M is for Money

LA is known for attracting strange residents, and not just of the human kind. There is a flock of wild, green parrots that call the South Pasadena area home. I presume a few pet parrots escaped or were released by their owners at some point. Eventually through breeding the flock grew to its current 40 or 50 members. The last time I saw them was a few weeks ago at Trader Joes. The bustling parking lot came to a stop as everyone paused to watch the flock fly past. The sight of these inhabitants of the tropical forest in the urban jungle is always a bit startling, but it brings a smile to my face.

This morning as I let the dogs out for their morning ritual I heard a boisterous squawking , much louder and more rambunctious than your usual flock of urban birds. The parrots, I thought. I could see a flock of birds in the neighbor’s tree, three doors down. But I wasn’t sure it was the green parrots until one flew over my head. Amazing. I’ve never seen them here, I live a few miles from South Pas. I doubt the neighbor enjoyed their presence, they are too loud for 5:30 in the morning. But I enjoyed their visit, they are one of the many things that make LA an unusual place.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

I’ve been banking with FNBO Direct for years, mainly because their online savings rate beats the competition. I switched the majority of my money when they offered a promotional 6%, well above what I was earning with ING. But lately that great rate has fizzled before my eyes. Even last year when the crisis was developing they maintained a higher rate than their peers. Now after the latest rate drop they are level with ING at 1.5%.

I want my savings to work for me - or at least keep up with inflation. While there are many considerations when choosing a bank – customer service, security, and ease of access come to mind – I look first and foremost at the rate that bank is offering me for my money. FNBO does not rank first in many of these secondary considerations, but they always won out on rate. I’ll put up with a crappy, confusing site if it means more money each month. Now that their rate is level with ING, I am thinking I should switch my money back or look for a new bank that beats them both. I prefer ING’s site to FNBO’s, the layout is more logical and I like the information they give you like the current rate and interest earned to date.

Rates are low across the board right now and the 4%+ we earned in earlier years feels like a distant memory. The best I’ve seen is around 2% - from a bank I’ve never heard of. I have nearly $25,000 in my online savings account, I want to put it in the best possible place. It’s too much money to leave sitting around earning nothing. It’s time to research banks once again.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

I’ve noticed a lot of blogs going dead recently, including a few on my own blogroll. It’s sad to see them leave and wish each blogger the best in whatever new endeavors they’ve taken on. I will have to go through and update my list to remove the dead links. I know how difficult it can be to keep up with a blog, it requires an extreme amount of dedication to produce content on a regular basis. I’ve drifted away from the hard PF articles because they require more time to write than I have available. Instead I’m focusing on my own financial life, something which comes easily and natural. It’s the best way for me to keep up with posting six days a week while working 60 hours a week.

The garden is starting to turn out more than just tomatoes, so far a few summer squashes and string beans have ripened. But the tomato plants remain the star of the show. Today we reached a milestone, 20 pounds of tomatoes harvested! I’ve made tomato sauce and salsa to use up the crop, so far none have gone to waste.

This week’s carnival links:

-Money Hacks Carnival at Blogging Banks: $100k and Underpaid?
-Festival of Frugality at Financial Highway: Soup in Summer
-Carnival of Personal Finance at Suburban Highway: Starting a Business - Costs


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

It’s Thursday night in LA, where anything celebrity is legitimate news ranking above things like civil unrest in Iran or our collapsing state government. All regular programming is currently interrupted for the story of the decade in Hollywood, the passing of Michael Jackson. Reporters and paparazzi are gobbling up the story, with coverage from across the city and in the studio. It’s been going on for hours. The added sap of news anchors reading viewer tweets aloud is a little too much.

They even featured live coverage of his body being moved to the coroners office. Officials decided to use a helicopter to avoid the crush of paparazzi on the ground, though they still ended up with an armada of news helicopters trailing behind. I could hear them from my house. Very few stories get this level of attention, you’d think the world had ended.

A few days ago I was chatting with a co-worker who is in LaLa land on temporary assignment. She was frustrated because she wanted to get more information on the train crash in Washington DC, her hometown. The local news had nothing on the story but did drone on endlessly about the death of Ed McMahon. I said around here, celebrities are big business. That elevates Hollywood and its real life drama to the status of real news in LA. To outsiders this is absurd, but that is life in LA.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

We’re (sort of) getting a roommate. One of Mr. M’s friends lost his job and apartment all in the same day so Mr. M offered him a place to crash for a bit. Of course he offered this without even consulting me! But Mr. M assures me he has a grand plan. J, the friend, is broke as a joke. Instead he will be working for his room and board, helping Mr. M around the house and property. J is an experienced carpenter and we have plenty of projects he could do around the house. Given the cost of labor, it could work out in our favor. Of course I have to cough up the cost of materials, which isn’t in the budget. I’ll have to decide what projects get funding.

