Not cheap, Fiscally concerned

I thought the next video was pretty funny…

Times are tough - it doesn’t mean we should be inconsiderate ;-). Frugal and fiscally mindful - yes, cheap - no.

Cheers!

You know how it goes, you go for an oil change - they run some tests - suggest some services - and gullible you don’t bother to take a quote and then shop around for a better price. It’s almost the story here, almost though.

First, I’d like to apologize to my 3 readers for the site’s downtime. Blogvis upgraded their services, and my blog was under a coma. It is still in the process of being recovered and all my blogrolling links are still missing. That should be up in a few days.

Now for the story:
I own a minivan that I bought a couple of years ago at a high millage. Since purchase, we added very little millage but it always had it’s clunks. If you watched the movie “Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, you would remember that the space ship had a personality - and every time a door opened a sigh of pleasure would emerge. For our minivan though, every time we turned the steering wheel a bit - the car would cry as if it would burst into tears soon. I believe the minivan wanted us to feel guilty for turning…

The car always had a will of it’s own. It was working non the less.

I was told at several repair shops before that it’s not an issue. Other places have changed oil and each came up with something different that is urgently in need of repair. A week before driving from Michigan to DC in the summer, a repair shop notified me that the brakes would have to be replaced. I rolled my eyes and asked if I could schedule it done after the road trip. The nice man smiled at me as if I had mental problems. I had it done the next day. To be accurate here, I did ask for rigorous testing and mentioned specifically that the car would go on the road. Despite spotting the breaks, nothing was said about the steering.

This time, I had my oil changed at a dealer’s shop with a coupon. And either they needed the money (automakers/dealers crisis), or they saw a sucker walking in - they came back with a list of “what’s wrong” that tallied to a number above a 1000$.

I am a sucker - and I know it. But to tell the truth, I wanted it fixed and running - especially with a newborn being driven. That’s a silly statement - because you would like to be safe in your car at all times, and not just because you have a new baby in the house.

After handed the list of repairs I looked back at the chubby repairs managers at the dealer’s office and said:

You know, I know I told you to do the carburetor flush already - but I’ve done these kind of services before, and have done it for much cheaper. If I’m going to have the rest of the services done - I’d expect to see some discounts. Let me know - and I’ll make some calls to decide what to do.

I was bluffing, not about the carburetor flush being a broad day light mugging (it was), but about shopping around. I didn’t. I just wanted my trusty old clunker to be fixed and wanted to trust the dealer’s repairman.

He came back with a 10% discount, and a 2 day replacement car rental from one of the used ones on the lot. I agreed, and 2 days later my clunker’s whiny personality had been subdued.

Should I be happy with the price? I don’t know - I could have probably gotten a better deal if I had shopped around. But I’m content. It’s not the first time I have to dig into the emergency fund to fix something way out of budget, but that’s what it’s for. Unfortunately - that would probably not be the last time I would have to dig there (ominous signs from the outdoors piping system this early morning)…

What would you have done?
Cheers!

P.S. Don’t be shy - click click click on an ad to support this site:

I’m kind of embarrassed to write this, but I did do this. Many restaurant chains out there provide you with excellent birthday coupons if you register for their “club”. For the price of being subjected to promotional spam, once a year you get a cool coupon for a free appetizer or meal or soup or a cup of water. I opt for the better coupons of course.

Now what’s the hustler part here? No one will check your ID for your real birthday. Also, many won’t check for multiple registrations with different emails. So, if you open multiple hotmail accounts, and register with – say – 50 different birthdays, one a week for a whole year, you’d be flooded with birthday coupons.

A coupon is nice, especially if you like the restaurant – but it’s still only a coupon and in this climate, I don’t know who can afford going out to a restaurant once a week.

