Budgets are Sexy

Need debt motivation? Calculate your daily costs.

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:42:00 +0000

Paying for debt blows, but finding new ways to keep motivated doesn't :) And this morning I came across a BRILLIANT way to help put things in perspective! (Or perhaps give you a heart attack, I'm not sure which)

It comes from a good blogging friend of mine, Matt Jabs, and what he does is simple - he calculates just how much interest he's paying on his debt EVERY SINGLE DAY! All his mortgage interest, credit cards, loans, everything. And want to know what it's costing him? A whopping $40.13! And he gets squat from it in return. How's that for motivation? Knowing you're giving up $XX every single day until you pay it all off? Freakin' crazy mang - puts a whole new realization of what debt's doing to ya. (and yeah I know, I typed "mang" instead of "man" - I can be ghetto like that)

Now since I'm projecting Matt's debt all over, it would only be fair that I do the same ;) We don't have credit card debt or any loanage (thank God), but we certainly have mortgages up the posterior! And they come in at a pricey $350k at that.

So if we extract the total monthly interest we're paying ($1,800), and then divide it by 30 days, we're paying......drum roll please....$60 every day for our debt! WOW. That's seriously incredible to see it laid out like that, and it's not even including principal! I honestly thought we'd hover around $30-$40 a day just like Senor Jabs, but this REALLY puts things into perspective. $60 every day evaporating into thin air - unbelievable.

I highly recommend breaking it down yourself and seeing how it effects you. And if you're in the mood, dropping it in the comments and letting it out for all to see. Perhaps it would feel good? ;) Either way I think knowing this # could really help step up your get-rid-of-debt gameplan.

And if this interests you as much as it does me, check out Matt's "How much your debt costs" spreadsheet! I'm going now to add it to my best of templates/spreadsheets because I think this is some really really good stuff. You know I love me some tracking!

Selling Your Virginity for Money.

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:40:00 +0000

There are chicks actually doing this - can you believe it? Selling your virginity for money?! Oh man, talk about entrepreneurs ;)

But let me ask you this. Honestly, if you could take it back - knowing what you do now about it all - would YOU give up yours for a large amount of money? And if you say no, which I'm guessing 85% of you will (you know we'll have some guys raise their hands on this one), is there a price point that would change your mind?

It's funny. Whenever I hear about this stuff the first thing that crosses my mind is "What the f*ck?" WHO would do that? But then as I read their stories it gets less offensive for some reason. They need the money to go to college, or they need a new house, etc etc. I'm not saying I agree with it or that I'd do it myself (I wouldn't - I'm a good little Catholic boy) but I find it extremely interesting that others would. I mean, they're not only doing something so out of normalcy here, but they're doing it publicly!!! For everyone to see - knowing they're gonna get slammed for it! (no pun intended) It's absolutely stunning.

And if you think about it, you KNOW it's going to be the safest sex ever. The winner/highest bidder will get checked out like none other to make sure he's (she's?) clean as a whistle, and there will be bodyguards everywhere making sure the guy's not a psychopath. Which, lets be honest, would be hard not to come across as.

Unless, perhaps, the person "buying her" does it in order for her NOT to give it up! It's a long shot, but anything's possible right? If you had a billion dollars and were totally against this nonsense, would you jump in and save her? I sure as hell would. If I were clever enough to think of it first ;) Can you imagine the press I'd get for Budgets Are Sexy doing that!! Or even working on BUDGETING that in? haha...oh man, good times.

But enough about me, what do you guys think? And what do you *honestly* think, not the answer you know we want to hear ;) Is there a price that you just couldn't turn down? Say, $2 million dollars? Or are there just some things that are strictly off the table?

Do I have a life outside blogging?

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:12:00 +0000

Yes, but I'm starting to question myself. I wake up - think about blogging. During work - ~~I think about blogging~~ I blog. When I get home, I tweet/email/do blog stuff. For someone who naturally doesn't like to write, it's all very strange to me. (although my wife would say this is more like "talking" and networking than "writing," and I think it's true.)

I liken it to my early years when all I thought about was women ;) But now that I'm married, it's more like having a mistress instead - a mistress that goes by the name of Budgets Are Sexy! Ow ow! At first I thought it was just a phase, but here we are 2 years later and my passion is only growing for her. It's just so damn exciting! The question though, is whether I'm addicted. And I just may be.

Which brings me to my point today - I think I need a vacation. More specifically, I think I need to join all our friends on a 10-day Eurotrip this Spring! (didn't see that one coming, huh?). The more I learn about money, the more I realize the importance of spending it on things you truly value - and not to hoard it. I always TRY to keep this in mind, but the reality is I don't. I save and save and save, and then I get addicted and never want to spend any of it! Haha...I'm not saying it's totally bad, but it's def. not the most healthy.

If there's one thing I have never regretted in life it's traveling. And even more so with my crazy friends and all their crazy significant others. It may slow down my millionaire plan for a bit, but traveling always repays you back in "life experiences." And in all honesty that's a lot more important to me than more money in the bank.

So instead of making up excuses and worrying about missing all my money AND my blog stuff, I'm gonna say F it and just do it! Yes, I WILL go on that trip with all you, friends :) This blog will be fine without me for a little while, right? And doesn't the iPhone work in Europe anyways? haha... it will surely be expensive, and you know I'll blog about it later, but I think it would be stupid of me to pass on such a once-in-a-lifetime adventure like this. As the saying goes, you can always find ways to get more money, but you can never get your youth back!

Weekly Roundup: Another $50 giveaway + Fave articles

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 12:02:00 +0000

I'm giving ~~the last~~ ~~$50 Visa card~~ ~~away today!~~ It's given away now! But we got a ton of other stuff coming so be sure you're signed up :) Books, iPods, discounts, lots...

Now for my favorite articles & carnivals this week:

FMF's Blogger Bracket: J. Money vs. No Debt Plan @ Free Money Finance - Did you enjoy my Lottery-to-Charity post the other month? I'm battling it out in FMF's blogger bracket and need help winning the 1st round (I never make it! haha..). Would love it if you could drop a comment there and vote for me by leaving "lottery" in the message. Thanks!
Jeff joins my Millionaire's Club! @ Deliver Away Debt - Our crazy club now has 26 members in it, but this is by far the funnest millionaire to-do list I've seen yet ;) The pictures alone are worth it!
I hate finances and money...simply hate them @ Clever Dude -Haha...
Do "C" students deserve "A" lifestyles? @ Financial Samurai - Interesting!!!
Who do you trust for online business advice? @ Copyblogger - Not the scorpion!
Best of Money Carnival #36 @ Financial Highway
Carnival of Money Stories - "Tell me a Fairy Tale" ed. @ Modern Tightwad
Carnival of Personal Finance #242 - "Fun Tax Facts" @ Cash Money Life

The Mother of All TurboTax Giveaways! (5)

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 12:56:00 +0000

We've got 5 TurboTax codes to giveaway my friends! Brought to you by none other than J. to the Money, and T to the UrboTax! Haha...and all because I went out drinking with them the other night (can you find me in the pic?). Well, that and I have a personal finance blog ;)

But because of them, 5 lucky winners will be able to file their federal AND state taxes for FREE. That's a $70-$90 value, all for being awesome and reading this blog - so I hope you guys could use these! Here's a little more info on 'em (I have 3 Deluxes, and 2 Premiers):

TurboTax online Deluxe ($70 value): FREE Federal & 1 FREE State filing- Good for those who own a home, made donations, or have medical expenses.
TurboTax online Premier ($90 value): FREE Federal & 1 FREE State filing - Good for those who own stocks, bonds, mutual funds, or rental property. Plus all the above stuff Deluxe does.

