I didn’t grow up poor. At least, not to my knowledge. But I think most anyone who has ever been a college student, had an underpaying job, or just stumbled upon shitty times can relate to The Five Stupidest Habits You Develop Growing Up Poor. It doesn’t take long to acquire these habits, but it can take a lifetime to break them.

1. You Develop a Taste for Shitty Food – Who doesn’t crave Ramen Noodles from time to time? Something from the $0.99 menu, perhaps?
2. Extra Money Has To Be Spent Right Goddamn Now! – Extra cash burns a hole in my pocket. If the bills are paid, it’s permission to spend.
3. You Want to Go Overboard on Gift Giving – I love to buy gifts and the more cash I have (see above) the more extravagant my gift giving.
4. You Become an Obsessive Bean Counter – Daily Dollars anyone?
5. You Only Spend With The Short Term in Mind – I tend to over evaluate purchases which leads to buying the wrong things at the wrong times.

Have you picked up any bad habits from living on a limited budget? Any lingering quirks from your thrifty days?

Growing Up Poor

Can you believe it’s almost February? I have no idea where the month went but I’ve been trying to stay conscious of my new year’s resolutions and I think I’ve made some good progress, how about you? I blogged in detail about my 2012 financial goals, but here’s a quick update:

2012 Financial Goals

• Pay iMac in full.
• Double emergency fund, bringing total to $6,000.
• Reduce credit card debt by 25%.

Progress

• Paid $500 towards iMac
• Added $500 to emergency fund

I haven’t blogged about my personal goals because I feel like they are a little loftier and more…well, personal than my financial goals. But since Trop50 True Resolutions is all about getting real with your resolutions this year, I’m throwing them out into the universe and hoping that makes them a big easier to achieve:

2012 Personal Goals

• Read 52 books
• Lose 75 pounds

Progress

• Read 6 books
• Lost 12 pounds

I’m quite pleased and I hope I can keep up the pace. I think all my goals go back to getting myself into a better place this year so that I can go on to bigger and better things.

Now it’s your turn. Top50True Resolutions wants to know the juicy truth behind your new year’s resolution. Visit the Trop50 Facebook and answer this question:

In 2012, I want to _________________ in order to __________________.

You’ll earn a $1 off Trop50 coupon for yourself and $0.50 off for up to 50 of your friends plus a chance to one of four $1,000 gift cards. I’m a Tropicana Trop50 drinker because it gives me the fruit juice flavor that I crave with 50 percent less sugar and calories and no artificial sweeteners. Trop50 apple juice is always on my shopping list and is helping me to reach my personal goal of dropping the weight that’s been weighing me down.

Have you made any progress towards your goals? Share!

This post is sponsored by the fine people at Trop50. All opinions are 100% my own. Please see my site policy with any questions.

Trop50 True Resolutions (and an update on my resolutions)

I didn’t start wearing glasses until high school. I didn’t start wearing glasses every day until college. Both awkward times to make the transition to wearing glasses, but I embraced them as a fashion accessory (with the bonus of actually being able to see clearly) and quickly acquired a collection of bold and colorful frames. Now I have a hard time visualizing myself with out glasses and on the rare occasion that I pop in my contacts, my friends and coworkers hardly recognize me.

I know you’re thinking that my little eyeglasses habit must cost a small fortune, but it doesn’t because I have a little trick. A trick that allows me to wear designer eyeglasses and the latest trends at a fraction of the cost.

I order online glasses.

It’s super easy to buy glasses online. The most difficult part is asking your eye doctor for your prescription information – sometimes they don’t like to give out all the information but it’s your prescription, so be firm! GlassesUSA makes it easy to enter your prescription information and even has professional opticians available to assist if you have any questions. Their 110% lowest price guarantee and 100% satisfaction guarantee makes ordering a no-lose situation.

I haven’t yet ordered from GlassesUSA.com, but I’ve heard good things from personal friends and after spending some time browsing I can see that they have a great selection of name brand frames and the latest styles, not to mention all the prescription options my eye doctor offers, so I’m excited to order a new pair of glasses this new year. And to make sure you get the very best deal on your new glasses, GlassesUSA is having a new year sale, so use these coupon codes:

Take 20% off any pair of eyeglasses and get FREE US shipping with the code: NEW2012
Take 10% off any order of prescription glasses with the code: Blog10

Do you order your eyeglasses online? Have you ordered from GlassesUSA? Tell me what you think!

This post is sponsored by www.GlassesUSA.com. All opinions are 100% my own. Please see my site policy with any questions.

GlassesUSA New Year Sale

I feel sorry for pennies. They’re always getting tossed aside and talked down to. Unfortunately, with good reason; pennies just aren’t a viable form of currency anymore. Watch the video for a compelling argument as to why the government should abolish pennies (and how our own military no longer uses pennies).

It’s been swell, little penny! We’ll miss you.

Death to Pennies!

I know that I’m no pillar of financial freedom, but this infographic is just plain depressing. It seems like guys are complacent about…well, everything.