My preferred birthday coupon is from my preferred restaurant –“ On The Border”. I get free empanadas, which are just yummy. I’m a bit sorry to report that recently they decreased the portion size of their servings, and increased the price. I hope they won’t run out of business like many other chains. I track their stock ticker for news and hold my fingers they make it through because I really like their food. I don’t care that much for Chilli though (part of the same corporation). Ticker is “EAT” – and they pay 5.4% dividend right now. Sadly though – the price action shows investors are betting Brinker is going under…

Mmmm… Empanadas and cerveza… grrrr….
Cheers!

Just trying to put a positive spin on more horrifying economic news:
CNN:Global tourism feels the squeeze

Turnout for the international tourism industry’s most important event is at a record high this year as the sector struggles to cope with the financial crisis sweeping the world.

1 of 2 Industry professionals, government ministers and tourism chiefs from around the globe are currently gathering in London for World Travel Market, an international travel trade show.

This year’s event, which runs through Thursday, is the biggest ever, with nearly 50,000 participants from 200 countries attending.

“When you’re going through difficult times, it is still very important to market and showcase your business,” Fiona Jeffery, chairman of the World Travel Market told CNN.

“There are many companies here seeing a downturn or slowdown in business and to know you’re not the only person experiencing that can be quite reassuring.”

…

OK, blah blah - don’t go on reading the depressors. Unsurprisingly, the tourism and business travel industry is in pain. BUT:

If you manage to keep your job, and save enough money this year so that you can allocate some of that saved money (not all of it) towards relaxation outside of your TV and sofa - 2010 could be a great and cheap year to go abroad, or to go to your preferred resort.

Sadly I should say, you need to hurry because some theme parks, if that’s your preferred family venue, are expected to close down too. Some permanently.

Or as my default pessimist blogging source puts it:

Theme parks are going to be in for a rough ride in 2009 as consumers retrench everywhere. But what’s with this severance package for the “chief creative officer”? I hope the bankruptcy judge kicks this creativity right out the window.

Glad I managed to go on vacation last January to Universal Studios in Florida.
Cheers!

A quick link to Farnoosh Torabi at TheStreet.Com Video:

A Budget That Works

Farnoosh Torabi slices up an average paycheck
A general guideline. You may also consider what I offer in this site, look here.

I know I’m not rich. I know I can’t afford whatever I would spontaneously desire. There’s no excuse to not dream. I have ambitions, and there’s no desire to become rich if you don’t dream it. That being said, one has to question himself – what if you do become rich, what would you do with the money. Would you hug it every night and read it bedtime stories? Would you let it rot in a safe till the day you die? What’s the point of “getting rich” – if you hadn’t enjoyed your path to riches?

More importantly, and most relevantly – what if you never become rich. Or, what if you gained your riches only to lose it all in the market? It happens every day, and in every generation. People raise themselves to great possessions, only to lose it in a flash. What if your “riches” are seized by a socialist government? What if your tiny pot – which you thought has made you relatively wealthy, is made worthless by political events and inflation running out of control?

The point of the recent paragraph is to show that getting rich isn’t as important as knowing what would you like to do with your money if you had any. And since you might have none – knowing what you would do with, would motivate you to accumulate funds so you could spend it. Getting rich isn’t a goal – it’s a milestone, life goes on. Your goal should take into consideration what you want to do with the money.

“This one step - choosing a goal and sticking to it - changes everything.” Scott Reed

A responsible person does not spend whenever he “feels like it”. If you want something, the best thing to do is write it down. Then do some research; how much would it cost in different circumstances. Acknowledge you want to pay for it in cash – not in credit – and add it to a big list of things you would spend money on. Goals do not begin and end with “things” you want. You must look into the future and recognize things you would need. You would need to retire. You would need to support your family in an emergency. If you have kids you would like to be able to assist them – as needed. You might want to assist your kids with financing studies, or starting their financial life. Dream a new you. Dream a better future. Would you like a vacation home? Switching new or used cars every few years? Move to a different state? Starting a new career? Starting a business? There are many different things you might dream of. Write them down. If you are married, write them separately and then combine the list.