Keep in mind these are *online* codes, so you'll have to be comfy with filing them at TurboTax.com (but everyone tells me it's a piece of cake). If you file your own taxes, this giveaway is for you! Not even ME who still pays an accountant to do it ;) But considering the jabs I've been taking this year, I might have to own up and see what the fuss is about.

To enter, all you have to do is this:

Drop a comment telling me what you'll be doing with your tax return money! And if you're not getting any back, just make something up ;)
Leave a way for me to contact you. *very important* (email, twitter, blog, whatev.)

That's it - nice & easy so that everyone can enter ASAP :) The contest is open until Saturday night (midnight), and we'll have trusty ol' Random.org choose the winners soon after. All winners will be updated on THIS post, and I'll contact you if you're one of them. GOOD LUCK!

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PS: After you comment, enter my other friends' TurboTax giveaways --> Mapgirl, Clever Dude, My Next Buck, and Bible Money Matters. If you can't win one of those I'm afraid you're just plain unlucky.
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*CONTEST OVER* Thanks for participating everyone! Here are the beautiful winners --> Andrew, Jennifer, Mike Blythe, Christine, & the "cocaine & hookers" Anonymous ;) Got a ton more giveaways coming up so keep your eyes open!

New Tax Law Changes for 2010 Boyee!

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 12:48:00 +0000

The times are a changin', and so are the tax laws my friends. So today I thought I'd post up a few interesting changes that caught my eye from a newsletter (pdf) forwarded over to me. This tax love comes straight from CPA Lisa Scarazzo, and goes out to all her clients each year.

I wanted to post it all up, but 5+ pages might have bored ya so we stick with a few ;) But mad thanks to Lisa for allowing us to post this up! You can find her & all her awesome accountant skills over at LAScpa.com. Here's what we got:

Ponzi Scheme Losses
A new law is allowing taxpayers to take a theft loss in 2009 for investment fraud. If the taxpayer invested their own cash and the loss is generated from a criminal fraud or embezzlement similar to the Madoff scheme, the loss will be deducted from ordinary income. The loss is deductible in the year it is discovered and not limited to the $3,000 capital loss per year rules.

Converting a Traditional IRA to a Roth IRA
In 2010 anyone can convert money they've already invested in a traditional IRA into a Roth IRA. There will be no adjusted gross income limit for the 2010 year. That is a change from current law where the IRA conversion is not allowed if your adjusted gross income is $100,000 or greater when you convert to a Roth. You will owe tax on whatever amount you have converted from the traditional IRA to the Roth IRA. After paying the tax on the conversion today, you will never pay any tax in retirement or when it is withdrawn. The good news is that if you convert in 2010, the tax bill can be spread over two years. (J - we'll be converting about $900 of the Mrs. traditional over to a Roth this year - woohoo!)

New and Enhanced Home Buyer's Credit
This credit has changed for 2009 into two different credits: 1) Existing Home Owners that have lived in and owned their home for at least 5 out of the last 8 years, and 2) First Time Home Buyers. Both of these credits have income limitations so please check with our office for further details to see if you qualify.

Existing Home Owners now have the opportunity to purchase a new home if they have owned their current home for at least 5 out of the last 8 years and receive a credit up to $6,500 or 10% of the purchase price of the home. The total purchase price of the home can not exceed $800,000. The new principal residence must be purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010 (or purchased by June 30, 2010 with a binding sales contract signed by April 30, 2010).
The First Time Home Buyer Credit is available on the purchase of a principal residence for individuals who have not had an ownership interest in a home during the 3-year period ending on the date of the purchase of the new home. This does not apply to home equity loans not used to buy, build or improve the primary residence. The credit is increased to a maximum of $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price for homes purchased between January 1, 2009 and April 30, 2010 and the credit does not have to be paid back to the IRS in the future (this differs from the 2008 $7,500 credit).

Foreclosures & Bankruptcy
In general, if a taxpayer is forgiven or absolved of their debt (credit cards or mortgages), the debt becomes taxable income. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act will exclude debt forgiveness from taxable income if the taxpayer's debt was a mortgage from their principal residence and the debt was used to buy, build, or improve their residence (home equity debt does not qualify). This is for years 2007, 2008, and 2009.

*ALERT* IRS Email Scam
An email is circulating that makes a statement similar to this: "A refund will be issued to you from the IRS if you follow these instructions." This is a scam - the IRS does not send emails to individuals. The IRS only sends correspondence via the U.S. Postal Service. Never open an email that claims to come from the IRS.

Financial Steps to Solvency
Many individuals are looking for ways to financial recovery. Here are my recommendations: (J - links go to my posts, not Lisa's....although would be interesting to see her go into more detail ;) )

Cut Spending.
Track Expenses & Budget.
Increase income (if possible) by taking a second job.
Pay off high interest loans & negotiate lower interest rates on loans & credit cards.
Pay bills timely and make contact with creditors to set up a payment plan for overdue bills.

I know this isn't the most exciting stuff, but it's all good things to keep in mind! And thought I'd shoot over before everyone's already filed away ;) Thanks again Lisa! For more info and tax tips, check out her full newsletter here: Annual Individual Tax Newsletter 2009 (pdf). *Please always remember to do your OWN research and consult a professional before taking action*

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Get ready for a handful of TurboTax giveaways tomorrow!!

Net Worth: January - down DOWN down says the market.

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 13:02:00 +0000

Yo, what's going on stocks? Tired of the rally already?

It sucks going back like that, but I suppose it's gotta take a break some time ;) Have to take it like a man when most your money's in the market - all part of the game.

We had some decreases in other categories as well - not related to the stock market - but they can all be explained for ;) The one area I WAS pretty happy with was regarding our mortgages. While $160 towards our principal isn't a crap ton of money, it does decrease or future debt and nasty interest! I just wish I had the balls to throw in $400 or $500 a month, but you all know my 401k & Roth are my first priorities. Gotta hit that $1 million mark, baby!