Has anyone seen a similar analysis of women? I’d love to compare.

Maybe I’ll just stay single…

Happy New Year!

I spent the morning contemplating my 2011 financial year in review and deciding what I want to accomplish in 2012. Even though I’m pleased with my progress this past year, I realize now that I set my goals too high and became discouraged along the way, so I decided to do things a little differently this year. First, I wanted to establish some golden rules to help guide me through 2012. Then I chose three big (but attainable) financial goals to work towards. I’m hoping this big picture approach will help me be more successful in achieving my ultimate goal of being debt-free.

2012 Golden Rules

• Absolutely, positively, no credit card usage allowed.
• Any and all tax returns, bonuses, or other windfalls (wishful thinking?) are to be applied towards credit card debt.
• Any money made from blogging will be deposited into the emergency fund.
• No new purses. No exceptions.

2012 Financial Goals

• Pay computer in full. (I broke down and bought an iMac after Christmas. Part necessity, part impulse.)
• Double emergency fund, bringing total to $6,000.
• Reduce credit card debt by 25%.

Do you have any financial goals for 2012? Any advice for me? Please share!

2012 Financial Goals

As I’m working on my financial goals for 2012 (I’ll be sharing them in the new year. I hope you will, too.) I thought I’d review my 2011 financial goals. You can follow my progress throughout the year with these posts:

• Q1 update – optimism abounds!
• Q2 update – a reality check is given.
• Q3 update – a somber update.

After reevaluating, here’s what I planned to accomplish in Q4:

• Pay Chase (1 of 3) down by 50%
• Continue regular contributions to 401k
• Increase emergency fund to $4,000

Here’s how Q4 really played out:

• Paid Chase (1 of 3) down by 25%
• Continued regular contributions to 401k
• Held emergency fund stead at $3,000

All in all, not a bad year! In total, here’s what I accomplished:

• Established an emergency fund of $3,000
• Maximized 401k contribution at 4% with company matching
• Paid auto loan (1 of 2) in full
• Reduced credit card debt by approximately 30%
• Finalized divorce and separated finances

How was 2011 for you? Are you in a better place financially now than you were in January?

2011 Financial Year In Review

As I was digging through my piles (and piles) of books last night, I came across Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? Its premise is similar to what I do in my weekly Daily Dollars posts except author Kate Bingaman Burt sketches one thing she’s purchased every day. In the introduction, Kate mentions that she struggled, as I did, with documenting all of her purchases for fear of being judged or changing her habits based on those judgments. We both clearly got over it.

I find it very interesting where people spend their money and I think it says a lot about how they prioritize their life so I found the book to be insightful and very meta. It’s also kind of inspiring if you’re interested in getting a hold on your finances. I know that documenting my spending habits has been a real eye-opener and helped me to identify when and where I was wasting money (not that I still don’t on occasion).

She hasn’t updated her blog in several months, but I think the Kate and I would get along smashingly.

Do you document your spending habits? Either in a general budget or a more detailed ledger?

Obsessive Consumption (documenting your spending habits)

Just some random thoughts after reading a slue of personal finance blogs over the past few days. Thoughts?

There are certain assumptions that some people make when they learn that others live paycheck to paycheck. These are some of my observations and some of the judgments I’ve felt.

• they are financially irresponsible
• they are uneducated
• they work a menial job
• they don’t save
• they spend frivolously
• they don’t know how to budget

I live paycheck to paycheck and I don’t consider myself any of those things.

• I know where every penny of my money is spent
• I have a master’s degree from a Big 10 University (and the student loans to prove it)
• I have a professional career
• I have an emergency account and pay myself first every payday
• I consider purchases carefully
• I’d argue that I’m much more budget conscious than those with money out of sheer necessity

Do you live paycheck to paycheck? (No judgment, obviously.) Do you have a rebuttal? Do you get defensive, (admittedly) as I do? Do you get the same vibe? Do you feel that these are lessening or getting worse as more and more people are living paycheck to paycheck?

Living Paycheck to Paycheck

Lost or stolen, there are financial repercussions when an item goes missing. Whether it’s a laptop, a phone, or a library book; the cost of replacement is going to impact your budget.

But I’ve noticed a trend – people losing things and saying they have been stolen.

Someone says their laptop was stolen but it was really left on a plane. Someone says their iPhone was stolen but it was really left in a grocery cart. Just because something hasn’t been returned to you doesn’t mean it’s not sitting in a lost and found somewhere. Do we really think that poorly of people? Does it makes us feel better to lay the blame on someone else?

And I won’t even mention the Twitter storm when someone leaves something someplace and blames the retailer/airline/restaurant for its disappearance.

In the words of Kris Humphries (yes, I’m quoting Kim Kardashian’s estranged husband): You shouldn’t own anything you can’t afford to lose.

And I’d add: Or would accuse someone of stealing if lost.

Thoughts?

Photo Source

Lost vs. Stolen