Prioritize. Which things are more important? Ask yourself which things you would need. Ask when. Then imagine yourself reaching them. If you plan well and execute a financial plan you could reach many of your goals. Do the research and see how much money would be needed and when. When you will be able to know how much money would be needed, you could construct your savings schedule.

I know my wife and I want to go on a vacation every year. We assume a certain amount and dedicate each month that cash to be spent later in the year. We identified a common goal, prioritized it, and made a financial plan to reach it. We identified several such goals – you will have your own – it is possible to reach a balance between your debts, income and savings to be able to use your money in a fun way. You might get rich, I might get rich, but before that milestone, I would have tried to meet my goals responsibly. The responsibility comes into play by spending money I have, and that I have accumulated for that goal – not obligating myself to paying it through debt and jeopardizing whatever future goals I might have.

Some goals will rely mostly on your actions – money might not be necessary or be an obstacle. Debt might be acceptable – if goals must be met before having the money at hand. Identifying how much things could cost would allow you to write a “life plan”, a schedule of big things you plan on achieving. Such plans are made with the intention of changing as life happens. The goals will help you stay focused and avoid reckless financial decisions at the wrong time.

Money will help you achieve your goals – only if you first dedicate the time to identify your goals.

Cheers!

At first, when I attempted to track our family’s spending and budget I used Microsoft’s Money 2001. I bought a new computer and it came with. Back then, while setting up there was a voice over instructing you on what you were doing. I thought - ok - pretty nice. After setting up my accounts I began updating our spending manually. The thing kept nagging me about categorizing my spending and how much I spend per category. Now I view this as a complete waste, but at the time I let the software guide me.

My true goal was to know that we have enough money all times at our checking account (the goal was above 1000$). Every check written, every card swiped - I had to put it down quickly. I put in our recurring income and expenses - I clicked on the cash-flow feature and could see how much money I have now and predict pretty accurately how much money I would have in the near future.

When I upgraded to a newer computer recently I realized Microsoft had taken out the Cash-Flow feature from the OEM version (the one that comes with a new computer). To update to the latest version which does include better online updates to your accounts and the same old feature I always used, cash-flow, I bought the newest version for free with a rebate when I bought a Tax software at tax season.

Since we have revised the way we approach budgets (see my other posts, or “our secret” page), I no longer use Money for budgeting purposes - but I still find the cash-flow graph to be very useful. I like knowing how much money I have available to me now and in the next 3 months. Then I set it up with all of our recurring income and bills again and continued to track our available balances.

Cashflow is the only feature of Microsoft Money I actually use these days. I use the Cash-Flow graph for several tasks:

• Verify I will have enough funds in my checking account considering my bills in the next 3 months.
• Identify excess funds at our checking account and time contributions to money market account
• Verify our budget and auto-investment plan for the next year
• Since my income changes each month based on number of working days - cash-flow allow matching varying expenses and incoming funds

My biggest complaint about Microsoft Money is that it doesn’t support my varying expenses and salaries very well. While I can program very well my prediction on how much income or expense I will have - I cannot really update Microsoft Money into the future very well. There’s a limit on how many entries can be put into the future and there’s no ability to put in the energy expenses to be predicted based on seasonality. Microsoft allow some of their products to be excessively exposed to security issues by allowing plugins and scripts where you wouldn’t want nor expect. That’s not the case with Microsoft Money.

To assist with predicting my salary I wrote a quick program in C#. Nothing to brag about. A function to calculate the number of working days in each half month - and based on my prior income at similar situations - just report to console (dos mode/terminal) how much I should get on each date for a certain date range. I then manually update the “bill” for my salary at Money up to the point in time Money limits me to (which ends up as only 6 months into the future - weak).

To download the C# code, click here: workdaysToSalary.zip

If you need to compile and run it - Microsoft is offering c# express for free, for further details, click here.

