Welcome to this week’s Reader Mailbag!

A note: I get enough questions to do two or three mailbags a week. I’ve considered putting a second Mailbag on Thursdays. Would this be of interest to you guys?

I recall a few months ago you were thinking seriously about cutting out all or most meat from your diet? Where did you get to with this? What was it inspired by? (I seem to remember there was a book that started you thinking about this?)

- Eve

In late 2008 to early 2009, I had a bit of a health scare that prompted me to start exercising more and eating better, a trend I followed during most of 2009. However, during the final crunch for my book, my diet and exercise regimens both went downhill. Now that the book is done, I’m putting both back into place.

I found a lot of inspiration from various books when I got started with this regimen. Two really stood out from the pack: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (which I actually reviewed here a while back) and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.

My current plan is the “vegetarian until 6 PM” plan, which bascially means eating vegetarian for breakfast, lunch, and any daytime snacks, then eating a normal dinner.

Your post on Framework and distractions reminded me of an idea I’d heard of – a media fast. To drown out the noise of life and listen to ourselves and what we value rather than media outlets. No tv, no non fiction books, no music with words, no magazines. I’ve been meaning to try it soon for mental health reasons, but it also seems like a very frugal way to spend quality time. Here is a post on it from another blog.
- Amanda

I used to do “media fasts” somewhat regularly in college through the mid-2000s. I would allow myself books, but I wouldn’t watch any television, listen to the radio, read magazines, or use the internet in any fashion. I’ve done many week-long sessions of this, with one session lasting a month.

The biggest thing I noticed is how much the advertising shocks you when you stop doing this. Ads are everywhere, even in the content we read and listen to. It’s amazing how much content is there simply for the purpose of selling you stuff. Once you see it, it becomes hard to trust a lot of the messgaes out there.

I’d love to do it again, but at this point it would require a full-on vacation from The Simple Dollar, which is difficult. With my previous work, I could still easily do my job while doing a media fast, but that’s much harder when you’re basically writing for and managing a media property.

I am currently employed, but at about 1/2 the amount I was making a year and a half ago. I was making $72,000 – which helped me pay off all credit card debt, but I got laid off in Aug. 2008. I was unemployed for about three months and then found another job making around $35,000. My only debt right now is my mortgage – around $32,000 and my school loans – around $68,000 (and also about $300 in credit card purchases from Christmas, but that will be paid off within the month.) I have depleted the majority of my savings – mostly through making purchases that I probably could’ve lived without when I first got laid off, but needless to say I have about $500 in savings right now. That’s some background so here’s where my question begins, I have been making extra payments on my mortgage – my current payment is $300 a month (the joys of small town rural life) and I’ve been paying $65 extra a week – about $260 a month. I am employed in a state job and it looks like there’s a better than average chance that with the economy I could get laid off again this summer. Should I stop making the extra payments on my mortgage (currently 7.5%) and put all of that in to savings (at maybe 1.5% interest at ING), or should I keep making the extra payments until I can no longer make them? I am currently able to put about $200-300 into savings every month.
- Sandy

I would stop the extra mortgage payments (for now) and channel the difference into personal savings for a while.

The big reason for this move is that you need an adequate emergency fund, especially given your current financial situation. An unexpected event, like a car repair or a lost job, can really derail your fairly stable situation, causing you to have to dip into the debt pool to stay above water, and that can become a downward sprial.

How much should you have? I’d suggest having enough in your account to cover three months’ worth of living expenses. Since you’re fairly confident that you’ll be laid off again this summer, I’d probably keep going beyond three months.

So, I would just channel the extra mortgage payment purely into your savings for now so that you don’t have to rely on debt if you’re laid off.

I graduated last December and was blessed to get a job in my new field that began in January. My loans come due in July but I will apply for loan forgiveness with my new job and that will leave me with about $8000 principle. What I am wondering is if it is better for me to just pay it off or make a few months payment because of my credit rating. I use two credit cards monthly but pay my balance in full and I don’t have a car payment or a mortgage. I pay bills to my family where I live but my name is not on any of the utilities. I used to live in my own place so I did have bills in my name several years ago but I have no plans to change my current living situation. I am asking because of a previous post I read where a couple saw their insurance rate increase and their credit rating decrease because they had their bills paid.
- Andy

If you have credit cards and pay the balance in full each month, you’re doing what you need to do to maintain a good credit rating. Thus, I wouldn’t worry about maintaining that rating and instead would focus on getting yourself in the best position.

The advice about maintaining a good credit rating was directed towards people that had absolutely no lines of credit for a period of seven years, at which point their credit report was blank. If you’re paying off your credit card in full each month, this doesn’t apply to you. Even just leaving the card open would suffice.

I don’t know the exact ins and outs of your situation, but debt freedom is certainly a strong path to take in any situation. If you have the financial resources to pay the whole debt off, I’d do so.

I’m a 26-year-old woman working as a part-time music teacher in a local public school district. I’m extremely lucky, because my school district is paying for my master’s degree in full! I will graduate in May from a private university with my master’s in school counseling, with zero student loan debt. However, there is a clause in my teacher’s contract that states that I must stay in my current school district for one year after finishing my degree, or else I will need to pay back half of my tuition. In other words, if I leave my job next year to pursue my career in school counseling, I will owe $24,000 (my entire degree costs my district $48,000). My question is, should I stay one more year to eliminate my debt? Or should I take on the debt, knowing that I could potentially earn $45,000 in a new job? Is it ever smart to have debt? Other information: I currently have $3,000 left on a car loan, but other than that I have zero debt to my name. No credit card debt, no other tuition debt, nothing. I enjoy reading your website, and look forward to your feedback. Thanks so much!
- Jessica

There are two big questions I would think about here. First, how much would I “earn” in total over the next year if I stayed at my current job? That would be your current salary plus $24,000. Second, what’s my ability to actually get a different job this year as well as next year?

I don’t know what you’re earning part time, but if it’s even close to $20,000 a year, I would tend to argue for staying where you are. For one, it sounds like the salary at the other job is uncertain but has the potential of $45,000 a year. In this job market, that might not be a guarantee.

For two, a bird in the hand is almost always worth two in the bush. It’s rarely a good idea to turn away from a good offer to leap into the unknown chasing a potentially great one.

I have been thinking for the past several months (maybe a year) that a career change could be in order for me. I am currently in my fifth year of teaching high school English, a career I entered because of the opportunities to make a positive difference in people’s lives. I also wanted to share my passion for reading and writing, thinking that passion would serve me well in a teaching career.

The thought of making this change scares me, but it also excites me. I feel like I have been “in a funk” for the past few years because I have been so unhappy at work, to the point where friends and family have noticed. I don’t want to say that I am depressed, because I can’t make that clinical diagnosis, but I do feel like the character in the cartoons who has the raincloud directly overhead at all time. Actually my mom emailed me at one point last year and said that she could tell I was unhappy and she supported me in any decision I would make about my career.
- Justin

You should absolutely head towards being a writer. If that’s what you’re passionate about, that’s what you should be doing.

Right now, if I were you, I would spend as much of my time as I can using my current job as a platform to get ready for the next job. Ignore the drudgery of the day-to-day at your current job. View it instead as preparation for your next career. Go home from work each night and write. Write as much as you can. Get stuff down on paper (or in bit form). Start building up a big healthy cash reserve by living as cheaply as you can.

Make your big focus right now moving towards that career you want. Fill your thoughts with it. Spend all your spare time on it. Make it your focus, and cover every base you can before making that leap.

Then, reframe your current job not as your career, but as something you do to bring in cash to support what you’re really doing. You may find, eventually, that you’re earning some from writing and can move on to a part-time position doing something else to bring in supplemental income. Soon, you might be able to do it full time.

But you have to start. Today. If you don’t, you’ll be stuck where you are now, which sounds like a really unhappy place.

I’ve been a follower of The Simple Dollar for 4 years now. I paid off $15,000 in debt incurred from starting a nonprofit and paying its bills when it couldn’t afford to, and being caught in the middle of having to pay my own bills. Your website has kept me very motivated. Discussing Your Money or Your Life and getting the book myself totally changed my financial life. I paid off my credit card debts in 3 years, with a wedding thrown in between for which we paid cash. My savings have skyrocketed, my vehicles are now paid off, and so is my very humble home.

I’m totally motivated to do the cornmaze, but I’m still scared to jump. The corn maze would operate for 1.5 -2 months. Costs associated with clearing and prepping the site will come out of whatever we’ve already saved for the purchase (which I found shockingly expensive: $1,500 an acre to clear, so at this point $15,000). An 8 acre section behind us is available for $25,000 and will be needed to make the maze a decent size instead of 2 acres. We can pay cash for all of it, which will take away from our savings to purchase the property when the lease expires. I’ve discussed my plan with others in the industry, as well as the county agent, feed coop, and the general public, as well as those in education, several of whom I work with. The consensus is that it would be very well received and probably successful. I want to do this, but I’m nervous. I shouldn’t be, I have experience running a small business and have all the resources. Do I just close my eyes and take the plunge?
- Anita

From what I know about corn mazes, they wouldn’t take a lot of time to set up and run. You basically plant a field, grow the corn, then chop down a maze in the corn. You then set up a booth and charge admission.

Since you work in a public school system, you have the summer off, right? Why not just plant the field in the early spring, wait until summer, then lay the groundwork for the corn maze? You can then see first hand whether or not it earns good money. If it does, just work out the remainder of your contract with the school and go with the non-profit full time.

The big thing here is this: there are a lot of businesses that seem really good on paper that just don’t work in real life. The corn maze relies on people (customers) actually wanting to go through a corn maze. It’s often hard to tell if such a market exists in a large fashion without careful market study and, while your advice from people has probably been good advice, it’s really hard to be certain it will work. Since such a side business wouldn’t require a ton of work during the school year, why not give it a shot starting this spring, get the corn maze going in the summer, and see what happens?