An even bigger concern – how long will he be staying? Mr. M refuses to set a deadline by which J must move on. I know this guy and I enjoy his company, but he is the kind of person who will overstay his welcome! Mr. M scheme is to work J to death, so he decides to leave rather than suffer more torture. I’m not convinced this plan will work.

I don’t like roommates. I don’t enjoy sharing my space. I’m not looking forward to this, but I can’t let J go homeless. Hopefully Mr M’s grand plan will work. We’ll get some free labor, J will get a chance to figure out his future. I already told Mr. M that if it got to the point that I had to show J the door, I’m throwing them both out together.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Last August, in a fit of good intentions, Mr. M and I joined a local gym. At first we went several times a week and enjoyed our steadily shrinking waistlines. But lately I’ve been working extra long hours and Mr. M shows little motivation to go by himself. I want to get healthy and lose weight, but with little free time, going to the gym is rather low on my priority list. I’ve kept up our memberships, a total of $60 a month, because I keep thinking we will start going again. But maybe that is optimistic, after slacking off for months I find my motivation is lacking. I think we can temporarily suspend our memberships for $10/month, saving the initiation fee if we decide to go again. Or I can cut our losses and simply cancel the memberships. $700 a year is a lot of money for something you never use. So what should I do?

1) Get our lazy butts off the couch and use those gym memberships
2) Temporarily suspend our memberships for $10 per month until we find some motivation
3) Stop wasting $60 per month and just cancel it


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

As a couple you each bring your financial strengths and weaknesses to the relationship. To forge a successful partnership you must learn to work as a team. Of course secrets are never helpful when you are trying to build a life together, so yesterday Mr. M and I visited annualcreditreport.com to take a look at his credit report together.

Mr. M and I are complete financial opposites. I track money down to the dollar, he pays no attention to his balance or spending. I have numerous loans and accounts, he has none. Over the years I’ve learned everything about his financial habits, but I’ve never seen his credit report. Long ago he alluded to an unpaid account, a medical bill he was unable to pay when he was injured and out of work. But were there other accounts he forgot to mention?

Mr. M has a paper thin credit report. The only open accounts are the two credit cards we share for household expenses, which carry his debt that we are paying off. Under closed accounts was a $12 charge off from the electric company, funny that such a tiny bill would be listed. Plus how do you end up with a $12 electric bill? And last but not least, the unpaid medical debt, long since purchased by a debt buyer. In a few more months that debt will be more than 7 years old and should disappear from his file. That is the entire contents of his file, no other unpaid debts or hidden accounts. Of course such a thin history will likely translate to a terrible credit score, we’ll have to visit Credit Karma to get that information.

A couple taking out a loan will each be judged for their credit worthiness, so your partner’s history will affect you. It’s important to know where each other stands, about debt or loans your partner may have. Hopefully honesty is all you need in this respect, you don’t actually have to play show and tell with your credit report. Mr. M and I looked at his file together because he has zero motivation to take care of his finances, not because I don’t trust him. The file revealed exactly what I already knew and will help me to guide him as he works to improve his financial life. It’s important to check your report periodically to either correct errors or catch identity theft. Mr M hadn’t looked at his since I met him six years ago - it was time for him to take care of this important financial task.

Mr. M hadn’t checked his report because he didn’t realize you could get a free report online, no strings attached. The legitimate site to visit is annualcreditreport.com, stay away from anything with free credit report in the name. Annual credit report is run by the three credit bureaus, the free annual report was mandated by the government. Just request one bureau’s report at a time, this way you can return later in the year to check your report again – personal credit monitoring!


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Last week the Senate passed a bill dubbed Cash for Clunkers. The idea is twofold - one to help the ailing auto market by stimulating car buying and two to remove older, less fuel efficient vehicles from the road. The method to such madness – cash incentives to get you to turn in your gas guzzle for a new, higher gas mileage beauty from a dealer. The money would be in the form of an electronic voucher paid to the dealer when you buy the new car and hand over the old one. The dealer then agrees to shred the old car, so it can’t return to the road. Of course the devil is in the details.

The Senate bill establishes rules and guidelines for the voucher program that affect how much your old car is worth. The vouchers range from $3500 to $4500. The basic details are:

Passenger Cars

-Must have owned and operated for at least a year
-Vehicle must be 1984 or newer
-Must get 18 miles per gallon or less (average of city and highway mileage)
-Buy a new car with 4 miles per gallon improvement - $3500 voucher
-Buy a new car with 10 miles per gallon improvement - $4500 voucher

Minivans, Pickups and SUVs

-Must have owned and operated for at least a year
-Vehicle must be 1984 or newer
-Must get 18 miles per gallon or less (average of city and highway mileage)
-Buy a new vehicle with 2 miles per gallon improvement - $3500 voucher
-Buy a new vehicle with 5 miles per gallon improvement - $4500 voucher