As promised, I added a page to collect and highlight the relevant posts on how we spend less than we earn. How we implement “Financial responsibility, changing one’s financial path from consuming own savings to growing”.

To reach the page click on the top on Our “Secret” or click here.

In that page you will find links backs to my posts on how we spend less than we earn and how our family has agreed together on our system. You may add comments for the page on this post.

Cheers!

Regardless of where I am at life, I always feel humbled and a need to know more and seek better and greater success. I am quite proud of my achievements thus far but I know that life is a journey, and through that journey I strive for more. The obvious path to acquire more knowledge is to seek what others have discovered through reading. And reading a lot is what I want to do. I wish I did read a lot more. Most of the time, when I plan to read, I stack up a queue – and set myself up for failure by doing time wasting things. Things like watching TV, playing computer games and reading news and commentary on the web. Having a family (I love you guys) doesn’t help that goal. Kids require our attention as parents and my wife rightfully expect us to communicate at our leisure time, not to bury our faces in books (or blogs) most of the time. Getting tired or unmotivated at times can also be a challenge.

Since books are our window to further improve ourselves, we like to cheaply possess more and more, to give us a chance to know more. Buying new books all the time at the store as soon as they arrive is only good if you can’t wait. You might HAVE to buy right now – if you are boarding a long flight and have not stocked up in advance with entertainment or books for the flight.

Here are a few ways we reduce the cost of books we read:

• Join the local Library and borrow. You already finance it through your taxes – make use of it. You can usually order new books you want and are unavailable yet. You might also be able to reserve a book online as well.
• Sign up for a book club. I would especially recommend a paperback book club.
• Buy paperback editions, or wait until the paperback is out. It’s usually cheaper
• Buy used at Amazon’s marketplace (or Ebay’s half.com)
• Buy on special sales at the library. Our library makes such a sale once a month and we stack up with many excellent classics and children literature at those sales.
• Buy at Amazon discount sales and have it ship for free – still much cheaper than the store.
• I don’t know about you - I don’t like reading e-books although I do have a laptop. There are many free e-books sites out there…
• When you are in college, consider swapping books with other students. Also, try ScratchWork.org - it seems to provide a lot of benefits for students beyond books exchange.

Being frugal and enjoying visits to the book store gets tricky. My wife and I, as well as the kids, enjoy the occasional visit to the book store to browse through the new selections. We sometimes do indulge our selves – when the budgeting is right – and buy something.

I wanted to write a post about buying books on the cheap, but when I began my preamble – I got carried away with my personal story. If you are still interested, the following was written subsequently after the first paragraph.

More about reading and striving for knowledge…

When I studied for my graduate degree online I was married and already had our first child. I was working full time and I dedicated the night hours to studying. Usually between 10:30pm to 2am. It was a fully packed day and only because I was driven by a schedule and homework deadlines did I read and finish my tasks. As graduation approached, I felt a void in my time was forming – such voids are easy to fill with nonsense – but combined with a New Year resolution I expressed a desire to fill that void with a desire for knowledge.

At first I set my sights on learning a new language - French. There’s something romantic and exciting about new languages. I bought a book, some CD-s and began learning without restriction of a framework pressuring me to reach results. I played the Fifa soccer game on my laptop while listening to “learn French” audio content daily for about 20 minutes each day. I put a CD in the car and listened at the car for a while. I peeked and read about 3 of the first chapters of the French for dummies book (I find the name of the book series insulting, but the content superb). I wouldn’t call that experience a success or a failure – it’s a work in progress, and after about 3 years of studying I think my ability is akin to studying in class for the second year.

Next, came my desire to understand money better. As it was for many others, the need to understand how to manage your own money comes out of immediate necessity. We earn money, we spend money, I wanted to save some of it as well and reach a balance together as a family. We bought two books together and have been following a plan for 2 years now which should take us to where we want to reach together.