I read your website almost daily and one of the themes that you discuss often is having a “big, fat emergency fund”. I certainly concur with this but how big are you thinking exactly? Here is my situation: I’m 39 years old and a single mother of two. I have a steady income and contribute the maximum allowable amount for the employer-based retirement ($16500/annually). I have maxed out the Roth IRA as well and put about $50 per month into each of my children’s 529 accounts. I am focusing more on retirement savings than my kids’ college funds thinking that there are alternate ways to pay for college and my children should contribute to their college education. In addition to the employer-based retirement plan and the Roth IRA, I put an additional $500 every pay period (26 pay periods annually) into a liquid money market account. My available liquid cash is about $31,000. The only major ongoing debt I have is a $1283/month mortgage with an interest rate of 4.625%. I should be able to pay that off in about 10 years. I pay my credit cards off in full each month.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this.
- Tas

My general rule of thumb for emergency funds is to have 2-3 months of living expenses saved per person in your household. Thus, if you’re single, 2-3 months might cut it. If you’re married, have 4-5 months or so. If you have kids, make it last even longer than that.

It sounds like you’re probably somewhere in the ballpark with that amount right now. It’s really hard to tell without more specifics on your life.

What do you do beyond that? You have to sit down and start assessing the goals you have for your life. Do you want to live elsewhere? Do you want to travel? Do you want to support certain causes? Do you want to start a business?

These are decisions that are up to you, but once you have a great emergency fund in place, they become real questions that you have to think about.

I have a question that has several different parts. First, I’m moving this year to a new city and out on my own for the very first time. I’ll be living by myself in an apartment and I’m so excited! I would like your advice for stocking a kitchen for one who likes to cook without spending a mint. I have been given leave to shop our house and I will definitely be doing that, taking my mother’s china and so forth, but there are other things I’m going to need and I’ve started a list. I definitely intend to hit the yard sales in a major way but somethings I’d like to purchase new, like knives for instance. I remember you wrote an article about buying a new knife. I don’t want an extravagant fabulous one but neither do I want cheapie cheapo. What do you recommend and how many for a moderate cook? What other things would you recommend buying new for and what do you recommend looking for in yard sales? I really appreciate any feedback.
- Sue

For plates and flatware, you can probably find appropriate material at yard sales if you look around. A simple set can often be found on the cheap from people who have upgraded their plates and flatware.

As for pans and knives, stick with buying the minimum number of items at first and study them carefully. 95% of what I do in a kitchen in terms of cutting, for example, is done with a single knife – my chef’s knife. 90% of my kitchen cooking is done in an enameled stainless steel pot – yes, everything from frying an egg to making soup. You really don’t need fifteen different kitchen implements to do variations on the same task.

In terms of bang for the buck, I usually trust Cooks Illustrated for buying kitchen items. I would probably point you towards the three piece Fibrox set to cover all of your knife needs (between the chef’s knife and the paring knife, you probably won’t need more).

As for pots and pans, I’d trust Cooks Illustrated’s Ideal Cookware Set a la carte. I would probably just get a piece at a time – and I’d start, honestly, with the enameled French oven. We have two of those and we can pretty much cook everything in them.

If you can find items similar to what’s on that list at yard sales, good luck. Once, I found a bunch of All-Clad stainless steel stuff at a yard sale, but I didn’t have cash on hand to buy it. I asked the people to hold them for me while I went to get cash, but when I got back, they had sold it because “they didn’t know if I was really coming back.” (Needless to say, I immediately left and didn’t buy a thing from them.)

How about them Saints?
- Michael

All I have to say about the Super Bowl is this. Almost three months ago, Evan wrote in with the following question, which appeared in Mailbag #89:

Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?

My response?

Drew Brees.

I think the Saints had more to play for than the Colts did and that made all the difference in the world. New Orleans should be a fun place between now and Fat Tuesday.

Got any questions? Ask them in the comments and I may address them in a future reader mailbag.

This is Reader Mailbag #100. With this mailbag, I’ve decided to start naming the mailbags based on an interesting question or two answered within the mailbags, making it easier to find such mailbags (in theory).

I refuse to buy gas from BP [due to various political reasons]. In my town, however, the BP station almost always has gas prices that are a nickel per gallon lower than the prices at other stations.

As a frugal person, I’m constantly torn about whether or not to go back on my stance and save a dollar or two on each of my fill-ups. At the same time, I really don’t want to buy gas from BP. Do you have any thoughts or guidance here?
- Shane

(I excised Shane’s political reasons because they’re not really germane to the discussion and they would cause a long political sidebar that doesn’t really need to be brought up.)

To put it simply, Shane, you’ve reached the very point where you’re putting your money where your mouth is when it comes to political beliefs. Are you directly willing to put your dollars on the table due to your political beliefs or do your more direct needs (saving money) supercede it?

This is pretty much entirely an internal issue. Do you believe in these political causes deeply enough to literally start putting your dollars on the table for it? I can’t answer that for you, but I can say that it’s never a cut and dried issue for anyone because everyone has different experiences, different values, and different ideas.

There are certain stores and businesses that I will not give my business to for various reasons, political and otherwise. Usually, the reasons have to do with atrocious customer service or poor products, but I can think of at least one case where I made the decision to stop using a particular company’s service because I didn’t like their overt sponsorship of certain political activities. I don’t really care whether or not it costs me a few dollars because it’s tied to a belief I hold quite dearly.

You need to ask yourself how deeply you truly hold these views – it’s not a question I can answer for you. I’ll just say that I think it’s perfectly reasonable to not spend your money at a business that engages in practices you don’t believe in.

What do you think of MMORPGs like World of Warcraft as a frugal gaming option?
- Emily

Games like these require a monthly fee to play – in the case of World of Warcraft, it’s between ten and fifteen dollars – which is a bad thing. However, the good aspect of such games is that the amount of gameplay available is enormous, plus such games also develop a strong social pull because of the interactions with real people.

If you assume that playing such a game slows a person’s other gaming purchases down significantly – from, say, a new $50 game a month to one per quarter – then it’s obviously a good way to save on a hobby that a person enjoys.

The danger with any such game, though, is overplaying. The social connection – the fact that you’re playing with friends and people you know – often adds a “keeping up with the Joneses” mentality, which means that people can often get absorbed into playing such games excessively. You play and play and play in order to socialize and also to one-up your friends with various in-game achievements.

If MMORPGs like World of Warcraft are played a reasonable amount and result in decreases in the overall entertainment budget of a person or a family, I say they’re a good thing. However, if they are overplayed and cause disruptive behaviors or simply beocme another bill tacked onto spending that isn’t cut in other ways, they’re a problem.

I’m a fifty four year old widow with four adult children. A year ago, my husband suddenly died in a vehicle accident. He left behind enough life insurance money to pay off everything and to give me some time to figure out what’s next in my life, which was a blessing. I decided to sell our house and move closer to my sisters and our children.

Now, though, it’s time for me to start over with things. I haven’t worked at all in thirty years and I simply don’t know how I’ll ever find a job in the working world without any experience at all. Do you have any suggestions?
- Lily

Your best approach as you re-enter the workplace is to be very clear and straightforward about your experience. Don’t hide it. When you’re asked to provide an employment history, tell your situation clearly. Don’t try to hide it or anything like that.

It sounds like your financial situation doesn’t require you to immediately work, but that you’re going to need to work in the coming years and you find yourself in a psychological position to be ready to go back to the workplace. What you choose to do likely depends both on your financial needs and also on what your interests and talents are.

If you’re seeking entry-level work to fill the hours, you likely already have everything you need to find work. If you’re seeking a position with higher financial rewards, however, you may need to go back to school in some regard.

The real question is what do you want to do? How would you ideally like to fill those working hours in the coming years? Spend some time thinking about it and come up with an answer that’s true to you and your skills and talents and interests. Once you know what that is, go for it – it certainly sounds like you have the resources you need to make what you want out of this situation.

One of my family members actually found herself in a very similar situation. She found an entry-level job and spends her spare time pursuing freelancing opportunities that relate to her hobby, which is a form of art. She’s absolutely happy with the way she fills her hours.

You sometimes review books that are pretty far from personal finance. How do you decide whether or not to review a book on here?
- Shawn

I mostly use my gut. If I see a lot of material in the book that I think is in some way connected to what I talk about on The Simple Dollar, I’ll consider reviewing the book, no matter what it is.

So, for example, I consider time management to be a very relevant area, because the more effective you are at managing your time, the more time you have to earn more money or to simply enjoy what life has to offer for you. I feel similarly about books on psychology issues, particularly common issues among the people I know. We all seek happiness, after all, and money is just one tool to help us get there (or keep us from it).

There are many books that I pick up and think, “There might be something in here relevant to The Simple Dollar.” When I read books like that, I usually consider them personal reading and don’t read them during my work times. I save my reading during that time for books I’m much more confident about in terms of their focus on personal finance and career issues.

Basically, if I find something interesting in a book or think it’s relevant in some way to the things I talk about on The Simple Dollar, I’m likely to at least consider reviewing it, no matter what the book is.

My brother believes strongly that the U.S. dollar is about to collapse. He is buying lots of gold coins and other such things. I bacially think the entire thing is ridiculous, but I’m curious as to how you would prepare if you believed the dollar was going to be worthless in a year.
- Ann

I wouldn’t buy gold, for starters. If the dollar suddenly enters hyperinflation or something, gold won’t suddenly become the currency du jour on the street.

What do I think will be the currency you need? Food and skills. I would focus my money and energy on stocking up on non-perishable food items as well as useful skills. I’d probably practice my home repair skills and carpentry skills by fixing my home up as well as I could.

I would also focus on as much self-sustainability as I could, setting up a backbone for it. I’d buy a generator – but that’s something I intend to buy for myself anyway. I’d probably buy a wind turbine, especially if I lived in a rural environment.

I’d start growing a lot of vegetables and items that were very easy to replicate and sustain on my own – potatoes immediately come to mind. I wouldn’t worry that much about non-hybridized seeds because, frankly, it takes a lot of skill to not have them go to waste.

