Green Minded Wallet

Car is Fixed, Budget is Broken

cami — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:02:47 +0000

So I ended up getting my car fixed. It turns out that some animal managed to devour a number of important wires and switches. Since it definitely qualified as an emergency and not something that had to do with the age or wear of the car, I didn’t really have a problem spending the money to fix it.

On an unrelated note, the budget that I set up for myself this year is not really working anymore. It’s been breaking down over the last few months and became pretty much unhinged in July. Some allocations are working well, while others are failing miserably. The basic problem is that I have some expenses that are important to me, but I didn’t do a good job in estimating them. Part of this stems from incomplete information or changes in pricing. For example, the cost of allergy serum jumped up from $300 to $500. While my insurance does kick in after my deductible, my budget does not reflect a $400 annual charge for an allergy visit and new serum, since I didn’t start getting shots until recently. When I had a real full time job, there was enough flexibility that I could reallocate funds without having to make any major sacrifices. Given that my spending allocation isn’t very beefy to begin with, along with the fact that it covers many categories including gas and gifts, I am having a difficult time. I’ve read the websites, I’ve read the books, but it still isn’t making things a whole lot easier. I’m trying to step back and work out some goals for the next two years of grad school and plan on tackling it again (perhaps this weekend). We shall see.

Another Car Repair

cami — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:30:49 +0000

A few months ago I had to replace the starter on my car. It was a moderately priced repair when all was said and done. My car is well taken care of, but as it ages things start to go. This morning I couldn’t get my car to start. My mechanic came by (you’ve gotta love small towns), took a look and was able to determine that it wasn’t the starter (which I had already surmised). So I paid the money to have my car towed to the shop and they will take a look at it (hopefully tomorrow morning). The challenge that I’m facing is that I believe there’s a point beyond which it’s not wise to continue pouring money into an old car, but I don’t think that I drive enough to justifying buying something that would require a car payment (and higher insurance). I suppose that I could buy something in between, but I don’t think that I could find anything for a reasonable price that would require significantly less “older car” maintenance than my current car. The other issue is that since my car has a good deal of body damage (it’s been hit twice while parked), there isn’t really any resale value, especially if it’s not running. I guess a large part of the decision will hinge on the cost of repair. Still even if it’s a cheap fix, there is the chance that at some point before I graduate I will be at this crossroads again.

Any suggestions?

Happy ‘Dump the Pump’ Day

cami — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 22:38:36 +0000

Apparently today is annual ‘Dump the Pump’ Day, which is suppose to encourage people to use mass transit over driving. Until this afternoon I thought it was just a local thing as our bus service had signs up and offered free rides, but turns out it’s national! I’m not sure how successful it was (though I suspect it likely had more of an impact than in prior years), but I think it a great idea. My bus fare is already paid for by student fees, but I still like the concept. I can’t say that I notice increased traffic on the bus, but hopefully some of the bigger cities saw a greater increase in ridership than my little college town.

A Few Tips for Saving on Gas

cami — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:37:55 +0000

With the ever-increasing cost of gas, many people have been offering tips on how to make your gas go just a little bit farther. I thought that I would share some tips that, if I followed, would likely increase my fuel efficiency.

When traveling for a particular purpose, make sure to bring any items that you may need. For example, if you are going to the store, bring your wallet. If you are going to the laundromat, remember to bring laundry detergent.

If you have a meeting or event, make sure you know the day, time, and location. If you don’t you will waste time and money on travel, plus you will feel silly when you arrive a week early for the party.

If your car is prone to be a victim of hit-and-runs and as such has pieces dangling from it, make sure to secure them firmly and re-inforce them from time to time. I don’t have the scientific evidence to back it up, but from firsthand experience it would seem that having pieces of your bumper scraping the highway at 70+ mph causes a loss of fuel efficiency. I find duct tape and string to be relatively inexpensive, yet invaluable for this purpose.

Any tips that you would like to share?

An Even Better Deal

cami — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 03:08:25 +0000

A couple of months back, I mentioned that one of my prescriptions (Zyrtec) had gone over-the-counter and generic and as a result my co-pay went from $14 for a 30-day supply (brand name) to $7 for a 30-day supply (generic). However, when I was at the allergist the other day he told me that there were some stores that were selling the generic version (cetirizine) for really cheap. So I did some investigating and found that I could get a 350-day supply for just under $33 through Amazon (including shipping). With a $14 co-pay the cost was roughly 47 cents per pill, at $7 it’s 23 cents per pill, and at Amazon it’s now 9 cents per pill!

What’s even better is that the generic I bought is actually the Sam’s club brand and Costco has a popular generic as well. Sam’s Club charges $17.12 for the 350-day supply, while Costco.com charges $15.99 for a 300-day supply. These prices are approximately 5 cents per pill but don’t include shipping or tax. One nice thing about the Sam’s Club version is that there are two bottles (with 175 pills each) so you could split it with friends. However Sam’s Club requires that you have a membership, while Costco charges a 5% surcharge to non-members for online orders. I went the Amazon route since I don’t have a wholesale club membership and I’m not really sure that I would use one (I figured the discount for one item really wasn’t worth it). Still, over the course of a year I will save about $140 over the brand name co-pay and I think that, is a pretty good deal.