Starting to accumulate savings in different forms (retirement, college fund for kids, money market account and others) is what drove my next big curiosity. Now that we will have taken charge of our financial destiny – where should we steer our funds? Should we just stuff it under a mattress? Just let it lay there in a bank (in a dark cold safe, all alone without a hug from crusty crab)? What would be a risky choice or a safe choice? Budgeting and savings is only the first step – the next step relies on making money management decisions.

I began watching CNBC. I think that at some point in life in America, most people do. I took interest in Cramer. His show was loud and he tried very hard to grab attention by joking around. I bought his books too. Two of them. I’ve also finished reading those two books. Because of the time of day the show is on, I gradually watched less and less of that show. All the while, I did not take his advice – and did not invest in stocks. I assumed (correctly) that I don’t know enough – and jumping in the water head first is dangerous (especially when the pool is half empty).

As mentioned in my post about not watching CNBC – Cramer is a complicated man (link to Overstock.com CEO’s thoughts on Cramer). I assumed that much way before it was proven. I still respect his advice – but I take the CNBC disclaimer very seriously. It’s an entertainment/educational show. It’s not the gospel – and for investments it is only the starting point of a research.

I moved on. I might watch CNBC, but I just have enough reasons not to. Right now I have a queue of books on investments, options, trading and self improvement (a book from the 60-s!). The hard part is finding the time to delve in. And once that time is found and dedicated, staying focused. As my wife says – how can you read that? It sounds so boring? Well it might be, and sometimes it is and I take breaks. The problem might be what I do with these breaks (guitar, PC games, TV, movies, family time – anything but return to what I dedicated the time for).

Since we discovered the book sales at the local library, we have accumulated quite a bit of classical literature as well. At some point I do intend on enriching my culture and not just my knowledge. I still intend to finish reading our O’Henry stories collection. It seems we will probably won’t buy a new book for a while… we do need to buy some new bookshelves though.

L’Chaim! (Cheers!)

I’ll be heading on a road trip to DC at the end of this week and will probably not blog anything new until a couple of days after I come back. DC has been on our list of places we would like to visit and we are proud of ourselves to have been able to save for this vacation as we planned to when our family reorganized our finance. We are sitting with websites right now making our final plans. The hotel is already booked, van has been serviced at the repair shop and we are really excited on going there.

Alongside our budget spreadsheet on sheet.zoho.com, we have another one with vacation destinations separated by desirability and cost. We planned ahead how much money we will need annually to put aside and have looked in the long run at going on the more expensive ones. I detest going on a vacation on a credit and planning on repaying it over time with interest - it’s just wrong. Also, planning on a tax rebate for that purpose is just as wrong - you can usually reduce the amount you set aside for taxes and keep it in a money market account so that it earns you some interest. I prefer not getting a tax rebate, but paying taxes owed. Earning interest on my money - instead of having the government hold on to it seems like the smarter choice for me.

Since I’ll be on vacation - I will probably not post a blip on this young blog for a while - probably not until mid August. Having said that, I still have many ideas for posts - but those will have to wait. Still intend on organizing a couple of summery pages with links to posts regarding how we spend less than we earn, how we plan, where we as a family are financially and where we are heading. So come back soon - post a comment, spread some posts around to friends and link back here. It will be greatly appreciated and will encourage me to continue blogging.

Regarding the blog, I must admit - sometimes, I get disparaged. It’s not that I have nothing to write about - but that it feels like writing to a blog is like writing into a black void. Without feedback - it feels like stuffing your letters into a mattress. Do you like what you find here? If I don’t have any way of knowing that - I get the feeling it pretty much sucks - and I should stop for my own good. Writing into nothingness feels like what happens at the end of the following video:

Ok, maybe I exaggerated a bit…. if you haven’t ever seen that video - you should, just for a small laugh. It’s a pretty old one too.

Anyhow, signing off for a while - wish me Bon Voyage…

We use one credit card for all our purchases, and towards the next billing date we begin tightening our budget further and further. The creditor usually sends a bill towards the 10th of the month and we usually use up most of our self imposed limit by then.

