One of my coworkers, a divorcee with adult children who, like me, works multiple jobs, was asking about taking out a home equity loan to pay off some credit card debt. My response: it’s more important to reduce spending to live within your means than it is to pay this off in this manner, because all that’s happening is debt is being shifted from one pile to the other.
“But I can’t make ends meet.”
And that’s what it came down to. I could sit down with my coworker and go over every single bit of her budget to try to find areas to cut–piano lessons, gym memberships, cell phones for her adult kids–and none of it would matter if she didn’t have the discipline to actually do it.
A budget, after all, is just a plan; if she can’t follow through, it doesn’t matter how the math looks. What counts is the discipline to keep spending in check, and if she doesn’t have that, no amount of loans or plans will help.
I said some time ago one of the things I wanted to buy this year was a new point and shoot digital camera to replace my aging Fujis. The one I really want is a Nikon P6000–one of the three best on the market in my research, along with the Canon G11 (or older G10 and G9) and Lumix/Panasonic LX3.
On the other hand, I’m trying to make sure I can afford the trip to Philadelphia for the Livestrong Challenge–including shipping my bike there. So I’m even more careful about dollars than usual.
That said, refurbished Nikon P6000s from Adorama have been listed on eBay recently at $299; then dropped to $249. A typical price on a new P6000 is more than $500.
Temptation.
The auction expired this morning, and I didn’t order one. It’s started again, however, so that might be a possibility in the next few days–think card timing–after I reassess my financial situation. It’s not likely, though–something I need to sacrifice in order to reach my larger goals.
Sacrifice isn’t the fun thing to do, but it’s the best thing to do in this circumstance–and it’s become more and more of a part of me. I don’t like it, but I do what I need to do, and in this case–it’s what I need to do.
My dislike of the customer service of Sprint is legendary, but I have to say that the company does get quite a few things correct, and one of them is that they’ve offered customers like me a $5 one time credit for going to paperless statements.
This offer versus Discover’s $15,000 contest that you enter by going paperless.
From my perspective, I will take the $5 anytime. Thanks to Sprint for figuring this one out. And kudos to them for making such an offer. I think it’s a great thing for both themselves and their customers and I’ll take them up on it.
In fact, I already have.
Despite my somewhat negative post about them, I like Discover Card, and I always have, but this takes the cake.
I’ve had a long standing personal policy about going to online only statements–if there’s a financial advantage to my going to them, I’m more than willing to. But if the financial company won’t give me any financial reason to do so, I won’t switch. Chase, whom is not among my favorite companies, gave me $5.00 a few years ago to go to online statements, so I did.
So, what has Discover done this time? They’ve instituted a contest where you enter by discontinuing paper statements.
A few people will rake in some very nice prices, and the vast majority of people get… nothing.
Thanks, but no thanks. Give me a $5 credit and I’d be more than happy to stop. Until then, I’ll be okay with getting paper statements.
Welcome to our September 6, 2009 Link Payday! Once again, we take a few minutes to look at some of the best posts in the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks:
Spilling Buckets covers something that’s not just about personal finance when they remind us to Don’t Become a Victim of Yourself. It goes in line with some of the things that have been going on in my life recently.
The Frugal Duchess tries to get us to do the impossible (I was just traveling in late July!) when she tells us How to Find Cheap Food at Airports. I particularly use her final hint: pack food! This is what cargo pants are for.
Trent from The Simple Dollar gives us some great advice and practical tips when he covers 21 Ways to Reduce Your Spending Without Making Your Life Miserable. Way one is the best: “Get rid of stuff you don’t use.”
Mrs. Micah does the math for us when she asks Wanna Pay $228.79 for a $200 TV? This just shows what a horrible idea charging something without paying it off in full at month’s end really is.
Finally, David at My Two Dollars covers a topic that is becoming more and more important as the unemployment levels continue at high levels when he asks What is COBRA Health Insurance?
And that’s our Link Payday for September 6, 2009!
Welcome to your late but ready now Link Payday for August 9, 2009. Let’s not take up any more time before checking out the best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last couple of weeks:
For something fun, Frugal Dad put together his Top Ten Songs About Money–The Frugal Dad Soundtrack. Funny, funny, funny.
JLP over at All Financial Matters asks Are Your Credit Cards’ Minimum Payments Going Up? It appears that some folks are having the minimum on their credit card payments going from two to five percent. While I don’t advocate keeping a balance on your cards, if you do, this could more than double what you’re required to pay and put a serious dent in your budget!
Beks over at Blogging Away Debt writes a letter about her School Tuition Nightmares. As a former undergraduate and graduate student, I can remember the financial struggles to get through those times–but I’m glad I did it.