In short, I’d make sure that my family had the things they needed to make it through rough years – food, shelter, water, clothing, and so on. Gold might help, but I tend to trust actually having the food on my shelf a lot more than I trust having an investment.

Of course, I already do a lot of these things. We have a lot of food in the pantry. I know how to garden and produce plenty of food. I have quite a few tradeable skills that would pop up in that situation.

Would The Simple Dollar ever endorse a candidate for political office?
- Willie

Unless Amy Dacyczyn decides to make a run for the Senate, no, I wouldn’t endorse a candidate.

Here’s the flat out truth: I don’t believe that either major political party actually has my interests at heart, nor the interests of most of you reading this. The current political climate doesn’t do much at all to reward people who are truly careful and thoughtful with their money.

A person who is debt free with a lot of cash on hand would want things that would be political suicide today. They would want the Federal Reserve to jack up interest rates – this would make the most secure investments, like CDs and treasury notes, return a lot more. Of course, that would also make all debts have a much higher interest rate, which would be devastating to people who spend money like water (and the businesses that rely on such spending). I’d want the elimination of the capital gains tax (which I guess would be more like the Republicans in theory) but I’d also want more security for my cash investments, like better FDIC insurance (which I guess would be more like the Democrats in theory).

In truth, neither party speaks to the financially responsible and frugal among us. If a candidate arose that truly spoke along those lines, it would be political suicide for them. However, that candidate might actually get an endorsement from me. Good luck with that, though – I don’t believe a lucrative Simple Dollar endorsement would really help against a wave of negative ads funded by big banks and large manufacturing companies.

What do you consider to be an excessive emergency fund? My husband and I have more than a year’s worth of living expenses in cash savings. We don’t have any children living at home with us any more. We have no debt and we both have solid jobs in careers that are at least somewhat in demand.
- Andrea

In your shoes, I would consider an emergency fund that large to be a bit of an overkill.

However, there’s another really important factor in play here. Does the emergency fund make you feel more secure? Does it help you or your husband to sleep better at night knowing your money is safe?

I don’t see any problem for risk-averse people to keep a lot of their money in cash. It might simply be that your husband is very risk averse and he does not relish the idea of putting the money at risk in the stock market or the real estate market. To me, that’s thoroughly understandable.

Sit down and talk about it. If it’s the risk that you’re worried about, consider putting some of the money into inflation-protected treasury notes from the U.S. Treasury Department or buying some CDs with some of that money. You maintain the security you have – owning things that are fully backed by the federal government – but you at least earn a bit more than you would in your typical savings account.

My brother makes amazing homemade wine in his basement. He’s won several tasting contests with his wines and I think he should get into the business of selling it and producing larger quantities of it. Every time I bring it up, though, he really doesn’t seem interested in it, but he’s obviously deeply passionate about the wine making. Do you have any suggestions on how I could convince him to turn this into what would be a surefire business?
- Donald

First of all, it may be that he simply doesn’t want to turn something that is a fun hobby for him into something that is his life’s work. Another issue might be that he has zero interest in the business side of winemaking – things like cataloguing inventory, selling the wine, paperwork, and so on.

Sit down with your brother and see if you can figure out what he wants to do with it. If he does have some interest in expanding but he’s held back by a lack of interest in handling the business side of things (something that many hobbyists feel), perhaps you could help him to find a business partner for the endeavor.

Work through what his concerns are before you do anything else. If he simply loves it as a hobby, let it be. If he does have true interest in making something happen but is held back by some specific fear or concern, do what you can to make that concern go away.

You obviously believe in this wine that your brother makes – if nothing else, just make that really clear to him, because even if the business doesn’t happen, such genuine care will really mean a lot.

My twenty seven year old son still lives at home. He was laid off from his job in early 2008 and moved back into our home for what was supposed to be a short period while he looked for work. He’s no longer bothering to even look for work. Most days, he just sits down in the basement in his pajamas, surfing the web. I don’t know what to do.
- Chloe

Obviously, something needs to change about the current situation or else it will continue for a very long time. That change might come from within him, but that could take a long time and is wholly unreliable. Most likely, you’re going to have to provide the change in the situation.

One common method is to simply lay down an ultimatum – make him move out. Many parents are loathe to do this because it would likely mean that their child would go through a very rough period, potentially even including homelessness. Alternately, you can allow him to stay provided he meets certain criteria – he looks for a job a certain number of hours a day, he sends out so many resumes a week, or he gets involved in something that pushes him toward career progress (perhaps going back to school or something along those lines).

This situation needs a wake-up call, but that wake-up call can take a lot of different forms. If you want something to change now, you’re going to have to be the one to provide the wake-up call. If you “can’t” do it because you’re too worried about the consequences of it, then you don’t truly want change now.

Really, the decision is up to you far more than it’s up to your child at this point.

Spring training in baseball is about to begin. What are your predictions for the coming season? Let’s see how good of a prognosticator you are.
- Jimmy

OK, here goes.

AL playoff teams: New York, Boston, Minnesota, Oakland
NL playoff temas: Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Saint Louis, Chicago
World Series champions: New York
NL MVP: Albert Pujols
AL MVP: Joe Maueer
NL Cy Young: Tim Lincecum
AL Cy Young: Ben Sheets (seriously)
Stories of the year: a big turnaround in Oakland thanks to Sheets’ veteran leadership of a bunch of talented young guys, Pujols chasing 61 home runs, and a current Hall of Famer confessing to steroid use (I have three possible names in mind)

Let’s make fun of these predictions in November, shall we?

Got any questions? Ask them in the comments and I may address them in a future reader mailbag.

Each Monday, The Simple Dollar opens up the reader mailbags and answers ten to twenty simple questions offered up by the readers on personal finance topics and many other things. Got a question? Ask it in the comments. You might also enjoy the archive of earlier reader mailbags.

Do you get involved when someone you care about (sibling/friend) is heading down the road to financial ruin. If yes, how would you get involved, and to what extent?

Without getting into too much detail, my sister/husband/children are all living way beyond their means. His income from a construction business has dropped considerably, but they continue to spend like he is making a six figure income. We know they are already having some financial trouble, but they seem unwilling or unable to adjust to their new situation.
- John

This is a situation that requires a lot of care. Quite often, when one person in a friendship sincerely feels that the way they live their life is in some way better than the way their friend lives their life, it can very easily put some sand in the oil and really damage the friendship. The person thinks they’re helping their friend, while the friend feels looked down upon and resentful.

Rather than being heavy-handed about it, just have a casual talk with your friend. Tell them that you went through a financial hard time yourself in the past and give them a copy of a simple personal finance book that can help them with their problems – then let it drop. Do not hammer the person. Do not insist that they change their ways. They have to find the path to financial freedom themselves – you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink, and if you try to force the horse to drink, you’ll find yourself kicked.

I would probably recommend Dave Ramsey’s book The Total Money Makeover for this very situation, but it somewhat depends on the personality of the friend.

I’d like your opinion on my current predicament.

I’m in the military, I don’t like my job, and I’m in a lot of debt. My options from this point are: 1. Continue serving the two years I owe, create a budget that will eliminate my credit card debt ($23K) by my separation date, making the huge pay cut more manageable, and be incredibly unhappy until then. 2. Petition to separate within the next 6 months, use the GI Bill to begin my Masters and cover minimum credit card payments (unless I find a job), and be MUCH happier. I have been in the military for 5 years now and knew since the beginning that it was not my passion. I tried separating last May, couldn’t find a job a month out, then withdrew my separation from fear that I wouldn’t be able to pay my bills. Of course, I didn’t consider then as I am now moving back home to eliminate the lodging expense and using the GI Bill for school and other bills. I have nothing in savings or investments.
- Cassie

The most financially sound choice is to stay in the military for now – that’s fairly clear.

What’s not as clear is what exactly “incredibly unhappy” means. There’s an enormous difference between “I don’t like my job” unhappy and “I’m going to kill myself if this goes on another day” unhappy.

If it’s the latter, the situation is truly untenable and you should get out as soon as you can. However, if it’s the former, I would encourage you to stay in the military and get yourself in a much better position before leaping into a different life.

My suggestion would be to put off your separation for a month. During that month, dig deep into the aspects of your life that bring you happiness. You might just find that your current situation is more tenable than you think right now, and if that’s the case, the choice is clear.

I am 25 years old and have a steady job in California. My parents live in Ohio and want me to buy an income property near them. The house rents for $700/ month. There is also a small apartment above the garage that rents for $300/ month. Both units are currently occupied and the renters want to stay.

This seems almost too good to be true. What are your thoughts?
- Stephen

You’re missing more than a few costs. Property insurance, property taxes, landlord insurance, and landlord-related (read: higher than usual) maintenance costs are all going to go right on top of the pile here, meaning your costs are going to be significantly higher than just the $600 a month for the mortgage if you choose to go this route.

I would also be concerned about what a property inspection might reveal. A house big enough for two rental units selling for $115,000 sets off my alarm bells as being a bit on the low side, especially given the rents that people are paying, which indicates that it’s not in the least expensive neighborhood (such a house in my hometown, for instance, would rent for less).

Don’t jump into this feet first or you might regret it. Get quotes on the insurance you’ll need. Get a property inspection and also calculate what it’ll cost to get things up to snuff. Find out what the annual taxes are on the property. Then, take a serious look at whether or not you can really swing it.

Do you have any recommendations for billing related tracking? I have accrued multiple clients in a side business I run, and most of the payments I receive are to be recurring, and each varies by client. I am looking for something (maybe a spreadsheet) that will make it easy to track recurring payments for each client, including the amounts, and the time frame for which they have already paid.
- Seth

It sounds like you’ve got a very small business that’s nowhere near the level of needing an industrial-strength accounting package but is busy enough to stretch your ability to keep track of things. If that’s the case, the first place I would start looking is the accounting and billing software category at Download.com.

After reading through the reviews of several of the packages, my pick for you would probably be Microsoft Office Accounting Express. It’s free, integrates well with other Office products, and upgrades to a more full-fledged package when you need it later on (like Dynamics GP.