Large pick-ups and work trucks also have incentives attached to convince you to trade in for a more fuel efficient model. But what effect will this program have and how many people will take advantage of it? Obviously many used cars are worth as much or more than the government is willing to pay under this program. The ones most likely to benefit from this bill have old cars that are worth very little, in which case the government’s offer is better than market value. But the restrictions means that many true clunkers, those older than 1984, can’t be traded in. Another problem is that the program requires you buy a new car, not a used one. Many people driving “clunkers” aren’t likely to purchase a brand new car. For cash strapped Americans even $4500 isn’t enough to make the purchase affordable. The average new car is $28,000, the incentive doesn’t make much of a dent in that.

We have an old clunker in the driveway, an ’86 pickup truck worth maybe $1000. It gets terrible gas mileage, around 15 mpg, and has zero safety features. It also has gotten zero use since we got the Durango 18 months ago. It is the perfect candidate for the cash for clunkers program, but we don’t really need to replace that car. Without it we still have two cars remaining. So Mr. M has proposed we also sell the Durango, and along with the voucher for truck buy a new, fuel efficient car. We would lose the flexibility of having a large vehicle but we’d be better prepared for rising gas prices. Between the sale of the Durango and the value of the voucher, we could get a basic tiny car for very little out of pocket. It’s definitely tempting.

Keep in mind this bill has only passed the Senate at this point, it may never pass into law or may change significantly before it is approved. For some new car shoppers this bill will help save money and take care of the hassle of unloading an clunker. But whether it stimulates real recovery in the auto market remains to be seen. Stay tuned for the latest as the stimulus turns.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

I’m having a case of déjà vu, last summer the prices for basic needs like gas and groceries were going through the roof. The worldwide economic collapse helped break the trend, at least temporarily. Gas was down below $2 a gallon and prices at the grocery store at least stopped climbing for a bit. But lately last summer’s price trends have reappeared, with gas now over $3 in California. Yesterday we did our bi-weekly grocery shopping, but we bought much less than usual in attempt to save money. The total between Ralphs and Trader Joes was over $225! I noticed several large price jumps in products we buy all the time, it’s getting hard to save money. I wonder if this will have an effect on the recovery, I recently noticed there are more people in the shops and restaurants around town. Higher prices are starting to feel like a way of life.

This week’s carnivals:

-Festival of Frugality at Stupid Cents: Cost/Benefit of a Garden
-Carnival of Pecuniary Delights at Pecuniarities: Save or Pay Down Debt?


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

There are a lot of ways to make a buck. You can go to work and earn a packcheck, sit on your butt and collect welfare. You can invest and put your money to work, earning you more money. You can steal it, scam for it, you can build pyramid scheme ala Bernie Madoff. You can sell drugs, you can sell yourself and many, many people will sell their soul for it.

As I start to look at starting my own business I am confronted by the reality that in my field, dealings are often less than ethical. I have to ask myself how far I am willing to go to succeed. Last week I met with small business owner one (SBO 1), who is making a living while staying honest. He gave me a lot of encouragement and made me feel like I can succeed on my talents, without the need for sleaze. Then this week I met with SBO 2, who promptly quashed my hopes. He is doing well, but I don’t like his tactics. He thinks talent can be bought, the only thing that matters is who you know and who goes to bat for you. To him it’s all about the deals on the golf course, around the poker table, in the clubs that I will never venture in. I know the people he is talking about and I know that they expect payment for such favors. I’ve mentioned before the corruption I’ve seen and the fallout when one SBO refused to pay a kickback.

There are things that I’m willing to do for more money. I’ll give up my free time and work myself to the bone, I’ll schmooze and charm people whom I have little interest in, I’ll lose 20 pounds and buy a new wardrobe. But I won’t pay kickbacks and bribes. I won’t bring others down just to build myself up. I have no interest in being a business owner if that is what it entails. Does that mean I’m destined for failure because I refuse to play by the existing rules? Starting my own business is the path to my dreams, but what price will I have to pay and how far will I have to go, to get ahead.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Yesterday I had a meeting at another office downtown and contrary to popular opinion, some people do walk in LA. I usually make the one mile trek by foot to save the hassle (and $5) it would cost to drive there. The walk is usually pleasant and relatively quiet along my perfect route past a park and along the new, gleaming towers of South Park. But go a few streets in either direction and it starts to get dicey. Downtown LA is home to million dollar lofts and the largest homeless population in the US. It’s a strange combination.