January 2010 Net Worth break down:

CASH SAVINGS (-$346.05): Yup, we're starting to burn through a little cash now that I'm gearing up for 90% contributions to my 401(k). It doesn't accurately reflect yet into these calculations, but you'll be seeing some nice jumps in the near future ;) That also means, however, that I'll be pulling from my savings account every pay period for a while to "pay myself" until I max out and can start taking 100% paychecks again. I'm not bad ass enough to live off of $69 yet. Haha...

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Same $10,000 this month as it was last month, and the month before, and the month before that. In fact, I think we've had this $10k for almost a year and a half now :) Let's hope we keep it that way!

ROTH & Traditional IRAs (-$277.34): Same story here as with the 401k drop-ness. The markets are losing momentum again and taking the country's accounts down with it. Until the 401(k) is maxed and my savings gets a healthy does of cash injection again, we'll be holding tight on our IRAs. I DO plan on maxing out the Mrs and I's Roths this year, but it just won't get done until mid-to-later this year. One step at a time.

401(k)s (-$5,173.26): Down down down in a burnin' ring of fire! That's how Mr. Cash likes it anyways ;) But interestingly enough, as I write this up the market is on a rally and I'm seeing some nice increases! We'll see if it carries on throughout the month though. In the meantime, I'll be continuing to push 90% of my salary here so I can max out and get them as cheap as I hopefully can. Gotta get that employee match and hit my #1 goal for the year!

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$150.00): My Caddy's still alive! haha...I still have this red "scary" light on but I've been told it's "just" my suspension. I could get 'er fixed for a nice little sum, but I'm gonna see what happens if I don't :) If it gets bad I'll try and find a deal, but I really don't think it's going to last many more years anyways. I hope it does though!!! Love my baby. Here's where our car values stand right now (the decrease this month was from Toyota):

Pimp Daddy Caddy: $2,970.00
Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $8,985.00

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARDS ($0.00): Still at Zero! I just really don't want to take this out of the equation as it makes me so damn happy looking at it. So we continue leaving it in for now...maybe I'll go crazy and put something on it! haha...only if it's a benz. Or a trip around the world.

MORTGAGES (-$162.98): Another excellent month knocking down some principal! We're still screwed w/ the refinancing option, but it doesn't mean we can't pay parts off bit by bit. Every dollar against the principal cuts down on your interest payments! Here's the breakdown:

Mortgage #1: $286,818.64 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
Mortgage #2: $62,559.10 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

January 2010 wrapped up & ready for Feb. Gotta keep on pushing forward! I highly recommend tracking this stuff yourself too if possible (not sure why it wouldn't be "possible" really). It takes a bit to put it together the first time, but then every month you can watch your progress and analyze what's working and what's not. Or even compare it to your finances from last year. It's all fun stuff if you like that sorta thing ;) And if you need some help getting started, check out my roundup of the best budget templates I've found.

Here's to a better February!

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*My budget has now been updated.
**And so have my sidebars. And my excitement for Jersey Shore II.

We got milked for $24,000 last year. How about you?

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 12:47:00 +0000

TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND DOLLARS for a roof over our head - and that was only for our mortgage interest & taxes! Haha...talk about a wake up call.

If you are a home "owner" I'm sure you know what I'm talkin' about, but I've said it before, and I'll say it again - if you're looking to own a home one day be absolutely certain you're ready to pay for the associated costs.

There are a ton of benefits that go along with this "American Dream," (tax write-offs, stability, equity, etc) but you've got to be aware of the financial drains as well. And as most of you know, had I been more aware 2 1/2 years ago I would have done things a lot differently -- Like either bought a smaller place or continued renting for a couple more years.

But it is what it is, and today I thought it would be interesting to see the breakdown of how our living situation has changed financially since renting. The numbers may be off a bit as I can't recall exactly what we paid while renting (I didn't start tracking this stuff until after we bought - when I realized I need to pay more attention!) but it's pretty close:

4 Old School Money Hacks - A Trip Down Memory Lane.

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 13:22:00 +0000

I had a flashback yesterday of all the ways I used to find money back in the day.

I'd probably still do some of them if they crossed my mind at the time, but for the most part I'm gonna leave it to the younger generation to keep alive. I'm a little too old (and lazy) now to pull some of these off. That being said though, it's a good reminder to keep on searching for new ways to save!

Here are the 4 old school hacks that came to mind:

1. The Non-Collect Call. ("Hey-Mom-Pick-Me-Up!")
Hahaha.... this was definitely by far my favorite. When you didn't feel like wasting a quarter you'd just call "collect" and use the 3 second interval allotted for your name to get across whatever it was you needed! So if you were stuck at band practice, or your soccer game was over and you needed a ride home for example, you'd just call up and say "Hey-mom-pick-me-up!" as your "name" and then hang up once you knew your mom heard it ;) It wasn't illegal, per se, but you know the telephone companies hated it. Do collect calls even exist anymore?

2. Searching pay phones for quarters.
Oh man, I'd stick my fingers in those grungy metal slots time and time again poking around for coins! Even when my success rate was a mere .5%. The ones at my school never had any in them (probably because of all the collect calls!) but the Malls were crazy rich with coins. You circle the 5+ phone banks there on a busy Saturday afternoon and you'd easily come up with a dollar or two - maybe even $3 if had a few hours to spare.

3. Crawling under clothes racks & tables at stores.
You could only get away with it as a kid, but you'd be amazed at the stuff that falls under those things. Sunglasses, toys, dollar bills, all sorts of goodies. The smaller you were, the better too since you could slip right under them and have enough time to thoroughly inspect before getting caught ;)

4. Scouring the bottom of pools & lazy rivers at amusement parks.
I kid you not, I once found a diamond ring at the bottom of the lazy river at Kings Dominion! I turned it in of course, but you better believe I went back to see what else was down there. And just as I suspected it was rich full of coins! My biggest "score" was $10 in half dollars - 3 hours after finding that ring ;) Although 2 hours after that I realized all my friends had left me...haha...

So yeah, the good ol' days of hustlin'! It wasn't as lucrative as working a part time job or mowing lawns for a summer, but it sure got our creative wheels turning. And that's really the point of all this today - to keep searching for new and improved ways to reach our goals. We don't have to turn into shady bastards or anything, but there's usually more than 1 way to get from A to B. (perhaps you'd like to share some of YOUR secrets, now?)

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Photo credit: stevendepolo

Weekly Roundup: $50 Giveaways, Slaves & Lifestyle Design

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:04:00 +0000

Yup, it's another Friday and I'll be giving away another $50 Visa card today! But you gotta be signed up to the V.I.P. Newsletter to win ;) We'll do another $50 next week, and then continue giving away something awesome almost every single week! So stay signed up mi amigos.

