My New Toy

In my last post, I talked about using meal planning as a way to adhere to my food budget of $50 per week. I did okay on a trip to the grocery store (I spent $50.60, but $10 of it was for non-grocery items<<paper towel and toilet paper). However, I did not purchase breakfast items. I knew that breakfast is was best at Panera Bread. But when I did the math (at least $3.02/day for at least twenty days each month), I knew that I might be better off (at least a little bit), by putting $60.40/month elsewhere (savings account maybe?). 

So what did I do? I bought one of these...

The machine, additional pods of hazelnut coffee and skim milk set me back $120.22. The cost per cup (excluding the depreciation of the machine) is $0.67 compared to the $1.75 I pay paid at my lovely bakery chain restaurant.

I tried it last night with tea (nothing special there), and this morning with coffee (it doesn't taste like Panera :/). I even made a second cup because I thought the first was a mistake.

The next time I use this machine, I'll use purified water (as recommended). I'll let you know how it turns out.

By the way, why did I purchase an "expensive" single brewer coffee maker? I've had coffee from Keurig (machine and pods) before and it's always delicious. Like, addictive delicious. I figured, why not have the same deliciousness in my home?

I'll do my best to make breakfast at home as pleasurable as breakfast on the go (I'll miss you cinnamon swirl and raisin bagel!). I should remind myself that there was life before carrying out breakfast every morning. But the smell of freshly brewed coffee for a few months has easily overshadowed such memories. At any rate, I'll do my best to "get back to the basics."

P.S. Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic. You would be too, if your coffee wasn't on point!

Is Meal Planning My Ticket?

I've been ashamed of my food spending for the past few months. I budget $50/week for food and have easily blown through more than a quarter of that budget with my work day breakfast purchases, alone.

Shout out to Panera Bread. I love your hazelnut coffee (w/skim milk) and cinnamon swirl and raisin bagels, toasted with no cream cheese or butter.

Any who, I've laid out my spending through the end of the year using my new budget template, noting that I'll be using my new rewards credit card (and maintaining the tradition of paying the balance in full), and trying to plan for upcoming expenses, such as a weekend trip to the Big Apple.

In an effort to restore my ability to "respect the budget", I know I have to do a better job of sticking to my $50/week food budget. And I'm wondering if meal planning is the way to go. Frankly, I have not been a model for eating meals that are nourishing or financially responsible. I won't go into any great detail about the $20+ I spent for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory a week or two ago...or about the beer and banana chips I ate for "dinner" last night, but I know I have to spend a reasonable amount (i.e. not $20+/meal) and it should be good for me (ex. add veggies, protein, and maybe better carbs to my beer).

This is where meal planning comes in. I've heard about it here and there, I know that it involves me making a list of stuff I want to eat for the next week, and making sure that my grocery list allows for some flexibility around core items, but frankly, I've never done it. The closest I've come to meal planning is whipping out a grocery store circular and buying only what's on sale. I wouldn't say that peanut butter, cantaloupe and pork chops constitutes a meal, but at least I spent less on such purchases =)

Have you successfully used meal planning to manage your finances and to ensure you eat balanced meals? What has worked best for you? I appreciate your insight!

What Do Your Expenses Say about Your Health?

If you believe that a snapshot of your spending is a good indicator of your health, then I would be among the 2/3rds of Americans who are overweight or obese. Since March 18th, I've spent more than $100 on food. Approximately 70% of it has been on eating out...which wouldn't be so bad if it was healthy. Instead, I've been stuffing my face with french fries, sausage biscuit sandwiches, donuts, and 290+ calorie macadamia coconut mocha drinks. In other words, McDonald's, Dunkin Donuts, and Caribou coffee (and a French bakery,  [cheese] steak shop, Panera Bread, and Subway). 

Frankly, my spending is more reflective of a recent bout of laziness than my general health status. I haven't been waking up early enough to eat breakfast at home (which doesn't make since, really, once you consider the time it takes to wait in line for someone to take my money and give me something fried and super salty). Moreover, I haven't made any time to pack lunch: mornings are out (see abovementioned excuse) and since I've been getting home considerably late, recently, I focus more on showering and sleeping once I get in the door (no packing lunch here). I know if I keep up with this habit of eating out excessively (without making adjustments to other areas of my spending plan) that I'm setting myself up for financial failure.....and high blood pressure and jiggly body parts. Instead, I'll commit to doing better the next time around =)

Fortunately, I'm a healthy weight for my height and my BMI is less than 20 =) Hooray for exercise!

