Comments | traceroo: Time to stop hiding my head in the sand financially

traceroo

Time to stop hiding my head in the sand financially

Nov 15, 2010 09:48

Gender Beer TapeThe great Gender Beer Tape Feast of 2010 was at least as interesting and thought-provoking as anticipated, and indeed far more so. My dinner companion is a real treasure trove of interesting conversation. We had one of those meandering discussions Friday night that just wanders all over the place, but at every topic, I was both ( Read more... )

personal finance

Comments 6

jatrina November 15 2010, 17:24:07 UTC

<3 ( ... )

Whoa, Nellie! traceroo November 15 2010, 17:31:58 UTC

That is indeed a lot of bank accounts! Wowee! How do you keep track of it all ( ... )

Re: Whoa, Nellie! jatrina November 15 2010, 17:43:14 UTC

Luckily it lets me name the accounts, so they're cleverly titled exactly what they are. Then I simply do the math of how much I'll need in the accounts every month (average utility bills, mortgage, etc.) and for those I figure out what it takes weekly to make sure the money is there. For the others it's a matter of just picking an amount and putting it in weekly as needed. For some reason it's easier to me to part with say $10 a week instead of $40 or $50 per month, even though it's exactly the same ( ... )

Re: Whoa, Nellie! traceroo November 15 2010, 19:04:00 UTC

Wells Fargo was my lender for the hous in Natick, and I liked them well enough then. Online options weren't so advanced in general. I'll definitely bear your report on their ease of use in mind when we go to get a house. Some lenders make it so difficult to make extra payments!

We have a cash back card from American Express. Amex offers 2 versions of it that I know of. We have one which gives us a higher percentage of cash back on groceries, gasoline, and drug stores (does not include big box stores like Walmart, Sam's, CostCo). Then we get a piddly amount of cash back from all other purchases. We just got back $336 for the whole year, which is pretty awesome.

They have another version which favors restaurants and hotels, same thing.

We just put everything in the world on the Amex, and I pay it at least once a week. We never carry a balance on it.

Trace

mystae November 17 2010, 02:09:28 UTC

I wanted to say I'm so glad you posted this, Trace. I had been considering hopping back on to LJ land to post about Crap Job and the recent financial issues and it feels like the way you think about all of it is very similar to my own thought process. I've been contemplating opening my first savings account because I think future planning would go more smoothly if I was "pre-paying" on it, or as you said, 'spending it on savings'. Anywho, I just find it comforting to see someone getting their ducks in a row in a manner I can relate to. :)

WWSOD? traceroo November 17 2010, 16:19:35 UTC

B., I recommend to you Suze Orman's, The Money Book For The Young, Fabulous, and Broke. It's geared toward your situation in life. Suze does a great job of explaining all the basics, and the choices you have, and delivers great straight-talk advice about what to do next. It's a few years old, so you can easily find it in the public library -- or it'll be the best $15 you spend in the course of empowering yourself financially.

T.