Now for my favorite articles & carnivals from the week:

I'm working to make my slave as big as possible @ Free Money Finance (yes!)
2010 NY's Bash Giveaway: $9,200+ in cash & prizes @ Money Crashers (CRAZY)
Weird/Cool things that I would not spend money on @ Well-Heeled Blog (Hah!)
Where Americans pay the most to live and why @ Financial Samurai (interesting)
Lifestyle Design and Debt Freedom go Hand in Hand @ Enemy of Debt (100%)
Overdraft Protection is a good thing @ Bargaineering (esp. if tied to another acct.)
Carnival of Personal Finance #241 @ My Journey To Millions
Best of Money Carnival #25 - "All over the place" ed. @ Studenomics
Carnival of Money Stories @ My Journey To Millions

Budgeting with Sammy the Rabbit!

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:06:00 +0000

Did I get your attention? ;) I hope so, cuz this hip-hoppin' rabbit is awesome. And even more so if you're a little kid! (which, let's face it, is like 1/2 of us.) So today's post is a bit of budgeting, a bit of fun, and bit of a cool giveaway. And no I'm not getting paid to say any of this, I genuinely think this is an awesome product for any rugrats you may have.

First, a little summary on Sammy The Rabbit:

"Sammy Rabbit is a nationally acclaimed bunny who teaches children to save money (and other good habits) through story books, music, coloring books, stickers, standard-based lesson plans, training guides, and live author-character appearances. He's been featured by Kiplinger's, MSN Money, the Motley Fools, etc. and has been recommended by numerous experts including author David Bach, the Automatic Millionaire. As Steve Rosen, Kansas City Star Editor pointed out, Sammy's multi-media approach to financial education that includes toe tapping music is intelligent and infectious. Sammy is easy and inexpensive for adults to use and easy for kids to understand."

What probably sold me on this, though, was that fact that this rabbit raps! And not only that, but he has a Budget Rap! So naturally I was impressed from the get go. So much so that I'm now going to copy and paste the lyrics to this budgeting greatness, and then give you the link to listen to the mp3: Play Me. It's not as great as MY rap song (thank you very much) but it's definitely more appropriate for the youngin's ;) Check it:

B-U-D-G-E-T BUDGET!

Chorus
A budget is a money plan
Tells you where and when your money's coming in
Tells you where and when your money's going out
Keeps you from spinning round and round
Shows you just how your money flows and where your money goes

You add it up, you subtract it down
In and out, up and down
That's what a budget's all about
Answers all your who, what, when, where's and why's
Gives you the 4-1-1 doesn't tell a lie
Let's you know if your ahead or behind
Keeps worries from your mind
Free from money binds
In, out, up, down no spinning round and round
That's what a budgets all about

Chorus

Let's not debate
Let's talk straight
A budget backs you up
Same as a measuring cup
Keeps you out of quick sand
On the road to the promise land
Gives you the time and date
Of everything you spend, everything you planned
It's just a chart
That let's you know how your money flows
Where your money goes
You'll stay out of the hole so you stay in control
So you have plenty of money to rock an roll

Chorus

If only everyone listened to this furry young man! Now to keep his words alive, we'll be giving away 3 Celebrate Savings! CDs. It contains 15 songs from a variety of genres of music (pop, gospel, rock, rap) that promote smart money management, choice making, and leadership. The It's a Habit group was also kind enough to add in 3 packages of "Sammy Sayings" stickers too!

To win one of the CD/Sticker packs:

- Drop a comment sharing a tip on how to teach children about money!
- OR/and respond to any of my newsletter emails w/ your tip! (you can sign up here if you want the extra chance.)

I'll be giving away 2 CD packages here, and 1 to a newsletter subscriber. And instead of using Random.org this time, I'm going to hand select them myself :) So the most clever/interesting/fun tips will get you closer to winning! Good luck! And thanks again to the Its A Habit company for donating them.

*Contest ends this Saturday, 1/30, @ midnight. Winners will be posted back on THIS post*
*Open to only U.S. Residents, sorry!*
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WINNERS --> Sal & Becky CC - Congrats guys! Stay tuned for more giveaways later :)

6 Questions to Financially Get to Know Each Other

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:36:00 +0000

Let's get to know each other some more :) I filled out this questionnaire for a series Automatic Finances put together recently (he interviewed a few of us bloggers), but I thought it would be a great discussion tool for us too. After all, we see each other almost every day, yes?

If you'd like to participate (and I hope you do), list your answers in the comments below. You can be as short, and anonymous, as you'd like. And if you'd rather not, no worries either - you can always stalk us from behind that computer of yours ;) Let the getting to know each other commence!

1) How do you spend: cash, debit or credit?
As much as I can on credit card baby! I find credit cards to be an excellent budgeting tool as long as you stay on top of it, and pay 'em off in full every month (which I do). If you're spending roughly the same every month, why not pay with plastic and milk 'em for all those extra rewards?

2) Do you bank online? How about use a financial aggregator (Mint, Wesabe, Yodlee, etc.)?
I bank online at USAA.com aka the best bank e-v-e-r. Since most of my 10+ accounts are there, I find a trusty excel spreadsheet & google doc is the only other thing I need to manage it all and stay on budget. Although I could certainly see the value in personal finance software like Mint & the rest. If I didn't like manually updating my budget so much I would have switched out long ago ;)

3) What recurring bills do you have set on autopay?
Oddly enough, only a few things: Comcast, condo fee, and insurance. My income gets staggered so I like to manually pay the rest to make sure all is on point.

4) How are your finances automated?
Currently, they're not as automated as I'd like. I deposit my paychecks, xfer out the money to the right accounts, and then manually pay a chunk of the bills asap to make sure I don't forget. I'd like to have *all my finances automated* but it's gonna have to wait until things are more concrete.

5) Do you write checks? If so, how often?
Checks? What are those? :) They only get the pleasure of my bad handwriting when it's time to pay a stray bill or give a wedding present to somebody. All other times they stay in my drawer sobbing, knowing the end is near.

6) Where do you stash your short-term savings?
In a regular ol' savings account. I like the freedom to xfer out at a moment's notice, and having your accounts in one spot makes it even easier to manage it all.

Your turn! How do you manage your finances?

How Conan O'Brien Wants You to Succeed

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 12:45:00 +0000

This is a guest article by Flexo from Consumerism Commentary. Flexo is currently on a ten-day, ten-venue tour.

Please do not be cynical. I hate cynicism. For the record, it's my least favorite quality. It doesn't lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get, but if you work really hard, and you're kind, amazing things will happen. I'm telling you, amazing things will happen.