Yesterday the streets were overrun with Laker’s fans, celebrating the team’s championship. Sadly these celebrations often turn to violence in LA, so we hurried back to the office rather than try to catch a glimpse of the parade. As we approached our building I discovered my pass was missing! I keep it clipped to my bag for easy use. The clip was still firmly holding on, but the plastic piece holding my building pass had come apart. My co-worker asked if I wanted to walk back along our path to see if we could find it. I said no, with so many people on the streets and an entire mile it could have fallen along, I figured it was a waste of time. I asked the office manager what it would take to get a new pass - $20! I said I’ll deal with it tomorrow, I didn’t have $20 on me. Awhile later my office phone rings, it’s building security letting me know that someone found my pass on the street and brought it in! There are nice people left in the world, and this stranger’s kindness saved me $20. Thank you stranger.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Summer is the perfect time for tomatoes. Unfortunately it’s not the perfect time of the year to make tomato soup. Soup is best in cold weather - and no don’t mention gazpacho. Making soup from scratch means steaming up the kitchen, when it’s already steamy outside. But with our garden churning out tomatoes faster than we can eat them, it was time to sacrifice a few to soup.

It’s the same situation with zucchini, eventually our one plant will overwhelm us and I’ll break down and make my famous zucchini bread despite the one hour baking time. We’ve been eating tomatoes daily, in salads and pastas. We started the plants quite early so they are in full production mode already. Based on my garden harvest tracker we’ve picked nearly 7 pounds of tomatoes in 7 days. Soon I’ll have to resort to gallons of salsa and homemade marinara to deal with the excess. The one problem with a backyard garden is the feast/famine cycle. At first you wait in anticipation of the first tomato, which always takes forever to ripen. Then you are inundated with more produce than you know what to do with. Our ancestors had to deal with this every year in order to survive, I can’t even imagine. My best plan of action is the freezer, if all else fails we’ll bag and freeze what we can’t eat. The rest of the garden was planted later, so the tomatoes are all I have to cope with for the moment. By July everything else will be popping and I’ll be in trouble.

Roasted Tomato Soup

Ingredients - Roasted Tomatoes

2-3 pounds tomatoes, preferably roma
Olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
Garlic powder
Salt and Pepper

Ingredients - Soup

1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cups vegetable or chicken broth (low sodium preferably)

Directions:

Turn on the oven to 275 and line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Slice the tomatoes in half and remove the seeds. Coat each in olive oil and place in the pan before sprinkling them with the herbs and spices, salt and pepper. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and cook for at least 1 hour. Juicier tomatoes will require more time, the tomatoes should appear slightly shriveled and the edges should be turning brown. At this point you can set the tomatoes aside for later or finish the soup. In a large saucepan over medium heat sauté the diced onion in olive oil for 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This will help break down the tomatoes. Use a blender to puree the soup, I use an immersion type and do it right in the pan. Be careful transferring hot soup to an upright blender. Season to taste. Also you can add cream, olive oil or butter to make a richer, creamier soup. It’s OK to be naughty!


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

In business it takes money to make money. My peers who have gone out on their own are making two to three times what I make, but they don’t get to keep all of it. As a business owner there are many additional costs, fees and taxes that you don’t pay as an employee working for someone else. For me to analyze the benefits of becoming a business, Miss M and Company, I have to weigh these extra costs and headaches against the increased income.

Start Up Costs

The cost to start a business varies dramatically depending on what it is you plan to do – opening a retail store has little in common with becoming an independent consultant. One requires little upfront capital while the other will drain money for months as you prep for opening day and wait for profitability. But even consulting has its costs. You will typically need a business license and to pay any registration fees, along with obtaining business insurance – liability and maybe even worker’s comp. Some areas are known for piling on the fees for businesses. You will also need to advertise your business, create business cards and build a website. Most of these costs will come from your pocket before you receive a paycheck.

The Costs Continue

There are many financial differences between being an employee and an employer. The full cost of health insurance and other benefits is now your responsibility, your employer usually pays a large portion of your compensation in benefits. You also have to pay the full share of the Social Security Tax, as an employee you only cover half and your employer chips in the other half. Then in cities like Los Angeles your business will be subject to a separate local tax that individuals don’t have to pay. It’s important to understand and prepare for these costs as part of planning your business.

Reality Check

I was approached last week about working on another project where I would have the opportunity to become my own business. But of course I have my concerns about being a small business owner. Friday I lunched with one of my co-workers who happens to work for himself to get some idea of the costs I would encounter. He was able to give me a path forward to get myself off the ground and some idea of how the business works. I’ll pick the brains of the other guys at work, but they are little – less ethical. They are who I don’t want to become. So I used the numbers from Friday’s lunch and did a reality check – would working for myself pay off financially? It seems like I would, take home pay would be at least 50% better. The scenario included slightly more retirement savings than I current get, without the restrictions of my company ESOP. I tried to overestimate the costs I know about, assuming there will be additional ones I don’t know about yet. Of course this potential job could fall through, so I’m trying to be careful. I have to keep the job I have for now, while quietly exploring setting up shop on my own.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

I make well above this country’s average salary, though it doesn’t go very far in LA. The cost of living here means I still live a middle class existence. My car is nice, but not luxurious. I own my house, but it is tiny and in a questionable neighborhood. I don’t long for more stuff, our needs are modest. But I wish I could save more for the future and escape this rat race.

