Update on Financial Goals

Greetings - I've done a bit of work calculating my net worth, and constructing a graph to depict what I'm doing with my money. So, at the end of September...here I am.

As you can see, I have three main goals - to buy a Macbook, save money for retirement/college debt, and have enough to buy food, etc.

My budget is as follows:
20% Long Term Savings
40% Short-Term Savings (Macbook)
40% Expenses



Needless to say, this graph is somewhat skewed in one respect....as it is a simple show of net worth, it neglects the things I have bought with my checking account. In other words, I've spend 33.43% of my allotted 40% for expenses this month.

I'm making good progress on the laptop fund...I should be able to purchase it before Christmas, if not earlier. I am, coincidentally, picking up my first paycheck from my on-campus job today! There are roughly 13.5 hours on it....at 8.25$/hour (and no taxes as it is work-study) = 111.38$.

I apologize for the relative lack of updates these past few weeks. My interest in this project has waned, but I'm ready to get going again. I suppose the main issue is I have trouble coming up with material that other college students might find helpful (or at least, entertaining). We'll see.

An Interesting Anecdote

I was asked in my Italian discussion session how much money I had on me.

In short: "zero" isn't fun to say in any language.

If I was asked about savings, though, I'd need to expand my vocabulary.

Budget Woes...New Job!

My apologies for the week without updates.

Things, monetarily, have been up and down. I spent a large part of my weekend wages the day I got paid - I settled some debt, went grocery shopping and ate out.

Still. The budget is going OK. I have slacked off on writing everything down....oh well, I won't hold myself to a perfect standard, especially considering this is my first attempt at real fiscal responsibility and independence.

I've made enormous progress in the past month -

I've successfully saved 20% of my income in a long term ING savings account.
I've got a part-time job that pays me 90$ in cash each weekend.
I've (mostly) kept track of my expenses/income. There is, obviously, some room for improvement here.

Finally - here is some good news - I started my on-campus job yesterday. I have training (for which I am paid) for the next week or so. I will pick up around 11 hours just this week...at $8.25/hour. This should really speed up my attempts at a Macbook, and allow me to get a turntable and some new records. There is a great record store in town.

I've got nowhere to go but up. What do you do when you fall off the horse, anyway?

College Frugal Pastime #2

Rent DVDs from your school's library. Most colleges have a fairly sizable DVD or multimedia collection in their library(ies). You know that show you've always seen on TV but secretly loved and wanted to watch in order? Or, how about that movie that the crazy guy you work for recommended? It should cost you very little - if anything - to watch some of your favorite movies....a much better choice, if you ask me, than buying latte after latte at your local coffee house.

Or just buy, say, one latte and drink it while watching. Now that's a frugal compromise!


I'm on Season 1 Disc 3 of West Wing if anyone is wondering.

Budgets Work Wonders for College Students

My budget is working fantastically. I'm saving up money for my Macbook, I'm putting money towards retirement (which is at least 40 years away, I figured), I'm covering most of my expenses and learning great financial habits. I highly suggest to any of my fellow Collegiate Frugaliteers that you set up a similar budget. Remember - 20% long-term, 40% short-term, 40% expenses.

Granted, the majority of college students don't have to pay for housing, food, etc. out-of-pocket. I realize this, but I would argue that developing successful spending/saving habits on a smaller scale is fundamental to long-term financial security.

Or something. I'm still an amateur at this frugal thing, but I'm coming around. Which leads me to my next point - humans are imperfect. Keeping that in mind can help ease some of the stresses associated with budgeting. Living in fear - financial or otherwise - of failure is, frankly, stupid. We will never be perfect, no matter how much we allocate, budget, etc.

Philosophical ramblings aside - I'm starting to think that people will soon actually read this blog. I hope so. Please leave a comment or follow (on the right pane) this blog if you like something you read here or if you simply have something to share.

Savings & Budgets

I had my first day of part-time work yesterday....I held a sign near an intersection for five hours. That probably isn't something most people would be excited by, but I am. I made a quick 45$ cash - that's nine bucks an hour -- which is more than I'd get with my on-campus job.

Plus, I get to do it again today.

I entered this information into my financial records...wherein I keep track of every dime I spend and every dime I get....and my 90$ weekends more than pay for my expenses each week. I can start to really save some money now.

Consequently, I opened an ING Orange Savings account yesterday - they have about the highest interest rate out of simimilar accounts at other banks. It is here that I will deposit 20% of my income, whenever I recieve it, regardless of anything else.

