State Farm Hates Me

By christina | March 11, 2010

A few months ago I had a minor fender bender, which involved only me and my broken bumper, which is not a story I’d like to share. Not a big deal except that I just bought the car (a very cute Pontiac G6 with a sunroof) in February 2008 and the bumper had a long noticeable slice. I worried that it was going to fall off on the highway so I went ahead and filed a claim with my insurance and paid the deductible. Pretty simple, it was replaced and reverted to brand new in less than a week.

I knew the claim would raise my insurance with State Farm, whom I have been with since around 2006, so I went in to the office and asked the agent to look at my policy and make sure I didn’t have anything on it that I didn’t need. Apparently I did, because we shaved off about $20.00.

I was happy. Car was fixed. Insurance was lowered.

Until a couple months later, when I noticed that my insurance was $20 more than it was before the claim. Which means, to me, that it actually jumped $40. I called the agent to find out what happened and here are the reasons State Farm raised my insurance bill:

The claim on the bumper was considered some kind of weird accident.

The claim indicated that State Farm needed to pull my credit report.

Because my credit sucks momentarily, my rate was increased.

Nothing I could really argue about, until now that a couple more months have passed, I’m starting to find it hard to believe that the bumper was worth another $40 a month. I’ve never made a late payment to State Farm because they’re on automatic debit. Why would they penalize me for my credit? Further, if I’ve been paying almost $100 a month for insurance since 2006, plus a $500 deductible on the bumper, I pretty much paid for that bumper myself.

I don’t know. I’m considering shopping around, I just hate to lose the history I’ve built up with State Farm. I also wonder what good it will do if all of the insurance companies are going to run my credit anyway.

I have to admit I’m really starting to relate to those crazy insurance conspiracy theorists. Is auto insurance a scam?

Or does State Farm really just hate me?

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How to Help Single Parents

By christina | March 8, 2010

I read this article today, (via Twitter) about how much it costs to raise a child as a single parent. The title of course declares that “Single Parents Aren’t Earning Enough” to which I replied (mentally) “Really? Wonder who figured that out?” The author, though, was looking for suggestions on how to help single parents.

I thought of it and I realized that there really isn’t anything anyone can do to help. I commented that I take pride in not asking anyone for anything, but if I really had to ask it wouldn’t be money. I’d love a guilt-free night out. By guilt-free, I mean not feeling like I shouldn’t be spending money, I shouldn’t be out having fun, I shouldn’t have ditched my daughter.

And this is not anything anyone can do for me or give me. This is my own issue, much like a lot of the issues that other single parents have. I did note some of the comments and general ideas from the article that people think would help single parents manage better.

Time. Couples barely have enough time to devote to parenting, but single parents would kill for just a couple more hours in the day. Most are working double time already and factor in actually spending the time with the children and keeping your home from looking like an episode of Hoarders, and well, you’re looking at like 3 hours left to sleep. Unless someone has a time machine, this one is hopeless.

Mentoring. Many single mothers and fathers would like some form of mentoring, not only for their children but for themselves as well. I had considered being a part of the Kinship in my area which is similar to the Boys & Girls Club because I thought it would be nice to help a child in my area, but realized that at this point in my life, I cannot give another child the time and attention they deserve. Plus, it’s a program for single parents to use and as a single parent, I felt kind of silly. As far as mentoring the parents, I have a fantastic family that helps me out quite a bit, but there are single parents that don’t have this kind of connection and could use a service that included education and mentoring.

Scholarships. This is a big one for me, although I hope with everything that the budgeting and saving will help out when it’s time for my daughter to go to college, I’m still not sure. I don’t think anyone wants specific scholarships designed for kids of single parents (that wouldn’t be fair) but maybe more opportunities for lower income families? I don’t know. Some will say we already have plenty of those. I wish there were some kind of coupon or guarantee someone could give me that when the time comes, I won’t have to worry about it.

Single Mom Camps and Nights Out. Many comments included ideas like this where someone would organize a camp or night out for single parents and also provide some kind of daycare service to watch the children while the parents participated. As I said in the intro, I don’t know if I’d feel any less guilty about it if it’s organized, but I can see how a lot of people would like to take part in events like these if they were available.