If you don’t like the Microsoft route, I’d look at Quickbooks Simple Start free edition. Again, it provides a nice upgrade path when you need more horsepower, but gives you what you need today.

What health insurance do you have if you’re self employed?
- Bob

Right now, our entire family uses my wife’s health care benefits, but that was the case already before I switched careers because her health care has always been better than mine.

We’ve done some research into what it would take for us to self-insure (in the event that my wife chooses to switch careers or something to that effect) and we found some good things and some bad things. The good: even if you can’t find insurance because of a pre-existing condition, you can usually find some insurance in many states thanks to the existence of high risk pools in those states, which bargain collectively for policies. The bad: almost every option is painfully expensive. You’re either going to have to be earning a lot or you’re going to have to live with high deductibles.

If you want to know more about it, the place to start is HealthInsurance.org, which has a truckload of information.

my family of 4 is planning a trip to Walt Disney World this year. Of course I want the best experience possible without leaving a major hole in my pocket book… any tips or suggestions?
- Michelle

Five suggestions:

1. Shop around for tickets. There is no “best” place for airline tickets – they’re all roughly equal, but some sites seem to have better rates with some specific airlines and some specific routes. Look at lots of options before you buy.

2. Compare flying to driving and even to using a train to get there. Amtrak does go to Orlando, after all.

3. Consider camping when you arrive. This works well for some people (like us, who love camping) but not so well for others.

4. Consider buying an Entertainment book for Orlando. Since you’ll likely be hitting lots of sites in that area and eating out some, it will probably pay for itself on the trip. If you wait until close to your departure, you’ll probably get a further discount on the book.

5. Make as many meals for yourself as possible. Get sandwich supplies and make them yourself. Fill up backpacks with food and take them with you where you go. Don’t pay high prices for food if you don’t have to.

I’m curious what you think about having a set budget for charity when a crisis such as the one in Haiti occurs. Should you have an “emergency fund” for charity, so you can make an immediate contribution without busting your budget? “Borrow” money from next year’s charity budget and donate now? Not do anything, but perhaps re-evaluate the charities you donate to, and next year give more to ones that help in crisis such as this?
- Joseph

I have an annual amount that I plan to give to charity each year. With a few exceptions (where I’m dead certain we will be giving a certain amount to a charity, like Iowa Public Radio), we let this roll until the end of the year and then give of what’s left in the last week of the year.

Thus, if something like Haiti happens, we can give within this charity budget and not have to worry about it. We just keep the receipt and use it when we total up at the end of the year.

It’s much easier if you just keep a running tally of your charity spending somewhere, like in a spreadsheet.

I have $3000 that I rolled over many years ago from a 401K to a traditional IRA. I would like to roll that money into my Vanguard Roth IRA just to have less institutions that I do business with. What are the rules for converting from a traditional to a Roth IRA? What things do I need to consider before doing so?
- Stephanie

The big thing is that you’re going to have to pay income taxes on the amount you roll over into the Roth IRA now (once it’s rolled over, you won’t have to pay those taxes later on, of course). Depending on your tax bracket, that means Uncle Sam will eat somewhere around 25% of the money. However, you’ll effectively get it back in retirement – and, if your investment options are better at Vanguard, you’ll probably earn more, too.

One big thing to think about: what do you expect your income tax rate to be in retirement? Do you expect it to be lower than it is now? It’s hard to judge this, but I would expect that if my income in retirement is going to be a lot lower than it is right now, my rate in retirement will be lower. If it’s about the same, I would expect my rate in retirement to be higher.

Now, if your rate in retirement will probably be lower than it is now, it’s not a great move to roll things over, because you’ll pay more taxes on it now than you will then. Only make this move if you think your retirement income will be somewhat comparable to what you’re making now.

I graduated from college 1 year ago and have been able to save about $30,000 from working and living at home. Now I am ready to move out and have contemplated either purchasing a home in downtown Baltimore (however, the median house price for my desired location/amenities is about $300,000 and I would definitely have at least 1 roommate) or renting with some roommates for about $600/month rent. My question is, would it make sense for me to try to purchase a house or rent? And, if I choose to rent, what should I do with my savings? Right now I have it in an online savings account earning 1.55% APR just because I want it easily accessible if I choose to purchase a home.
- Joe

First of all, 10% down on a 30 year mortgage means you’re either going to be paying PMI or paying a higher rate because you don’t have that 20% down. So, if nothing else, I’d say to wait until you have at least 20% down before buying.

Let’s say you did have 20% down. You’d then be taking out a 30 year fixed rate mortgage for $240,000 at, say, 5%. Your monthly payment would be $1,638.37, and that wouldn’t include property taxes or homeowners’ insurance. Alternately, you could rent at $600 a month.

If I were you, until there were additional reasons to buy (familial or otherwise), I would continue to rent. Save until you have at least a 20% down payment, then make the move when you’re ready.

As for saving it, if you must have it liquid, a savings account is probably the best choice for you. However, if you’re going to save for that 20% down payment, that gives you at least a year or two in which you won’t be spending the money. In that time frame, a CD is probably the best choice for you, but if the timeframe is longer, you may want to look at putting at least a small percentage into stocks or some other investment.

With the economy in such turmoil, I’m thinking that we may be headed for another Great Depression. There a lot of people who believe this. Do you have any tips from your grandparents or other sources for living on practically nothing? I bookmarked the recipes from that lady Clara whom you highlighted in the Simple Dollar last year who told about what her mother cooked for the bleak depression years, but I wanted something I could print and save for when I will need it.

How independent and self sufficient can we really become? I’d be most interested on your comments and suggestions.
- Junia

It’s very possible today to live a completely self-sufficient lifestyle without reliance on any external sources at all. The big question is what type of quality of life are you looking for?

Do you want electricity? In that case, you’ll probably need some sort of generating capacity. If you live in the Midwest, as I do, a wind turbine is one possibility, but to be self-sufficient, you would also need to know how to repair it and maintain it. Do you want water? That means you’d have to dig a well – or have it dug for you. If you want sustainable food, you’re going to have to get into some degree of agriculture, raising livestock and plants from non-hybridized seed sources. These things are all possible. These things all have significant startup costs, but once they’re running, there’s not much cost other than work.

An alternate question would be what do you consider an acceptable level of self-sustainability? Recipes like Clara’s are great, but they still rely on sources for all of those food items. If that’s the kind of thing you’re looking for – merely tips for how to live if we were suddenly whisked back to the 1930s – there are many, many internet sites devoted to such things. This page, for example, has a ton of Depression-era recipes.

The real concern, I think, is that you have a sense that your current skill set would not function well in an economic depression. If this is a genuine concern for you, spend some time developing the skills. Start a garden. Make recipes with very basic foodstuffs. Take control of your own home repairs. Go as far down that path as you’d like, so that you know how to do these things. Not only are they useful life skills, they save money and they often teach you a lot about yourself as you’re learning them.

Got any questions? Ask them in the comments and I’ll try to include them in a future reader mailbag.

Each Monday, The Simple Dollar opens up the reader mailbags and answers ten to twenty simple questions offered up by the readers on personal finance topics and many other things. Got a question? Ask it in the comments. You might also enjoy the archive of earlier reader mailbags.

If I have to get an auto loan to finance purchasing my next car, I can get one through my credit union (running about 5%, with an active checking account) or through the dealership (special 3%APR on 2010 models). I prefer your route if saving up and paying cash for a late-model used car. However, if one has to choose between loans, which is better – the credit union or the dealership? My parents always strenuously argued against dealership loans, and I had the vague impression it’s like buying batteries at the gas-station convenience store: you can do it, but you’ll pay a premium. OTOH, the dealership rates look awfully tempting. What are the pros and cons of each?
- Kathi

The big disadvantage of dealership loans is that they almost always carry more hidden fees than a credit union loan. Before you sign any contract, read the agreement carefully. It only takes a few fees adding up to a few percent of the car’s price to undo any interest rate advantage you might get.

Your parents’ wariness against dealership loans is probably largely based on such hidden fees. Added on top of that, unless you buy when there’s a strong financing deal going on, dealership loans don’t offer great rates, either. Thus, the general consensus is that if you’re not digging in and studying what you’re doing, you’re better off using a credit union for such purchases.

The big thing to remember is this: read the contract before you sign. If you don’t know what something is, find out – preferably from an independent source.

I appreciate the idea of shopping bulk and then cooking and freezing, but this plan depends on two things: having a car to do the shopping, and having a good-sized freezer to do the storing. What frugal cooking advice would you give to someone who has neither? (I live in a city, so no car needed, and I have a mini-fridge with a freezer about 12?tall x 18?wide x 45?deep)
- Enma

In your situation, one of the best things you can do to reduce your food bill at home is to buy plenty of dried beans and rice and use them in lots of different meals. Buy these items in bulk rarely when you have access to appropriate transportation – especially the rice, since a big bag of rice can be heavy, but it can save you a lot per pound.

Complement these items with plenty of fresh vegetables. Use your grocery store flyers and choose items that are on sale to make the centerpiece of your meals that week.

Given your situation and the fairly short shelf life of fresh vegetables, I would suggest perhaps shopping just for fresh items two or three times a week, hitting the specials at different stores each time. This will allow you to eat very fresh stuff, have some variety, and keep it cheap.

In your last Time Machine post I was following a few links and came to your post of 101 goals in 1001 days. I was very inspired and started my own list. I noticed that the end of your 1001 days is coming up in January. Are you going to give us an update?
- Sarah

It’s close enough to the end that it’s probably appropriate to comment on my 101 goals in 1,001 days list, so here goes.

I accomplished 52 of the items. The biggest reason I didn’t accomplish the rest of the items was the change in family dynamics after the birth of our second child, which actually altered things more than the first one did (since just trading off with the child didn’t just leave the other parent free to do things). Some of them – like the travel-related ones – became more difficult after changing careers and buying a house, both moves that were done to allow me to focus more on my family. A few were complete pipe dreams, but I still came surprisingly close to reaching them, anyway. One, for example, was to reach 100,000 subscribers to The Simple Dollar when, at the time, I had 8,212 of them. I really didn’t expect to ever accomplish it, but I came much closer than I would have guessed, as I now have about 72,500 or so.

