@ K: As to what kind of troubles I’m having, here is one example: my cell provider disallowed me from a substantial employer discount and has me on a “quick pay” program where they deduct my bill from my debit card automatically each month. They said I don’t “qualify” for regular bills and employer discounts because I don’t have a credit history. I rent one room from a homeowner so I can save money, so rent and utils aren’t in my name and I’m not building credit that way. I’ve requested reports from all three bureaus and I have absolutely no credit history. My guess is that rent and utils were how your good credit score was built.

@ John: I applied for a Kohl’s card and was rejected due to a lack of credit history… I think even department stores are getting more careful with extending credit.

@Trent
Question for next week:
You’ve said a few times that you don’t like to eat out but just make your own meals at home because it’s cheaper etc. At what point do you break these rules? Ie, when will you say ‘enough is enough. We are going out for dinner/getting a take-away tonight’, even as a one off? (I mean spur of the moment.) Or doesn’t that sort of thing happen at all? I am interested in knowing what it takes for you to not keep other rules that you set for yourself etc as well, but I thought that that example was the clearest one. The reason I ask is because I try to keep good habits some of the time but I haven’t conquered it all yet, not by a long shot. So, I am interested to see if other people think that specific circumstances are worth bending/breaking the rules for, so that if these splurges do happen, perhaps I can have a bit more structure about WHEN they do. :-) TIA.

Thanks, Greg

Thanks to both sites’ advice, we’ve paid off our car loan and the only debt left is my student loans. I enjoy reading both blogs and seeing what tips could benefit us personally.

My thoughts on how to keep up with long-running series. I have a Blockbuster DVD-by-mail account and have watched some of the most amazing series by renting three discs at-a-time. We would never be able to follow shows like Lost or 24 if we had to watch them live, but we find these shows are compelling when you can watch a full season in 3-4 weeks. We really don’t have a need for Cable TV anymore thanks to this regime. An episode per night and two per night on weekends (after the kid is asleep) turns out to be a great routine.

As a result, I find I am almost completely uninterested in movies. I have found very few 1-3 hour storylines that are as captivating as a season-long arc that plays out over 18 hours or more.

And frankly, it’s very, very nice not to have to keep track of all your investments the way you have to when you are paying taxes on them every year. So, if you ever want to try day trading (which I don’t recommend, except for small amounts), I recommend doing it in a retirement account.

Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of people end up retiring earlier than they want to either due to health problems or economic problems. So you can think of retirement savings as another form of emergency savings.

@Cilia – Another idea is to ask your sister if she is doing okay and offer to let her pay back the money much later if it will help her. Imply that of course she wants to have already paid the money back by now, so something must have come up. Mention a specific date or mention a specific condition, like as soon as she gets a raise or as soon as she catches up on her credit card. And I also like the idea of offering easy payments such as $50/month or $10/week. Usually there is some amount that can be afforded. If you decide to treat it as a gift in your own mind, you might share that with her—it might help her feel more comfortable around you, too.

As for never lending to friends or family, I don’t really like that philosophy. Instead, I never lend anything I can’t afford to lose. I never lend money for something I oppose (and that includes loans that just put off the inevitable instead of fixing it). And I never lend money to anyone who still owes on another loan (and I do mention that when I make the loans). Currently, both my siblings owe me money. Although both have borrowed and paid me back before, they are both stuck right now. I do think they will both pay me back eventually, but it’s okay if they don’t. The big advantage to me is that even when they could use another loan, they never ask me.

I’ve even decided to add a savings category for these kinds of loans and also for something I think of as chance-of-a-lifetime-opportunity gifts. Like when my family went to Disney World, but my sister couldn’t afford to go, that was terrible. So I decided I never want to let that happen again. When my sister moved to Belgium for a while, and everyone but my brother could afford to visit her, I subsidized him so that he could go, too.

If you put your mind to it, it is pretty easy to find people who want to lend you money. ;)

Divajean (#23) Many small tips can add up to a surprising amount of money saved, but actually I was only considering time spent per action. That is, it only takes 1 phone call to lower your cable bill or your credit card apr for a long time (presumably big haul). However, many small tips often require constant monitoring (taking the reuseable grocery sack) and action; but many don’t (CFLs, automatic thermostat). Perhaps a good compromise might be how many times the tip must be used to achieve maximum amount of savings.

Jamie (#31) If you plan to merge finances after you are married; then it isn’t your (singular) debt; it is y’all’s debt (plural) and it will probably be the worse decision you make. You already sound like you feel guilty just thinking of him paying it down or paying 100% of a new car for the both of you. Do you know where you are going to live (US or UK or elsewhere)? What are his thoughts on the matter? No, really, what are his thoughts after he’s paid about 2/3 to your 1/3 in 10 years or so (or whatever you think the ratio might be)? Does this entitle him to more decision-making priviledge over your earnings later in life or over where the family might go vacationing? Is this something he might bring up acrimoniously in some future argument? You need to have a good talk with yourself and with him about future expectations, employment and money. Good luck to you (in spite of my seeming pessimism)!

-Nate

Do you think it would be a clever idea to hide cash in something like this? http://www.pfadvice.com/2007/01/26/skid-mark-safe-disgusting-but-if-it-works/ I have always assumed thieves can immediately spot the fake shaving cream can safes and hollowed out books that are sold to disguise valuables, right? Plus, those nasty underwear are pretty hilarious.

Two additional shows of interest:

The Tick (not animated)
Andy Richter controls the universe

You gotta find the system that works for you. He has his system and you have yours and I have mine. So long as you have a system, it works for you and you control your money and not the other way around then things are good.

Build a loving community around you and your spouse. It takes more stress to break apart a community than to break apart a couple.

This community could be church, family, or other communities of love, commitment, and care.

Stomping Grounds on Welch Ave. is THE.BEST.RESTAURANT/COFFEESHOP.IN.TOWN.

Hands down. I miss it!