Though I'm not generally a fan of "late night TV," I tuned in the other night and found myself watching Conan O'Brien's last stint on the Tonight Show. As he signed off, and before he picked up a guitar to perform Freebird with Will Ferrell and Max Weinberg, those were the heartfelt words he spoke as advice to the millions of people in his audience. It was a classy exit if there ever was one.

Perhaps his comments refer to Conan's publicized attempt to negotiate better severance benefits for his staff. NBC subsequently claimed, cynically, that Conan's "niceness" was more of a public relations stunt than genuine concern for the crew and talent, although Conan is supplementing his staff's severance with over one million dollars from his own severance deal.

Say what you want about Conan O'Brien's comedy act, whose biggest bits are a cigar-smoking dog-puppet and a masturbating bear, but his career momentum led him to helm the Tonight Show, the holy grail of television entertainment, with 700,000 fans of the "I'm With COCO" movement on Facebook. So it's worthwhile to listen to his advice.

Work really hard

There's no way of getting around this. Success at anything requires significant effort regardless of the goal. If you want to get out of debt, it's not going to happen if you keep your same spending habits and don't come up with ways to earn more money. If you want to own a prominent business, you're not going to get there with only two hours a few days a week. To achieve greatness in any field, you must have the dedication to make it happen by directing your energy and effort towards greatness relentlessly.

"Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get." Unfortunately, no one person can control everything about their own lives, so sometimes we have to deal with unexpected problems, like being fired from the biggest late night television program. But also, as someone works hard on the path to success, it's possible to discover something new, something that redirects us onto a new path. That change should be embraced, not feared.

Be kind

Books and seminars focusing on success often forget the power of using kindness to recruit people as fans and supporters to your cause. It's true that nobody cares about your success as much as you do, so you must start from the position that no one is going to help you achieve your dreams. There are two paths you can take once you start. The first option is to focus solely on yourself, be ruthless on your path to the top, and take every advantage given to you even if it is in the expense of others. After all, who knows when you might get another opportunity.

The second path is to be an advocate for other people, use your rising prominence or expertise to support their dreams, and spend some effort on external issues. Karma is real, whether it's some kind of universal force or just an observation of human behavior. Being kind and supportive increases the possibility that the world will be kind to you and supportive of you. And although no one else will help you succeed and the hard work won't go away, you'll find it's easier when the community's on your side.

Don't be cynical

Conan O'Brien has been forced out of his position as the King of Late Night Television Comedy, no longer sitting on the throne of the Tonight Show. Where does someone go once they've reached the pinnacle of their career? They can't go back to mediocrity -- the choices are generally retirement or death.

Is this where hard work and kindness will lead, being pushed out of the best job in entertainment in favor of a comedian whose most popular skit mocks the stupidity of random people on the street? As far as setbacks go, this is major. But in the face of any negative force, focus on what can be done to make the situation positive. This is not about media spin or convincing others what you want them to believe, it is an actual mindset.

Take Conan's advice now. Work really hard, be kind, and don't be cynical. Even if you don't have an ultimate goal of being the best in the world, this is a sound philosophy for making the most of your time on this planet, being a positive force in the world around you, and cultivating success for yourself.

Watch Conan's exit from the Tonight Show

For those who missed it, here is Conan O'Brien's final thoughts about NBC, his audience, and what it takes to succeed.

The $20 Discount that Shouldn't Have Been.

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 12:32:00 +0000

You know the times when you've got something wayyyy cheaper than it should have been? And not because there was a discount, but more like a mistake?

Well, we had another of these last weekend and wondering what you would have done ;) We can't could go back and change it or anything, but it's always a fun topic to discuss on personal finance blogs. (in fact, it was a similar article from I Pick Up Pennies that reminded me of this)

The Item in question: Bocce Balls

While the Mrs and I were returning all our holiday gifts that didn't pass the test last weekend, I came across a set of bocce balls! And not just regular ol' bocce balls, but Eddie Bauer sleek ones ;) I wasn't specifically looking for them or anything, but when I saw they are marked down to $27 from $40 I got excited! I've been playing a lot with my boys lately and thought it would be cool to pick up a set and introduce it to my family - esp during our yearly beach trips. (If you've never played bocce on the sand, you've gotta try it! So fun.)

The "Situation:"

When we went to pay for these magnificent set of balls (that's what she said?) they rang up as $7.99! And even odder, as "Socks." Now, obviously they weren't socks so we asked the cashier to take it off and try again. So she did, and it again showed up as socks for $7.99. We explained to her yet again that something was wrong, but she was just like "it must be on sale even more," and some of the people in line also started commenting like "Wow, you got a great deal there!" No one seemed to care, and all parties were content on us just going about our merry way. So we did. It wasn't until we got to the car when we realized someone had literally TAPED the bar code off from a ripped package of socks and pasted it there on the bocce set. WTF? We thought about going back and trying again (for the 3rd time), but we drove off instead.

Are we bad people?

I'm about 1 for 3 right now with these things (the first was taking gas @ 33 cents, and the other was going back to pay for a skipped beer charge), and each one of them seem to have the same variables going on - the cashier messes up, we bring it to their attention, and they either fix it or they don't. I feel like we *should have* gone back and tried AGAIN with this one, but at what point do you just say F it and move on?

The Best Time to Buy Things... (with info-graphic)

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 13:44:00 +0000

On Fridays, it's beer ;) haha...okay okay, it's really pizza. BUT, if you were ever wondering when to buy other important things (say, like houses, cars, electronics) then it's a good thing you're here! But only if you're good at planning and waiting for when the time's right.

Check out this sweet graphic I was forwarded by one of my newsletter readers (thx Kelly!):

According to LifeHacker, these are the Best Times to Buy Anything, All Year Round! I'm neither patient, nor a good purchase planner, but it's good to keep in the back of our minds, no? Maybe download the high res version and save for later use? If you know of any hardcore frugalites you could always sneak onto their computer and save it as their wallpaper ;) I bet they'd love that...

You'll have to click on over to view the products in detail by month, but here's a condensed version for for ya (pay attention to the current Winter things):

Best things to buy in WINTER: Air conditioners, gas grills, houses (for price), luggage
Best things to buy in SPRING: TVs, houses (for availability), boots & winter gear
Best things to buy in SUMMER: Big appliances, furniture, laptops, cars
Best things to buy in FALL: Shrubs, trees, and bulbs (that you can store), car parts, wedding dresses, HDTV and home theater equipment.

Makes sense to me! Most of these are off-seasonal items. And as LifeHacker found out, also times when "sales are slow, when new products are just about to roll out, or when every single retailer is selling at a discount." Now I just gotta remember this stuff!