What would your most recent expenses (let's say, the past two weeks) 

tell us about YOUR health?

What Rewards Card Do You Recommend?

One of my goals is to get a rewards credit card. For the sake of my own sanity, I've made an effort to pay my credit card balance in full each month (I'm going two months strong!). Since I'm getting more comfortable with this habit, I've decided that it's appropriate for me to start shopping around for various cards. These are the card attributes that I've decided are important:

• No annual fee
• No monthly maintenance fees (in fact, no stupid fees that are assessed, even if I elect not to use the card)
• Every purchase qualifies for points (none of that fancy stuff with "select merchants" or restrictions to entertainment or dining expenses)
• Points/rewards/miles don't expire
• I can use points/rewards/miles on any travel purchase (any airline, car rental company or hotel) without blackout dates.

Given these requirements, I've been considering Blue Sky from American Express, Venture Rewards from Capital One, Miles by Discover, and Chase's Sapphire card.

I realize that a couple of the cards waive the annual fee for the first year (one version of the Venture Rewards card and the Chase Sapphire card, specifically), but I'm confident that I'd be able to negotiate waiving the fee in subsequent years.

I've been on credit card comparison sites such as CreditCards.com, BankRate.com, CardRatings.com and even Google's credit card reviewer, and I'm still undecided.

The APR (annual percentage rate=the cost of using other people's money) and late payment fees are not important to me, as I will continue to pay my balance in full each month (no finance charges here and I ain't the one to go jacking up my credit score with late payments). Moreover, I will use this new credit card for regular purchases: food, gas, my phone bill, and miscellaneous expenses (ex: cat stuff, airfare, entertainment).

Do you have any of the above-mentioned credit cards? Have you thought about getting a rewards card recently? What have been your experiences? What advice would you offer as I make this decision?

Vacation Spending

I've been looking for a little inspiration for today's post. I've been on vacation for the past several days, so my routine of writing and posting has been thrown off (sorry about that!) But in the midst of my relaxation, I've uncovered the motivation to share today :)

I had been planning this vacation since October/November 2010. In addition to intently reading Trip Advisor reviews and making reservations, planning has included setting aside money for lodging, food, excursions, and even a few souvenirs. Part one of my vacation has ended, and I've gone over budget by $100 because I failed to include transportation in the expenses; otherwise, I would've been right on target. As I think about part two of my vacation, I wonder how realistic my budget will be. Just as I had done with the first part of my trip, I failed to include transportation costs. I am also left to wonder if I will have the benefit of shopping at a local grocer to make purchases that will help with the food portion of the budget (sandwiches and granola bars for lunch, anyone?) 

Fortunately, I have some cushion in my checking account to cover any expenses that go above my budget for the upcoming part of my trip. I should mention that part of this "cushion" will be spent for food and gas when I return to work next week. Luckily, I have a 4-day work week, a tank full of gas, and a plan to pack lunch [everyday next week]; in other words, I won't sweat part two of the vacation too much. I'll keep you posted =)

Budgets, Holiday Stuff and Revisiting Financial Goals

...and I'm back! I sincerely apologize for being absent last week, but I'm back now =)

So, what's been going on? The usual, the not-so-usual and some more of the usual. Let's get started with the usual.

The Usual

I've been diligently tracking my expenses in my tracker housed on Google Docs. I've exceeded my allocated amount for food and car expenses: footing the bill for my sister's birthday dinner; being a bit impulsive (eating out, mostly); increasing gas prices (is anyone else paying around $3/gallon?); and regular car maintenance (the coupon for my oil change this time around wasn't $19.99 + tax :<).