I guess the point is, that it’s not just me, but many single parents aren’t asking for money. There are a lot of other things, less tangible sometimes, that we’d choose if asked. By the way, I could also use some help cleaning because my house really does look like an episode of Hoarders.

If you’re a single parent, what would you like? Or what do you think would help make things better? If you’re not a single parent, I’d like your thoughts as well.

Posted in Parenting | Tagged | Leave a comment

Unexpected Expenses Throw Me Off

By christina | March 5, 2010

Everyone has unexpected expenses that completely disrupt a budget. I think I have these every month, February it was my car tabs which sank me to the tune of $185.00. Granted, this is not exactly an unexpected expense, more of a crap, is it time to pay that again already expense. I even asked the clerk if they were always that much and she said that maybe next year they’d go down. I’m not counting on it. Sure seems like a lot of money for a couple of stickers but the alternative I’m sure would cost more.

Usually unexpected expenses consist of emergency room charges, car repairs, or your sister’s wedding. Luckily, my sister’s already married so I’m not worried about that one.

This just enforces the fact that we actually need two savings accounts. One for unexpected expenses and the other for actually saving. How in the heck does one manage such a thing? It’s difficult enough (for me, anyway) to get something into one savings account, and now surprise…I realize I need two.

So I guess my main question is, how much needs to go into the unexpected expenses account? How much is enough to save per year to cover these phantom costs enough that it doesn’t hurt so much. Financially, February was not good to me. Great in all other respects (it’s even finally getting warm here) but money-wise I pretty much crashed and burned. I don’t want to save just enough in this fund to pay my car tabs, that would only be around $15.41 a month which is definitely do-able. But, how much needs to go into it to feel comfortable and not worry that a bill or expense is going to jump out and attack me? Or does everyone just use their regular savings accounts for those expenses? I know that a lot of people keep an account for taxes and insurance payments, but I don’t have that kind of stuff right now that I need to save for. Right now, I’m looking for an amount to save each month for emergencies.

I have read that an emergency fund should have 3-6 months worth of wages. This is a smart idea, but the concept is based on the possibility of losing a job and being able to still survive. I think if I had this kind of savings or an emergency fund, I would’ve charged a lot less on credit cards that I’m paying off now. So for savings my goal is $50 a month for just saving and I’ll start with $20 a month for emergency in the same account. Not the greatest plan, but for now it’s better than nothing.

I’ll keep you posted on anything I find out. Otherwise, things are moving along smoothly. I need to get groceries this weekend which has already started causing anxiety attacks. Or maybe that’s because we only have ramen and kidney beans in the cupboard. Not sure.

Have a great weekend and as always, thanks for reading!

Posted in Savings | Tagged , , | 8 Comments

How to Make Money on Twitter

By christina | March 3, 2010

We deal with enough spam and scam in our lives and I’m hoping that this post doesn’t come off as spammy. I have been able to save money and make money because of Twitter though and thought I would share the ways that have worked for me.

Networking and Job Offers

Because of Twitter I am networked to writers and people of any industry you can think of. Search keywords for anything you’re looking for such as “writer”, “writing”, “blogger”, etc. I happened to catch a post from someone looking for paralegal bloggers recently, sent her a direct message, wrote a paid test post and got the job. Twitter allows you to have contact with many people you wouldn’t normally even know existed.

Sponsored Ads

This is something new I’ve come across but after posting links for 4 ads so far (one short sentence with a link) I’ve made $4. The person that referred me had made up to $30 the last time I heard just posting a couple ads. This is through a company called Sponsored Tweets and the ads so far range from Volvo to Purex. Here is the link if you’re interested, I think you do need to have at least 100 followers and have been on Twitter for at least 60 days. If you aren’t on Twitter yet, you should join and let me know.

Coupons and Deals

Speaking of Purex, the ad was for a free sample of Purex 3 in 1. I don’t know about you but free is always good and I sure don’t mind free samples. Purex is one of the cheaper detergents anyway that I’ve had luck with, meaning it’s cheap but also doesn’t result in itchy rashes.

Readers and Creating Traffic

Although I only have about 160 followers on Twitter, it is a good way to generate traffic for the blogs and sites that I write for. Readers generate clicks which usually generates at least a couple pennies. You simply post a link to your site or article and if you’re lucky, it gets retweeted by some of your followers, and much like the domino effect, results in readers.