When the deadline hits, I’ll do a final count and then take care of #26 – donating to a charity for each item I missed.

I’ve been thinking of changing from the Fidelity debit card I have to a similar credit card with cash back. I’m worried about possibly losing my debit card and having money hijacked out of my account. Should I make the switch?
- Dale

If the debit card has a Visa or MasterCard logo attached to it, it affords the same protections as credit cards of the same type. Most of the horror stories floating around out there concerning debit card fraud occurred in the early days of such debit cards before Visa and MasterCard had extended such protections to the cards. However, you should always use your debit card as a credit card when making purchases. Tell the retailer and sign the receipt – don’t use your PIN, ever.

If you are uncertain exactly what protections you have, check out your bank’s web site – in this case, Fidelity.

That being said, no matter what card you’re using, you still need to be vigilant. Keep an eye on your account and make sure you know exactly what every charge is. The second you see a charge you don’t know, call your bank.

My view is that, all things being equal, a credit card is a bit safer than a debit card. For example, MasterCard’s liability statement clearely states: “Zero Liability does not apply to MasterCard cards if a PIN for a debit transaction is used for the unauthorized purchase.”

I have 4 student loans which have gone into default and been thrown to the collection agencies, roughly a couple of months ago. I had been granted economic hardship deferments for the last 4 years, but the time came to make the hard decision to just default – especially since I moved out of the country (yes, I was one of those people, but not just to escape debt – it was also a personal career move).

How would you handle it?
- Jessi

Once your debt is in collections, it begins to function a bit differently. In essence, the people that originally held your loan have given up hope of collecting anything from you. Usually, they sell your debt to a collection agency for some small amount of what you owe and then that agency tries to play hardball with you to get you to pay up – that’s their business.

When you’re in that situation, you do have some bargaining power. Since they paid a discounted rate for your debt, you can negotiate with them to pay a smaller amount to get rid of your debt. Try negotiating. Offer what you have. Insist that they mark the debt as paid on your credit reports, however, so that this episode can be put behind you.

The problem, however, is that your credit will be damaged for seven years for going into default. It will be hard to get loans in the United States, your insurance rates will be high, and you may have some difficulty getting a domestic job, since many employers look at credit reports to get a bead on your reliability.

I’ve recently discovered your blog and all thanks to you have learnt quite a bit about money. I’ll be glad if you can devote a post to fixed monthly income for young people. Let me elaborate a bit.

I’ve searched annuities and it seems like they’re only offered to old retired folks. Is there a monthly fixed income option available for young folks like myself? I don’t want the stress of handling the money myself, I’ll just blow it all off on friends and end up in debt. This has happened before and I can’t trust myself again. Please let me know what you think. Thanks!
- Keen

Annuities are marketed to older folks, but they’re available to everyone. They’re usually marketed to older people because they’re often the ones who have significant money in the bank and also yearn for the simplicity of an annuity.

If this is a path that’s of interest to you, do some research and find a few reputable insurance houses that sell annuities. Contact them, get some quotes, and find out what sort of deal you can get.

I would probably not put all my eggs in one basket, however. Consider putting some of the money into something else, like a long-term treasury note, that pays out money over time.

Regarding kids and cars: My wife and I both have two very small 2-door cars (both fairly new). These were purchased when we had just first met each other, and we were both in a pinch with our old vehicles. Our cars both work great and there’s no immediate need to replace them. However, in the long term we will obviously be wanting to get something slightly larger for when kids arrive (in about 5 years). Our biggest concern is that we don’t want car payments with kids, or have to worry about getting something else when kids arrive, since income might be dropping with only one of us working. Hence, we’re thinking of selling my car (which is worth a fair bit more than what I owe on it), and getting something slightly larger. When kids come, we have exactly what we need, and no car payments.

I was just curious about your thoughts regarding longer term planning and kids (another example, is it worth getting a bigger house right off the bat if you know you’re going to need the space in the long term).
- Scotty

If your cars are fine right now and you don’t have kids right now, I would just sit tight for the time being. There’s no reason to upgrade.

Instead, I would suggest driving the cars until they’re starting to show significant real problems, then sit down and have a discussion about the purchase. Are you actually close to having children, or is it still a mirage in the future (as it is now)?

Another note: unless your cars are two-seaters, you’ll be fine with a child at first in a small car. We fit two adults and two kids in a Toyota Prius without any difficulty and plan to fit our third child in there as well.

What do you think about signing up for bank accounts at banks that offer bonuses (say, $100 for a new checking account) and then closing the account after meeting the requirements (500 dollars in the account for six months or whatever) to get the bonus?
- Sean

I don’t have any problem with this. You’re doing exactly what is asked of you in exchange for the value in question.

Banks spend this money in order to acquire new customers and have more cash sitting in their reserves. A growing bank is also more appealing for mergers and the like, even if that growth is sometimes a bit of a mirage.

In other words, by having your account open for that time, you’re providing the value that they need for that account. They need a customer for a certain period – you need the cash. I see no reason not to do this.

Besides, you might actually discover that the bank is better in some ways than your current one, so there would be no reason not to switch at that point.

Where do you suggest you should invest your money? We have been investing in the stock market for the past 15 years (in stocks, bonds and mutual funds) and have not made any money (and have lost a significant amount over the years). I have read that investing in CD’s or a savings account will not keep you ahead of inflation. So we are at a loss as to where to invest our hard earned money. Thanks!
- Robert

If you’re looking for an investment that’s just guaranteed to beat inflation by a little bit, TIPS (Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities) are exactly what you’re looking for. When you buy a TIPS, it promises to pay you a certain (pretty low) interest rate for whatever period you buy it for. However, the federal government adjusts the value of that TIPS upward in times of inflation (and downward in times of deflation). That adjustment is directly tied to the Consumer Price Index.

The stock market is notoriously risky, and it looks like you happened to sit on the market through the end of a bull market, a big bear market, another bull market, and then the biggest downturn since the Depression. Quite often, people make the wrong moves at the wrong time in a panic – they’ll sell out of stocks and buy bonds right at the time it’s starting to get close to the bottom and most professional investors have already switched gears to buying again.

If you’re just looking to match inflation and aren’t worried about the big gains, put your money in TIPS and don’t worry about it.

I am just out of college and was recently offered the option to invest in a Variable Universal Life Insurance plan as a retirement/investment vehicle through my workplace. The investment plan seems reasonable, but I had never heard of these vehicles before. Preliminary Internet research seems to indicate they are beneficial under a certain set of circumstances, but I’m looking for some disinterested 3rd-party gut-check opinions.
- Alex

This article from the Consumer Federation of America is the best summary I’ve read on VULs. To put it simply, they’re not worth it, because often their benefits rely on an assumption that the tax laws in the United States will never change – and they change all the time.

Even if everything did go as assumed, such policies are at best comparable with buying a term life insurance policy and a Roth IRA with the money tossed into premiums.

Unless your employer is paying for a lot of the policy, I would probably skip it and find other ways to insure and invest.

My 10 month old daughter got hurt in her day care. They called us promptly and we went and picked her up. She had a bump right in the middle of her forehead (about the size of a quarter) with a minor scratch in the middle of the bump. Her teacher told that she might have fallen against the edge of a wall or another kid might have pushed her or something. The center manager said it happens all the time and expressed surprise saying that my daughter didn’t get hurt sooner. I found that to be odd. We called the doctor’s office and they said my daughter’s situation does not warrant a visit and she should be fine (and she is). The reason i write this is because of the way the manager talked to us and they weren’t apologetic at all. I felt that is kind of rude…What should i do in this situation?
- Amy

I felt similarly the first time my child was bumped at daycare. My son was about a year old and got a nice scratch on his cheek from another child wielding a block.

Here’s the thing, though. Not long afterwards, our son spent some time playing with another child his age right under my own supervision. Guess what? Even though my eyes were right on them, the other child inadvertently swung around and bumped my son on the nose really hard, resulting in a lot of tears and a slightly bloody nose.

Children are going to get bumps even if they play by themselves. When children play together, that’s even more likely. Unless you literally stand at your child’s side constantly, at some point, they’re going to get bumped or scratched while under your supervision. The same is true no matter who is watching your child.

My son is four. I’ve seen him get whacked, bruised, bumped, and scratched more times than I can count. I’ve seen bloody knees, bruises, and scrapes. Most of them happened while I was watching him. Just yesterday, he slipped and fell on some ice and wound up with a very red elbow.

Given that, I do think the daycare provider probably handled the situation poorly. My reason for being concerned with the daycare would have nothing to do with the bump itself, but in the dismissive attitude toward parental concern. I would probably continue to use the center if I had no other thing to be concerned about, but I would also watch how other parental concerns are handled.

My husband and I made the decision that after we had our second child, I would transition to being a full-time parent. This would have many benefits: great quality time and quantity time with our children, a household manager to make sure everything is running smoothly, and less stress on the family as a whole. We have a strong social support system, and I truly love being a full-time mom to the girls which I was able to experience during maternity leave. Of course, it will have a financial impact as we both earn roughly the same amount. We are not quite able to spend less than he earns, but we have planned for this gap. We have been attacking our debt for a few years; we carry no credit card balances and both cars are paid off. We only have our mortgage and some student loans left. We have a healthy emergency fund, some retirement savings, great life insurance, and a fund to cover the “gap” for three to four years. I do earn some additional income which is very part-time, and I plan to gradually increase my efforts in this area. In addition, I noticed during my maternity leave that we are able to cut more costs when I am home (e.g. less convenience foods, less fuel purchases, etc.). I feel like we have thought about our decision from all angles and have covered the bases, but obviously I am no longer objective. I know financially this decision flies against some traditional wisdom (Dave Ramsey would probably say to keep going on the debt), but we can never get back this time when our children are little. What are your thoughts?
- Heather

In my opinion, you should go for it. As you said, you can never get the time back, no matter what you do.

