The Blog

Freakin’ on Frugality

January 30, 2010

Filed under: Budgeting, News — Alicia @ 5:07 am

“If you don’t mind my saying, Ma’am, this is the weirdest cart of groceries I’ve rung up today’. 

Wow.  That seemed a little harsh.  The last thing I expect at the grocery story is judgement from my cashier.  I mean, I wasn’t buying anything that out of the ordinary.  A pastrami sandwich.  A lint roller.  Oh yeah, I also had 24 cans of coconut milk, 17 scour pads, and 22 packages of  mai fun, a thin rice noodle common in Chinese cuisine. 

Okay, maybe it was a bit weird.  But only in quantity.  I mean really, am I going to need 17 scour pads over the next week?  I really hope not.  But I couldn’t pass them up.   Normally priced at $1.89, they were marked down to $.99.  Knowing I always have a scouring pad around my kitchen sink, I figured I couldn’t go wrong stocking up and saving $16.83 on a household item I traditionally buy at full price.

And this is how I’m getting through the recesssion.  I’m a self-employed contract worker who has seen a 40% cut in her income over the last two years, and boy has it hurt.   Just like everyone else, I’ve had to make cutbacks.  Sure, I’m clipping coupons, and shopping two for one sales.  But I’ve also taken it one step further.  Last year I started a price book.

For those not in the know, a price book is a list of all the items you regularly keep in their home, and how much they normally cost where you shop.  I keep track of prices at two stores in my neighborhood.  Everytime my items are on sale, I note the sales price in my price book.  After a couple of months, I generally knew where I could get my grocercies for the lowest prices when they were on sale.  It’s completely changed the way I shop.

Instead of heading to the store when I need something (and being tempted by other things in the store), I have a specific system.  I go grocery shopping once a week with my price book.  I go up and down every single aisle.  When I see that one of my regular items is on sale for the lowest noted price in my price book, I buy it. Even if I have it at home.  And I buy as much of it as I can, thus 22 packages of rice noodles in my cart when I still have seven packages at home.

Am I turning into my mother?  Perhaps.  But I’ve been tracking my spending for a number of years and I find that my price book not only insures I always have what I need on my shelves and in my pantry, it’s literally saving me hundreds of dollars every month. 

Is it a little odd to buy two cases of coconut milk at a time?  Perhaps.  But being a freak for frugality is allowing me to maintain aspects of my lifestyle that I thought the recession was going to eliminate. 

If you want to try your hand at keeping a price book, check out this easy to use template for price books from Organized Home.

Capital High School Students Learn to Save and Invest

January 26, 2010

Wow. For all those adults out there who think teens couldn’t be bothered to consider their financial futures: You need a wake up call. At least you do if you’re living in Olympia, WA.

73 students in Ms. Fabritius and Ms. Elam’s classes at Capital High school benefited from the Investor Protection Trust sponsored and Dept. of Financial Insitutions Consumer University presentation. Learning all about saving and investing and how to acheive short and long term financial goals, students were blown away by how easy it is to accumulate long term rewards if they begin to consistently save and invest for the future while they’re young.

The number of students that expressed a desire to begin saving for the future now far outnumbered those who didn’t.  Teachers like Ms. Fabritius and Ms. Elam are inspiring students to make a change by bringing this important, non-commercial information in to the classroom.

Saving and Investing Means Giving, Too

January 19, 2010

Filed under: News — Tags: , , — Alicia @ 7:42 pm

The majority of us are motivated to save and invest by two factors: The desire to enhance our lives with resources that money allows us to access, or the wish to prevent a diminished existence as we age.

One often overlooked motivation to save and invest is the opportunity to express your values and empathy to the world through charitable giving. When we save and invest for the future and live within our means, that translates into the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others.

The Haitian tragedy brings to mind that we have an opportunity to make a difference in the world right now. This opportunity also coincides with the worst financial crisis of our times.

If you haven’t yet established a budget, an emergency savings account, or a retirement fund, you might not be in a position to contribute financially to relief efforts in Haiti.

Most communities across the country are engaging in charitible efforts of all kinds. If you can’t afford to contribute money, consider contributing your time and use this as an opportunity to get your financial fitness on track. Doing so means that the next time others are in need you’ll have the option to participate as you wish, be it time, money, or both.

Investor Education In Your Community and Olympia’s ICSEW

January 14, 2010

Filed under: News — Tags: — Alicia @ 12:06 am

Yesterday I had the opportunity to present to 60 women making a difference in the state of Washington. Through their organization, the Interagency Committee of State Employed Women (‘ICSEW’), they strive to make the lives of state employed women stronger, wiser, and better. Make no mistake – these ladies don’t mess around. This organization is active, thriving, and making the workplace better for all State employees.

In addition to providing professional development resources to State employed women, they also organize Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, and a myriad of personal and professional growth opportunities via lunchtime seminars.

