiiiiiiiiiiight into my Emergency Fund!

Labels: career, paychecks, taxes

That's where it all goes! To be honest, this is the first time i've actually sat down and calculated this, and i'm not liking it :( Especially that 43% and 11% up there...i'm gonna have to work on that. These #'s are based on the following categories, and the amounts spent on them each month. Here's a breakdown of everything, from high to low:

Mortgage $$ ($1676.48): My portion of our monthly mortgages. It comes out to about 2/3 of the total mortgage payments we have each month (naturally the rest comes from my fiancée), and it covers our 1st mortgage & our 2nd mortgage (our HELOC). Had i ran these #'s BEFORE purchasing our townhouse, i would have probably gone a different route, aka purchase a cheaper place, BUT what's done is done, and it's all a learning experience. Plus, the lake in our backyard doesn't hurt the eyes ;)

My Credit Card ($800.00): This is the amount budgeted for each month. It covers all my personal spending, eating out, shopping, etc, and is paid in full each month. Lately it's only been around $650, but considering how i am a good $270 OVER what i bring in each month, this only helps me to work on breaking even.

House $$ ($500.00): This covers 1/2 of all our food, utilities, house credit card, and home owner fees each month.

Auto Loan ($443.49): Covers my SUV payments each month. I DEFINITELY need to work this out in the near future, as this is a ridiculous amount. I'm still considering selling it and then picking up an older car and having no more payments (i'd just pay it off in full). Either that or at LEAST halving the amount each month. This should be easier to do now that winter is coming up so i won't *need* the suv... although she's a beauty!

Condo Investment ($120.00): The amount i pay my brother each month to help him pay his mortgage. It's a loan at 5% and should end over the next few months. He's now comfortable w/ his payments and $ situation, so he doesn't really *need* it anymore. Good job buddy!

Wedding Fund ($100): We both put in $100 a month, plus any extra savings we make from going under our "house budget" (soon to be posted). We'll turn this into a "vacation fund" or something of that sort once we're married. 3 more months to go, and then it's marriage time!

Cash Withdrawal ($100): This is an average amount, as sometimes i end up taking out around $80 or $120 depending on how much i eat out and splurge :) That, and I am adamant of carrying around at LEAST $5-$10 on me at all times.

Insurance ($119.26): This covers all of my auto, life, and some personal property insurance. not bad, right?

Emergency Fund ($20.00): It's not exactly 0% as depicted in the graph, but pretty close! I just started this last month when i opened up a money market account. Although $20 is def. added each month, i also tend to put in any extra savings, bonus', etc that may flow down the pipeline.

That's the whole kitten caboodle! I *SHOULD* allocate my 401k deductions in here, but since it's pre-tax and not factored in to my spending budgets, it didn't feel right adding it. BUT, just so i get it out there, I put in a whopping 18% each paycheck!!! Thumbs UP & thumbs DOWN.

Labels: budgets, paychecks