Store Offers

Walmart is on Twitter, Kohl’s is on Twitter, and tons of coupon sites are on Twitter. Search the ones you’re interested in and whenever they post a deal or coupon offer, you’ll see it on your Twitter page.

I’m sure there are tons of other ways to save and make money on Twitter, these are just a handful that I have personal experience with. Let me know if you have any other ideas and if course if you have any questions about any of these, I’ll do my best to answer them.

Warning: DO NOT quit your day job. Very few people actually make a living from simply being on Twitter.
Another Warning: Twitter can be as addicting as Facebook. You will end up wasting a lot of time and too many brain cells just gazing at one-liners.

Posted in Make Extra Money | Tagged , | 2 Comments

I Need a Collection and How Walmart Ruined My Legacy

By christina | March 1, 2010

In my lifetime, or at least ever since I started paying attention, people have made money or become rich off of a broad range of items, some being as obvious as rare art found in the attic, others include the man in Kansas that recently sold an unwrapped Nintendo Stadium Game for $41,000.00.

Just the same, if you’ve ever watched the Antique Roadshow, you’re familiar with the idea of people bringing in their old lunchboxes and magazines and suddenly finding out that they’re worth a boatload of money. On the flip side, sometimes their stuff isn’t worth anything. Which would be me. I sometimes fantasize about carrying in a box full of Walmart dishes and having an appraisal just to see what they say. Nevertheless, I’m still brought to this thought: I have nothing that’s worth over ten bucks in my house. Okay, scratch that. The furniture may be worth a couple hundred. Total. And that’s because the furniture wasn’t purchased at Walmart, but everything else I own is basically value-less.

And, here’s how I blame Walmart. Being part of the “Walmart Generation”, which I’ve officially invented and nominated myself the President of, means that I’ve purchased darn near everything I own from them. Which further means, that none of this is worth anything, because as everyone knows anything you buy from Walmart depreciates in value to nothing as soon as you say goodbye to the Walmart greeter. I have no collection of fancy figurines because for one, no one purchases figurines from Walmart or the Dollar Store with the thought that they’ll one day be worth something. “Someday, darling. This will all be yours.”

When I am old and dusty and my daughter is cleaning out my old and dusty home, there will be no great finds, no treasures that she’ll need to google, no investigating the worth of anything. Pretty sure that set of $2 GladWare isn’t going to be worth much. (Even though I do take pretty good care of them.)

The only good thing about having a house by Walmart is that hopefully we’re saving enough money to make that our gift when we’re gone. It’s not nearly as fun as finding an incorrectly printed stamp or a chair that just happened to be handmade by Charles Ingalls, but something tells me that cash will be appreciated just the same.

Let’s hope anyway. Otherwise I need to start on a collection. Any suggestions?

Posted in Budget Shopping, Purchases, Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

How a Nap Can Save You Money

By christina | February 26, 2010

I know. Wonky title. It could be because I’m tired, but since I’ve whined about being tired every day since forever to my offline friends and family, I’m not going to do that here.

Instead, I’m going to tell you how a nap can save you money and imagine I am taking a nap.

Driving and Sleeping on the Road

Obviously, not a smart idea. According to this article, from 1989-1993 there were approximately 56,000 accidents annually caused by drowsy drivers. The problem is that if you are sleep deprived, you could pretty much be sleeping and driving. Um. How safe is that? Do I really need to spell out how expensive a car accident can be?

Take a Nap for Your Health

If you don’t get enough sleep you will get sick. Sleep deprived people are more prone catch flu bugs and other illnesses. Doctors and clinics and hospitals are not cheap. Save yourself some doctor’s bills and get a good night’s rest.

I Was Tired Your Honor

I can’t be the only person that wants to choke people when I’m tired. I suddenly have road rage and am more apt to snap at the cashier in Walmart for no reason other than I’m tired. Okay, there are a lot of other reasons I might snap at a Walmart cashier, but what it boils down to, I think, is mental health. Combine the costs of being bailed out from jail and having to see a therapist and it’s just not worth it.

Work Productivity

Can’t make much money if you’re tired and can’t focus or concentrate. In fact, you could possibly lose your job if you’re so tired you fall asleep on your keyboard holding a miniature Kit Kat. Not that I’ve known anyone to do that. Besides taking the risk of falling asleep at work, I can’t be the only person that can actually get a whole lot more done if I’ve had an adequate amount of sleep.