I work for a large firm, where I am just another name and employee number. Overall they are quite generous in terms of benefits and perks. I have gotten acceptable though not spectacular raises over the years, it’s the typical life working in corporate America. But in my line of work it is possible to start your own company and be your own boss. Several of my peers have done just that over the years, and they easily make 2-3 times my salary for the same work. Without them as a point of reference, I feel adequately compensated. But when I see people who are no smarter and no better than me making a whole lot more, I start to feel underpaid. There isn’t much possibility to advance staying an employee as I am. I would have to strike out on my own.

But I feel greedy when I think about starting my own company, I would be doing it for the money. Doing it to make as much money as I can, as fast as I can (and making it legally at that). Call me the reluctant capitalist, it doesn’t seem fair that I could make so much. Most of us are working hard to get ahead, I don’t feel more valuable than the next guy. Am I a fool for questioning the opportunity before me, or wise to question my own motives?


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

In most parts of the country June is a lovely time of the year. Spring gives way to the warm, lazy days of summer and the promise of pleasures to come. But that is not June in LA, when an annual weather phenomenon cloaks the world in grey. They call it June gloom, the persistent fog that blankets the entire coast for weeks on end at the start of summer. This year the gloom has been especially intense, with rain on the dreariest days. Usually the fog will clear by afternoon, but lately there have been weeklong stretches without a glimpse of sunlight. It’s damp, cool and miserable, when does summer start?

This week’s carnival links:

-Carnival of Personal Finance at Money Under 30: Property Tax Reduction
-Festival of Frugality at Personal Finance Analyst: Hey Big Spender
-Money Hacks Carnival at Financial Highway: My Uncle Engages in Jingle Mail


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Yesterday we watched a documentary that Mr. M saw listed on Netflix – Super High Me. It’s an only slightly funny, stoner version of Super Size Me. Since said stoner is a professional comedian, you would expect it to be humorous – it’s not. The subject of the film gives up pot and alcohol for 30 days, before picking up the habit again. We resorted to skipping through the scenes, hoping to finally find a laugh. At one point our anti-hero goes to a friend’s house for a smoke. I remarked to Mr. M that the kitchen cabinets were similar to the ones in my old apartment. Mr. M says yep, even the layout is the same. That’s when we realize, it was shot in my old building! It is a tiny apt building in WeHo, not some giant complex. Another one of those small world moments. Of course only in LA would it involve weed.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Don't delude yourself, most tasks are cheaper when you DIY – do it yourself. Yes, your time is a valuable commodity. Every day at work you trade your time for a wage or pay. Constantly you make decisions about what is the best use of your time, I know I never have enough hours in a day. But what about when you compare the cost of doing it yourself to the cost of hiring out a task – should you include the value of your time?

My Garden Project

Earlier this week I discussed our garden and my plan to track the cost/benefit of our efforts. I am only looking at the cost of plants purchased versus the cost to buy the same produce in the store. But obviously our time and labor has a value, so why am I ignoring it? The reason is simple – the garden is done on my own time.

No, Don’t Include your Time

In general, you should not include the value of your time in these cost comparisons. Almost everyone has free hours during the week. You can make dinner in the evenings, wash the car and mow the lawn on weekends. This time is your time, you aren’t at work or earning money during these hours. Essentially your labor is free, but when you outsource a task that you could do yourself, it will cost you the price of someone else’s labor. There are exceptions of course.

Yes, Do Include your Time

There are times that you should include the value of your time in the calculation. If doing a task takes you away from earning money, then the money you would lose needs to be factored in. Here is an example:

Mary makes $20/hr to support her family. Mary’s boss has asked her to work late tonight for another 2 hours, but it means she can’t get home to make dinner for the kids. Her choices are to work late and pick up takeout on the way home, or leave at her usual time and make dinner. The extra money she would make in those 2 hours needs to be weighed against the cost of takeout. In this case it may benefit Mary to outsource her cooking in exchange for an extra two hours of pay. If Mary is on her way home at the usual time there is no benefit to buying takeout, only a cost.

Other Considerations

The value of your time is only a small part of the overall analysis. Many tasks are beyond your ability, rendering any discussion of time/value moot. Often the cost to repair a mistake made by an amateur will be more than paying to have the job done right the first time by a professional. Or maybe you work long hours and want to enjoy what free time you have rather than spend it doing chores. It is OK to decide to outsource for these reasons, just don’t delude yourself into thinking that it’s cheaper to pay the gardener than it is to trim your own bushes.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

This story is the typical tale of friendship and business gone wrong. Back in March Mr. M was contacted by a friend of many years about building a set for a shoot. The job was for her employer, a household media name wanting to shoot some promotional material. In typical Hollywood fashion, the job was flaky from the start.