My favorite personal finance librarian blogger, Mrs. Micah, tells us Where Your Library Fines Go as well as how to support your public library. I am a big fan of the public library, so I love to do things to support them when I can (but as she says, fines are not helping).
Finally, my buddy Ron over at The Wisdom Journal asks Who is the Fool in Your Life? Interestingly, it’s not about someone who is the opposite of smart.
And that’s our Link Payday for August 9, 2009!
I’m on vacation this week. Some of these posts may be a bit short, but they were written to give you something to read while I’m traveling as well as to continue on our ongoing themes:
I’ve been a bit tough on Discover the last few times I’ve discussed them, even though I like their cards. This week, they gave me a reason to talk up their cards for the first time in awhile.
I got a new Discover card (they have been sending these out even if you’re nowhere near your expiration date, presumably to try to increase use) in the mail and one of the things I was pleased to find was a mention of an extended product warranty program.
Apparently at least one of the Discover cards I now use is offering extended warranty protection, up to a year, doubling the manufacturer warranty. This is something that some Mastercard and Visa cards and (as far as I know) all American Express cards have done for awhile–if the purchase is made with that card, it’s possible to get the extended warranty without charge.
I’m not sure how this one will compare versus the others–I’ve been a fan of Visa’s warranty program for portable electronics–but it’s surely nice to have it as an option.
Welcome to your Link Payday for July 20, 2009–vacation edition! Yes, I am traveling over the next week, but you won’t miss me since I’ll still have posts showing up daily. In the meantime, please check out some of my picks for best of the personal finance blogosphere over the last few weeks:
The Frugal Duchess celebrates her 51st by coming up with 51 Frugal Goals for a Birthday Weekend. Hauoli Lahanau to you!
Trent at The Simple Dollar discusses what to do after reaching a huge goal when he considers To Close or Not to Close a Paid-Off Credit Card? In my case, I wouldn’t close it, but many people lack the self control to do that successfully.
My buddy Ron over at The Wisdom Journal goes old school on us–correctly–when he contemplates Could There Actually be a Shortcut to the Top? The answer, of course, is no–there are no overnight successes.
The Online Savings Blog preaches one of the most important parts of investing by Keeping the Market in Perspective. Yes, we’ve had a great few months, but we’ve not had the best ten years before that; then again, we’ve had much success when you go back even farther!
Finally, David over at My Two Dollars gives us a new way to cut spending by having us ask ourselves How Many Hours Do You Work to Pay For Your Stuff? Interestingly, I’ve been doing this for awhile and I do find that it helps me keep things in perspective.
And that’s your July 20, 2009 Link Payday!
Some will argue that even if you pay off your credit cards in full every month–a practice I do and I preach–you are spending more than if you used cash only. Those who believe this state that since you actually have to come up with the cash when you spend in the latter model, you won’t spend as much since with a credit card, you don’t need the cash in hand for another month or so.
Similarly, I wonder if using Internet price comparison sites–shopper.com or dealmac.com, for instance–actually causes more spending. Why? Because if you think something is a deal, you’re more likely to buy it.
I’m not sure how to go about testing this theory. I do know I’m likely to use sites like these when I’m looking for something in particular, and I often peruse DealMac thinking, “Wow, this is a nice price,” and pass it on to my Twitter stream, but almost never do I purchase anything after looking there.
This one will take a bit of thinking for me to figure out.
Discover has been a credit card company that I’ve liked a lot over time. Not long ago, they called me when they suspected my credit card had fraudulent activity–and they were correct. I like the way they do business for the most part, although I did question their Motiva card a few months back.
That said, they have slowly started chipping away at some of the features I really like with their cards.
Over a year ago, my Discover Open Road card went from a long billing cycle (bill due on the 1st, card closing on the 2nd) to a much shorter one (same closing date but bill due on the 26th). My regular Discover card just did the same thing (bill due date went from the 16th to the 12th, closing date still on the 17th). Those five days can make a large difference in my finances, as I like to hold onto my money in an interest bearing account as long as possible.
One of Discover’s all time most appreciated and advertised benefits has been “cash back”–their rebate that they would pay out in cash (or in other ways) to you once you reached a certain threshold–which was $20.
Until this month, anyway.
I just reached the $20 reward threshold on one of my cards and attempted to collect it; when I used Discovercard.com to do so–as I’ve done many times before–I was informed that I must hit $50 in order to redeem the reward for cash.
$50! That’s 2.5 times the old amount!
While I will continue to use Discover–and trust me, I do like them–this is not a change that thrills me.