Someone Better

cami — Thu, 29 May 2008 02:59:32 +0000

I am starting to realize that there will always be someone “better.” No matter how hard you work there will always be someone who: saves more for retirement, gets a better deal, finishes faster, loses weight more easily, pays down their loans faster, drives less, uses less energy, ad infinitum. Furthermore with the advent of the internet, they might just tell you so. I really can’t tell you how many times I’ve read a pf blog and the author talks about ways you can save in X area, and everyone writes in to say just how much they saved in X area as if it’s a contest. The same goes for other types of “achievements” like recycling and athletics as well. But you know what I’m starting to realize, truly realize: it is not in fact a contest. If you can meet your goals, then you have won. If really doesn’t matter if Jenny in Wisconsin only spent $1625 on a wedding and you spent $6500 if you had the wedding that you wanted and paid for it responsibly. You probably could get married for less than $5o, but would you want that? And even if you are the person who is “better”, what exactly does that get you, in and of itself? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that there aren’t tangible benefits to savings and responsible spending, exercise, conservation, etc., but I think when we are seeking to make achievements at a certain level simply for the bragging rights, we lose sight of what’s really important. For example, if the cost of your wedding is the most important thing to you (whether it be high or low), personally I think that you’ve pretty much missed the point. And if you only run races to win them, you’ll miss out on so many good moments because you’re worried about someone else being better.

What Happened to the Broke Students?

cami — Tue, 27 May 2008 01:11:28 +0000

Do you remember when the idea of a college or graduate student was someone occupying a small room in a house, eating pasta and ramen, and commuting to school on an old beater bike? What happened to that idea - because seriously many of the students around me seem very ‘bling’ed out: triathlon bikes, BMWs, fancy restaurants, etc. I know that some students work, but given the increasing cost of gas, food, and tuition it doesn’t seem like there would be a lot left over for such fancy toys. As a student myself, it just bewilders me. While I realize I might be able to afford fancier items it would come at the cost of giving, saving, and debt (student loan) reduction. Personally, I’d rather have those and the self-discipline that comes with them, than a few shiny depreciating assets at this stage of my life. My philosophy is that this is probably the time (or one of the times) I will be making the least amount of money in my adult life; if I can be responsible now, I will have a lot more fun in the future when I do make more money and I don’t have to spend it paying off old debt. While I certainly don’t advocate eating lots of enriched starches or living with questionable strangers if you can afford not to (and it’s not your preference), I think that there’s a rather thick line between a beat-up Huffy and a new Cervelo.

Summer Transportation

cami — Wed, 21 May 2008 01:24:27 +0000

If I combine the generally upward trend of gas prices with the fact that I’m cheap and I don’t really like to drive, automotive transportation is likely to play a decreasing role in my summer transportation efforts. While I generally ride the bus to my office, I find that I often use the car for errands. Not this summer. For the most part, I doubt that there are very few things that I need to buy that are too bulky to carry while riding a bike. So if I plan right, I hope to be able to seriously limit my car trips and make use of the bus, bike, and feet whenever possible. My plan is simple: unless I am required to look nice when I get there, there’s a threat of inclement weather, or I have to travel rather far away - no car. If all goes according to plan I should be able to keep a little more money in my pocket and a little less CO2 in the atmosphere.

The New I-Bond Rates

cami — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:06:18 +0000

Well the new I-Bond rates were announced on May 1st and they come with both good and bad news. The earnings rate is the combination of the fixed rate and the applicable variable rate. The good news is that the variable rate is 4.84%. So if you already own I-bonds with fixed rates over 1% like I do, you’re probably fairly pleased. The bad news is that the new fixed rate is 0%. Seriously ZERO. As the fixed rate lasts for the life of the bond (while the variable rate changes every six months), this isn’t the most attractive gamble for a long-term savings strategy. It might be worth purchasing new I-bonds for a year (minimum required holding term), but after a 3-month interest penalty you might not fair much better than with a online savings account or CD. I really think it’s too bad that the US government seems to be discouraging people from saving.

It’s Free, But Do You Really Want It?

cami — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 02:55:49 +0000

I’ve been avoiding my local Freecycle list lately for two main reasons. First, the community has grown tremendously over the past year and as a consequence there is a lot of correspondence (and I just can’t possibly keep up with all of it). Secondly, I have found that since joining I have acquired more things than I’ve managed to give away. To make matters worse, most of what I’ve acquired doesn’t really fit into my main hobbies or lifestyle, so I don’t even have time to use it. Personally, I think that there’s something about ‘free’ that draws people in; why else would you (well I) do a flexed armed hang for a Marines larnyard? I can honestly say that I would not have spent any money to acquire one, and I really don’t have much use for it (though it might make a nice gift for one of the little kids in my family). Perhaps once school’s over I can take some time and find someone who can actually use some of the stuff that I’ve acquired. There are two benefits to that scenario: (1) it won’t end up in a landfill and (2) I can stop tripping over it.