Weekly Roundup: Shorty Awards, 401(k)s, & Staying Poor

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 12:07:00 +0000

Another Friday, another $50 Visa Gift Card to giveaway! But you gotta be signed up to the V.I.P. Newsletter to win ;) And I tell you what, I've been lining up a whole BUNCH of other giveaways too to include (think iPods & books), so don't say I didn't warn ya. Mad prizes for my mad VIP friends baby!

Also, if you haven't heard yet, I'm trying to out beat @JeremyVoh and @Bargainr for the "finance" portion of the Shorty Awards - "The best producers of short real-time content" - so if you're on twitter think about voting for me ;) It's like going up against Shaq in a slam-dunk competition, but hey a guy's gotta try! Now onto my favorite articles & carnivals from the week:

7 Money Lessons from Monopoly @ Financial Highway
5 Warning Signs You Will Stay Poor @ MikeKey.com
More couples taking the money over the wedding @ Free Money Finance
How we paid off our mortgage in under ten years @ Five Cent Nickel (CONGRATS!!!)
How Good is Your 401(k)? @ BusinessWeek
How to optimize your computer @ Bargaineering
Money Hacks Carnival #100 @ Ultimate Money Blog
Carnival of Personal Finance - "Support Haiti" ed. @ Million Dollar Journey
Carnival of Money Stories - "Springtime in Arizona" ed. @ Funny about Money

Pay off Student Loans, or Save for House?

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:24:00 +0000

Ahhhh, the good old "pay off debt vs. save for X" debate. Gets me teary eyed every time ;) Got an email from a reader, and thought it would be better to hear from all of you rather than just me - esp. since I'm sorta anti-home owning at the present time. Well, kinda, but not really...

Anyways, here's what Mrs. Debater asks:

"I am debating on whether to save up $$ toward a down payment on buying a home or paying off my student loans first. Currently, my student loans are the only loans I have and has a balance of $5500 (one for $2000 @ 6.8% and another for $3500 @ 5.6%) but I'm only in my 1st year. Thankfully, my employer is going to contribute generously from here on out though I'm going to have to put some cash down each semester myself. I really want to buy a house in the next few years but I hate the student loan cloud over me. Would you pay off the debt or save for a house down payment first?"

Personally, I think both goals are admirable. If you pay off the debt, your mind is free'er and you can concentrate more on the house down payment (awesome), and if you start saving for the house first you'll be that much closer to owning (awesome again!). They're both great for your finances and it's pretty much a win-win situation. So that's good!

If I personally had to choose, I'd probably go w/ the saving for a down payment route. Not at all because homes are "good investments" or anything, but just because having a crap ton of cash saved up is wonderful! It's like having a giant Emergency Fund before you spend it :) Another thing to consider is that you could always use this cash anytime to pay off whatever you like. So if your saving is going well and you want to throw a couple hundred towards the loans, you can do it! Rather than the opposite of paying them down first, and then taking it out and using the money for something else. Once that cash is gone, you ain't getting it back.

I think it really comes down to your own preferences. If cutting out your debt means you're a happier person, then by all means go for it :) Especially if you've already got a decent Emergency Fund. Paying interest on loans, or anything for that matter, blows, so anything you can do to alleviate yourself from it is a good idea. But let's see what our readers say - How would YOU GUYS handle this?

Haiti Relief Efforts - How You Can Help.

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 21:16:00 +0000

As you know, Haiti's in a very sad state of affairs and they need all the help they can get. I don't like asking people to donate much because it feels kinda weird, so I won't, BUT I did want to spread the word in case you *are* looking to give back. As a blogger we have the awesome ability to reach more people than in our "normal" lives, so I feel it's important to share and do what we can to help :)

I've personally been texting "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 each time to Red Cross, but there are a ton of other options available too. Google has a GREAT relief page set up (http://www.google.com/relief/haitiearthquake/) with a bunch of legit ways you can help, as well as support numbers, updated news, links, etc. And prayers work too!

If you DO decide to donate, please be sure to check out these other bloggers who are matching or donating on your behalf just for leaving a comment. Or even better, a blog post:

The Centsible Life: Kelly is donating 10 cents for ever comment dropped, but even better is that many of us are matching those amounts too!
Ask Mr. Credit Card: Mr. CC will donate $1.00 per comment AND $5 for every post a blogger writes about supporting Haiti.
Money Saving Mom: Crystal is donating 30 cents per comment AND $10 for every blog post supporting Haiti!

With enough luck and love it'll all make a difference :)

If a millionaire told you how to be rich, would you listen?

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:02:00 +0000

Even if it's the most boring advice ever? I was talking to my boy Brad the other night and somehow we got on the topic of simple easy advice, and he used millionaires as a perfect example of this. And it's so true!

Most millionaires make their money slowly, over time. Getting Rich Slowly, if you will, yet not many care to put it into use because it's so boring. And, well, slow. But the truth is this stuff works! It takes a lot of hard work and frugality, and many times sacrificing, but the end goal of becoming financially free is some damn good motivation.

If you like this sorta stuff, I highly recommend reading The Millionaire Next Door. It's one of the greatest books in this field and really breaks down the common traits of millionaires out there. And you'd be surprised that not everyone in the book makes a ton of money! A lot of them do, but many also get wealthy by living below their means, saving 20% of all their income, and staying put in their paid-for homes (something I wish I could do myself! Haha...stupid military blood in me).

Living "for today" is cool too if that's how you see the world, but you better enjoy what you're doing because you'll be workin' for a looooong time. One of the benefits of creating wealth is that it shifts the power from the outside world to YOU! That means YOU get to decide how much to work and how to live your life, no one else. It's called financial freedom, and millionaires cherish it like no other. (It's also what I keep in mind whenever jealousy takes over from watching people lavishly spend their money ;))

Millionaires are millionaires for a reason. If you truly want to learn how to grow your money like them, listen up! The old excuses of "it's not for me" or "I would do that, but...." don't fly in their world. They set up a plan, save their money, and enjoy all their spoils. If you're lucky enough to know any of them, buy 'em a beer and pick their brain! It just so happens they also enjoy giving back ;)

Blogger Showdown #9: Clever Dude vs. Frugal Dad

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 12:34:00 +0000

PF Blogger Showdown #9: Clever Dude vs. Frugal Dad! This might be one of my favorites as it features my long-time mentor, and now friend!, Clever Dude :) I met him at one of our happy hours during month 2 of starting this blog, and he's steered me in the right direction ever since. I am forever grateful to that guy...even if he does like pink fruity drinks!

And on the other side today, we've got another well-respected blogger: Frugal Dad - who's not only blown up the finance world these last 2 years, but who's got to be one of the most sincere guys around. If you've ever worked w/ him or been on his blog, you'll know exactly what I'm talkin' about. Really appreciate you hangin' with us today bro! Here we go...