For some reason I feel a sort of a pride when we manage to amuse ourselves and feed ourselves to a satisfying way and still show a low bill. Just sitting at home listing to an AM radio would be fine if we weren’t an actual family with two kids who do need to be entertained and have some fun at the weekend.

Yesterday, on the 4th of July we had a big breakfast at home - then did some house chores and generally waste time things (like reading blogs… playing PC-Games…) until around 2pm. Then we packaged some sandwiches and light snacks onto our cooler and drove to a nearby metro park. We bought a couple of months ago an annual pass for 20$ and we go to one of the many parks at least once a week.

Yesterday we were almost alone there. We had our outdoors picnic at the wonderful weather, played some ball and then the kids played at the playground. Before leaving the park we followed a nature trail to a river. When we got back to the car it was almost 5pm. We drove through the side roads enjoying the views of farms and expensive homes along the way.

A picture taken at Gallop Park in Ann Arbor - 2007

Once we got home - the kids went out and played with our neighbors kids. I fired up the grill and flipped a few burgers. That’s my kind of fun. When the sun set around 9:40 at evening the neighbors started firing their fire works. I personally like to observe - not to light up fire works… We have a nice view from our deck at our neighborhood as well as some other more distant places. It was great fun. The only money “spent”? None, just the gasoline already in the car and the food already in the fridge. I guess if we lived any closer to main event cities like Detroit we might have drove to those… Sadly we missed the fireworks last week at our metro-park (again, would have been free with the annual pass). We usually go to our closest metro park, they have a great show and a band playing. Next year…

Today was still frugal but less. We went out to eat breakfast at McDonald’s - a family of 4 eating for 13 bucks - where else can you find that? Then we drove to our local library and looked for DVD-s for the kids and books in general. The kids always have fun and find something to do there. After that we went on to another library, an even bigger one, at another close by town which share the same “library card”. There was a farmer’s market right by the library and some music too. I found the book I wanted and the kids got glued to the computer screens. It was now around 1pm and we continued to the closest Taco Bell. Again - 13 bucks to feed a family of 4. That’s as close we can get to “pigging out” - all four of us - for a total of 26 bucks.

Now I’m back home, telling you about it, and looking at the stack of books I got lined up to read in the next two weeks.

Have a fun frugal weekend too!
P.S. Flipping burgers always means some beer as well…
Cheers!

Here are a few games I believe can help parents teach children about money and budgeting:

Monopoly - Of course… kids just love holding fake money and buying streets. We own “King’s Island-Opoly” we bought after visiting King’s Island last summer. Our daughter keeps begging us to play.

Sim-City - An addictive computer game. I used to play it as a kid in the late 80-s. Makes the children think about budget concerns. The latest version has a cool 3D view and kids find it exciting.

Roller coaster tycoon - My kids haven’t had the chance to play this yet but from trying it out about 8 years ago I can say it is very entertaining, addictive almost, and still forces the kids to concentrate on budgeting as much as on having fun.

That’s all for now… I’m sure there’s lots more - I’d be happy to hear more ideas on the comments section.

It is reasonably easy as a single person to restrict your own self to a tight budget so that you can achieve some goal like pay down a mortgage, go on that dream vacation, reach a golden number to identify yourself as rich, or simply reaching a comfortable financial safety cushion. If as a single person you find yourself unable to contain yourself from spending, get a book, get some help, use software and always ask yourself what it is you are giving up on in the near future for the momentary gratification of immediate spending. It can and is done by many.

Once you get married your financial future is intertwined. Regardless of having a joint or separate checking accounts, what you spend and what you keep matters to both of you. You can no longer keep your own personal goals selfishly, you must share those goals. If as a single person you spent some months eating very little and very cheaply, your spouse might never agree to such restrictions. If you used to shop for clothes once a year (or less), you should not be surprised to find out how such behavior might be completely unacceptable on your partner’s behalf.