These reasons alone are enough to save you some money. Now I’m going to take a nap. Have a great weekend!

Posted in Cheap Healthy | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Do You Have Any Change?

By christina | February 24, 2010

I read about a savings experiment which included loose change, which for some reason I actually have. Don’t ask me how Miss Bankrupt has extra anything laying around but truthfully, I have change in the bottoms of my purses, in the car, on the dining room table. Everywhere. Once in a while I collect most of it and dump it into my daughter’s jar, which in the past has cashed out at around $300.00. According to this article on how to roll the change and cash it in, the average household has $90 worth of loose change laying around.

Well, my household is far from average and not counting the actual jar filled with change, I doubt I have 90 bucks just laying around. Maybe $50 if I collected it all and counted it, which I’m not going to do. The point though, is that there is extra money in my home that isn’t doing anything significant except smelling funny and jamming up my garbage disposal when I try to wash gum off it. (That’s another story, though.)

I am considering a loose change experiment to fund a savings account or when I have enough, to buy a savings bond or to invest in flying cars or something (it’s going to happen, I saw it on the Jetsons).

Here is what I think I need to do:

1. Allow myself a certain amount of cash per week. I don’t carry cash very often and this affects of course how much change I have left. You don’t get back money when you use your debit card at McDonald’s. This will also help me track better what I’m spending on frivolous stuff, which to my knowledge isn’t very much.

2. I need a deadline or date that I will cash in the change so I can kind of guage what I’m actually saving. Maybe I’ll try 6 months? So, this Friday I’ll get my allotted cash and dump all of my change each day until July 26, 2010.

3. I’m starting completely new so I won’t be adding to the change in my daughter’s jar.

4. I need to find a free place to cash in the change or see if one of my banks will cash it in without any fee, which I think they do. Some of the random machines charge a small fee which is a total waste of money.

5. In 6 months if it isn’t enough to do anything significant with, I’ll deposit the cash into my savings account until I’ve acquired enough and gathered enough information to figure out something better.

As my mom mentioned, I’m not getting any younger and I do need to take my savings seriously and like a child, I’m more interested if there’s some kind of game involved. I do have an IRA at work, but I have a feeling that most of that will go to my daughter’s college tuition. What then will I live off of in 20 years when I retire?

I’ll keep you posted, but I’m interested in what other people do to prepare for retirement. What do you do with your loose change?

Posted in Loose Change Experiment, Savings | Tagged , | 1 Comment

I Still Buy Bottled Water…Sorry

By christina | February 22, 2010

I read an article today and last week and last month about what a waste of money bottled water is and I wondered if maybe I haven’t cut my expenses as much as I thought.

Sorry, but I like bottled water. I don’t drink water from the tap, and these articles aren’t taking into consideration the time I turned on the water and brown stuff came out. Or the story I heard about a dead mouse in my friend’s well. Maybe the rest of the world lives in places with trustworthy water streaming from their faucets, but when I compare the risks of bottled water (yes, I’ve read those articles too) and the brown-ness of the water burping from my kitchen sink, well I choose bottled.

Sure, my bottles may even be filled by a faucet in a large factory, it still looks better than mine. I’m not entirely foolish, I know that all bottles of water aren’t filled a drop a day by a crystal clear mountain spring, but I do know it isn’t nowhere near what I’ve tasted from faucets during my lifetime.

And no, I don’t have time for a purifier or other fancy do it yourself water cleaner. That’s why I buy bottled water. I don’t have time to hunt down my own body of water and I’m not carrying any buckets over a mountain for anything. I just want water that doesn’t smell like metal or the toilet. That’s not asking for much, is it?

I have been trying to complain less for this very reason, sure I mention the things that I’m working on or looking for, but I’m not blasting anyone but Chase Bank (and we’ve made up, mind you). I know I haven’t cut everything out that I should, but some of the small things are worth keeping for our own peace of mind. Some people have their lattes, I have a bottle of water. Some people are just fine with their faucets and will never ever, not even in a swamp in a third world country, drink bottled water. All I can say, is a) I’m jealous you have good water and b) hope you don’t get sick from that stinky stuff.