Clever Dude 3,020 Readers Clever Dude @cleverdude	Frugal Dad 10,642 Readers Frugal Dad @frugaldad
How long have you been blogging for?
I started in June 2006, so 3.5 years. I didn't even know what blogging was until a friend introduced me to it. My wife said I needed a hobby, so I took up blogging. Who knew I would eventually have thousands of subscribers!	I started FrugalDad.com near the end of December 2007. I wrote for about a year before that at Associated Content and other article directories before finally realizing I could publish thoughts on my own site.
Have you found any secrets to rockin' it out?
Write about something you enjoy. If you just write to make money, you won't have the passion to get you past the first 3 months, then the first 6 months (which is when you tend to start earning a few bucks). I still consider Clever Dude as a hobby, not a business, because the minute it becomes a business, then it becomes an obligation. Here's 50 more tips too.	Don't be afraid to tackle controversial topics. People read blogs to learn your opinion on a variety of subjects related to your niche. If people wanted regurgitated financial news stories minus the human story they could read traditional media.
What are the first 3 sites you check in the morning?
I check my Gmail (I consolidate all my accounts into one), I check Google Reader to keep up on other PF blogs and other sites. The last is probably My Yahoo homepage for news, comics, weather, etc. As you can see, I like having everything in one place as much as possible!	FrugalDad.com, to make sure it is up and running. FoxNews.com for the latest headlines. My bank account online. Yes, I balance my bank account online every morning - it's an obsession.
As a married guy, how do you & the fam manage your money?
While I don't recommend this model because of the risk if something happens to me, I handle all the finances including paying bills and investments. However, that doesn't mean the wife is out of the picture. She has even more say in purchases than I do because I recognize that she has a better sense of judgement and patience. We talk anything over that costs more than about $50, but we don't really spend much money anymore so it doesn't really come up often. For managing money, I use Quicken (just upgraded to Quicken 2010) and an Excel spreadsheet. I've gotten it all down to just a few minutes per week.	My wife and I make all financial decisions together, but it hasn't always been that way. Most of the past mistakes were made because I didn't listen to my wife's intuition.
Do you use a budget? If so, what format?
I use a budget, but not really the way that many people teach. My budget shows when I owe what to whom, and repeats each month, rather than just lump totals by category. I do this all in Excel so I can have full control of the layout, and it's worked great for about 5 years, in combination with tracking and reporting from Quicken. I might give Quicken another chance to manage it for me now, but it's not a high priority. Our personal finances are almost on cruise control now.	We have really relaxed the budget since getting our spending under control. I used to track infinite categories of spending, which became tedious and was taking too much life energy. I'm old school. I have a custom Excel worksheet that I use to plan out our income and expenses, but just the larger categories. I'd rather spend time playing ball with the kids than updating elaborate budget programs.
What's one of the EASIEST ways to save money?
The BEST way is to track where you're spending it so you're empowered with knowledge, but I guess the EASIEST way would be to not be afraid to ask for discounts and shop around, including after the purchase. I saved $1400 per year with one call (but not to Geico), even though I was happy with my existing insurance company. I saved hundreds recently between cable and cellphone by changing plans and asking for discounts. I consider these things "low-hanging fruits" ready to be picked.	Leave home without it. Seriously, spending too much money at stores is often a crime of opportunity. Something catches your eye, but you don't have the money so you whip out a credit card. If this sounds like you, make things easier on yourself by leaving credit cards at home, and only taking along enough cash to cover things on your shopping list.
What's the most you've ever been in debt?
$113,000 in credit card, student loan and auto loan debt and $400,000 between two mortgages. Total about a HALF MILLION DOLLARS. Now we're down to about $370,000, which is just mortgage.	At our highest point (or our lowest point, I should say) we owed nearly $30,000 in combined credit cards, automobiles, student loans and other school expenses I accumulated after returning to school to finish my degree. After a couple years of sacrificing, clawing and scratching our way back to even we're now debt free besides the house. Our family motto when it comes to debt is... "Never Again!"
Would you give up blogging for a fancy sports car?
You know I'm a car guy. It depends on the conditions. If someone gave me a used, beat up Miata, then no, but I do have a price and it wouldn't take a Ferrari to coax me out of blogging.	No way. If someone gave me a fancy sports car I'd sell it, buy myself a used pickup truck and invest the rest.
True or False: Personal finance is easy.
The fundamentals are stupidly simple (cut expenses, live frugally, earn more, manage money), but applying them to your life adds so many complications. "Finance" is logical, but "Personal" is emotional and psychological. Even an "emotional wasteland" like myself has problems like emotional spending on cars and electronics.	True. The basic concepts of personal finance are easy. It's common sense, really. Spend less than you earn and save the difference. I believe most of today's economic problems can be blamed on making personal finances too sophisticated. It's time to get back to the basics.
What would you do if I gave you $20k?
Give it back so you can handle your own debt. But assuming I didn't have that option, I would donate it. If I didn't have the option to give it away, then I would pay down our mortgage, although the wife might like a vacation overseas. Ahh, to dream...	I'd probably use $5,000 to take the family to Disney World (we've never been) and then the mountains (the latter trip is more for me). I'd maximize Roth IRAs for my wife and me with another $10k, and I'd find a local family or two to bless with the remaining $5,000.
BONUS What's smarter - Being clever or being frugal? ;)
You can be clever, but many a "clever dude" (and dudette) has gotten into financial trouble with schemes and scams. You need to be both clever and frugal, but also wise. Being wise means you've learned from your own and others' mistakes and apply the lessons learned to your own life.	As a frugal dad, I'd have to go with being frugal. However, cleverness and frugality are closely related. Looking at life's challenges with a frugal mindset often leads to clever solutions as we challenge ourselves to find creative ways to save money.


There ya have it! Two influential bloggers spreading the good work with us today :) Did you enjoy it? Please let us know by voting for your fave! There's no real "rules" here, just gotta go with the one you enjoyed the most. And as always, huge THANK YOU to Clever Dude & Frugal Dad for dropping by! I'm proud to be in the mix w/both of these classy guys. --------------- Previous Showdowns: Showdown #8: Madame X vs. Generation X (Gen X wins) Showdown #7: Liz Weston vs. Kathy Kristof (Kathy wins) Showdown #6: Fabulously Broke vs. Krystal at Work (Krystal wins, by 1 vote!) Showdown #5: Matt Jabs vs. Adam Baker (Jabs wins) Showdown #4: Flexo vs. Jim Wang (Flexo wins) Showdown #3: Lazy Man vs. Silicon Valley Blogger (SVB wins) Showdown #2: Stephanie vs. Squawkfox (Squawkfox wins) Showdown #1: J.D. Roth vs. Trent Hamm (J.D. wins)

The Best of BudgetsAreSexy - 2009

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:48:00 +0000

Today I'm caving into peer pressure and doing a BudgetsAreSexy "Best of '09" edition. I know it's a little late, but it's not like I follow the rules anyways :) We've got a lot of new readers on the site, and I think it would be cool to dive in and see what the most read stories were last year. A great way to catch up and get to know each other, eh?