People have different views of what fun is, as the former frugal single that is in a relationship you must acknowledge that your wife or husband enjoys an occasional Sunday shopping. Just walking around in shopping centers and picking up things. As a single person you might never have done that, especially not in distressed months. Now you bite your tongue and smile and say how lovely the new shirt is and how the kids definitely need all these new shoes for next year.

Trying to raise the issue of being in a financial hole can often lead to vocal arguments regarding the purpose of recent shopping. Who is the selfish one when one buys for the family based on needs and on sales and discounts, and the other wants to put money aside for vacations and other things? It gets even worse if the frugal mind fails to write down what those mysterious future needs are and then gets into a corner in the argument – accused of being cheap for the sake of being cheap.

You might think you are having a great relationship, you communicate and the love between the two of you is still blooming – you are probably right. There’s still something you should do. To become frugal as a couple, to succeed financially as a family, you must dream together. You must know what it is you want and your spouse wants to achieve financially in the near and distant future.

Dreaming of a better future is the first step. The next is getting back to reality. Those dreams should be translated into attainable goals. You should not be surprised to find out you could probably reach an annual or semiannual well funded family vacation. You should probably know that you could live rent or mortgage free if you do certain things.

Now that you share some dreams and goals look into your current joint financial situation. List out your income sources and expenses and agree to live by a budget. You may consider the budgeting system I propose here, but there are many worthy others and you must agree to adhere to that budget together.

Now that you have shared goals and agree to adhere to a budget together, begin allocating small sums into future goals. Now is the time to exercise your spreadsheet abilities (or seek some help) to see what will happen if you save so and so, and how much could you spend on your goals each year.

Speaking out of personal experience, doing exactly what I described above enhanced our mutual frugal sentiment and brought some excitement to it. We began planning annual vacations, writing destinations and budgeting costs. Every few years we plan on big ones like going to Disney world, abroad, visiting back in Israel (someday…). I bring the vacation thing again and again because that’s the easiest and most common goal. There are many other such goals and to each couple their own.

Be fiscally concerned, not cheap and remember that you need to always keep a balance between staying happy as a couple in the present and building up your even happier future.

Since starting to post on this blog – about a week ago – my wife’s been frowning at me. I sit too much time in the evening in front of the laptop and I’m not talking enough. I agree honey – and I’m sorry. I believe that communication is the key to a successful marriage. One of the examples given in the book “Dealing with people you can’t stand” is of a mature couple where the husband says nothing and the wife is frustrated. It seems that for many married couples, that situation is at least the perception of reality – if not the reality itself. The book gives a good strategy on how to improve upon the situation by engaging in inquisitive conversation and insisting on getting answers. A conversation has two sides, and if you think your partner is not saying much – be assertive and muscle out some answers. If your partner is drowning in his newspaper, book or laptop and you feel left out, reach out – touch – and stare at his/her face from a short distance. You will get that kiss your face is demanding and it is the right opportunity to talk about something. Don’t hesitate to start the conversation.

At our first years as a couple – finance was a touchy subject. Whenever I raised the issue I came out as a villain and as cheap. I avoided talking about it altogether and I silently observed as our tiny savings account shrunk further and further. We didn’t have a plan, we didn’t agree, we spent on what we thought we needed. It wasn’t selfish; whenever my wife would buy something she would feel guilty and try to explain to me how it is for the family. I struggled for years to reach an understanding between us on our money.

About two years ago I did something very sneaky. We both enjoy going to book stores and browsing through the selection. Our kids scan through their section and we take turns on looking for what might interest us. I picked up two personal finance books – “Smart couples finish rich”, and “The automatic millionaire”. I suggested to my wife that we each read one book, and when we are done we exchange and read the other. The result was stunningly good. We both learned more about managing our money and we finally began thinking together on how we should plan and execute together. My wife came up with the program discussed here in “How to spend less than you earn, in a nut shell” and I added the electronic part to it – “How to spend less than you earn, part II”.