The client had no idea what they wanted and was incapable of describing what it is they expected. There was a test shoot, a second test shoot and finally they cancelled the remainder of the job – at the last minute. The whole job was rather silly, but it paid well. Only collecting payment turned out to be a nightmare and a friendship was lost along the way.

The job was back in early April, with invoices promptly generated and delivered to J (the friend). She promised that he would be paid quickly, but no check appeared. Always it was her assistant messed up, or there was some problem. A few times she said the check was in the mail - only it wasn’t. Finally she said that their payment cycle was monthly and he would have to wait for May. After 6 weeks a check came in the mail, but for less than the full amount!

More waiting, more excuses and more lies. J wouldn’t respond to emails or voicemails and again trotted out the lie that the check was in the mail. Yesterday morning Mr. M received an email with a fedex tracking number - the final check. Thankfully it’s a cashier’s check, I bet a company check would bounce. It is now 2 months after the end of the job. I think their friendship could have survived if J had been upfront and honest about the check situation. Why tell such an obvious lie?


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

The best produce around can be grown in your very own backyard. The fruits and vegetables you grow will have more nutrients and fewer chemicals than the stuff you buy in the store. And for those who understand the environmental benefits of eating local, you can’t get closer than the backdoor. But is it truly cheaper to grow your own, or will it cost less to purchase your produce?

Like many things in life, a garden can cost as little or as much as you want it to. In part it depends on your property, some lend themselves to vegetables easily while others require coaxing to produce anything edible. My own falls into the latter category. If I ran a cost/benefit analysis of our own garden, looking at the value of the produce received versus the cost of materials used, at best it’s a wash. We have spent hundreds of dollars getting our garden to its current state. But after all that work, it now takes very little money to plant each year.

The Early Costs are the Worst

Starting a garden from scratch will cost some money, especially if you don’t have any tools or garden implements. You will need shovels, trowels, rakes and hoes along with means to water and support your plants. There are stakes and tomato cages you can buy, pots or raised planter beds. If your soil sucks, you will have to import potting soil and mix in additives to improve it. There are fertilizers and pest controls to purchase. Some plants are a long term investment, like fruit trees. I found that in the first year, the costs can be overwhelming.

My advice is to start slow with just a few key items and buy things as you need them. Our first year we tried to improve the soil we had already, the next we built raised planter beds. Those beds will last for years but took time and money to construct. Many of the things you buy, with the exception of most plants, are reusable. Pots and stakes or tomato cages can be used year after year. Garden tools, when properly cared for, will last for a decade or more. The fruit trees you plant will eventually bear fruit year after year with just a little care. Hence the initial costs are high, but eventually there is no more to buy. At that point, you will reap more in produce than you are paying out to maintain your garden.

Tracking our Cost/Benefit

We are in our 4th year of gardening the same section of our yard. At this point we have plenty of pots and raised planter beds along with a drip irrigation system reaching all of it. We have enough stakes and cages, ties and trellises. The only thing we had to purchase was plants. I am weighing and tallying our garden totals for the season to see how an established garden stacks up in a cost benefit analysis. I estimate we’ve spent about $75 on plants and fertilizers for the year. I see our garden as an enjoyable hobby, so I’m not accounting for our time spent. With the drip system, raised beds and mulch I’ve developed a garden that requires very little time input to be successful. So far our only harvest has been 4 pounds of tomatoes and some basil, but the year is young. For the first time our grape has fruited, I thought it would never happen. Unfortunately the dwarf peach tree is having an off season and I doubt we’ll see the 10 pounds of peaches I got last year. The house came with several mature pomegranate trees, which produce hundreds of poms. It’s a valuable crop -if I knew how to sell them. To calculate the value of our produce (what it would cost to purchase in the store) I plan to use the regular store prices. Our garden is organic and many are heirloom varieties that cost more to purchase, but I don’t want to stack the deck in favor of the garden. Stay tuned for updates throughout the summer.

There is a lot of joy and pride to be had in growing your own produce. It may not equal a huge cost savings, but over time your garden can translate into better health for you and your bank account.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

I finally have the time to tally up May’s numbers and do a net worth update. The last month has been unusually busy so I’m hoping the rest of the year will be – less drama. I changed the way I’m tracking my net worth so it’s hard to compare this month to previous months. I took most of the money for house repairs and put it in the general savings accounts. I wanted more flexibility to use this money towards any of our many goals. To balance it out, I added Mr. M’s credit card debt under liabilities. It’s a little more honest I guess.