I’m sure other people have purchases that they could cut but feel strongly about keeping. Please tell me it isn’t just me…

Posted in Budget Cuts, Purchases | Tagged | 6 Comments

Update on Cheaper Housing

By christina | February 19, 2010

Well the apartment complex where I had applied for resident manager notified me that they were only 1 bedroom apartments, which i know beyond a shadow of doubt will not work for me and my daughter and all of our accumulated crap. I thanked them kindly for their time and told them it wouldn’t work. It has created some interest though in pursuing other positions like that one at other apartment buildings, as I’m sure it can be quite a nice deal on the rent expense.

One of the comments in my last post on cutting the biggest expense of all was from lazyjayn of the blog, 365 Dollar Year about spending a dollar a day for a year on food. Another fascinating concept to me, it looks fun and I’m a little jealous. I just know my daughter and I could not survive on it, partly because I’m not nearly as creative as lazyjayn when it comes to hunting down the great deals on food.

Anyway, her idea was to team up with another single parent, which I hadn’t thought of before. At this point, I don’t know any other single parents where I live (odd, huh?), but it’s definitely a win-win suggestion. Enough so, that I may go on a hunt for a single parent. I’m sure there are others out there that could benefit from sharing housing expenses as much as i do.

In the meantime, my parents have remodeled the upstairs of their house so if and when we move there, it’s going to be pretty comfy. I just need to get over my own stupid pride and be thankful that I am fortunate enough to have parents that will allow me and my child to live with them. Not everyone does, by the way.

With the recent payment plans with the medical bills and Chase Bank, it’s not like we’re suffering here. Things are actually getting paid down. I’m just looking for a really big way to boost myself out of debt…faster.

Guess I could also use a huge dose of patience as well. I’m working on it.

Posted in Budget Cuts, Financial Goals | Tagged | 2 Comments

5 Things I Will Never Buy

By christina | February 17, 2010

Once in a while I come across ridiculous things that people buy and today it was cashmere toilet paper. After thinking how ridiculous the wealthy are sometimes, I began thinking of all the purchases I would never make, even if I somehow got out of debt and could afford it. Here is my list of things I will never buy, kind of my “when hell freezes over” top 5.

1. Cashmere Toilet Paper. It’s just silly, although according to the article it has a very nice scent. I would, however, at least buy Charmin or a brand of toilet paper that has pretty designs on it, instead of the packs of 40 rolls for 2 bucks. Now that I’ve grossed everyone out with toilet paper talk, I’ll move on.

2. Thousand Dollar Perfume. I do like fancy fragrances and have probably spent more money on them in the past that I should have. But, there are fragrances that literally cost thousands of dollars that I will never ever buy. Can people actually tell that you smell like a thousand bucks? Or do we just assume that someone like Angelina Jolie is wearing thousand dollar perfume and thus it has to smell fancy? I bet she could splash on some old Avon Night Magic and people would still assume it’s hundreds or thousands of dollars. Bottom line, I’m not ever doing it.

3. Exotic Animals. Sorry animal lovers, but you won’t ever see me with a pet Llama, monkey or boa constrictor. I’m not the biggest fan of even cats and dogs (I do like them) but I definitely don’t want to hang out with a bunch of wild and exotic animals. I still can’t figure out why people do this, except for the sole reason of just being able to. Isn’t this what zoos are for?

4. Edible Gold. I prefer my gold in the form of a necklace, I don’t even want to consider what would happen to my body if I indulged in one of the meals, desserts or drinks that claim to have gold pieces or flecks or whatever in them. There are many things that God put on this earth for us to nourish our bodies with, I just don’t think gold is one of them.

5. Wigs and Designer Clothes for Pets. Okay, so as stated in #4 I’m not quite an animal person, but if I ever were you can bet Fluffy isn’t wearing Prada. This is as close as you can get without just attaching a neon sign to a dog’s head that says “I’m rich and wasteful”. Yes, it’s cold. Sometimes puppies need little puppy slippers. Sometimes cats need sweaters, though I don’t really believe that. But never will a pet of mine sport a wig, which are available, or designer clothing. That goes for nail polish too.

I’m sure there are a slew of other things I would never purchase but these are my top 5. If you suddenly had cash coming out of your ears, what is one thing you would never purchase?

Posted in Budget Shopping, Purchases | Tagged | 1 Comment