Some suggestions, though. First, I would try very hard to maintain connections within your career path and stay up to date on what’s happening in your field. Don’t fall out of touch with these people and these connections as you’ll probably need them in five or ten years.

Second, spend some of your time making sure your relationship with your partner doesn’t suffer. The dynamics are going to change dramatically, in ways you can’t see yet. Set aside some time to spend with just your spouse doing something you both enjoy – and don’t feel guilty about it. Talk about how you’re both feeling when it gets tough, and there will be times when it is tough.

Finally, don’t feel guilty about your choice. There are going to be times where you’re going to feel the pinch and you might feel some regret about quitting. Don’t dwell on what could have been and let it bring you down.

Got any questions? Ask them in the comments and I’ll try to include them in a future reader mailbag.

Each Monday, The Simple Dollar opens up the reader mailbags and answers ten to twenty simple questions offered up by the readers on personal finance topics and many other things. Got a question? Ask it in the comments. You might also enjoy the archive of earlier reader mailbags.

What is an appropriate level and kind of gift one should buy for a (great) real estate agent upon completion of the home buying process?
- Pankaj

It’s usually customary for the real estate agent to get you a small gift upon closing your house. This is because the agent usually collects a very nice commission for the work they’ve done in closing your home. Thus, if it were me, I wouldn’t worry about a gift beyond a thank you and a handshake.

However, if you feel your realtor truly has gone far above and beyond the call of duty for you, I would suggest moving into your home, then baking some homemade goods in your new home and delivering them to the agent. No one, after all, can turn down any homemade cookies.

Just to be on the safe side, bring up food allergies in a conversation with your realtor before you do this. You can work it into the conversation in whatever way you feel most comfortable.

How do you manage your “To do”/Task list? Remember the Milk? I’m trying to decide what is the best way to manage my daily/weekly/monthly tasks… I had been using Google Docs but want to move onto Google Calendar so that I can put dates to all my tasks. Anything else I should consider instead?
- Dave

You may find Remember the Milk for Google Calendar to be of use – I certainly do.

I mostly just use Remember the Milk for things to be done that don’t have a specific time and date attached to the item. If it does have such a time and date, I put it in my calendar instead.

I usually do keep separate lists for my daily, weekly, and monthly tasks so that I can see the individual lists or an overall view of all of the things that need to be done (and when they should be done by) if I so choose.

You’re right about Craigslist being a sort of virtual crapshoot. But if you’re willing to invest a bit of time (setting up RSS feeds can cut down on that, as does good searching), you can get some good stuff at really good prices. (A lot better than wasting time at Salvation Army and Goodwill trolling, that’s for sure!)
- stella

I agree with you that this is the optimal way to use Craigslist, but I still choose not to use it in this way. There are two big reasons for this.

First, it’s a time investment to browse those items each day. The time I spend digging through items is time I could be spent not searching for more stuff to possess.

Second, unless I’m looking for something specific, browsing Craigslist entries is nothing more than a way for me to see things that I didn’t realize I wanted or needed and possibly convince myself to spend money on them. Again, that’s not a positive addition to my life.

Sure, I look at Craigslist if I’m hunting for something. I’ll set up a filtered search and have it show me just those results during the time when I’m looking for a specific item. Beyond that, though, I simply don’t look for “deals” there.

How are the piano lessons going?
- John

This is in reference to my third 2010 resolution.

I actually have my first one scheduled for this Thursday. I have a few books of simple sheet music already, along with some other material for reading. I think most of the first lessons will revolve around teaching me very simple songs that will eventually grow toward something more – which is something I’m completely fine with.

I’m a big believer in deliberate practice – and my teacher is aware of this. I told her flat-out that I don’t mind “boring and repetitive” practice in the least as long as I’m aware that it is leading towards something. She told me that was a refreshing attitude.

I’m looking forward to it very much.

On a similar train of thought…

I’ve just started cello lessons and have rented the instrument for $37/month for two months. The music store I rent from will credit me half of the total rental money paid toward a purchase should I decide to do so in the future. The purchase price for a starter cello from them is in the neighborhood of $650.

If I love it (so far, so good!) and continue to play, at what point in time would it be better to purchase a cello, and from which source?
- heather

My immediate question would be how much resale value a cello would have if you purchased it. If you would have an easy route to re-sell the cello for some significant percentage of what you paid for it, I would buy it sooner rather than later, because money spent on rental is just money lost.

If you would have a hard time selling the cello, I would next look at my own history of sticking with things. Do you have a previous tendency to stick with passions for a long period, or do they burn brightly and flame out? Some people are naturally into variety – they focus on an activity for a while, then want to learn something new. Others tend to bear down on one or two things and seek to master them.

If your personal history shows you in the first group, hold off on buying. If your personal history shows you in the second group, I’d go ahead and pick one up.

I’ve been a reader of The Simple Dollar for years and I have an interesting question for you. I’m about to graduate from [a college] with a degree in computer science. I’ve played baseball every year in college and my coaches and I are pretty sure I’m going to get drafted in June.

My question is this: should I do it? The odds are very much against me making it in professional baseball, but I am pretty sure I can get a job in computer science right after graduation that pays much better than I’ll ever make in the minors. The only way that baseball is the right way for me to go financially is if I make the majors.
- [Ryan]

I edited this question a bit because I was concerned about this person’s privacy, since my research actually indicates that he has at least some professional potential at baseball, and I don’t want to interfere with that and give him the type of publicity that might interfere with his draft status, since his name will probably be Googled by professional teams.

For me, the real issue here would be whether or not Ryan would enjoy playing hundreds of games of baseball a year for the next several years (at least). If that sounds like an extremely enjoyable prospect, then you should go for it, as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. If that sounds like complete drudgery, just be glad that baseball gave you the scholarship you needed to earn your degree and move into that computer science career.

Unless you are blessed with an inordinate amount of talent, you won’t get to the top level without the kind of burning passion that gets you onto that minor league bus a hundred times a year for several years. Do you have that kind of passion for baseball?

I followed your advice and got an emergency fund with three months’ worth of living expenses in it. I also started saving for a replacement for my current car. Last week, my car’s transmission failed. I took the car in to get it fixed (which cost me $2,500) and the repairman pretty much demanded that I get my brakes fixed, so I shopped around for that and dropped another $700. Now my emergency fund is running dry. Should I just move my car savings over? What should I do?
- Kevin

I would leave my new car savings alone for now. Instead, focus your future savings on rebuilding your emergency fund, then switch back to saving for your next car.

I would treat your car savings as a resource only to be tapped if your entire emergency fund is depleted. If you turn it over to your emergency fund with a self-imposed promise to “start over,” it’s very easy to talk yourself out of such a brave, audacious goal.

Leave your savings where it’s at right now. It will inspire you to keep saving once your emergency fund is back on track.

How do you think people will handle their money differently in ten years?
- Fred

I think the slow death of the paper check will continue. Before too long, all payments will be handled either with a debit or credit card or with cash. Paper checks require too many resources to deal with, particularly when cards are more convenient for both buyer and seller – and cash has the advantage of anonymity, so it’ll stick around.

I think financial management tools are going to get substantially better, but they’re not going to be more widely adopted than they are now. There are a lot of small innovators pushing the 800 pound gorilla (Intuit) forward – and this will keep happening.

I also think that the current frugality trend won’t last. When the economy recovers, people will start spending more again. I would not be surprised at all to see the savings rate go back to zero in five years or so.

What classes did you take in college actually give you value in your life today? Most of my classes seem either to be strongly tied to my field of study or a complete waste of time.
- Jim

My public speaking class had the potential to be valuable if I had taken it more seriously. Instead of really utilizing it to work on my public speaking – a skill I’ve used countless times since college, even though I didn’t expect to – I goofed off and treated it as an easy grade.

My technical writing class has popped up time and time again in various avenues of life. This, of course, could also be connected to the fact that I chose to become a writer.

I also found one class on information management to be really useful. I’m not sure this is a widely offered class, but it mostly focused on how to organize one’s personal information – making a good schedule, filing personal papers so they’re easy to find, organizing data, and so on.

In short, the classes that were useful were the ones that taught transferable skills. When I took them seriously, they were golden.

What’s your Super Bowl prediction? We want it now, in print, so we can see how back your picking skills are (just kidding).
- Eddie

Arizona Cardinals 42, San Diego Chargers 35.

I watched most of the Cardinals game on Sunday on low volume while getting my daughter to take a nap. My conclusion? Kurt Warner is some sort of cyborg. He threw more touchdowns than incomplete passes against an extremely good pass defense and without his best receiver (Boldin). I don’t even know what to say about that.

I don’t believe the Cardinals will lose to anyone if Warner keeps playing like this.

Of course, given my success with such picks, I’d expect both teams to lose next week. After all, I am a Chicago Cubs fan.

Got any questions? Ask them in the comments and I’ll try to include them in a future reader mailbag.

Quite a few readers expressed interest in having meetups of some sort at any conventions or conferences I attend this year – if not at the conference itself, in the town where the conference is held. So here’s an update.

It’s looking like I won’t be attending SXSW this year (but I’m hoping for next year). It’s far too close to my wife’s due date for my comfort, and given that it’s our third child, we expect the baby to both arrive a bit on the early side and to be a fairly fast delivery, both of which bode against a trip to Texas right before the due date. This is a disappointment for me, but sometimes life trumps what we want to do.

On the flip side, it looks quite promising that I will be in Indianapolis in early August for GenCon. My wife and I came to an agreement regarding this summer – we each have one four day weekend to do something on our own that the other one has little interest in, and that’s my choice. I may host some sort of meetup in the Indianapolis area that weekend if there is interest.

Anyway, on to some articles.