Based on some of my investment accounts, the overall market was strongly positive once again. Accounts without new contributions increased around 5.5% while the accounts I actively contribute to were up over 10%. I’m starting to get nervous about future returns, it seems the market is bouncing back too quickly. Why does everything have to be bubbles and busts?

Savings – I transferred the cash from the house repair fund to my FNBO savings account. Their current rate dropped once again and is now a paltry 1.65%. Remember when rates were over 4%, those were the good old days.

Bonds – I have stopped contributing to our snowflake bonds. I’m not planning to buy more until our debts are paid down and we’ve reached our savings goals.

Sharebuilder – No trades.

T Rowe Price – I invest $300 per month, the rest is market gains!

Lending Club – I just started investing with Lending Club. It’s just a little play money.

Fidelity 401k – from a former job, I no longer contribute Wells Fargo 401k – I save 8% of my salary

Company ESOP – our company stock is structured as a retirement plan

Savings Accounts – this is where I set aside money for future expenses. Since I know I will spend this money eventually I do not include it in my net worth

Property Taxes – I haven’t transferred May’s escrow amount yet, it’s on the to-do list.

Dog Fund – To cover our 3 boston terrier’s care and expenses.

Misc Fund – used for irregular or unexpected expenses

Care Credit Arbitrage – the care credit balance is 0% till the end of the year.

ROTH IRA –I still have no idea where I’m going to set up my Roth. For now I’m setting aside the money I plan to invest.

House Fund – I drained the cash portion of the house fund, I still have a $2500 CD earmarked for the same purpose.

3 Month Fund – this fund is part of my plan to smooth out Mr. M’s irregular income. It’s finally topped up, and may get used soon. Work has been slow the last few weeks.

Mr. M Tax Fund – we’re setting money aside to pay taxes on Mr M’s independent contractor earnings. Most of his recent jobs have been W-2 employment so I haven’t needed to set much aside.

Wedding Fund – no more excuses, no more delays. We’re going to have to get married eventually and now we’ll have the money to do it.

Care Credit – the balance is slowly creeping down. This total does not reflect the money I’ve saved in arbitrage so the balance is actually lower.

Chase Credit Balance – this is Mr. M’s debt from before we combined finances. I’m helping to get it paid off and finally added it to “our” tally.

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

It’s bad taste to keep the dead waiting, so we left early to allow plenty of time to get there. Despite that, Mr. M insisted on driving with his foot to the floor. I asked him several times to slow down, but he had other plans.

“Can’t we just go 80” I said?

No, he wanted to get there early to see my grandfather’s grave. I finally tried appealing to his wallet:

“Honey, we can’t afford a ticket right now” I said.
“I don’t plan on getting caught” was Mr. M’s reply.

Not even a minute later he gets clocked by the CHP (the cops) doing 93 in a 65. As we’re getting pulled over I told him,

“You’re paying for this out of your personal money.”

Such situations highlight the importance of having a personal pot of spending money, separate from your spouse’s. This way when they are stupid and get speeding tickets, you don’t have to pay for it.

I’m behind in linking to the recent carnivals I’ve participated in, my apologies to the various hosts:

-Money Hacks Carnival at My Life ROI
-Festival of Frugality at Savings not Shoes
-Carnival of Pecuniary Delights at I Pick up Pennies
-Carnival of Personal Finance at Earn What you Spend
-Festival of Frugality at Suburban Dollar
-Carnival of Personal Finance at Greener Pastures
-Money Hacks Carnival at Passive Family Income
-Carnival of Pecuniary Delights at Passive Family Income


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

For the backstory – see yesterday’s post about how my extended family bled dry my recently deceased grandmother.

It isn’t ethical to take advantage of an old woman’s kindness. I doubt my family outright stole my grandmother’s money, though given my uncle’s power of attorney it is possible. More likely they appealed to her generosity and every time she asked if they needed anything, the answer was yes. They needed money.

My family – well mostly my uncle and his offspring – are useless. They don’t have any handicaps or disabilities to explain their lack of achievement. You would think my grandmother, with her education and ambition, would be ashamed of them. Instead she doted on them, especially the one uncle and his offspring. My mom was always bitter about the obvious favoritism, and sexism. My mom and I are the only girls, she has two brothers. The oldest has three sons and the youngest has never married. She felt slighted for not being a boy and felt my grandmother treated me in much the same way. But I have to hope, at least in her heart, there was no bias.

My grandmother has given me money in my life, other than the customary $20 in my birthday card. In college she gave me $1000 when I couldn’t pay my rent, $1000 for college graduation and when I bought my house - $10,000 (of course it sucks for me that the house is now underwater!). She immediately turned and gave each of my cousins the same, our inheritance she explained. Her estate was to be divided equally between her children, no grandchildren.