Below are the Top 10 most visited posts from 2009 - with a few swapped out like my "about" page and some of the other navigation links up there. Half of these were on my top list too, but a few surprised me. Here's what we've got:

1. Confessions of an Online Poker Player - Definitely one of the most buzz-worthy articles since this blog has started. Only problem being, it wasn't written by ME! Haha...if you were around back in August, you'll remember this was a post a friend of mine did for us so we could get a behind the scenes look on what it's REALLY like playing poker as a living.

2. How much do you pay for car insurance? - A cool post where I explore the average costs of car insurance, along with a our own. Even more interesting though are everybody's comments and amounts THEY pay too. Including a crazy friend of mine who blows through $1600 every 6 months!

3. The awesomest compilation of weird & crazy jobs - And also one of my very first media mentions! I asked around the internets for people's craziest jobs they've done, and then combined them with mine for an all out fun & entertaining article.

4. Living the Minimalist Lifestyle - Is it possible? - This was by far one of my personal favorites of '09 :) I remember being so in the mood to write it, and then having fun drawing up the little diagram too. I still haven't quite mastered the minimalist lifestyle (or even to the half-way mark) but I continue to work at it a little each month and one day it'll all come together.

5. 20 Black Friday tips on Wacky Wednesday - I thought about taking this one out since it's seasonally focused, but after re-reading it you could really apply most of these tips to just about *any* shopping trip.

6. Net Worth Updates - This is something that's REALLY kept me going. We don't get a chance to talk about money so openly in our daily lives, so it's nice (at least for me) to throw it all out here and get some real-number discussions going. It may hold me back from going un-anonymous, but I think it's truly the piece that holds everything together. All the how-to's and ways to save are awesome, but this is the one place where you can see whether I put my money where my mouth is - literally ;)

7. Where, oh where, does our $exy money go? - Similar to my net worth statuses, this is another post dedicated to all you voyeurs out there! haha...It's also the one that can make you feel better if you're not spending the roughly $6,000 a month we are. Or at least what we were last January. I'll have to redo this again soon to see how much we've changed.

8. Blogger Showdown #1: J.D. Roth vs. Trent Hamm - This one surprises me....I knew the start of this series got popular, but in the Top 10? I'll take it! It's good to know you all enjoy these as we're about to drop another Blogger Showdown tomorrow - woohoo!

9. Ahhhh! We can't refinance our 1st mortgage :( - This was one of those rare times I just lost it and decided to rant...there's not many things that get me riled up like this, but I had to let it out so I could move on ;)

10. To combine, or not to combine finances? How the married do it - I get into how the Mrs. and I handle our finances, along with some of the reasons behind it. And I'll give you a hint - we like to keep a little independence. Or what I like to call, some "do whatever the hell you want" money!

Live from the internets, it's Untemplater!

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 12:02:00 +0000

I've mentioned before that I've got my phalanges in a variety of projects around town, and one of these has just launched! I'm no founding father, but I do believe it's going to change a lot of lives so I'm excited to be a contributing writer :)

Baker over at Man vs. Debt summed up the site perfectly, so I am stealing from him:

Untemplater.com is a multi-author site focused on helping GenY'ers answer that one burning question… "What the hell am I gonna do with my life?" Content will fall into Business/Entrepreneurship, Personal Finance, Mobile Lifestyle, and Self Improvement categories.

Excited? No? Well check out the Free UNTEMPLATER Manifesto the founders pulled together. It's a great snapshot of what you can expect from Untemplater, and will hopefully inspire change in ya.

Credit Card Debt Rising Like a Mother.

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 13:17:00 +0000

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 :)

Weekly Roundup: Wifeys, Bloggers, & Lemonade Stands

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 12:02:00 +0000

Happy Friday y'all! If you haven't signed up to the Budgets Are Sexy V.I.P. Newsletter, hurry up! I'm giving away FOUR $50 Visa gift cards every Friday until Feb. 5th, and I'd love for you to win one of them. As long as you're an active member, you'll be entered for each. So get to it :) Then come back and read my fave posts & carnivals of the week:

Four words in personal finance that piss me off...and the wife says them all the time @ My Journey to Millions
3 Steps to getting your finances on track @ Mrs. Micah (I cheated, this is a post I wrote over there. Hehe...someone's gotta pimp my stuff though, right?)
The lessons from two lemonade stands @ Seth Godin
How getting married wrecked my finances @ My Next Buck
15 Minute resolution #2: Start Spending Consciously @ My Money Blog
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Who cares if you saved money by spending money?!

j@budgetsaresexy.com (J. Money) — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 12:38:00 +0000

This is a guest post by Daniel Packer

"I walked home to save bus fare."
"Gee, you could have saved a lot more by not taking a taxi." - old joke

We make a huge deal about the amount we save on ordinary items. "I bought this $4,000 TV for only $2,800. I saved $1,200!" I hate hearing that. Big deal. In that case I saved $1,000 by not spending $1,000 on lottery tickets.

This line of thinking leads us to think that what's really important is how much we spend, not how much we save. Who cares if you saved $5 a month by getting "free" HBO if it meant upgrading to the premium service which included a sports package you didn't really need but also came with a $15 price tag?

If you're spending money, you're spending money. Not spending even more isn't a big accomplishment. I am not going to pat you on the back.

The only time I can think of when I actually saved money is when I negotiate. When I haggled down the price of my haircut, I was ready to pay $20, but getting it for $15 was just a bonus. After years of my family being on the $160 phone plan, I negotiated it down to under $100. I wasn't overpaying, I was simply paying what everyone else was paying. But by doing some research and negotiating with the customer service representative, I was able to cut costs while still getting the same service. In these types of situations, we actually save money that we would have otherwise spent.

People need to find a better way of calculating how much they are saving. Instead of adding up everything they could have spent minus what they actually spent, we need to focus on what we're really saving: The percentage of take-home salary that we put in various accounts. In this case, all that matters is what we save, not how much we spend. Who cares if we had $300 in restaurant expenses for the month if we have a fully funded emergency fund and contributed the maximum to our retirement accounts? And that's what really counts.

After all of your expenses (housing, utilities, food, shopping, etc.), are you saving the 10-15% of your paycheck you planned?

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This is a guest post from Daniel Packer over at Sweating The Big Stuff. Daniel writes about negotiating, budgeting, and saving, while maintaining a high quality of life. To read more, subscribe to his feed or follow him on twitter.