The Unusual

Holiday stuff. You know, buying gifts and bringing in whatever you signed up for for the holiday party at work. Actually, the work stuff was easy. We had a cookie swap and I brought a non-cookie item to swap: brownies. Had I not been distracted by the massive amounts of sugar tempting my waistline, I would've repackaged the cookies and sold them for income =) The not so easy stuff is holiday shopping. To cover the expense of Christmas gifts without regretting it in January (i.e. financing all purchases with my credit card with no clear way of paying it off), I decided to decrease the amount of my car payment this month to $356.98 (I know, it's a weird amount). At any rate, doing so allowed me to spend $705 of "car payment" money on gifts for my parents, sisters, boyfriend, best friend and godson. Sadly, I've spent $690 and some change and I still have a few items to pick up. Fortunately, I have a few bucks in my "immediate access" savings account (this is NOT my emergency savings account) that I'm comfortable using to cover these items.

More of the Usual

Revisiting goals and planning. I spent quite a bit of time today updating my savings plan [another Google spreadsheet I use to track the balances of my savings account linked to my checking account (see "immediate  access" savings account above), my ING Direct account (emergency savings), my Roth IRA, regular brokerage account and 403(b)] and reconciling it with my 2011 budget. It feels SO DARN GOOD to account for every single penny. Did you get that? EVERY. SINGLE. PENNY. I know where it came from or where it went and for what purpose. Moments like these help me feel in control of my finances, and not vice versa...something that I occasionally freak out about. Nevertheless, I am on track to enjoy my boyfriend's birthday (I've planned a surprise trip for him), my girlfriend's birthday (we're going to be "Bahama Mamas"), a winter weekend getaway in the Poconos with a gaggle of friends, my 2nd year anniversary with the beau, paying off my car note, and my friend's wedding. And all of these things are happening in the first half of the year! To be fair, I am making assumptions about my anticipated tax refund, the bulk of which will go towards principal reduction on the note. Everything else is accounted for (i.e. planned to come from my regular income).

As I prepare for 2011 (and the end of my car note, hooray!), I'm considering the opportunities to save more, invest more, and to be better equipped to pay for travel and entertainment expenses that inevitably have a habit of "popping up." My post later this week will focus on financial goals [and concomitant action plans] for 2011.

How have you been handling expenses related to the holiday season? Did you set up a budget? Are you "winging it?" Have you started to plan for 2011 financially? Have/will you do a "2010 Year in Review" for your finances?

7 Days and 1,604.85 Dollars Later...

Last week, I posted "Decisions, decisions, decisions..." to reflect the conundrum du jour: should I use my "extra" paycheck for a trip to Houston or do other stuff with it?

Well, it took me less than a week to blow through more than my "extra" check. Here's how I did it:

• $717.73 for bills ($689.01 for my car payment and $28.72 to pay off my credit card balance)
• $255.64 for "other" or miscellaneous expenses (stamps, airfare, brake lights (the DIY replacement of $6.35 is much less than the $29.99 the rotor-replacers wanted to charge...more on them, next), pet food, public transportation fare).
• $250.10 (on a credit card) for an unexpected car repair.
• I had my coupon ready to go for my oil change, but after a road test (something that I insisted be done because I've been hearing squeaking while braking), I was informed that my front brake rotors needed to be replaced. Unfortunately, they were worn down to the point that resurfacing them (a cheaper alternative to rotor replacement) was not a feasible alternative.
• $197.63 for food (sadly, more than half of this was spent on eating out, including this little indulgence).
• $71.43 for gasoline.
• $60 for an ATM withdrawal ($49.72 was spent on a day trip to NYC - tolls and food- and state park admission for a "hiking" trip in a part of the Appalachian Mountain range. I spent another $6 as a tip for lunch that I didn't pay for.) Sadly, I can't account for the outstanding $4.28.
• $39.53 for savings (I wanted to make the amount in my ING Direct account an even number. Lame. I know).
• $12.79 for a bottle of vino (yes, liquor has it's own category in my spending plan). Don't judge me ;)

All said and done, I will have $34.26 left over from this "extra" check. None of which, I might add, went towards a trip to Houston. I should mention, however, that part of the airfare cost listed in the miscellaneous category includes a membership fee for Spirit Airline's "$9 Fare Club." This service, at approximately $60, will pay for itself over the purchase of two airline tickets (one down, one more to go) as I will receive special fares for being a member ($19 one way ticket to travel 900+ miles, anyone?)