My grandmother was healthy until she died. She was never on any expensive medications, never had a disease. She was never in a nursing home. She lived modestly and frugally until the end. After my grandfather died she sold his hobby (an orange grove) and finally her home. That was $450,000, and I know she had saved hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and CDs. After her death, in the funeral home that day, my mom and uncle discussed her finances (vis a vis final costs). He had the power of attorney and ran her bank accounts, he said there was at least $200,000 in there. According to my mom, that was a lie. There is virtually nothing left, far less than she expected. My mom never expected she’d get an inheritance, but under the circumstances she thought some money would be in the estate.

I think she also feels the sting of her mother’s own favoritism in sifting through those financial records. There it is laid out in dollar signs, a steady stream to one part of the family. The rest of us work hard to be independent, much in the way my grandmother was. Nothing has been handed to us. Yet failure was rewarded time and time again. It’s the family version of the Wall St bailout. I understand my mother’s bitterness. My perpetually unemployed cousin showing up to the funeral in a lexus didn’t help.

But I accepted it all long ago. And I think that despite the outward signs of favoritism, she respected me a whole lot more. My family that depended on the handouts are screwed now that she is gone. Meanwhile my life will go on much as before. Isn’t self reliance wonderful?


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Dirty family laundry that is! My grandmother’s recent passing has brought to light some unsavory behavior by my relatives with regard to her and her money. My mother is the executor of her estate and as such has to delve into her finances. What she found was very upsetting.

My grandparents had a comfortable retirement. Both worked their entire lives and lived frugally – growing up in the Depression will do that to you. They entered their golden years with plenty of assets (close to a million in cash, investments and property) and a guaranteed income stream from pensions and social security. My grandfather passed away rather young, so the money all passed to my grandmother. My mom and I knew two relatives were milking her for money, they’re the type. But it turns out they were not alone, in fact I’m the only one who hasn’t gotten money from her in the last few years. Even my mom recently took money from her, to help pay for some divorce related expenses. They didn’t steal the money, simply took advantage of her kindness.

Every time I visited my grandmother she would always ask “Are you OK? Do you need anything?” I never thought to respond yes I could use $100. Apparently I was the only one. My uncles and cousins slowly bled her dry, there’s pretty much nothing left. My mom was shocked, she thought she would be inheriting some money. Plus it seems she feels bad for me, for missing out on the handouts. But honestly it doesn’t upset me, I never expected to inherit money and I couldn’t live with myself if I had leached off of her. I have something more valuable than money – my pride.

The story continues in Part 2

Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.

Recently there was a small silver lining for me in the Great Housing Crash, my property taxes were reduced. It’s a teeny, tiny comfort for this underwater homeowner. When I bought in 2005 the housing market was red hot and it seemed like the sky was the limit for prices. In fact it didn’t slow down until 2007, but those two years of gains were no cushion for me. Housing prices in LA have dived and continue to drop as the economy stumbles along. The local tax assessor looked at all properties purchased since July 1, 2003 and reduced the assessed value on 333,000 homes (roughly 70% of the ones they reviewed).

A Primer on California Property Taxes

Out of state readers may wonder why only houses purchased since 2003 were reviewed, after all didn’t values skyrocket for everyone? During the bubble years there were many tales of homeowners shocked by huge property tax bills after the “value” of their home suddenly increased. But that didn’t happen here due to a law called Proposition 13.

California has experienced housing booms before, one of which resulted in a taxpayers revolt. The voters passed Prop 13 which limited property tax increases to no more than 2% per year (yes below inflation - that has a lot of consequences the authors never considered). Hence many homeowners, especially long term owners, are paying taxes on a value still well below the current market. For many of them, prices will never fall low enough to trigger a review.

My Tax Reduction

I received a letter in the mail letting me know that their review led to a reduction in my assessed value, but they call it a temporary reduction only. If prices shoot back up tomorrow, my old value will kick in rather than the lower value + 2%. Bummer. Also, the assessor agrees that I’m underwater, my new assessed value is less than what I owe in the house. Here are the numbers:

Value per Prop 13 - $373,000
Assessed Value - $287,000

That’s a 1-year drop of $86,000 and an annual tax reduction of $1100. In the context of my monthly payment, it’s peanuts. I mean the extra money is nice, but it doesn’t make much of a difference in our finances. I plan to keep setting aside the same amount each month (I self escrow) and use the excess towards home repairs.

Get Your Own Reduction

Every community has a process for reviewing property assessments, and some are less active in pursuing a reduction for you. If you feel your appraised value is too high, you can file an appeal. Check with your local assessor for information on the process and how to file. You will need proof of your claim, like data on recent sales in your neighborhood or an independent appraisal. It would be worth spending a few hundred dollars on one if it means a savings of several thousand on your taxes. If I did not get an automatic reduction this year I planned to file an appeal myself. Many of us homeowners have been hard hit by the housing collapse, paying taxes on an over-inflated price only increases that pain.


Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this post consider subscribing for updates.