The books introduced us to the idea of setting goals. For me it was always a given that we should save money. Even if we don’t get rich, money would be there for us when we need it. My wife, coming out of Russia and seeing how inflation and political turmoil can render yesterday’s money worthless always assumed that money is there for us to use now. We now have an understanding of why we save and how we will use the money in the future. Money isn’t accumulated so that we could count it greedily – it is there for a purpose and we have already seen the fruits of that strategy. Before – we would charge our credit and I would act frugally. We have begun taking annual vacations with money we save each year and we enjoy it so much more.

Since then, we regularly discuss where we stand on a fiscal basis. My wife no longer feels guilty she buys things when I don’t. We have turned the corner and have begun saving more. As long as our income and health do not change – we know where we are heading financially and are pleased with it.

Communicating about money between couples is key to a happy marriage.
Communication in general and expressing fondness and love is what ties it all together.

An expensive burger:
So how much do you spend on your lunches? If I go to a restaurant every working day, and there are at least 20 of those each month, and spend an average of 8$ the sum can easily top 160$.

Some months are more tight than others and frankly I’d rather spend that 160$ on other things I enjoy more. I’m not saying don’t eat - to the contrary, just consider what it does to your budget.

As you read through this, remember that you don’t have to be like this everyday to save money, just some days when you feel like tightening your budget control. So here goes, 10 ways to spend less on lunch time while working:

1. Bring it from home - You already paid for the food in the fridge - if you have a microwave in the office or you are making room temperature sandwiches, this is a great way to save. The only drawback is that you must find time for this in the morning and remember to bring it with you. Today I had 2 slices of yesterday’s Pizza we bought for the family.
2. Dollar menus are your friend - Be it McDonnald or taco bell, a small portion yet cheap meal could be all your body needs right now anyways. I personally have a 1$ double cheese burger or a 79 cents burrito once a week. I usually don’t have the 1$ side salad - but it’s a good deal just as well.
3. Drink water - Do you really must have a cup full of ice and some sticky gooey pop? Don’t get me wrong - I drink lots of pop, but when times demand it - no pop for me. The same goes for coffee. You can drink that office thing (if you must).
4. Stock up on frozen meals in the office - You are probably starting to hate me right now. Sorry, but there’s nothing cheaper than just grabbing that 1.5$ box of frozen meal you bought two months ago and warming it. Keep a variety, just so you wouldn’t get tired of it.
5. Office paid meal - Is there a birthday party? Friday grill? Customers need to be entertained and are fed on company’s expense? It all depends on how shameless are you and where you are positioned in the company. Join the diners and merge in the conversation.
6. Coupons - Goes without saying, right? I usually have a set of fast food coupons in the car. It arrives by mail or I seek it online. Reducing that 7$ wendys number 2 meal to a 5$ is a worthy cause.
7. Per Diem - If your company pays for your meals when you are on the road, you should consider spending much less than what you get paid. I know you really love that 16oz steak, but pocketing that difference might feel better when you spend that extra cash later on something more rewarding than the 15 minutes it takes to gorge a steak
8. Little Caesar Pizza is 5$ - and you can share it with at least 2 other people and still get full. I really wish they had a place close to my work. They even closed the closest location to my home. Bummer.
9. Decline group workers lunches where you pay for your own - now I’m turning you into a snob. Consider this, you will probably feel uncomfortable sipping water and munching on the tiniest cheapest thing on the menu when everyone else buys food like they just won the lottery. If it is a sit-down restaurant you are also expected to tip. Checkout the DVD link at the bottom for more help avoiding this situation…
10. Credit card points and gift cards - Always buy lunches with the same credit card and make sure you get valid and as many points for it. Then use the points to order gift cards to restaurants. I usually use those gift cards to take the family for a good dinner and I have just ordered an “On The Border” gift card.

If you really like sit down restaurants and sports bars, let me recommend you a movie that will put an end to all that - waiting.