I know this isn't the most impressive record of spending "fun" money, but tell me, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?

I guess I don't have "money to blow".....

 

From Candy Slice Comedy

I Like My Sweets Cheap

This post is about me being a glutton or a cheapo. Or maybe I'm a gluttonous cheapo. You be the judge...

I am a fan of Dunkin' Donuts Marble Frosted donuts. It doesn't help that there's a DD (this is what I call it in my expense tracker/budget) within 100 steps of my office. There have been a number of days when, right before work, I would make a pit stop to DD for a small hot coffee and one of my chocolate-drizzled-over-vanilla goodies. And on such days, I would spend $0.89 for a doughnut. Recently, I learned that if I purchase later in the day (say, after 3PM), I can get not one, but TWO doughnuts for the delicious price of $1! Now I know I'm spending $0.11 more than originally planned, and it's not like doughnuts are a healthy food choice, but gosh-darn-it, it feels good to know I can spend less (per doughnut) than necessary. Armed with this new information, I am less likely to get my sweet treat earlier in the morning when a premium is placed on the price. Instead, if I "have" to have a doughnut, I'll let the clock tick-tock away before I indulge (if I'm still thinking about something so relatively insignificant, I might as well get it, right?). Some of you may contend that  3PM doughnuts are, well, old. And cruddy, and no good, and stale and blah blah blah. Well, out of the many discounted doughnuts I've consumed, I can say that I've only had one that wasn't up to par. Aside from that, I've been getting my sweet-treats cheaply!

What items do you wait to purchase? 

Are you the person with all of the Halloween candy in the middle of November? Do you "forget" to go holiday shopping until after January 1?

What's worth it to you to wait to spend less?

It's My Budget! Part 2 of 3

Earlier this week, I shared my budget and categories of spending that were non-negotiable.

Today we will cover the part of my budget where I have a little flexibility: meet my “maybe negotiable” expenses.

I spend $565 in “maybe negotiable” categories each month. Here they are:

Food, $200: While I’ve never been one to order out “every day of the week”, I do enjoy an occasional indulgence such as happy hour or a $7 slice of cake (Hey, don’t judge me! We both know that Cheesecake Factory has it going on!). I recently discovered that I could shave about $40 off of my food expenses if I remained diligent about packing my lunch and not eating out “so much” (ex. twice a week). When it comes to grocery shopping, I make a list based on what’s in the sale circular. I haven’t been a super-duper-coupon-clipping-lady when it comes to food shopping, so there might be an opportunity here. By the way, I can get down like Cookie Monster...

Gas, $200: Currently, carpooling and public transit are not feasible options for my day-to-day travel because: a) my job requires that I have my own transportation (luckily, I don’t have to travel out of the office everyday; but when I do, I am reimbursed for it), and b) although I live 40 miles away from the J-O-B, there is no direct route (via mass transit) from where I am to where I need to be. I’d have to drive at least three-quarters of the way or take fifty million transfers to get to work (okay, so 50,000,000 transfers is a bit of an exaggeration).



Car Insurance: $140: I could pay the entire premium out of my savings (and eliminate the inconvenient “convenience fee” tacked on for monthly payments), break my premium into larger chunks (ex. pay it over the course of 2 or 3 months vs. monthly), or do what I’m doing (pay in monthly installments and spend $25 over the course of 5 months to pay the entire amount. I should mention that 1/6 of my car insurance premium is less than $140 I currently pay; at the rate I’m going, I’ll pay the entire premium in less than 6 months.



Savings Account, $25: Not too long ago, I was familiar with overdraft fees in a way that’s embarrassing to admit to. In order to mitigate this issue, I signed up for overdraft protection with my primary bank. To avoid monthly maintenance fees on the savings account where the overdraft service pulls from, I have to maintain a monthly deposit of at least $25. Staying on top of my account balances and outstanding transactions has resulted in ZERO overdraft fees for me (YAY!). In fact, the last time I incurred such a fee was April 2009 ($245 of overdraft fees in that month alone; you better believe that I signed up for overdraft protection the following month. I was absolutely disgusted by my waste and irresponsibility!)