5 Reasons Not to Apply for a Loan Modification in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) I’m not much of a fan of refinancing mortgages. In my experience, such choices (particularly now) rarely save money in the long run, particularly when you figure inflation into the equation. This is just another argument against such programs. (@ wisebread)

Invest in Your Most Important Income-Producing Asset These are some great self-evaluation questions that everyone should ask themselves about their career. (@ get rich slowly)

The Lonely Novelist’s Five-Point Productivity Plan These tips are pretty spot-on – and pretty adaptable to any large-scale project you might want to tackle in life. (@ soul shelter)

Why Is It Hard to Know What You Find Fun? I think the biggest problem in finding what you truly enjoy (which is a big key to getting your spending under control, because you can minimize spending on everything else) is that we constantly get signals about enjoying other things and that some things are “socially acceptable” and some are not. (@ happiness project)

Alternatives to High-Yield Savings Accounts This article is a great start, but it could go even further. For some people (particularly those with a lot of cash), an index fund is probably a great place to stack money, and with a plethora of options there with all sorts of different levels of risk and reward, there are countless options. (@ consumerism commentary)

Each Monday, The Simple Dollar opens up the reader mailbags and answers ten to twenty simple questions offered up by the readers on personal finance topics and many other things. Got a question? Ask it in the comments. You might also enjoy the archive of earlier reader mailbags.

I recently found out that I am pregnant with my first child. I looked up your past articles on caring for infants inexpensively. You said that you invested in a safe crib and never regretted it. I was wondering what kind of crib that was and what your impressions are of different cribs. For example, my sister just uses a Graco pack’n’play and a friend of mine recently bought a mini crib. These aren’t as solid as the more expensive sold wood cribs though. Is a larger, more solid wood crib worth the mark up?
- Gwen

When our first child – our son, Joe – was born, we spent a lot on various things for him. We spared no expense on countless things from bottle warmers and wipe warmers to educational videos and several pounds of blankets.

The sturdy wooden crib is one of the few things I don’t regret in the least. We purchased a handmade wooden crib with a detachable front side that allows us to easily convert it to a daybed.

Right now, our two year old daughter is using it (after our son used it for years, he upgraded to a “big boy” bed when his little sister was ready for a crib). She jumps on it. She climbs on it. She’s bitten it. She’s shaken it. I’ve never worried in the least about the crib supporting her and keeping her as safe as possible. We intend to keep handing it down as well, with our next child taking it in the near future.

Get a good, stable crib. You’ll never worry about it collapsing – and it never will. It’ll last through every child you have and will likely have significant resale value when you’re done with it. You might want to start by checking Craigslist for options.

One question I’m looking into right now is home warranty insurance. What do you know about these services/companies?
- Beth

Home warranty insurance is offered by a plethora of companies. We had a policy ourselves when we first moved into our house, as the previous owners had purchased a year’s worth of coverage as bait to sell the home. We used it once, on our washing machine.

What we discovered is that, based on the prices they wanted for a single year of coverage and the deductibles of our policy, we were far better off simply putting that money into an emergency fund. On our one repair, we ended up footing most of the bill ourselves because of the deductible. Even taking into account every single repair that would have counted under such a warranty since it expired, it would have saved us roughly 10% of what it would have cost us.

Yes, it wouldn’t be bad to have if there were several major home crises at once – and I mean major. However, events that would cause such disasters often fall under a homeowners policy rather than any such home warranty insurance policies.

I’d skip it and get a big, fat emergency fund instead.

At the beginning of October I made the commitment to myself to get control of my finances and improve my health. I’ve made a lot of progress so far, but I’ve got a long way to go.
One of the ways I’ve made significant changes for both financial and health reasons is that I’ve stopped eating most of my meals at restaurants. I’ve committed to teaching myself to cook healthy food and to eat at home for nearly all meals. I’ve gotten several good ideas and recipes from your site, but I do have to questions:
1. What spices would you recommend to a novice cook to keep on hand as “basic spices”?
2. Where would you recommend that novice cook purchase those spices?
- Cormac

I actually wrote an article a long time ago about ten spices that make cooking at home much more pleasant for a beginner.

As for a supplier, the selection at the local grocery store will work to begin with. If you want to grow past that, I would recommend attempting to grow the herbs you want yourself. We grow several of our most frequently used herbs in our own garden and dry them ourselves for winter use.

If money is really no object, you could probably work out a relationship with a local greenhouse and just buy from them regularly. This would easily be the most expensive option available to you, but it’d perhaps be the least hassle while also providing you with ultra-fresh herbs.

Do you typically think up a post idea and then just publish it right away or do you let it marinate for a while and then maybe schedule out the post to publish at a predetermined time?
- Credit Card Chaser

I rarely just come up with a post idea, write it, then post it immediately.

My usual posting routine works like this. I maintain a big idea list and add ideas to it all the time (and also cut ideas that I didn’t like). When it’s time to do research, I grab a big pile of those ideas and hit the library, seeking out any answers I might need and collecting information.

When I write posts, I’m usually writing about a week in advance (on average). Thus, the posts I’m writing today often won’t appear for a week – with some variation on that, both ways. This gives me some breathing room against personal emergencies – I don’t like my personal concerns to affect a steady diet of articles for my readers.

On rare occasions, when something really strikes me or something is particularly topical, I’ll substitute a freshly-written article into the queue and move the article that was supposed to appear to the end of the queue – about a week away.

I am a graduate student earning my Masters degree in library science and I wonder if you have some tips for all of us. (Many of my grad student friends read you, which is how I heard about your blog in the first place.)

Is graduate school a time where the rules change and I don’t need to be as concerned with my “debt snowball” repayments or other expenses I’m racking up (like tuition)?
- Leslie

I think graduate school is a time to live as inexpensively as possible, keep your student loans in forebearance, avoid consumer debt like the plague, and prepare yourself as thoroughly as possible for your coming career.

One of the biggest mistakes that people often make during their educational careers is that they utterly believe they will have a good paying job when they graduate and they act accordingly now. During my years as a student and in the research world, the one constant I saw time and time again is that you can never rely on your future to go the way you intend it to. I’ve seen incredibly bright minds go jobless for years. I’ve seen people go through more than a decade of schooling, only to do a 180 and wind up in a completely different area.

If I were you, I wouldn’t worry about those loans as long as they’re in forebearance. Of course, I’d also pair that move with a concerted effort to live as cheaply as possible. From my perspective, going out to eat regularly and carrying significant credit card debt as a graduate student is more of a concern than student loans in a holding pattern.

At some point (maybe it was on Twitter?) you said that you set annual reading goals for yourself, like the number of books you intend to read this year. What’s your annual goal for 2010?
- Bill

This year, my goal is simply to devote an average of two hours a day devoted to personal reading – in other words, reading things not directly related to The Simple Dollar. Along the way, I’m going to alternate between fiction and non-fiction.

One big reason for doing this is that I view extensive reading to be a vital part of the personal growth of anyone who writes for a living. I also strive to read regularly in front of my children so they can observe that reading is part of a normal adult’s life. Beyond that, I simply enjoy to read.

I’ve actually penciled in a one hour reading session each weekday in the middle of the day, which should bring the goal within trivial reach.

I’ve made many goals like that in the past, and one of my problems always seems to be keeping track of how I’m doing with them.

Yesterday I sat down and wrote a small website to help me with that, and I thought that you might find it useful as well:
http://resolution-tracker.appspot.com/
- Eric

That’s an awesome tool – incredibly simple to use without needing any sort of login or anything like that. I’ve actually bookmarked three of them to keep track of some of my 2010 goals.

Is anyone else using this? If you are, mention how you’re using it in the comments.

Do you have a good recipee using the crockpot to go from dried beans to cooked beans? mine ended up overcooked and mushy?
- Marie

Cooking beans in a crockpot is really simple if you actually just convert the typical way of cooking dried beans to the crock pot. Based on your statement, my guess is that you didn’t pre-soak the beans. Here’s how I cook beans in a crock pot.

First, dump the beans you want to cook in the pot in the evening before you wish to cook them. Add enough water to cover the beans by three inches, then leave them to sit overnight.

In the morning, dump off all of the water and strain the beans – a colander works well for this. Then, put the soaked beans back in the crock pot and again cover them with water with about two extra inches of water on top. Then just cook it on low for eight hours. This will get most beans to a nice level of tenderness.

If you’re finding the beans too mushy after following these steps, you might be cooking a particular type of bean too long. Reduce the cooking time until you find the right amount for what you’re cooking. Alternately, you may want to extend the time for some beans that might still be overly firm after eight hours of slow cooking.

My boyfriend and I will be getting married in the next two years, so we have plenty of time to plan. The issue is this: his family will expect a traditional wedding, while I want a nature-oriented (definitely near water) and very simple wedding. In addition, my family and friends live across the country, so while his very large family would all be planning to attend, I would have five people from back home that we’d be flying in (and that would be a big chunk of our budget).

I know his family will flip, and even offer to pay for a more expensive wedding, but I do not want that. How do I best cope with their reactions?
- Monica

What I don’t see in this entire statement is perhaps the most important question of all: what does he want?

It’s clear what you want from your wedding – you want a simple ceremony, and you’re apparently willing to fight his family over this. But by doing this, you’re putting him in a difficult position of having to choose between what you want and what they want without any regard at all for what he might want.

Your first step in solving this situation is to sit down with your husband-to-be and figure out exactly what he wants from the wedding without injecting what you want over the top. Remember, it’s his day as much as it is your day.

If you are in agreement about what you both want for the wedding, then you’re in alignment. Talk to the family together – or even let him lead on it.

If you’re not in agreement, you have to settle that issue first. Talk through it and figure out a solution that works for both of you, then stand up for that solution.

It’s your – you and your husband’s – day. You’re inviting others to participate in that day. Keep that in mind and don’t bow to what others want. The only other person that really matters is your husband-to-be, so focus on that.

My husband and I are thinking of starting a CD ladder this year. We don’t have a whole lot to start with and so are looking at CD’s without a minimum startup amount. I have been looking around at rates and for the 1 year ING seems to be the best for for the 2-5 year CD’s Ally is the best. My question is, would you recommend having the one year at ING and the others at Ally? Or just going ahead with all of them at Ally even though it isn’t the best for the one year?
- Shawn

There are several issues floating around here.