The breakdown (of my current 90$/wk income) is as follows:
20% - Long-Term Savings [compund investment does wonders, especially if you start at my age]
40% - Short-Term Savings [Macbook, in other words]
40% - Expenses & Entertainment [Groceries, eating out, riding the bus, soap, theatre tickets, movie rentals, etc.]

I'm waiting for the ING account to be verified. Opening a long-term savings account at a different bank from your primary checking account is a smart way to keep yourself out of the proverbial cookie jar.

Part-Time Job! Civic Duty! Money for talking?

The past 24 hours have been very eventful (except for the first 8 where I slept).

First of all, I've been keeping an extraordinarily detailed record of my expenses and income for the past few days. I'm beginning to see a trend - money goes out, and then more money goes out. And I've been frugal, too! A few unexpected [i.e unplanned for] expenses popped up. I had to spend 15$ ordering food for my phonebanking party....a few friends and I spent 3 hours calling up strangers trying to get them to vote for a certain state senate candidate.

Then I realized I didn't eat dinner, and the dining halls are closed, so there goes another 8$ for ordering out.

Here's the good news - if all goes well this weekend, I'll walk away with 90$ cash. Remember that part-time job I had given up on after multiple calls and an email? It turns out I was the only one to email the employer, and now I've got myself a weekend job, five hours each day. I'm getting 9$ an hour to hold a sign in front of a mall. Being frugal means being humble. Working a job others won't means you'll be able to do things others can't later in life.

In other CF news: I'm entering a speech contest wherein I speak for 8-10 minutes in support of a candidate for President. If all goes according to plan (the plan being victory!) then I'll walk away with a prize (boring!) and 200$. That's roughly a sixth of this. Fellow college students would do well to look for similar opportunities at their institutions of higher learning. Not as many people enter contests that require actual work....if you feel like you can win it, try. The worst case scenario is that you only learned more about a topic.


And that's the way it was.


...not to be overtly partisan, but does Sarah Palin scare anyone else?

Best of Money-Saving Tips #1

Well before starting this site, I spent a lot of time looking for tips on how to save money in college. Now, armed with something called "Google" I've found some very interesting blogs, columns and websites. I present to you, povero (Italian 101!) college student, the first installment of my findings. I would say "pay heed", but I'd rather you didn't pay anything. Here we go....

• From savingwithme.com: Get a job that allows you to socialize. Most people want to go out at night as much as possible in college. Try getting a job as a bartender or server in a favorite bar, restaurant, or club so you can attend for free, make some money, and be out with everyone else....
  

A big concern I've had with getting a job on campus is that it would somehow inhibit my social life. Tips like these have helped me to realize that adapting your circumstances to fit what YOU want is the key to successful employment. In other words, find a job doing something you like. If such a job doesn't seem to exist, make it - the Internet is a powerful source. Good places to start would be your local town's craigslist page, or a simple Google search for that special something. For example - "growing salvia divinorum", "online survey for money" (beware, many of these are a scam. This isn't though.), "freelance writing", etc. Be creative. Make progress every day...keep a simple log on Notepad (if you use Windows). Useful questions: How can you adapt your social life to your fiscal life? What do you enjoy doing, and how can you be paid to do it?

• From getrichslowly.org: Avoid non-academic debt. It might seem like a good idea to put that Xbox on a credit card, but it’s not. Focus on developing good money skills with cash. Worry about credit later. Save and then splurge. If you decide you must have that Xbox, then save for it. Wait until you can pay cash.

While seemingly obvious, it's nice to have this reinforced. My yearnings (see, the site description is correct!) for a Macbook have been replaced with a resolve to SAVE, then SPLURGE. Hey, if it's a useful item (like my Macbook will be for writing, video production, etc.) and you develop good financial habits from its attainment AND carry no debt....go for it. I put 10$ in an envelope the other day labeled "Macbook fund". I sealed it heavily and taped it shut. Baby steps are key.

• From forbes.com: Leave the car at home. The insurance, maintenance and gas will eat you alive. Most university towns are compact and everything you need will be within walking distance of campus. If some of your friends have a car, great--let them cover the expense.
  

I only put this tip down so I could show the picture which accompanied it on the Forbes website. I wish I went to this "college". Every student has red hair and no dimensions! The buildings look nice, except for the lack of windows or entrances.