Through the sponsorship of the Investor Protection Trust and the support of the Dept of Financial Institutions (‘DFI’), I had the privilege of meeting these women yesterday and talking to them about how to wisely and safely invest for their futures.

“Investor Education is crucial to ensuring the future success of our society. Information is power, and when people have the power to improve their lives with sound financial decisions, our communities and economy as a whole improve”, says Lyn Peters, Director of Communications for DFI.

During a lunchtime presentation, the audience learned:

• How to make use of the Deferred Comp Program (the States 401k equivalent)

• How to utilize DFI’s educational tools and support by checking out the background of a stockbroker or investment adviser prior to work with them, insuring the investment their considering is registered, and how to file a complain in the event one has an issue with a financial service provider

• How to ask and answer the questions that will help us determine how to choose investments that will help us reach our individual financial goals.

• The variety of IRAs available to investors and their tax consequences

• How to make use of educational resources such as Valueline.com and Morningstar.com.

Attendees learned about the roll of the Dept. of Financial Institutions in the state of WA, and how securities salespeople and investments can be thoroughly checked out by contacting DFI. They also learned how to identify and avoid the most common types of investment fraud targeting Washingtonians.

Identity Theft and the Holidays

December 23, 2009

Filed under: News — Tags: — Alicia @ 5:50 pm

We’re all out there trying to find the perfect gifts for friends and family and celebrating the joy of the season.  Then, suddenly, your credit card company is calling.  Your accounts are overdrawn.  You know you didn’t spend the money, yet everyone wants you to pay the bills.  You’ve been a victim of identity theft. 

The holidays present some special risks when it comes to identity theft.  Learn to protect yourself throughout the holiday season by reading up on identity theft at Verity Credit Union’s blog.

Ghosting – a Really Scary Identity Theft Scam

December 2, 2009

Filed under: News — Tags: , — Alicia @ 6:25 pm

Just before Halloween I wrote about identity thieves ‘ghosting’ the identities of others.  Learn how to avoid being ghosted by checking out Verity Credit Union’s blog at http://spendsavelive.com/2009/10/30/and-now-for-something-completely-scary-ghosting-identities.

Why Another Blog About Money? Why Write It For Teens And 20 Somethings? Here’s Why

November 16, 2009

Filed under: Credit University, News — Alicia @ 2:36 am

aliciaBetween 1994 and 2004 I worked for a government agency that investigates financial crime in Washington state.  During that time I learned a lot of stuff about money.  Like if someone cons you out of your hard earned bucks, they usually spend your money before they get caught.  The criminal almost always gets busted, but the money is gone.  Sometimes these crimes result in other, not-totally-awesome stuff.  Stuff like identity theft, low credit scores, and piles of debt.
 
I learned pretty quickly that the best way to avoid that scenario is to become a scam spotter.  I also learned some other stuff along the way that could’ve been really useful in college:  How to build good credit.  How much debt is too much debt.  Why it does matter where you keep your savings and checking accounts.  How to get the best deals on loans and other financial products.  How easy it is to become wealthy if you start while you’re uber young.  
 
If I’d known the ins and outs of some of this stuff, my life would be more fun, financially easier, and I’d have had more life options available the second I left home.  Plus, I’d have avoided some seriously stupid money moves I made back in the day.
 
I chose not to seek out financial information in high school and college because the resources I did come across in the 1990s were massively boring.  Riddled with graphs and charts, I really didn’t see how finance pertained to my life. It looked like stuff written by middle aged cube drones. My financial focus was just trying to get enough money together to go out on Saturday night.  I didn’t need a graph to tell me I was broke.  I did need someone to make it interesting, though, and unfortunately I never met that person.
 
After messing up my financial life in the early 90s, I decided I wanted to become that person who made personal finance interesting, fun, and profitable for those paying attention.   For the last decade I’ve been speaking to teens and young adults on all matters financial, trying to make it interesting.  I feel strongly that if you’re not laughing while you’re learning about money, you’re in the wrong presentation.  That’s the approach I’m taking with this blog.  We’re going to look at personal finance and saving and investing from perspectives that you probably won’t find in a textbook.  And if you should happen to find any of my perspectives in a textbook, please let me know.  I’ll send the publishers a bill.
 
Ciao,
Alicia

Successful Events In Olympia & Auburn

November 15, 2009

Filed under: Investor Education In Your Community, News — Alicia @ 7:29 pm

Had two successful Investor Education In Your Community Events this past Thursday in Olympia and Auburn. More on the those events soon.

For details on Investor Education In Your Community, and to request a presentation, visit http://dfi.wa.gov/ieiyc.

New Blog On Spend, Save, Live

Filed under: News — Alicia @ 6:30 am

Hey all. I have a new blog up on spend, save, live about what to do if your license is stolen. Check it out. View the blog.

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