First of all, you need to figure out exactly what your goals are with this ladder. Are you saving for a particular goal, are you supplementing an emergency fund, or are you merely investing in cash? These goals would change how you invest in the CD ladder. A particular goal will have a particular timeframe and you’ll need to orient the length of your ladder toward that goal.

The real issue at work here is whether or not the extra effort that will go into transferring the money between institutions (from ING to Ally, in this case, when the one year matures) will actually earn you enough to make it worthwhile. Given the fairly small difference between the ING and Ally offerings in one year CDs (as I write this) and the fact that you’re investing a small amount, I don’t believe it’s worth the effort at all.

Let’s say you’re buying a $1,000 one year CD. If you invest at ING and make an extra 0.2%, you’re only earning an extra $2 on your investment. If that extra $2 causes you to spend significant extra time cashing out the CD, transferring funds to another bank, then initiating a new CD ladder there, plus dealing with yet another source of interest income when you file your income taxes the following year, it’s not worth it, at least in my eyes.

Got any questions? Ask them in the comments and I’ll try to include them in a future reader mailbag.

Each Monday, The Simple Dollar opens up the reader mailbags and answers ten to twenty simple questions offered up by the readers on personal finance topics and many other things. Got a question? Ask it in the comments. You might also enjoy the archive of earlier reader mailbags.

What was the best Christmas gift you received this year?
- Andrew

The most sentimental gift (by far) was a custom-made cookbook prepared by my wife and kids, including pictures of them and a ton of good recipes of many of their favorite foods (chosen by them). Never mind the photos – reading the recipes was fun because of how they connected so well with the person that selected them. For example, I saw the “chicken nuggets” recipe and immediately thought of my daughter, who for some inexplicable reason claims all of her food to be chicken nuggets. Broccoli is chicken nuggets. Scrambled eggs are chicken nuggets.

The most useful gift was probably also food-related. My parents gave me an 8″ Global chef’s knife, which will (aside from our paring knife) pretty much replace every other knife we own. It’s incredible to use.

Almost all of my gifts were excellent this year, though. Perhaps I’m just getting easier for other people to figure out.

Our local power company is offering this interest based savings plan to help pay for future bills when they jack up the rates in a year.

What I mean is, if you have a lot of extra money to throw at this program, than it’s a great thing but it defeats the purpose of helping those that won’t be able to afford the rate hike (like me).
- John

I’m not sure what you mean that it’s not going to help people save. Essentially, all the program does is give you a somewhat bigger bill now to reduce the size of your bill by even more in 2011 and beyond. I don’t think it’s intended to help those who can’t afford the higher rates.

If you are truly in financial hardship – whether it’s caused by a rate increase or not – you should look into the assistance programs offered by your power company. In this case, you’d be looking at this.

If you’re asking whether or not I would sign up for such a program in general, I would call them and ask to see specific numbers and estimates, but if it is what it appears to be, I would sign up. It would effectively be a 7.5% return on your money in what amounts to a savings account.

What was your favorite book of 2009?
- Jamie

It was easily Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. It’s simultaneously a great portrait of 1970s New York, a collection of moving stories, and a thoughtful reflection on the role of chance in human life. I’ll read this one multiple times again in the future.

I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention The Magicians by Lev Grossman, a wonderful fantasy novel that really draws on the impact that the stories we read as a child can come back and affect us as we grow older. I enjoyed it because it avoids the usual fantasy trap of making the heroes idealized versions of ourselves and instead makes them realistic people. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell might be my favorite fantasy novel of the last decade or so, but this one isn’t too far off the mark.

I am 25, and my boyfriend and I are looking at buying a house in DC. We barely have enough money to scrape together a down payment, but really want to take of low interest rates, the tax credit, and low housing prices in our market. We’re young and are pretty good with saving, and I am sure that we will be able to build up an emergency fund again, but do you think it is foolish to use all of our money like this, even if it is for a great investment and the timing is right?
- Ashley

For one, I don’t believe buying a primary residence is ever a great investment. It’s too illiquid and too subject to local housing market fluctuations to ever be thought of as an investment.

If you “barely have enough money to scrape together a down payment” and are buying in the D.C. area, that means you’re going to be taking on a pretty huge mortgage. Never mind the low interest rate – your monthly payments are going to be enormous no matter how you slice it. Tack on top of that your home ownership costs (maintenance, etc.), the other services you’ll need, and the inevitable emergencies (like the inevitable exploding toilet) where you can’t just call a landlord and instead have to foot the bill yourself and you’ve got an enormous cash outlay that, based on your own comments, sounds like it might be beyond your means.

Live cheap. Build your career into something high-earning and stable. Save up enough so that your life won’t go into high-wire mode as soon as you sign the mortgage. Don’t worry about “taking advantage” of the current housing market.

We’re regulars at a family chain restaurant, and we got a server who had waited on us only once before. I was glad to see her because I remembered she was very friendly, complimenting what I wore and telling us about her music studies at a nearby college.

Any thoughts, Trent? How do you think most of your readers would have handled the situation?
- Lenore

Regardless of any “stiffing,” that was incredibly rude and unprofessional of the waitress in question. Unless the restaurant is a place that enforces a gratuity on the bill, she has no right to any tip. You give that tip at your own discretion.

Yes, it’s courteous and customary to tip for good service. Yes, many waiters/waitresses rely on tipping for income and need that money. That still doesn’t excuse the behavior.

I would likely have told the manager of the incident. An employee with that little respect for customers (and that little amount of discretion) would likely be a staff liability.

I would also not return to the restaurant for a while, but I would not be opposed to returning after a period of time (and some staff turnover).

Trent you have mentioned your dream of publishing non-fiction. What type? Murder & mayhem? Sci-Fi? Romance? Touchy-feely? Are there any authors you emulate?
- Brenda

Most of my fiction can best be described as “what if” fiction. Usually, I try to change one fundamental piece of information about how the world works, then try to look at ordinary life through the eyes of a normal person in this world.

For example, I wrote a novel-length piece of work a few years ago about the invention of an engine that allowed us to travel between stars, but to do so consumed enormous amounts of pure, salt-free water. Eventually, we no longer had enough water for everyone to drink, there were enormous wars fought over water, and a lot of people had left Earth to visit other stars but were basically out of contact. From there, I tell the story of three brothers (actually pretty closely based on myself and my two brothers) and how they grow up in this world, with outsized dreams of space travel and leaving Earth but with a devastating reality around them.

My last short story that I completed to a reasonable level of satisfaction revolved around a single woman a year after the discovery of a way for people to reproduce asexually with ease and essentially raise clones of themselves from infancy. She chose to become impregnated with her clone, but now feels it was a very poor choice.

That’s just the kind of stuff I like to write.

Is investing in non-hybridized seeds worthwhile?
- Kenny

As with any investment, you have to ask yourself two big things. First, what’s your goal with the investment? Second, what’s the risk of the investment?

Non-hybridized seeds can be really worthwhile – if you’re an avid gardener. The big advantage of non-hybridized seeds is that they allow you to harvest seeds each year, then plant them the following year. You can even do your own plant breeding if you so wish. This is valuable if you’re into gardening or have beliefs that revolve around avoiding hybridized seeds.

There’s a risk, though. You can’t just let seeds sit for a large number of years – they simply won’t grow. You have to grow them regularly to maintain your seed bank.

If you don’t live in a place where you can easily grow your seeds, non-hybridized seeds are a waste of money. You need to be able to replenish your own stores or else the seeds will go bad after a few years.

Have you ever considered starting a “Simple Dollar” fantasy baseball league where you participate with a number of readers? You could set it up on Yahoo! Sports yourself, join the league, then allow people to sign up by giving out a code on the site.
- Allie

That’s actually a pretty good idea. I usually participate in three (yes, three) fantasy baseball leagues in a given year and it looks like at least one of my regular ones is now defunct due to the number of people who are either unable to play or have chosen to resign.

If you would actually be interested in participating in such a thing, leave a comment for this mailbag. If I see a lot of comments, I’ll start one in March. If I don’t see many comments, I’ll just let this sleeping dog lie.

Is there ever a situation where you think it’s appropriate to take out a loan instead of paying cash?
- Bill

I have no problem with home mortgages if you’re in a situation where you can get a low-interest loan and your payments are low compared to the rental costs of something comparable in the area.

I also don’t have a problem with taking out a loan with no interest at all as long as you already have the cash to cover the debt. Keep the cash yourself in a separate savings account, set up automatic payments from that account, then just let it be until the loan is paid off. You’ll have cash left sitting in the account.

In much the same way, I have no problem with credit card use as long as you pay the balance off in full each month.

The real problem with any debt is the interest you have to pay. That interest is basically a huge price for impatience – one of our most dangerous human impulses.

I’m a new dad, my daughter is great. She’s 11 weeks now. I’m fortunate that we have all of the financial stuff in order. I do have a demanding job, but I make it a priority to leave by 5 to spend time with my daughter before she sleeps for the night.

My question is, I firmly believe I can learn Chinese with 2 hours a week private lessons, plus 30 mins homework a night. But, I also cannot bear being late to see my daughter, and the thought of cutting out all this time for me to learn something, no matter how beneficial is driving me insane. What’s your take? Is this a quality investment of time, or shall I just enjoy my daughter and our time together?
- Arthur

Again, this is a question about investment. I think you need to sit down and ask yourself what the reward for this investment of time actually is.

It seems that you want your child to be in touch with his/her heritage, which is a noble goal. The real question is how highly that goal ranks in comparison to the also-important goal of spending a lot of time with your child.

I can’t answer that question for you because each one of us values different things on a personal level. For me, I would value the time I spend with my child. I would probably do something like purchase a copy of Rosetta Stone and spend some time each evening doing the program with my child, learning the language together. While it might not be as enriching as actually taking the classes, it would still teach some of the language and, perhaps more importantly, it would allow you to do it with your child.

Got any questions? Ask them in the comments and I’ll try to include them in a future reader mailbag.