That does it for the first installment. I'll keep looking, so expect more great tips. Be sure to read the original article's I've linked to - each has many more ideas for pursuing frugality and a degree.

Have any tips of your own? Leave a comment below!

College Frugal Pastime #1

It's called "hiking", or, simply "walking". I wanted to get out of the dorm, so I just left and walked down the road for an hour or so before turning back.

It's a greate exercise, pretty easy, and free. Plus, I packed a lunch which was fun. It's a great time of year for walking - a nice breeze, sunshine....trees changing colors.

In short, I have managed to spend no money today.

Earlier, I found 2 pennies (heads up!) at the same time. Double the luck?

Either way, I am up 0.02$ from yesterday. Huzzah!

Some Updates

Added a new banner (free!), links and other gizmos to the site. I found an interesting finance blog - the link is to the right.

Welcome to my friends, who are the only people who read this (yet!).

Wednesday Blues

Back when I played football we had a day of practice, once a week, which our coaches eloquently called "hump day". It was Wednesday - right in the middle of the week, a few days after a game and a few days before a game, which meant that we could beat the living hell out of each other for hours without worrying about injuries (mostly).

Anyway, today is Wednesday, and it appears hump day is back, because I have a lot of classes and meetings today. I'm making a quick cup of coffee right now, hopefully I can get to class on time.

As to frugality: still no call back from the part-time-job-craigslist-man. I left two messages so I retain the hope that he'll get back to me. Also, I repotted my salvia plant. In a much larger pot. Roots need room!

It cost me 2$ for the potting soil, 1$ for the new pot (dollar stores are great...) and 1$ for the sprayer I mist the plant with every morning and night. I'm a pretty good caregiver, what can I say?

I have a meeting for a real part-time job...work-study is part of my financial aid. I can work up to 10 hours a week, and this job seems to be 8.25$ a week. Meaning I can make 82.5$ (minus taxes) a week, which is far more than I am spending!

Profit! What?!?!?! It's too good to be true.

Hey, I'll post later but I have to run.

T.V Fatigue/Part-Time Employment

Rough night. I spent most of yesterday evening watching Weeds, and I got T.V fatigue. I've only experienced this once before - when I watched 2 seasons of Arrested Development in a row.

Anyway, sitting down for hours and hours and watching T.V in a room a few degrees colder than is comfortable is not, it turns out, a good recipe for health. I felt awful when I was done. I hadn't eaten dinner either, and I was in a terrible mood.

Back to frugality.....I put a call in with the part time job listing I found on craigslist (of all places). It seemed pretty legitimate - just working 10 hours each weekend would net me 80$, which more than pays for my expenses for the week. Of course, I haven't gotten a call back yet. Stupendous!

I'm leaving my Salvia Plant out of it's humidity tent (read: plastic bag) for five hours today. It needs to "acclimate" itself to the climate in my room, which happens to be very different from the plant's original home of Oaxaca, Mexico. Now, I'm no shaman, but something tells me these magic plants require some love. Or at least water. They are used to 50% humidity, which is really quite a bit....my plant seems incredibly hardy though, and seems to be adapting well. If all goes well I can repot it on Wednesday or Thursday. Then I have to keep waiting and draw up plans to monetize!

In other news, my roomate was in the shower so long this morning that I had to pee in a bottle. Now that, my friends, is Collegiate Frugality ©.

Off to lectures!

MacBook

I want this. Is that so wrong? I'm using a Dell Latitude D505...and it's becoming dated. It's tough to take my computer places when the battery life is down to less than an hour. Plus, it comes with one of these.

I thought it didn't fit into my budget, but then again, I have no budget.

First thing's first: make a budget.

Has anyone successfully financed a Macbook with the Juniper Visa Card that Steve Jobs is pushing?


Frugality is about discipline. Do I have the discipline to not use a credit card (besides financing the dreaded Macbook) ? I believe so. Did Juniper Visa accept my application? No. No, they didn't. Or, at least, not yet. Bastards.

Also, my Salvia Plant is doing fine. I bought it on eBay(19$!) from a guy in PA who used the word "aloha" without a hint of irony. It is a fine plant, though. I have a few leaves already harvested...I'm trying to go easy on the plant until it gets substantially bigger. Then, who knows? Hopefully selling Salvia Divinorum - either ground up leaves or cuttings of the plant itself - is a viable income source.

We'll see, won't we?